Page 93 of The Alpha Dire Wolf
“No,” I said, but I didn’t mean it.
Lincoln chuckled. “You should never be in sales. Your technique sucks.”
But he set me down anyway. I stepped to the side, not wanting to get close to the fire as it burned higher and brighter for the moment thanks to my additions. Finding a place to stand, I shook myself out, throwing off some of the bad energy that started the morning.
That was a mistake. With my lack of clothing, and the flimsy old pajama shirt, Lincoln’s eyes tracked everything as it bounced and jiggled for his enjoyment. Firelight flickered across his pupils as I watched them drink in my body.
Self-conscious at the attention, I folded my arms over my breasts, hoping he hadn’t noticed how quickly they stiffened under his interested, attentive gaze, which I had not prepared for.
“There’s not a lot left,” I said, swinging back to the fire, only to realize it gave Lincoln a full view of my ass cheeks as they hung out from my shorts.
There was no winning apparently.
“I’ve been up for a few hours.” Nothing in his voice betrayed any emotion.
What was he thinking? Had he just admired what he saw because he was a man? Or was it something more? The things he had said the day before had been … intense.
But he was wounded then. Badly hurt. He didn’t mean any of that. It was just the pain talking.
That’s what I told myself.
“Oh.”
In my peripheral vision I saw him nod. “I let you sleep. You needed it.”
“I wasn’t the one hurt.”
“Yes, you were,” he said gently. “Up here.”
He reached over and lightly tapped my head. His hand didn’t linger.
I glanced at him. He was wearing the tattered remnants of his clothing, cleaned as best as I could and hung to dry overnight. Using the washing machine would have wrecked it even more. Through the holes, I could see the healing of his wounds coming along far faster than any normal human could hope for.
“You’re obviously healing up. You look it. Good, I mean. Um, like, you look better,” I said, tearing my eyes away from the muscled arms and fit torso visible from a dozen or more different holes.
“I told you,” Lincoln said, ignoring my flub. “I heal fast.”
“Yes, you did, but I think it’s okay if I’m still a bit skeptical of it all until I see it happen. After all, I did only learn that your world existed last night.”
Lincoln grunted, still staring into the flames.
“Thank you for doing the burning,” I said.
Another grunt. “No thanks are necessary.”
“Well, thank you for yesterday then,” I said, fidgeting with the hem of the cotton shirt, twisting it tightly. “Saving my life and all that.”
He glanced down at me. I smiled up at him. His eyes grabbed me and held me, rooting me to that spot.
“I told you,” he said, his voice the rumble of a freight train, “I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll protect you no matter what. With every ounce of strength I possess.”
Lincoln was a very, very strong man.
I nodded. I didn’t know what else to say, and I doubted I could have spoken anyway at that moment. My throat was all closed up. My body was on fire from the way he looked at me.
The memory of being pressed up against him was loud and clear in my mind. Refusing to leave, despite the dozen eviction notices I served. It continued to trespass, hammering at me over and over again—a call I was finding impossible to ignore.
To do that, you must find the guardian. They will be drawn to you—a partnership, a call impossible to ignore.
