Page 32 of Hayden's Haven
“It’s how I was raised, I guess. Never show your displeasure with others. Temper yourself. Think before acting. My mother had a lot of platitudes, but they served their purpose.”
“What purpose was that?”
“Survival.”
“Oh. She’s a cautious woman, I take it.”
“She was.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“It’s fine,” he said as he shrugged. “My parents have been gone a long time. But as I said, I have friends here.”
“How manyfriendshave you taken to these falls?” she asked, trying to put that grin back on his face. It had slipped away when asked if he was happy.
“Just you.”
That grin of his returned with a vengeance. As did the pulsing between her thighs. She was so in trouble if a mere look from him had that effect on her, which it most certainly did.
Soft lips met hers. Hayden tasted rich and smooth, and much more sinful than chocolate. A hand sifted through her hair and held her as she stepped into his larger frame. His other hand smoothed down her back as his velvety tongue wrapped around hers, caressing her in a way that made her melt into his arms.
Oh, yes, he was definitely one candy she’d enjoy peeling and tasting, but that hand caressing her ass felt too good, too dangerous. She’d give in to him too easily, she knew that now. It’s not that she was easy, far from it. She’d only been with Vance and one guy before him, but Hayden wasn’t like them. There was an honesty in the way he touched her and all her walls that she’d built up over the past few years disappeared as if Hayden wasn’t only her path but her destination as well.
The hand on her ass never moved to lift her shirt and enter her pants. He simply held her for now. He was taking this slow. And she was letting him.
She was a fool.
“I. . . I have to get back to my lab, Hayden. I have results I have to log at regular intervals. My data will be compromised if—”
“It’s okay, Mila,” he said as he ran one hand through her hair before finally breaking away. “We can go back now.”
He took her hand and led her down the steep path away from the falls. The place was really spectacular, and she’d always remember it, but not in as much detail as that kiss. That spine-tingling, losing-herself-in-Hayden kiss.
They walked in silence until they approached the compound. Though it wasn’t an awkward silence, not in the least. Hayden continued holding her hand, and she let him. Ha. . . shelethim. It felt odd thinking she had choices, but with Hayden, there was never a question. She was in charge of her life, not him. She got to choose. And it felt nice, freeing.
“After you treat your pack, you can come back here if you want. We’ll welcome you back,” he said as they approached the center compound.
“Excuse me?”
“I mean, we’re down a doctor, a medical doctor. Pryce is a medic, trained for battle, though we haven’t had any major skirmishes in years, not since Damien signed peace agreements with most of the nearby packs. Every so often, we have an issue with the bear shifters to the north and northeast—”
“Hayden,” she interrupted. “You’re rambling.”
“Oh, I guess I am.” The ends of his mouth kicked up. “I guess what I’m saying is that Pryce does what he can, taking care of injuries that are too much for our wolves, but his training is limited. Before the kids have their first shift, if something happens that Pryce can’t handle, we take them to a doctor in Devil’s Peak. The kids present as human at that age, so no problem. But with our growing human population, we could use a doctor here.”
“Growing human population. You have Anna. That’s it. And as you said, you can take her to town like you do the kids, if she ever needs a doctor.”
“She’s carrying a half-shifter child. You’ve already seen how being half-shifter affected Kate’s healing, and that was with her blood-bond helping her. What if something happens to the baby? Or Kate suffers another serious injury, one that’s too taxing for her wolf alone to heal? There are parts to our makeup that we can’t easily explain to a doctor, even to the ones willing to treat a shifter, and there aren’t many of those.”
It was a legitimate concern and a nice offer, although Mila didn’t know where it was coming from. Quite frankly, it was too far off to think about. She had to focus on the vaccine and returning to her pack to treat the survivors of the virus, all while avoiding Vance.
She shook her head, trying not to let that bastard enter her thoughts. She liked it here and thinking of him just put a dark cloud over everything. Nonetheless, she still had a duty to those innocents she’d left behind.
“I can’t just leave my pack. I have to return with a working vaccine and a treatment for those who lost the ability to shift.” Then she’d leave them again, somehow.
His jaws tightened. “Is there another in your life? Someone waiting for you back at your pack, Mila?”
Not as far as she was concerned. Vance would say otherwise. But leading Hayden on wasn’t smart. That kiss—that blessedly scrumptious kiss—was as far as anything could go between them. “Yes,” she said after too long of a pause.
