Oh hell. He’d already seen her naked when he flew into the room and pulled Peteroff her. She wasn’t at her most attractive right now, though. Funny how that annoyed her. She dropped the blanket and reached for his hands, grateful for his strength as she wobbled a little lifting her leg over the edge of the tub. Conner squeezed her hands andstepped behind her, nestling his body against hers for support.
Nice. Hard, well-muscled body, she thought, then wondered how she could even think of a man’s body after what she’d been through. It was probably a good sign, though, because it meant she was already beginning to heal.
Katya kept her gaze focused on the bathwater instead of on Conner, not wanting to see the reaction in his eyes. Would he cringe over the bruises that covered half her body? Damn, she’d fought harder than she thought judging from her injuries. And they hurt like hell, the cuts burning in the hot water. She settled in, laid her head against thecool back of the tub and closed her eyes.
23
Jaci Burton
Her eyes flew open when she felt something soft and warm against her injured cheek, only to find Conner had rolled up his shirtsleeves and was on his knees, leaning over the tub to press a washcloth to her face.
He smelled good. Not like cologne. Like soap. And man. Pure, sexy, his natural scent soaking into her senses.
“Does this hurt?” he asked, tenderly wiping the dried blood from her face.
“No.” It felt good, actually. Getting Peter’s scent off her was paramount. Despite theshock she knew she should feel, anger permeated her every thought. How dare Peter try to take what she hadn’t offered?
She lay still while Conner washed her face and neck. Despite the fact he could see into the water, he didn’t once glance down at her body. Instead, he focused on the areashe was cleaning. When he left and brought back a large bowl, then proceeded to lather up her hair and rinse it with clear water from the sink, she felt more like she’d beenspending a day at a spa than recovering from a brutal attack.
“I think we got all the blood cleaned up. You ready to get out of there?”
She nodded and he lifted her, immediately wrapping a large bath towel around her. He held her hand as she stepped from the tub.
“Tell me where your nightgown is.”
“Nightgown? I don’t own any.”
“What do you sleep in?”
“Usually, nothing. Unless it’s really cold outside. Then I put on socks.”
His eyes flamed for a brief second, then returned to normal again. “Here, wear this.”
Now it was her turn to stare as he pulled off his long-sleeved shirt and took off the dark blue T-shirt underneath it. “It’s clean. I just slipped it on after my shower, right before I heard the noises in here and ran in.”
She was such an idiot! “I didn’t even thank you for coming to help me.”
“Not necessary. I’m glad I made it in time.”
So was she, for reasons she couldn’t explain.
He held his shirt out for her and she dropped the towel, his gaze flitting on herbreasts for only a second before he met her eyes again. This time, that smoldering heat stayed around a little longer.
And she felt that heat. Felt it, and wondered how she could possibly feel attraction to someone after what she’d just been through.
She slipped his T-shirt over her head. It still held the warmth and smell of his bodyand she wanted to pull it closer against her skin.
“Again, thank you. Most people don’t get involved in others’ business. Most would have ignored the noises.”
24
Mountain Moonlight
Reaching for his long-sleeved shirt, he shrugged into it and began to button it. “I’m not most people.”
She was beginning to realize that.
25
Jaci Burton
Chapter Three
Conner poured two glasses of brandy, taking a moment to get his emotions under
control before he stepped back into the room with Katya.
He still wanted to kill that sonofabitch. When he heard Katya’s screams, he tore down the path and ripped open her front door, shocked to find Peter straddling her and ready to rape her. Blind rage filled him and he wanted to tear the lupine apart piece by piece. Instead, he’d forced common sense into his anger-soaked brain and lifted Peter off her bruised and bloody body, though he was perversely satisfied that she’d managed to wound the bastard a little.
The urge to choke the life from him still thundered through his blood.
Weak men preyed on women. As a lupine, Peter was considered a danger. Any other pack would kill him. But Conner had to respect the lupine laws of the Braslieus. He could only hope Peter would receive the justice he deserved.
Staying on to help Katya bathe had been a lesson in frustration. But what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t leave her alone. She’d obviously needed help. Yes, shewas lupine and she’d heal, but they all healed at different speeds. And she was damn well battered. He’d had no choice but to stay and help her.
Not that it was a hardship. His thoughts hadn’t once strayed toward the sexual
arena.
Okay, maybe once. Or twice. Oh hell, his dick had been hard the entire time he’d bathed her. Despite the blood and bruise marks on her body, she was beautiful. Tough, yet vulnerable.
Quit thinking. It’ll only get you in trouble.
He grasped the snifters of brandy along with the bottle and carried them into theliving room. Katya sat snuggled in the corner of the sofa with a blanket wrapped around her legs. They’d compromised on the sofa after she refused to go to bed, saying she needed to sit up for a while, that she couldn’t possibly sleep right now. Even thoughshe’d told him she felt fine and he could leave, something prevented him from doing so.
Peter wouldn’t be back to bother her tonight. Conner knew Noah would keep a watchful eye over him. But still, he felt compelled to stay.
She looked up as he approached, managing a tremulous smile. She was already starting to heal, the lupine recuperative powers working quickly. The massive gash along her cheek was no more than a faint red line now. By morning it would be gone. The bruises along her arms, neck and face were fading.
26
Mountain Moonlight
Katya was one strong woman. Most would have crumbled under an assault like that, even a lupine. But she had a steel backbone, showing more anger than fear. He admired her for that.
“How do you feel?” he asked, handing her the snifter.
She took a sip and licked her bottom lip. His cock twitched.
“Better. Thank you. You really don’t have to stay.”
“I know I don’t. I want to.” He took a long swallow, hoping the fiery liquid would numb his libido. Lusting after a woman who’d just suffered a near-rape wasn’t a good idea. The last thing he wanted to do was frighten her or have her doubt his reason for
staying.
She didn’t look scared, though. Instead, she studied him with clear, thoughtful eyes
that heated him from the inside out. “Tell me about Peter.”
She shrugged and finished off the brandy in two gulps. Her eyes watered and she shook it off. “He’s a pain in the ass.”
Conner laughed and refilled her glass. “Obviously. Has he tried anything like thisbefore?”
“No. I’ve known him my entire life. He’s a year older than me and we used to play together as children. Then when I returned home after college, he made it known he wanted to mate.”
“You obviously didn’t want that.”
“No, I didn’t. He didn’t seem to care what I wanted. He was convinced I’d change my mind. But I never expected him to go this far.”
“I wonder what triggered it tonight?”
She blushed and looked down at her lap before meeting his gaze again. “He told me he saw you and me together.”
Ah, that explained the reason for Peter’s rage. Jealousy. “So he decided since you were willing to give it up to me, he’d just show you who was boss.”
She arched a brow. “I don’t know about my willingness to ‘give it up to you’, but yes, I think he was jealous enough to stop asking and start taking.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” She sure as hell seemed willing earlier. Then again, she had stopped him.
After draining her second glass of brandy, she said, “What happened earlier tonight between us was a mistake.”
Was that her honest opinion, or embarrassment? “I didn’t think it was a mistake at
all.”
She grabbed the bottle of brandy and splashed more into her glass. “Come on, Conner. You and I have a business relationship right now. Sex would only complicatethat.”
“True. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting to make love to you.”
27
Jaci Burton
Katya hitched a gasp as his words penetrated, hotter than the brandy burning its
way through her body.
Dammit! She wasn’t supposed to feel desire. Not now, not for him. But she couldn’t stop her traitorous body from wanting what she shouldn’t want, what she couldn’thave.
Maybe it was the brandy. Maybe more of it would dull the ache of need she felt for Conner. She took a long, deep swallow and exhaled.
She normally didn’t drink. Not more than a glass here and there. Yet the brandy went down smooth and easy, creating a lovely, fog-like haze around memories of a night filled with harsh reality. Her muscles relaxed, her bones feeling like they’d melted around her. She sank deeper into the couch and kicked the blanket aside, feeling too hot to be encumbered.
“Why don’t you have someone in your life, Katya?” he asked.
“What?”
He finished his drink and set it on the table. “Look at you. You’re young, beautiful,intelligent and desirable as hell. You must have men panting after you all the time. Why haven’t you mated yet?”
She laughed, the fuzzy feeling in her head deliciously enticing. “I guess I haven’t found the right one yet. I don’t give men those kinds of signals. I’m just not interested in any of the ones I know.”
He arched a brow. “You sure as hell gave me one tonight. Why?”
Memories of what they’d done drifted over her like a dip in a warm, scented pool. She took another drink of brandy, realizing she’d already consumed way more than sheshould. But she liked this feeling of numbness. “I don’t know what happened tonight. I just… I don’t know.”
Why couldn’t she form a coherent sentence? And why did the room suddenly seem so much smaller? She stared at Conner through brandy-soaked eyes, feeling the heat penetrate her sex. Her pussy throbbed.
No, wait. She didn’t want Conner Devlin. But she couldn’t remember why. There didn’t seem to be a good enough reason to have walked away from him.
“Do I scare you, Katya?”
She frowned. “No. Not at all.”
“Then why did you run earlier?”
Hell if she could remember why. Had to be the brandy obliterating her brain cells. Nothing seemed clear anymore. Forgetting everything seemed to be a really good idea right now.
“I don’t know why. All I know is I don’t want to run anymore.” That much was true. She was tired of running, tired of waiting, tired of others making decisions for her. Why couldn’t she have what she wanted, when she wanted it?
28
Mountain Moonlight
“Tell me what you want,” he said, his voice a warm, comfortable lifeline. “Let me give you what you need.”
Maybe it was remnants of Peter’s touch that made her want to give Conner an honest answer. She wanted to erase the feel of Peter’s hands on her, of his body pressed
intimately against her, and replace it with Conner’s hands, mouth and body. She wanted to take that feeling of helplessness and toss it right out the window, replace it with the power of her own choice.
She knew exactly what she wanted. For the first time in her life, she wanted control over her destiny. And this hazy place between fantasy and reality was a perfect start.
“I want you, Conner. I want you to touch me, to take away any traces of Peter that linger on my body or in my mind, and replace it with memories of you.”
His eyes went golden, glowing like a bright flame. “I think that’s the brandy talking.”
Everyone always seemed to think they knew what was best for her. She reached for him, scooting closer until her bare thigh brushed his jean-clad leg. The contact was electric, arcing between her legs so fast and furious she wanted to slide her hand there and increase the intensity. “No, it’s me talking. I do know what I want, Conner. Please don’t make me ask again.”
Maybe he wasn’t interested after what happened tonight. Some men blamed the woman for a rape or attempted rape, as if she’d somehow led them on. Is that how Conner felt?
But he reached for her chin, tipping it up so her gaze met his. She didn’t seecondemnation in his eyes; she saw raw, untamed desire. “I don’t want to hurt you. I want you, Katya, so damn bad my cock aches. But you have to call the shots and tell meexactly how, when and how hard you want it.”