Marked Wolf (Protector Wolf Shifter Series Book 2), page 9
She trusted him.
“Don’t what?” he asked. “Hold you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not about to molest you.”
The dry tone to his voice normally would have made her smile but she didn’t. “I know that.”
“You were unsteady on your feet.”
“And you’re a gentleman?” she asked.
“I’m a man who doesn’t let women fall flat on their faces. Not unless they deserve it. You kinda come close.”
This time the dry note made her smile. “Okay, I deserved that.”
“I’ll let you go.” But he didn’t, just brushed a strand of hair from her eyes as he gazed down at her.
She swallowed. His touch slid down deep into her, and she shuddered. “It muddies things, you touching me. I…”
“I get it.”
“No. You don’t.”
Tamaska knew she needed to find a way to trust Kodiak in both his human and wolf forms if they were going to get the Blood Opal back. Trust him on that level of her life in his hands, of him maybe holding and protecting her heart.
That shocked her.
She wanted to be at that point.
She wanted to work with him.
Needed to, yes, but she also wanted to. The roar of cars passing in both directions, reminded her that she and Kodiak were visible, standing at the edge of the city. There were houses in front of them, and they were near a dull streetlight, where they could be easily seen.
This wasn’t the place for a long and lengthy discussion.
“You have to let me get the Blood Opal back,” said Tamaska.
“You don’t trust me, and you hate me—”
“I don’t hate you. And I trust you, it’s just…the rest… But right now, it doesn’t matter. Just getting that opal matters. I’ll do it alone, but I think I’d prefer it if you helped. Or let me help you.”
“You’re not in a position to negotiate with me,” said Kodiak with a growl. “I’ve a mind to cut you out of this, keep you somewhere locked up and safe.”
“You won’t cut me, Kodiak,” she said, “and good luck locking me up. I’ll escape eventually.”
“That might be the case, but you need me.”
“So—”
“So, I won’t help you.”
“Then I’ll do it without you.”
“Like fuck you will.” He held her tighter. “You have no idea how to deal with vampires.”
“And you need me, whether you can see it or not,” she retorted, drawing on some strength deep within.
“How do you figure that?”
“Cory…he…I know him.” She didn’t want to think of Cory as a vampire and didn’t want to consider that they were after her.
“They turned him. What’s to stop them from turning you? No. I’m not risking it.”
“My life isn’t yours to protect or not. But I know a lot about the opal. And you said yourself, they want me for some reason.”
“Which means you stay out of this.”
“The Blood Opal has brought us together. We have a better chance of finding it if we help each other instead of working alone,” she said. “I’m not backing off, Kodiak.”
He swore. “We would have to work together and that means real trust.”
“I know.”
He nodded.
“Can you really trust me, knowing I’m a wolf shifter?” His tone softened, and he gently ran his hands up the exposed skin of her arms.
She knew what he asked. This was more than them working together, but the rest?
His fingers brushed along the scars from teeth and claws. The attack by the dog she’d endured had scarred more than flesh. It had gouged deep into her psyche.
Something that had only lasted seconds had felt like hours. Worse, the memory remained with her all this time, always fresh and clear in her mind.
Getting past that, truly past it, was something she wasn’t sure she could do. Didn’t know if she wanted to because that attack was part of her. It had changed her life.
Not the bad things, like her phobia of dogs or her hatred of the ugly scars. But it made her stronger, helped develop the drive to become something. It got her to shape her life so she wouldn’t be scared like that again.
And this man…he was the thing she hated.
If anything was to happen between them on a deeper level, could she ever get past that? Truly?
There was trust, and then there was trust.
“I…”
He changed how he touched her, only his fingertips met her skin as he moved his hands down. Like he knew.
And yet…
She wanted him.
Even that light touch set tremors off within her, sweet, keening waves of want and need and desire. The longer she was with his human form, the easier it was to pretend that she’d never seen him transform into a wolf. Her mind turned to the time they’d spent together in her bed, and at the nightclub, letting their lust for each other have free rein.
She wanted that. Desperately.
“You can’t,” he responded, sadness thick in his voice. His arms wrapped around her once more.
“I can try.” Even she didn’t believe the words she spoke. The fear was too deep to get over suddenly. “I need time.”
“We don’t have time.” There was a distinct frustration in his voice. “This whole thing is ready to blow up in our faces. And you say you want to work with me, and you can’t answer a simple, yet important, question.”
“I can only try,” she repeated.
“Try? And what about when it comes down to the wire? What if I need you to put your life in my hands, to trust me without thinking or trying? What then?”
She swallowed, trying to push free, but he didn’t let her go. “I don’t know.”
“This is more than trying to get through something that happened to you, so you feel you can trust me. This isn’t about a date or maybe having a relationship. This is about life and death and the crunch moment.”
“Kodiak—”
“No,” he said, “this is about my life and your life. I won’t risk it.”
“I’m not asking you to risk me. I’m saying we need to work together. I won’t let you down.”
“I’m going to hide you out here where you’ll be safe, and when this is done, you never have to see me again.”
“I’m not hiding out. I never took you for a weak man.”
He put his face close to hers, his voice full of warning. “I’m not just a man, and that’s the problem. And I’m not weak. I’m thinking of you, of keeping you safe.”
“And your own hide.”
“That, too. I can’t keep you safe if I’m dead. And if you freeze because of your phobia of all things canine, that might happen. And who, then, will keep you safe?”
She licked her lips. “You need me to find the Blood Opal, so you can’t just cast me aside.”
“I work better alone.”
“You asked me a question and I answered honestly. In this I can trust you but beyond? I don’t know, I really don’t. I have a lot to get through.” She lifted her face to him. His gaze was guarded, but he didn’t stop touching her. “And you? Do you trust me?”
“It’s not about fucking trust, Tamaska, not for me.”
“Yes, it is.” She stood, legs shaking, waiting.
He sighed. “Fine, if you’re asking and things are like they are now? No. I don’t think I can trust you not to turn on me again.”
Anger shot through her, irrational and burning hot. “So all that before? What was that?”
“It was me trying to make you understand you can’t come with me. And this whole trust thing isn’t about a life-and-death thing. But if it were just that, then…maybe. But I’m not human and you are.”
His words hung in the air, the meaning coiling about her, mocking.
Tamaska glared. “I’m not asking for your hand in marriage.”
“And I’m not proposing.”
She opened her mouth to argue but stopped. Sadness darkened his eyes now, and she didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know what she should say or what she wanted. And he could see that. As clearly as her.
They also didn’t have time for this. “You need me in this fight, Kodiak.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth. “Damn it, you make things difficult.”
His fingers circled her upper arms, the motion soothing.
“We don’t know the future.” At least, she didn’t. “But you can trust me. In this search, you can. Like I do you. And that’s all I have. Except…”
She wanted to taste him again. She was so tired of running and hiding from her desires. She was sick of being scared. Out of everything, Kodiak, human-form Kodiak, didn’t represent anything for her to fear.
“Except?” he asked.
“This.”
She went up on her tippy-toes, tilted her head back, and brushed her lips against his in a gentle kiss.
The soft touch sent a bolt of desire through her body, one that went straight to her core and awakened her senses. It was as if she were back in the nightclub once more, and they were in the room together, losing themselves in each other.
This soft kiss held secret desires and unspoken need. It offered him the need that burned for him. This was reckless, not the time for giving into desires. Yet the pull of him, the prize of his mouth, was too much to ignore.
He smoothed a hand against her cheek and lifted his head, eyes glittering as they took her in. So much swirled in their depths. And at the center was something that called to her, animalistic, a claim, beyond mere male pride and into the realm of primal.
Then his mouth came down on hers, hard, and she melted under that touch. Her kiss has been nothing more than a taste. This was the real thing, and she wanted to drown in it as they kissed.
Kodiak’s arm slid tight around her waist, pulling her up and into him, leaving no doubts to his needs. She could feel him. Big, hard, and wanting her. The kiss deepened and their tongues danced, and instead of fear, there was nothing in her but lust.
His other hand held her face so he could angle the kiss, control it. That power sent cascades of want tumbling through her blood.
She wanted to fall to her knees for him, let him claim her as his over and over.
Sparks twisted into flame as their kiss grew harder, deeper, more erotic. His tongue swept against hers, her breath accelerating.
Tamaska held onto his waist, pressing her fingers deep into his skin, lost in the world they created. The heat of him and the strength he offered and safety that was danger itself was a powerful drug, and she wanted to keep going. She wanted to disappear into the kiss.
Somewhere deep inside, she was torn between wanting to give in further and knowing how dangerous it was for them to be doing this out here in the open.
Cars rumbled past, some tooting their horns in jest. Their lips remained on each other’s, slipping and nipping, tongues twisting. Her breath caught as a surge of desire coursed through her. She wanted all of him right now, yet she couldn’t give in.
Headlights lit them up as cars sped past. She remained in his hot embrace, hands clutching at clothing, wanting to tear them away, to enjoy the touch of his skin and to finally give into the lust driving them both.
But not here. Not like this.
He sighed and broke the kiss, breathing heavy as he rested his forehead against hers. “Not the place, hey?”
“Yeah.”
She could laugh at that, but somehow it didn’t come. Instead, the light, teasing tone of his voice belied the throb of want in the air. Belied the wildness in his gaze—the same wildness that clawed in her—as he lifted his head and looked down into her eyes.
She couldn't move. If she did, she might fall; everything was unsteady and she clung to him, like he seemed to cling to her.
He also made no immediate move to step away.
Had he felt it too? It was as if the earth was rumbling, or the sky was exploding with forked lightning.
“Did you…”
He nodded, grabbed her hand, and dragged her back to the car. She noticed his limp, and fear tightened in her belly. Neither of them was in a state to fight, not after what had happened at the nightclub. They’d been reckless to allow themselves to be vulnerable out there in the open.
Maybe it wasn’t just the power of the kiss that rocked them. Maybe it was something else, something darker, more sinister.
Especially if he felt it, too.
And one look at his face made her think he had.
“What do you think it was?” The vibrations continued humming through her body. Whatever it was probably had something to do with the vampires, and their intentions wouldn’t be anything good.
“We’ve got to get you somewhere safe.” Kodiak continued toward the car. “We’ve wasted too much time and tempted the fates a little too much. Come on.” Then he paused. “Or stay. Up to you.”
He might talk a good game right now, but no way would he leave her, and that wasn’t the kiss talking. He promised to protect her and he would. But he was giving her an option. Or maybe it was a test.
She didn’t know. But there was a choice on offer, and, for her, it was one of running in fear and hate or staying and battling her past.
A kiss didn’t change anything.
But she wasn’t running.
Instead, she got in the car.
Whatever was going to happen, Tamaska decided it would be best to have Kodiak by her side.
12
Tamaska
She peered out into the darkness as Kodiak stopped his car, pulling on the hand brake and killing the engine. Her pulse quickened. A heavy darkness surrounded her, weighed down on her, and the uneasy feeling that had started ever since she entered the club seemed to grow in the air, taking up space.
Could she face a vampire again and survive, or was her luck running out?
Worse, what if she somehow got Kodiak killed?
She might be locked in a maelstrom of warring emotions from the past and the present, but she didn’t want him hurt.
Well, he was hurt. Hurt again. Hurt more than he already was.
They weren’t after him, were they?
The vampires wanted her.
The silence in the night chilled her more than the air. Somehow, the noise of cars and the bustle of people around her had eased the fears inside, like if others were close, nothing could ever touch her.
Here—wherever here was—a deep vulnerability opened inside her, threatened to eat her whole. The isolation of the bush brought with it an uncomfortableness in the great swathes of quiet and darkness, like something waited, just for her.
Her hands bunched on her thighs, and he touched her shoulder. “Regrets?”
“That sounds like the beginning of a song, especially if I say I’ve had a few.”
In the dash light, his teeth flashed in a smile. “Sinatra probably didn’t face vampires. But I think he sang something about standing tall and doing it his way. In this scenario that’s my way. Got it?”
“You—”
“Know Sinatra? I didn’t grow up under a rock, Tamaska.”
The soft humor was gone and something twisted inside her. How had she screwed that up?
“I know, I…I just meant…I…”
“Come on.” Kodiak opened his door and got out.
Tamaska got out. The scent of eucalyptus hit her senses, clearing her head. Kodiak had taken her somewhere in the country, about an hour or so out of Sydney.
“Where are we?” The cool night air made her shiver since her lightweight activewear was unable to provide the warmth she needed.
Tamaska had read the signs along the highway and discerned they were somewhere in the Blue Mountains to the east of Sydney. She’d been there many times over the years and had organized a lot of expensive Blue Mountain events for people with full bank accounts. But this place was nothing like she’d ever seen.
She looked about, trying to work out if they were near one of the towns she knew such as Katoomba or Glenbrook, but honestly? How the hell could she know that?
It was dark, isolated.
If they were near one of those towns, they were far enough out not to be bothered by the light or noise.
“Somewhere safe for both of us.”
She flashed him a look. “Or the perfect place to kill me.”
“You think I’d go to this kind of effort?”
“Well,” she said, rubbing her arms and glancing around, “one would hope I’m a special victim.”
She couldn’t stop the gallows humor and he laughed softly.
“Yeah, good thing I’m not in the mood right now.”
His warmth seeped into Tamaska as he moved to stand close to her. “I know the kiss means nothing. I know whatever the fuck it is between us complicates shit, but you came here.”
“I did.”
“So,” he said, tone gentle, “you’re not going to get past the fact you’ve got a childhood phobia that’s caught up indelibly in who and what I am, but we should go in.”
He held out his hand, and she surprised herself by placing her hand in his. Kodiak’s hand was large, strong, capable, and he closed his fingers around hers, engulfing them in warmth. In gentle safety. And it took her breath away.
Her shoes crushed dead leaves underfoot as they walked away from his car into what seemed like perpetual darkness.
Her eyes adjusted to the black night with no city lights to push away the shadows. And the cool breeze rustled leaves and shifted the shadows.
She stumbled to a stop.
Anything could be hiding here, waiting. Anyone or anything. How could this place be safe?
Kodiak squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Trust me, this is safer for now.”
She hated having no choice. Hated putting her life and safety into the hands of another, no matter if she knew it was right. A choice meant a safety net. A way out.
And this… Tamaska wasn’t someone who relied on others.
Yet, here she was.
Relying on the one man who… Who could become a thing she feared and hated, and she almost hated herself more for letting it come back at her, biting down.
