Read Online Awakened by the Wolf by Kristal Hollis - Free Book Online Page A

that—for the first time. “And don’t hog the covers. I hate waking up cold.”
    Brice shoved his side of the comforter at her.
    She tensed, waiting for him to move closer to sniff her. He lay so still, so quiet, Cassie decided he’d fallen asleep until she heard the soft catch in his breathing.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?”
    â€œMy leg hurts,” he snapped, and then groaned. “It’s nothing. Go to sleep.”
    She reached to turn on the nightstand lamp and remembered that she had smashed it on the floor.
    â€œWhere are you going?” The brush of Brice’s fingers down her back caused an electric current to course through her body. Cassie wished she wouldn’t react to him the way she did. She prided herself on keeping her emotions in check, particularly around men.
    Then again, Brice was a different breed altogether.
    â€œDon’t worry. I’m not running away.” She flipped on the overhead light.
    Brice’s right leg stuck out from beneath the sheet. The calf had swollen to almost twice the normal size, the skin a reddish-purple, the scar almost black. He crooked an arm over his eyes.
    â€œHow did it get this bad?” she shrieked.
    â€œWell, let’s see.” He ticked the count on his fingers as he recapped the night’s adventures. “Now that I think about it, the last half hour standing and debating you is what did me in.” The acerbic bite in his voice bounced off Cassie’s thick skin.
    â€œDon’t blame me for your pigheadedness. If you had let me sleep in the living room, you’d be fast asleep by now.”
    â€œI doubt it.” He moved his arm away from his face. Pain, sadness and a certain wistfulness that Cassie recognized as loneliness churned in his gaze.
    Alienated from his family and his pack, and worried about his grandmother, Brice sought companionship. That’s why he’d forced her to go to the hospital. Why he insisted they share a bed. He didn’t want to be alone.
    Cassie empathized, though sleeping together was going a bit overboard.
    â€œCome back to bed.” Brice started to get up. “I’ll watch TV in the living room.”
    â€œStay put.” She used a pillow to elevate his leg. “I’ll get some aspirin.”
    â€œI took some before we went to the hospital. They didn’t help.”
    â€œI’ll fix you something,” she said, leaving the room.
    â€œNothing ever works,” he moaned.
    Cassie grabbed three clean bath towels and headed to the kitchen. Heating a large stockpot of water until it boiled, she added a healthy dose of dried rosemary, then turned off the burner. Next she swirled a towel in the hot water, placed a lid on the pot and left it to steep.
    Brice opened one eye when she lifted his leg to place one of the two remaining clean towels over the pillow. She poured a little olive oil into her hands and drizzled some over his leg.
    â€œCloset cannibal or kinky fetishist?” The lackluster gleam in his eyes muted his cocky grin.
    â€œThis might hurt at first, but you’ll feel better when I’m done.” At least, she hoped he would. She could almost feel his agony throbbing in her own body as she kneaded the muscles above his knee.
    â€œOoh, S and M.” Brice’s fingers touched his lips. “Miss Albright, I’m shocked.”
    Cassie was, too, as heat flooded her body. Ignoring his tease would’ve been easier if Brice wasn’t flat on his back with a thin sheet accentuating every angle and line of his naked body. Her attention gravitated to the tent over his groin, and just that quickly, her common sense evaporated, leaving her defenseless and vulnerable.
    She need to proceed carefully. Brice Walker had the power to turn her stupid. To make her want things she couldn’t have. Things that would wreck her life if she stopped to pursue them.
    His keen, smoldering gaze caressed her face and feathered down