focus.
As the room came into view again through her blurred vision, she gasped. That man, that wolfman, had woken up and was standing directly over her. He was still wearing the towel; the small bit of material barely covered him. Even so, he managed to look huge; impressively tall and excessively manly. Even in a pink bath towel. Fear wrapped itself around her so rapidly that she could have sworn her heart just stopped beating, and her body was shaking so violently it was a wonder she didn’t vibrate right off the sofa.
There was a madman in a pink towel stood in her living room, looming over her, and she was stuck, unable to move off her goddamn sofa.
‘You’re awake.’
Tam didn’t speak, couldn’t. She was in so much pain that she could barely breathe. And the sight of this mostly naked man was doing little to help that.
‘Are you OK?’ Then he winced. ‘OK, that was a stupid question. Here, let me help you.’
‘I’m fine,’ Tam hissed out through clenched teeth. The man didn’t listen to her. In one swift movement, he scooped her into his arms and, before she even had time to scream, he’d gently swung her around and carefully propped her up into a sitting position on her sofa, covering her with blankets.
‘Who are you?’ Tam spat, trying desperately to breathe properly.
‘I’m Leyth,’ he said, as if that would explain everything. She waited, but quickly worked out he wasn’t going to say any more, so she tried a different tactic.
‘What the hell happened?’ she said, motioning to her stomach.
‘You fell in the woods. Your ankle got caught in a trap, then you fell on a dead tree branch.’
‘I remember running. From you.’ He winced as she said it, his eyes darting away. He actually looked regretful, guilty almost. ‘I remember getting my foot caught. How did I get home?’
‘I carried you.’ Oh, obviously. A naked man carrying a bleeding woman through the streets of Folkestone, like that went unnoticed.
‘Well, I’m fine. You can leave now.’
‘You’re not fine, Tamriel. And I’m not leaving you.’ God this man was irritating.
‘Leyth, if that really is your name. I’m honestly fine. It’s just a scratch. You can leave me now.’
‘You’re not.’ To prove a point, he walked over and carefully prodded her stomach. She winced as his fingers met her raw stomach and those damn tears started filling her vision once more. ‘And I can’t leave you.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because you know too much.’ Crap. It dawned on her why he was so reluctant to leave. She’d seen him change, shift from wolf to man, though part of her was still insisting that it was a dream, a magic trick. She now knew a very big secret, an incredibly well-hidden secret. One that would make front-page news without a doubt. If she could prove it.
This man clearly wasn’t going to let her leave here alive if he thought she was going to tell anyone his secret though.
‘No I don’t, I don’t know anything.’ She smiled sweetly. ‘I can’t remember anything that happened in the woods, I’m not even sure how I got there.’
‘Nice try.’ He flashed her a grin. ‘But you remember running from me, and that means you probably remember why you were running.’ Crap.
‘I won’t tell anyone.’
‘I know, I won’t let you.’ Double crap.
‘So what, you’re just going to keep me hostage in my own house?’
‘Until I can work out what to do with you, yes.’
Panic rippled up her spine. Was he going to kill her? Why the hell had she chased that wolf out into the woods? Her tendency to jump into situations before thinking about them had always gotten her into trouble. Why was she such a stubborn idiot? Now what was she going to do? She was stuck in her own apartment, with a brute who easily swamped her in size, unable to run because she was badly injured.
‘Are you going to kill me?’ Tamriel looked the guy straight in the eye. No point in beating around the proverbial
As the room came into view again through her blurred vision, she gasped. That man, that wolfman, had woken up and was standing directly over her. He was still wearing the towel; the small bit of material barely covered him. Even so, he managed to look huge; impressively tall and excessively manly. Even in a pink bath towel. Fear wrapped itself around her so rapidly that she could have sworn her heart just stopped beating, and her body was shaking so violently it was a wonder she didn’t vibrate right off the sofa.
There was a madman in a pink towel stood in her living room, looming over her, and she was stuck, unable to move off her goddamn sofa.
‘You’re awake.’
Tam didn’t speak, couldn’t. She was in so much pain that she could barely breathe. And the sight of this mostly naked man was doing little to help that.
‘Are you OK?’ Then he winced. ‘OK, that was a stupid question. Here, let me help you.’
‘I’m fine,’ Tam hissed out through clenched teeth. The man didn’t listen to her. In one swift movement, he scooped her into his arms and, before she even had time to scream, he’d gently swung her around and carefully propped her up into a sitting position on her sofa, covering her with blankets.
‘Who are you?’ Tam spat, trying desperately to breathe properly.
‘I’m Leyth,’ he said, as if that would explain everything. She waited, but quickly worked out he wasn’t going to say any more, so she tried a different tactic.
‘What the hell happened?’ she said, motioning to her stomach.
‘You fell in the woods. Your ankle got caught in a trap, then you fell on a dead tree branch.’
‘I remember running. From you.’ He winced as she said it, his eyes darting away. He actually looked regretful, guilty almost. ‘I remember getting my foot caught. How did I get home?’
‘I carried you.’ Oh, obviously. A naked man carrying a bleeding woman through the streets of Folkestone, like that went unnoticed.
‘Well, I’m fine. You can leave now.’
‘You’re not fine, Tamriel. And I’m not leaving you.’ God this man was irritating.
‘Leyth, if that really is your name. I’m honestly fine. It’s just a scratch. You can leave me now.’
‘You’re not.’ To prove a point, he walked over and carefully prodded her stomach. She winced as his fingers met her raw stomach and those damn tears started filling her vision once more. ‘And I can’t leave you.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because you know too much.’ Crap. It dawned on her why he was so reluctant to leave. She’d seen him change, shift from wolf to man, though part of her was still insisting that it was a dream, a magic trick. She now knew a very big secret, an incredibly well-hidden secret. One that would make front-page news without a doubt. If she could prove it.
This man clearly wasn’t going to let her leave here alive if he thought she was going to tell anyone his secret though.
‘No I don’t, I don’t know anything.’ She smiled sweetly. ‘I can’t remember anything that happened in the woods, I’m not even sure how I got there.’
‘Nice try.’ He flashed her a grin. ‘But you remember running from me, and that means you probably remember why you were running.’ Crap.
‘I won’t tell anyone.’
‘I know, I won’t let you.’ Double crap.
‘So what, you’re just going to keep me hostage in my own house?’
‘Until I can work out what to do with you, yes.’
Panic rippled up her spine. Was he going to kill her? Why the hell had she chased that wolf out into the woods? Her tendency to jump into situations before thinking about them had always gotten her into trouble. Why was she such a stubborn idiot? Now what was she going to do? She was stuck in her own apartment, with a brute who easily swamped her in size, unable to run because she was badly injured.
‘Are you going to kill me?’ Tamriel looked the guy straight in the eye. No point in beating around the proverbial
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