Clawed: Wild Things, Book 3 (4 page)

“Yeah.”

“Yeah what? Yeah she was hot?”

“Yeah. Brunette.” Conan envisioned her hair, saw the highlights and once again wanted to take a lock of her hair in his hands. “Long hair.”

“Ooh, cool. Did she have a good rack?”

He shot Billy a scornful glance and kept walking. “Yeah.” A good rack didn’t cover it. Her small breasts, firm and round in her tight T-shirt had quickened his pulse even before he’d started chasing after her.

“Was she tall? Taller than me?”

“Everyone’s taller than you.”

“Ha-ha, bro. Funny you ain’t. But I’ll forgive you if you’ll just open up and tell me about her. What did she smell like?”

Conan slammed to a stop and started to tell Billy to knock off the questions, but the memory of her scent highjacked his words.

“Whoa.” Billy pointed at him, an awed expression on his face. “You liked her scent. You, Mister I-Don’t-Like-Human-Smell, liked the way she smelled.”

Since Billy already had his answer, Conan forged on, heading to the cave they shared.

“She must’ve been something for you to remember her scent. Was she alone? Did she have a friend? Where do you think she came from? Her campsite has to be near the stream, right? Well, say something. Man, you really need to work on your communication skills.”

Conan grabbed his friend and snarled. “Do not get any stupid ideas.”

“Who, me? Of course not.”

Conan studied him but failed to get a good read. Billy looked sincere enough, but that didn’t mean anything. The man could lie with the best of them. It didn’t matter. He’d make sure they stayed away. He shook his head, hating the tickle crawling up his spine. Still, if he was determined to keep away, why couldn’t he shake the feeling that he hadn’t seen the last of the beautiful artist?

“How are you feeling?”

Chloe tore her gaze away from the fire, placed her mug of coffee next to her on the log and nodded at Nina. “Better.” She’d taken the first hour after she’d returned to the campsite to calm down, but now she was back to normal. Or at least on her way. “I’m sorry I left your flask. I’ll get it when I go back for my sketchpad.”

“I’m glad you’re doing better and you’ve got some color back in your face. But don’t worry about the flask or your pad. Those things are replaceable. A good friend isn’t.”

“Thanks, Nina.”

“You applied antiseptic to those scratches, right?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Pff. If I was your mom, you’d already be sitting at home in a nice hot bath with the biggest glass of wine I could find. Do you think we should pull up camp and head back to civilization?”

Chloe hugged the blanket around her. “No, it’s too late, and besides, I don’t like the idea of navigating those roads in the dark.”

“But if there’s a grizzly bear on the rampage…”

“I don’t think he’s on a rampage. I think it’s more likely that I startled him. I shouldn’t have run. I should’ve just backed away quietly, but I lost my head and blew it. Still, you moved the food away from the tents, right?”

“As ordered. It’s hanging from that tree in a backpack.”

“Good. But I think we’d better finish off those brownies before we hit the sack.”

“I’m way ahead of you.” Nina tossed her a foil-wrapped package containing two of the brownies. “I guess you really are feeling better if you’re thinking about chocolate.”

“I’m always thinking about chocolate.” Although Chloe was getting back to normal, she still couldn’t shake the way the bear had reacted. The way he’d stroked her, almost as though he was trying to calm her, just didn’t make any sense. Who’d ever heard of a bear comforting
a human?

“I can’t figure out what a grizzly is doing in these parts. They’re not native to the area.”

“Maybe he escaped from a traveling circus.”

“A circus?” Chloe scoffed, but couldn’t argue the fact since she didn’t have a better explanation for why a bear normally found in the upper northwestern states had somehow ended up in North Carolina.

“Look, Chloe, I don’t mean to upset you or anything, but do you think maybe it wasn’t really a bear? Maybe it was a big dog or something. Maybe you drank too much crazy juice from the flask. I warned you that it was strong.”

Chloe shook her head. “No. This was real. Not some alcohol-induced hallucination. I know what I saw.”

“Hey, relax. I’m not saying you didn’t see something. I’m just questioning
why
you saw what you saw.” Nina poked the fire, then waved away the smoke. “Okay, so let me make sure I have this right. You went to the stream and found—wait for it—a naked man fishing with his bare hands.”

“That’s right. And not just any man. He was an Adonis.” Chloe pictured his Herculean body and felt her heart speed up. She’d had no choice but to try to capture the strength of his thick arms and legs, not to mention the broad expanse of his chest that had narrowed to a sculpted waist. Her stomach had tightened with excitement in much the same way as when she’d viewed the creations of Michelangelo’s
David
and the beauty of the
Venus de Milo
.

“And then you saw him change from a man into a bear? Am I getting this right?”

Chloe ignored the skepticism lacing Nina’s tone. Could she blame her for being skeptical? Would she have believed her friend if she’d told the same story? But she’d seen him change into the bear. Or had she? She frowned, no longer as sure as she’d been earlier. Could she have had too much to drink? After all, she wasn’t much of a drinker, and she’d had more than she normally consumed and at a much faster pace. But was it enough to make her see things?

“And the bear chased you, but it didn’t hurt you once it caught up with you?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” Chloe scowled at her friend, but in reality, she was more irritated with her own lack of conviction than with her friend’s questions.

Nina didn’t back down, even at the harshness of Chloe’s tone. “Well, then I think you got off easy. A bear has you down on the ground and doesn’t touch you? Wow. Talk about getting lucky.”

But he had touched her. She just hadn’t told Nina that part. She didn’t know why, but she couldn’t. Chloe stared into the fire. He’d touched her, all right. With his paw and his nose. She’d felt the strength in his stroke and had known he could kill her with one blow. But why couldn’t she shake the idea that he’d comforted her?

“Hi.”

Chloe jumped at the sound of a male voice and heard Nina utter a yelp before grabbing a nearby stick. Standing at the edge of the clearing stood a man, a big grin covering his face, and her sketchpad, pencils and flask in his hands. The threatening rumble of a thunderstorm overhead added to her already jangled nerves.

“Are these yours?” He took a step forward, then stopped as though waiting for an invitation to join them. “I found them by the stream.”

Nina held the stick in the air, ready to strike. “Is this him?” Her whisper, however, wasn’t as quiet as it should have been if the man’s widening smile was any indication.

“No.”

“Oh, good.”

Chloe glanced at her friend. “My guy—”
My guy?
“The guy in the stream was a lot bigger.”

“Hey, I’m bigger than I look. Besides, height doesn’t matter.” His grin took up most of his face as his gaze locked onto Nina. “Size does.”

“Ooh, he’s yummy.”

“Nina, he could be the ax murderer you were talking about.” Leave it to her free-loving friend to overlook his sudden appearance from out of nowhere.

“I don’t think so. And remember which one of us is the better judge of character. Especially of male character.” Nina tossed her hair, a sure sign that she was attracted to the man.

“Okay, then, drop the stick. I don’t think he’s going to play fetch.” Chloe approached him, careful to stay alert. He didn’t look like he wanted to hurt them, but who knew?

“I’ll play fetch if you want me to.”

He glanced at Chloe, but again his gaze slid back to Nina who blushed and giggled.

Oh, hell, she giggled.
Nina’s silly laugh meant she was ready to flirt. Nina let the stick drop to the ground and returned his attention megawatt for megawatt. Chloe mumbled a warning, although she knew her sexually uninhibited friend wouldn’t listen. Once Nina set her sights on a man, she didn’t let go. Still, maybe if she got him away from their camp fast enough, she could keep Nina from jumping his bones.

“Where did you find that?” Chloe pointed to her sketchpad and reached out her hand.

He came closer, but she didn’t sense any danger. Instead, he seemed genuinely smitten with her friend and couldn’t keep his eyes off her. “I found everything down by the water sitting on a rock. Are they yours?”

“Yes.” He still hadn’t given her the pad so she leaned forward and tugged it out of his hand. She scanned through the pages and searched for the drawing she’d done by the stream, but the drawing had been ripped out of the book.

He continued to smile at Nina, oblivious to Chloe’s gasp of dismay. “I’m Billy Tyler.”

Nina was by Chloe’s side in an instant, his introduction the only incentive she’d needed. “Hi. I’m Nina Winters.”

Chloe waited for her friend to introduce her, too, but Nina and Billy didn’t seem to remember she existed. Unable to stand the way they looked at each other as though they couldn’t wait to touch, she took Billy’s hand and pumped it, hoping to break their connection and using the gesture to take the pencils and flask back. “I’m Chloe Long. Thanks for returning my stuff. But where’s the drawing I made? Did you tear it out?”

Instead of answering, however, he kept his focus on Nina. “Do you think I could sit down? With you?” He inclined his head toward the fire, offered his hand to Nina, then led her to take a seat on the log.

Feeling like the third wheel with Nina on the prowl was not an unusual situation for Chloe, but that didn’t mean she liked it any better. Circling the fire pit, she watched the two cuddle together as though they’d known each other for a lifetime.

What had just happened? A stranger shows up and Nina goes all gaga for him? Sure, it wasn’t the first time, but meeting a man in the forest? Leave it to Nina to make such an unlikely event happen. Still, their attraction had gone ballistic so fast. Was everything out of whack today or was she still inebriated and hallucinating again?
Again?

An hour later Chloe’s third-wheel status was still intact. She’d listened to the couple talk about everything from nature to the possibility of life on Mars and had reached her limit. Excusing herself, she slipped into her tent and turned out the lantern.

Lying in the dark, she listened to the murmur of their voices. The attraction between them was undeniable. What had her grandmother once called it? Love at first sight? Until now, however, she wouldn’t have believed it could happen. Knowing Nina, it was probably more like lust at first glance, but who was she to judge? God knew she didn’t have the best track record with men. And Nina, well, Nina was another story. Her love life was simple and easy. And never had the rotten endings Chloe’s did. Maybe she should follow Nina’s lead from now on.

Cushioning her head with her arm, she turned on her side and watched their silhouettes as they moved into Nina’s tent and sat on her sleeping bag. An arm reached out to touch the other shadow and she imagined Billy brushing a lock of hair away from Nina’s face. Billy leaned forward, joining their shapes, and she heard Nina gasp.

Oh, man. If only…
Chloe couldn’t begrudge her friend a night of pleasure. Just because her love life was nonexistent didn’t mean Nina couldn’t have a one-night stand. And Chloe would stay awake and watch, not to play voyeur, but to keep her friend safe.

Yeah, right. That’s why.

An ache of pure longing ripped through Chloe. How long had it been since Roger and she’d had sex? Of course now she understood why. All those nights he’d had to work late, all the times he’d claimed he’d been tired, he’d been cheating on her. If not with Jilly, then with someone else.

Nina’s happy laughter floated on the air as she stripped, the shadows showing her clothing being tossed to the tent floor. Billy’s silhouette did the same and soon the two bodies converged into one again.

Sighing, Chloe turned away from the sight. Nonetheless, she couldn’t block out the sounds they made. She gave up the pretense of trying to ignore what was happening in the next tent and turned over to watch.

Nina’s giggles turned to moans and sighs, her shadow flat on her back with Billy’s dark form extending their length. Chloe listened to the sounds he made as he pleasured Nina and watched as Nina twisted in ecstasy, her shadow curving as she arched her back to rise and reach for Billy. The two shadows ebbed and flowed together, their breathing growing heavy, their panting accompanying the music of the forest.

Suddenly the light went out in the other tent, and the show was now with sound effects only. Still, the churning ball of energy in Chloe’s stomach grew larger, sending out tendrils of desire to spread to her core. Her breathing quickened, her heart raced as her hands found the tender, aching parts of her body. She ran her hands over her skin, stopping at one curve, then skimming around another.

How many times had she wished for a night of sexual play under the stars? How many times had she dreamed of a man who would take her while the sounds of the wilderness cocooned them? For years, she’d yearned for a man who was at home in the mountains just like the man at the stream.

Sighing, Chloe let her mind wander back to him. Had she imagined him as well as the bear? After all, how could any normal man look like him? Could any man do what he’d done? Or had she just imagined an amazing piece of art-turned-human?

She remembered his hard form, the way his body moved, so free, so confident. The rush of heat filled her again, stoking her imagination as well as the warmth between her legs.

What would have happened if she’d made her presence known to him earlier? Would he have come to her? Would he have transformed? Would the man have offered himself to her as Billy now gave himself to Nina? And if he hadn’t, could she have grown brave enough to go to him, casting off the restrictions of civilization and her own inhibitions? She sighed, letting her mind’s eye recreate their meeting. Starting from the moment he’d turned her way, she could see the man raise his head and look at her.