Stranded with a Cajun Werewolf (9 page)

She moved to his chin, kissing and nipping every inch she could reach. He tipped his head back. Breathing hard, he moaned her name. In all her life, she’d never heard a more delicious, more needy sound. Legs tangled, toes curling, she nuzzled his cheek, feeling the evidence of his five o’clock shadow.

If the taunt muscles beneath her palms didn’t prove it, the gentle stubble against her cheek proved he was all man. Warm, solid man. With a hard cock.

“Kendall…”

“Yes?” she whispered against his skin.

Why didn’t he touch her?

His hands clamped over her ribcage and lifted her away from him, saving her from the fire in her shoulder that the exertion would have surely caused.

“Burke?” She frowned down at him, hating the chill that was quickly chasing away the heat they’d shared. After growing up feeling like an Amazon woman, she loved how small and light he made her feel. It was nice that he didn’t seem to notice what a freak she was. He looked at her like she was normal. Just a woman.

His nostrils flared slightly as he stood. She couldn’t stop the pang of rejection that hit her heart like a dart. The life giving muscle squeezed and her lungs constricted. It was on her lips to ask him what she’d done wrong but at the last second decided she’d rather not know.

She felt shaky. And emotional.

Burke was both relieved and bereft when Kendall stood. Why the hell had he pulled her to him? He let his gaze rake over her half dressed form and kissable lips.

That
was why.

He was letting himself be sucked in and seduced by a woman who had no idea how alluring she was. And no idea
what
he was.

He raked his fingers through his hair, avoiding the pleading look in her beautiful eyes.

If he met her gaze he knew he’d cave and sweep her back into his arms. Settle her on his lap.

And kiss them both back into oblivion…and beyond.

As if sensing his inner battle, she took a step back. “I’ll go see about breakfast.” She retrieved the blanket and moved around the coffee table toward the kitchen.

Torn between wanting her to give him space and wanting to pull her back, he shoved his hands in his pockets.

Damn, that couch wasn’t fit to sleep on. His shoulder popped, but he ignored it, instead reminding himself all the reasons he was here. And those reasons did not include a beautiful woman like Kendall. No matter how his protective instincts tried to tell him otherwise.

She could cause pain far worse than a soft couch.

Besides she had plenty of problems of her own to deal with without having to worry about a horny werewolf.

The morning light lit his way to the adjoining kitchen.

“What are you thinking about so hard? Is breakfast that difficult of a decision?” Kendall asked from across the island, her voice soft and teasing.

“Nothing important,” he lied.

She put a pot on the stove and then padded into the pantry, a corner of the blanket dragging behind her. Not for the first time he was struck by her sweetness, and the innocent way she carried herself.

Needing to keep a certain amount of distance between them, he took the oatmeal and brown sugar from her hands. “I’ll do that. Go sit down and stay warm.” Watching him work, she took her seat on the stool.

“Your home has the most incredible view I’ve ever seen,” she said. “I don’t think I’d ever get tired of waking up to that every morning.” He spared her a glance as he waited for water to fill the measuring cup. She’d rested her chin in the palm of her hand and sat staring out the windows.

He’d bought this place as a sanctuary, a place for him to come and spend time away from everything and everyone else.

“I thought it made a nice getaway,” he agreed.

“I bet your family loves it here.”

“I think they will.”

In the back of his mind he’d known this would be a great vacation home for the pack. It was spacious. Packed with all the modern conveniences a large family could want.

Only, he’d miscalculated how large.

The four women in Deveraux pack were unexpected, but blessings nonetheless.

“Think?”

“They’ve never been here before.”

She nodded but didn’t say anything else.

Later, Kendall relished the last bite of her oatmeal. He was getting better at making the creamy concoction. And this morning he’d made her a double portion. Surely, oats and brown sugar had never tasted so good. Burke raised an eyebrow at her little moan of happiness.

“What? It’s good. How do you think I stay so sweet?” she asked innocently.

He shook his head. “Nothing.” Then he reached for the phone, clicked a button and held it to his ear. “Phone’s still out.”

“Waiting for an important call? Girlfriend or winning lotto numbers?” She grinned.

He regarded her for a moment and once again, she felt naked under his gaze. He seemed to take in all of her at once, from head to toe, as if he were searching for secrets. Or deception. “Just need to touch base with my family.” He really did have the most gorgeous accent.

“It must be nice to be missed. To be so close,” she voiced the idea that had been running through her brain all morning. She longed for a closeness like that. For a caring family unit.

“Sometimes we’re too close.”

She laughed. He was nothing if not honest.

“They want me to find a wife,” he explained. “And be as blissfully happy as they are.”

“But you’re not ready.”

He shrugged.

“You live better than any bachelor I know,” she said, glancing around the elegantly modern dining area. “I would say it’s missing a woman’s touch, but this place isn’t missing anything.”

As his gaze narrowed on her she feared she’d said too much, given too many of her feelings away.

“I just don’t think it’s the kind of thing a person should rush.”

“I’m sure your brother wanted to
rush
his wife to the altar, since they’d been apart for so long.” What must that be like? Knowing you’re in love with someone but being separated from them for years. She got a sour feeling in her stomach.

The corner of his handsome mouth lifted.

“Why not tell them that you met someone. That should buy you some time.” His brows drew together. “They wouldn’t believe it.”

“So, embellish. Make it believable.”

He thought for a moment and then chortled. His gaze met hers over top of their coffee mugs. “You don’t know my family. In order for it to be believable, I’d have to show up married.”

His words knocked the air right out of her lungs. She quickly focused on the mountains behind him and tried to calm her racing heartbeat. Why did the idea of him marrying someone else feel like a hot brand to her chest? Why did she want to get up and pace the room? She had no claim on him. No…this wasn’t happening. Couldn’t happen. He was human.

She wasn’t.

But without her powers…she wasn’t
were
either.

“What about you? Would Carl back off if you got married? What would your father think?”

The idea of her getting married made her heart falter, then jump back to a rapid pace.

For a teeny moment she allowed herself to daydream. Wouldn’t it be blissful if Burke was offering?

She gulped her coffee, burning her tongue.

“I guess he’d have to. And my father wouldn’t be able to lord over me either. It would thwart Carl’s plan and buy me time I suppose.” And with enough time, she could figure out where to go and what to do with her life.

“Maybe after a while he would forget about the poker game and his plans to steal your inheritance,” Burke suggested.

“He’s welcome to my inheritance. I don’t want it. My father thinks I’m the prize that Carl really wants. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. I don’t want anything to do with any of them.” She realized her voice had raised an octave and she sounded shrill. Even to her own ears, she could hear her desperation.

But marriage was a crazy daydream. Just something to get her hopes up. Burke wasn’t offering marriage and the whole idea of saying “I’m married, you have to leave me alone now” seemed too good to be true.

“The funny thing is, my father is too stupid – too drunk – to see the writing on the wall.” Her heart squeezed for a moment. She’d grown up feeling like a second class citizen in her own household…had worked like one too. And yet, she still mourned the loss of the childhood she could have had and the fact that her father was too out of his mind to know he’d quite possibly signed his own death sentence.

“I have no doubt that as soon as Carl and I married my father would have some sort of fatal accident. Carl isn’t the type to wait around for what he wants.” Burke seemed to digest that. “Why didn’t you leave sooner?” he asked and then took a long swallow of his coffee.

“I only bought that car last month. I saved for a long time. No one in my family was going to help me. And my father didn’t believe in paying me for my work since I’m family.” She mocked the last three words. The pain and desperation of the last few years came storming back.

Burke reached across the table and covered her hand with his. The gesture was quietly reassuring.

She could read the question in his gaze…the one he wouldn’t ask.

“I didn’t steal it…but boy, I thought about doing just that. Every single day.” His smile was back and it made her heart pound in her chest.

“I did small odd jobs. Washing cars. Watering plants. But mostly I’d walk the parking lots and pick up any change I found on the ground.” For a time she’d had a crick in her neck from staring at the ground so long. She could have walked right by Burke and not even noticed him for the constant search for the next quarter.

Quarters were rare. People usually took the time to pick them up if they’d noticed the coin dropping to the ground. She’d lost count of how many pennies she’d found. A smile curved her lips when she thought of the evening she’d found a ten dollar bill winging its way toward a sewer grate. She hadn’t moved that fast before or since.

On the other hand, a man like Burke Deveraux was the sort that would stop you in your tracks and make you twist your neck around just so you could watch him walk away. If he’d been anywhere nearby that late August evening, she’d probably have let that ten dollar bill go right down into the sewer.

“You are one amazin’ woman, Kendall Carver.”

She warmed under his praise.

“Think so?”

“I know so.” He pushed away from the table. “I should go see about that tree.”

“Tree?” She frowned, trying to follow his train of thought.

“The one that killed your car?”

Oh. “Right.”

That tree.

“I’ll be back in a few hours.” He put the phone back in the cradle and headed for a door in the hallway. She watched as he shrugged into his coat and tried not to notice that the man had a butt to make women beg. He turned back to her, once again, that inquisitive gaze raking over her, giving her tingles. “You’ll be all right by yourself?” She gave the monstrous log home a quick once over. “I’ll manage,” she said.

But as she stood at the large picture window watching him stalk through the deep snow, lugging a giant chainsaw, she wondered if she really would manage. How would she ever leave him, this place and continue her life as if he’d never been a part of it?

Chapter Seven

Burke shook the snow out of his hair and slipped off his boots. Something smelled amazing. He dispensed with his outerwear and stepped into the kitchen. Warm light cast a dreamy glow over the beautiful blonde swaying back and forth in front of the stove.

Evidently she’d managed to get some laundry done because denim incased her long legs. Tight denim. And since her sweatshirt had been ruined, she’d found one of his sweaters.

It hung down, hiding her backside from his view. Her long hair was clipped loosely at the nape of her neck and he had the strongest urge to walk over and plant a kiss just below her right ear. Slip his arms around her waist and pull her back against him so he could soak up the feel of her lush body.

Had it really been forty-eight hours since she’d stormed into his life? She looked so natural there, standing in his kitchen in his clothes. Like she belonged in his home.

But then she turned toward him and her face lit up.

Wow. So this is what he’d been missing his whole life?

He strode slowly toward her, not trusting himself or the beast snapping its teeth for release. Shoving his hands into his pockets he offered her a smile. “Smells good.” He spied a steak on the grill and felt the burn of admiration that she’d overcome her aversion to meat long enough to fix him a hearty dinner.

“Have a seat. It’s almost ready.” She jerked her head toward the dining table where two place settings sat at opposite ends of the table.

Suddenly he felt sweaty and in need of sprucing before he sat down at that table. “Give me a minute to wash up.”

He returned five minutes later, refreshed, showered, and wearing sweat-free clothes.

By the slight grin on her face as she placed a plate in front of him, she caught the change in his attire. “Here you go.” Steak, potatoes and plenty of vegetables. He didn’t comment, but ate them, grateful to have something warm in his belly.

All day he’d tried to ignore the beautiful woman sitting across the table from him. More importantly, he tried to ignore the desire to pull her into his lap and kiss her until they were both breathless. He was lucky he hadn’t cut his hand off earlier since his thoughts had constantly wondered back to the cabin and the woman in his bed. The woman who’d fit against him so perfectly that morning. The woman who’d been so responsive last night.

But kissing her wouldn’t solve anything. It hadn’t solved anything. Not his desire. No, it only made him want her more. He had to stick to the rule. No humans. Ever.

A while later he brought up a topic he’d been thinking about off and on for most of the afternoon. “Glad I got the driveway plowed this afternoon. Might be able to get you to a doctor tomorrow.”

She wrinkled her nose. Damn she was cute. And sexy. A rare combination in his opinion. “I don’t need to see a doctor. I’m fine. Practically healed.”