Drawing himself taller, he entered the dining room as Bella sat at the table watching him, her face showing her concern. A paper napkin she’d been toying with lay in shreds on the tabletop. She quickly released the tortured paper and placed her hands in her lap.

Trying to reassure her that he’d take care of her, he smiled. He glanced at Chrissie, whose focus had returned to his bare chest where his shirt still hung open.

Thompson said, “Night, Chrissie. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Grinning at him, she twisted a dark curl around her finger. “Sure thing. I’ll be waiting.”

Devlyn let Thompson out and then locked the door. Now, for Chrissie’s removal.

He stalked back into the kitchen. For a second, it didn’t register that Chrissie had already left. He looked inquisitively at Bella.

She rose from her seat. “She told me to say good night to you and slipped out the back door. She figured we had more getting acquainted to do, and she needed to get some beauty rest for her date tomorrow with Thompson.”

“Bella, listen,” Devlyn said, drawing close. He rested his hands on her shoulders and leaned down and kissed her cheek. “For your own protection, you have to leave here.”

Chapter Fourteen

Bella knew Devlyn well enough to recognize his intense, anxious posturing meant that he wanted to move her somewhere safe before he even spoke the words. She scowled at him. “You’re not going to hide me away while you search for the red killer and face Volan on your own. What kind of a mate would that make me?” In the worst way, she wanted to say that Volan was no longer a threat, that she knew Devlyn could handle the killer, but she squashed that notion right away.

She assumed Devlyn felt as hemmed in as she did. The closer it got to the moon’s reappearance, the more the wild-ness inside them screamed to be released. Just a run in their wolf coats would do the trick. Just a stretch through the wilderness would curb the urge to remain in wolf form for very long. She craved the wind in her fur, the smell of the pines, the damp earth, the crisp fresh water, the woodland animals — that further spawned the desire to hunt.

She took a steadying breath. Being together as wolf-mates for the first time would be a truly special experience they’d never forget.

“Devlyn, listen. I want to be there when you make the murdering red pay. I want to be part of the solution, to make a difference in our world.”

“Bella, we do it my way,” he said again. “You’ll stay with my cousin in Sacramento. It’s fairly close by and I’d feel a whole lot better if you were out of harm’s way there.”

Ignoring his words and hoping he wouldn’t realize she was not about to go along with his new scheme, she slipped his damp shirt off his broad shoulders. “Let’s dance to the music this time. Nice and slow.”

Running her fingers over his chest, she traced the muscles that relaxed under her ministrations. Already his fingers yanked at her turtleneck.

His actions warmed her. “Chrissie really likes Thompson, but she wanted to know what you’re taking that makes you such a sexy hunk.”

A smile tugged at the corners of Devlyn’s mouth.

“She said she’s seen more of you out of clothes than in them. Although we kind of blew her mind when we both came into the kitchen from the garage naked.”

“Did she ask why?”

“She gave us an out. Said that we were really smart to dump our wet clothes in the dryer like that and not track all that water into the house. Not to mention, it saved us the trip running back out there with the wet clothes after we changed into dry things. She talks a lot when she’s nervous.”

Devlyn chuckled.

Before Bella could touch his belt, Devlyn pulled away from her, and her heart sank. Instantly, she felt she’d failed in her mission. She had no intention of going along with Devlyn’s plan to sequester her away with one of his cousins she didn’t even know. Disappointed, she realized her charms weren’t as powerful as she’d hoped.

He strode across the floor to her stereo and perused the selection of CDs stacked in a three-foot-high wooden shelf. The music.

Instantly tickled, she worked on removing her belt.

“What did Thompson think about our awkward state of undress?” he asked over his shoulder.

“He was interested in Chrissie’s reaction, I’m sure. If she were agreeable, maybe he’d try some moves like that with her in her garage.”

Shaking his head, Devlyn flipped through some of the CDs. “Hope she doesn’t have a compact.”

“She does, and with Thompson’s big frame, they’d probably blow a couple of tires.”

Devlyn glanced back at her, a grin plastered on his face. “Bad Bella.”

“What?” She unbuttoned her jeans and slid the zipper down. Already the ache between her legs filled her with urgency. She glanced at the bulge in Devlyn’s jeans. Although she meant for them to take it slow and easy, already she wanted to rip his clothes off and get on with the sensual dance moves that would drive her to the edge of the abyss.

“Thompson was so busy trying to get an eyeful of you, he didn’t see the big bad wolf’s temper rise.”

“Nah, you shoved me through the doorway too quickly. Besides, he probably saw only one bare breast, if that.”

“Even that would be more than I’d be willing to let him see.”

She dropped her jeans on the carpet. “What did you boys talk about?”

“Thompson’s going to leave us out of the picture for the time being.”

Bella let out a sigh. “Thank God.”

“Yeah, but he still wants you to report the attempted rape.” Devlyn’s eyes darkened in anger, yet compassion showed in their depths. “You should have told me, Bella. You shouldn’t have had to face Volan alone. No wonder you ran away three times.”

“Six, but who’s counting?” She wasn’t sure why she mentioned it. Maybe to show how determined she truly had been.

He growled and then stuck a CD in the player and turned the music up. The instrumental songs were perfect for slow dancing, with a beat in between for some jazzier steps.

“I would have protected you.” He stalked toward her.

She shook her head. “You would have gotten yourself killed. Then where would I be today?”

Placing his hands on her cheeks, he tilted her face up to him. “I would have thought of something.”

Silver bullets? No, Devlyn was too honor bound to have stooped so low. Not like she’d done. She closed her eyes, trying to erase the image of Volan’s dead body out of her mind.

Devlyn kissed her lips.

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

“You were too young. So was I. Nobody had the strength to fight Volan. Argos somehow found the power that one time, but he couldn’t have done it on repeated occasions.”

“How many times did Volan try with you?” Devlyn asked, his words dark and incredulous. “I thought there had been only the one time.”

“Three. I knew he’d keep trying. The other times, pack members approached and he’d skulked off before they saw that he had attempted to rape me, afraid to show what a bastard he really was, I suspected. But I couldn’t stay. I’d always hoped you would be strong enough someday and that we could be together again. I felt terrible leaving you after you kissed me that day, terrified he’d killed you because of your kissing me. But unable to save you, either.”

She wanted to assure him that he couldn’t have helped her, nor could any of the pack members. That everything had turned out as well as could be expected under the circumstances. That he should have no regrets. But she also wanted him to know how badly she’d felt in leaving him behind to face the beast alone.

“You couldn’t have done anything for me, Bella.”

She touched his cheek, lightly covered in brown stubble. He was right of course. And had she interfered any further, it would have been worse for them both. She knew it in her heart, but she still couldn’t reconcile having left Devlyn behind to fight the monster.

“I ran, but I came back. I slipped into the village to learn that you were alive and our healers were taking care of you. Volan was searching for me, but I figured he’d never suspect I’d return to see if you’d made it all right.”

“I wish I’d known. I wish... well, but I understand how terrified you must have been... of him and what he would have done to you.”

She nodded, not wanting to relive the most horrible time of her young life. “Then I disappeared for good.”

“And you wrote to Argos.”

“As soon as I could. I wanted him to know I was all right. We agreed it was safer for you if you didn’t know.”

He growled again and then kissed her cheek. “He should have told me.”

They rocked slowly to the music, but she barely heard the tempo. His hands swept down her sides, heating her nerve endings. His gentle touch, not pressuring, heightened her anticipation of what would follow, stirring her faster than if he’d started quickly with stroking her already aching nub.

The music faded further into the distance. She concentrated on the feel of him, his rough fingers against her skin in whisper-soft caresses. The smell of his musky body mixed with the fragrance of sandalwood soap. The sound of his heavier breathing, as his heart beat rapidly against her fingertips, matched hers. She licked the hollow of his throat, tasting his slightly salty skin, eliciting a deep-throated groan from him.

Moving her hands lower, she fingered his belt buckle. He leaned down and fondled her breast with his mouth, not pushing for satisfaction quickly, instead increasing the sensitivity of her skin to his touch.

Taking it slowly was tantamount to getting her way in the scheme of things, but she didn’t believe she could handle his measured moves. Already she craved having him deep inside of her. Coupled together they were as one. No one could claim her then. She was his and he hers. Nothing else mattered.

She skimmed her fingernail down his zipper, stirring his rock-hard erection that was straining against the denim.