Awakened By The Wolf. Kristal Hollis

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СКАЧАТЬ grip that would leave marks on her porcelain skin if she didn’t relax.

      “What I need is a good night’s sleep.” Brice watched her cute little toes curl in the shag of the small white rug in front of his dresser.

      The rug was definitely not his. Neither were the feminine touches on the dresser.

      A tightness squeezed Brice’s chest. His grandmother had been forced to take in a boarder because he wasn’t around to help out.

      “Are you drunk?” Condescension hardened the woman’s delicate features.

      “No. Why?” He flexed his foot. The pain stabbing his leg would scale his entire body if he didn’t lie down soon.

      “Because you’re in the wrong cabin and you’re naked.” Her voice thinned on the last word.

      “You’re only half-right. I am naked.” Although nudity was second nature to Wahyas, Brice pulled the rumpled bed covers over his lap. The tattered comforter’s hideous color scheme caused an unpleasant twitch to crinkle his nose.

      Whack!

      “What the hell was that for?” He rubbed the sore spot where the can of hair mousse smacked his head. “I covered up.”

      “This is a private residence. The resort’s rentals are down the road.” Her voice sounded tight and her words were clipped. “Now, get out, frat boy.”

      Boy? She thinks I’m a boy?

      “Wait—” He barely had time to block the candle she lobbed at his face. “Hey! Take it easy, lady.”

      She stood battle-ready, shoulders squared, feet spread apart, a hardcover book gripped in each hand.

      “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m Brice Walker, for chrissakes!”

      Okay, maybe his tone was a little too patronizing, but he didn’t deserve the wallop to the chest from the book she flung at him like a ninja star.

      “Freaking perv, get out.” The woman wasn’t simply frightened. She was downright mad.

      “I’m not—” he dodged the second book “—a pervert.”

      Projectiles of various sizes targeted him with the precision of heat-seeking missiles. Who knew a woman’s hair and beauty products did double duty as a weapons arsenal?

      He slid to the floor, using the bed as a shield. “I can explain.”

      “Not interested.”

      A wolf doll dressed in a tiny Maico High jersey bounced on the floor next to him. Either the woman had been an athlete in school or she had dated one. Since she looked too small and fragile to have played sports, Brice assumed the latter.

      “I’m not going anywhere,” he grumbled, holding the stuffed animal to his nose. After a few futile sniffs, he tossed the toy aside and peeked over the mattress.

      Her impromptu armament depleted, the woman’s gaze ricocheted around the room. “Just leave and I’ll forget you were here.”

      Guilt plagued Brice’s conscience. He knew from experience how helpless she felt being trapped. Tomorrow, after he and Granny talked, Brice would issue the frightened woman profuse apologies for what he was about to do.

      In the territory without permission, sleep-deprived and beyond exhaustion, he couldn’t risk anyone else discovering his presence. Tying her to the bed so he could get some sleep seemed like his best option.

      An unexpected thrill electrified his body, temporarily numbing Brice’s pain. Another time, another place, he would have had an entirely different motivation for tying her up. He almost smiled.

      “Easy, sweetheart.” He stood, hands lifted in mock surrender.

      “I am not your sweetheart.”

      For some illogical reason, Brice felt the distinct need to disagree. However, the critical way she assessed him down to his bare toes made him think that she found him lacking.

      Or not.

      Before he could cover himself again, she jerked the ugly comforter off the bed and stashed it behind her.

      “Like what you see?” He straightened to his full six-foot-four height.

      “Hardly.” She swept a mass of curls from her heart-shaped face. “What I’d like to see is your ass walking out the front door.”

      “Not going to happen.” Brice smirked. He liked that the woman had spunk in spades. “Look, darlin’. All I want is a good night’s sleep. Preferably with you next to me, all sweet and cuddly.”

      “Yeah, that’s not going to happen, either.” She stuffed her small feet into a pair of worn sneakers. Her gaze teetered between him and the bedroom door.

      His predatory senses sparked. “I wouldn’t try it if I were you.”

      “It’s a good thing you aren’t me.” Her chin tilted and one eyebrow arched as if upping his challenge. She snatched the lamp from the nightstand and yanked the plug from the outlet.

      If the little spitfire thought dousing the light gave her the advantage, she was oh-so-wrong. In milliseconds, Brice’s eyes adapted to the darkness.

      The lamp shattered near his unprotected feet. Shards of glass skittered across the wood floor. She dashed past him and he couldn’t intercept. Not without slicing his soles.

      Damn.

      The woman was smart. Cunning. Fast.

      And the chase was on.

       Chapter 2

      Adrenaline shot through Brice’s body like rocket fuel burning through his veins. His heart pounded to near rupture. Using the bed as a springboard, he leaped over the broken lamp pieces and landed solidly on his good leg.

      “You can’t outrun me.” Even with his handicap, in his wolf form Brice could outpace a human.

      “Watch me.” The lithe woman dodged him around the living room furniture.

      His mouth did not have permission to spread into a ridiculous smile. It did anyway. Growing broader and more outrageous by the second.

      She sprinted to the front door. He heard the lock click and the door swung open. He lunged to capture her. His chest slammed into her shoulder, forcing his breath out with a harsh oomph!

      Brice turned her during the tackle so that he took the brunt of their fall. God, it was good to feel playful again. And she was the best kind of playmate. Soft and warm, with just the right amount of pluck.

      “Let. Me. Go.” She shoved him with more strength than he expected. He struggled to maintain his hold.

      “Take it easy,” he grunted. “I won’t hurt you.”

      She СКАЧАТЬ