Well, it was out there now. No sense in pretending he hadn't said it.
Besides, he'd meant every single word. "You heard me."
Swallowing hard, she said, "Yes, but I think I may have misunderstood you."
He gave her a roguish grin. "You didn't misunderstand, Heather. It broke my heart when you ran away. That's why I followed you."
She cocked an eyebrow. He could see she didn't believe him in the slightest. "I think you just like to follow people. So you can practice your tracking skills or something. First, following Grace to my apartment, then me…"
He didn't want to talk about Grace. "Why did you run away?" he asked. "Why come all the way from China to Seattle to see that your best friend made it here safely, just to leave again a few hours after we arrive?"
"I think you know the answer to that."
"Because of what I am." It wasn't a question.
She looked away. Tossing the bones and the stick into the fire, she wiped her hands off on her pants. Her silence was telling.
That's what he'd been afraid of. But what he didn't understand was, why? She'd just proven that she wasn't disgusted by his shifter abilities, or frightened of him.
"Okay." He turned to face her, crossing his long legs in front of him.
Picking up her hand, he tucked it between both of his.
She hid behind her hair a bit, but didn't try to pull away.
He ducked his head and watched her face as he said, just to be sure, "Well, it's not because you're frightened of me."
She shook her head no.
He scooted a little closer, until his leg was touching her hip.
This time her back straightened, and she tried to take her hand back. But he wouldn't let her.
"If you're not frightened of me," He leaned in to smell her thick hair, his voice dropping to a husky rumble. "Then why are you fighting what's between us? Why did you run? Unless you wanted me to chase you."
"I had to," she admitted breathlessly.
Brushing her hair back away from the soft skin of her face and behind her shoulder, he nuzzled the side of her neck. "Why? Who are you, sunshine?" Mmmm. She smelled delicious. He dropped a light kiss on her neck, then ran his nose along the shell of her ear, nipping her earlobe. "Tell me."
Her hand tightened around his, and he lifted his other one to cup her cheek, gently turning her face towards his. He kissed her cheek, her jaw, the corner of her sweet mouth. "Because I can't get you out of my head ever since you opened your door to me."
"Brock," she breathed.
He didn't let her finish. He couldn't wait any longer, and he'd completely forgotten whatever the hell he'd been trying to ask her anyway. Gently, he pulled her head the rest of the way around and claimed her mouth with his. At the first touch of her soft lips, a low moan escaped him, echoed by one of her own as he began to move his mouth with more insistence over hers.
He bit her lower lip and she gasped, giving him access to the warm, velvety inside of her mouth. Thrusting his tongue inside, he tasted her, and his wolf growled within him. It wanted more of this female.
And he agreed wholeheartedly.
She twisted her body towards him, her free hand moving up over his shirt and across his hard chest to grip the top of his shoulder. He continued to ravage her mouth, kissing her until she was leaning into him of her own accord, her moans mixing with his, feeding his lust.
With a growl, he reached around and gripped her by the hips, lifting her with ease and pulling her over on top of him. She seated herself on his lap, one knee on either side of his hips, and his eyes nearly rolled back in his head as she sank down against his erection. The yoga pants she was wearing may as well have been nothing. They were no barrier at all. He could feel her heat, even through his cargo pants.
Placing her hands on his shoulders, she lifted herself up off of him. He growled with frustration, thinking she was leaving him, and gripped her full hips tighter. But then she slid down him again, rubbing herself against his hardness.
Reaching up, he slid his hands through her hair to hold her head still and pulled her mouth back to his as she rolled her hips against him. Her breath was coming in short gasps, and he started to shake, his wolf pacing, his muscles tensing. He fought to restrain himself, but he was losing the battle with every slide of her hips.
Holy fuck. He was about to come, and they still had their clothes on.
Desperately, he tore his mouth from hers and hugged her to him, trying to keep her still long enough for him to distract himself. Her heart pounded hard against his chest, and she moaned in disappointment.
"Sunshine," he gasped and then groaned as she wiggled against him. "Who was that man that sent us here?"
She stilled, her breasts heaving. "What?"
Pulling back to look at her, he pushed her hair out of her eyes. "That man. Who is he?"
Her expression gave nothing away as she stared at him. "Is that what this is all about?"
He frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"
With a sad smile, she pushed herself up off his lap and stood up. "Where are you going?" he asked, reaching for her.
She gave him a sarcastic smile. "I can't believe I was so stupid."
He remained on the ground, hoping she'd come back. When she didn't, he asked, "What are you talking about?"
She straightened her clothes and turned back around to face him. Her eyes were cold and hard as she said, "You don't have to play these games to seduce the information out of me. You could just ask."
Games? He couldn't believe she would think that. "I'm not playing games, Heather."
She narrowed her eyes at him and wrapped her arms around herself.
So, this was going to take some convincing. His wolf nearly howled out loud in anticipation. There was nothing it liked more than the hunt. Rising to his feet, he stalked her as she retreated, trying to keep some distance between them. He had to keep his head down so he wouldn't hit the top of the little cave.
Her back hit the wall behind her, and her eyes widened with every step he took as she watched him come closer and closer. She put out her hands to hold him off, but he ignored her meager attempt to keep him away.
Placing one hand on either side of her shoulders, he caged her in and lowered his head until his mouth was next to her ear. "Sunshine," he whispered. "You've got it all wrong." He nipped at her jaw. "I'm not distracting you with kisses to get information out of you." He pressed her into the wall, his body hardening again against her softness. "Your kisses are distracting me from my questions."
Capturing her lips with his, he kissed her hard before pulling away just long enough to tell her, "I was about to come in my pants, and was just trying to distract myself." He kissed the soft corner of her mouth and the tip of her nose. "I don't really
give a shit if you don't tell me anything at all, just as long as you keep kissing me."