Beauty Dates the Beast(17)

I broke away from the kiss. Had I totally lost my head? Sara was here and turning into a wolf, and Beau was going to scent her at any moment. I grasped at his arms, torn between the urge to leap into them again and the urge to fling him away from me. “Beau, how … what are you doing here?”

“Making sure that you’re safe,” he said, releasing my shoulders. Then he jerked me close to him again, his hands roaming over my body in a motion that I wasn’t sure was protective or possessive—but I liked it. His gaze met mine as he brushed his fingers against my cheek. “It’s a damn good thing, too. What were you thinking, confronting that creature?”

“What was I supposed to do?” I frowned at him.

“You and Sara should have run—”

I shook my head. “It would have chased us. This way I kept her safe.”

“While risking your own—”

I shoved at his shoulders, baring my teeth in fear and anger. “My sister, my responsibility. Not yours.”

“You could have been hurt,” he said in a softer voice. His eyes were smoky with desire, his body moving closer to my own. The look on his face could have melted butter. The press of his body against me told me Beau was really turned on by my protectiveness.

Flustered, I tried to change the subject. “Whatever that thing was, it smelled putrid. Like it was dead.”

“It was a shifter of some sort,” Beau murmured, stroking my crunchy hair. “But not like any I’ve ever seen.”

“What do you mean?”

He was silent. What, was he afraid to divulge top-secret shifter stuff? Like I gave a crap. I punched his arm. “Tell me.”

“Ow. Careful. You have silver on your hands.” He pulled his shoulder away slightly, but his hands didn’t leave my body.

“Sorry,” I said, pulling my hands away.

“You can keep them on me,” he said against my mouth, and then grinned. “Just keep them above the waist.”

Distracted at the thought, I tried to concentrate. “The shifter … what was it?”

“I don’t know,” he said, then released me. “I need to make a few calls.”

Just like that? I swallowed my disappointment when he went into my living room and picked up the landline. My life had no room for a sexy, protective were-cougar, as much as I might have wanted otherwise.

When he greeted the person on the other end of the line, I tiptoed through the silver water toward the pantry, where I’d last left Sara. It was silent.

I opened the door, caught a hint of tail and shredded clothing. “Stay in there,” I whispered to her. “I’ll clean up the water and get rid of Beau.”

She gave a small whine of response as I closed the door. I mopped up the water and poured it down the sink, then disposed of the broken glass that littered the room. Once that was done, I left the kitchen to pull Beau away from Sara’s hiding spot while she was vulnerable.

He stood in the middle of the hallway, still buck naked, and oh boy, his ass was nice. I’d already seen it once, but it was equally mesmerizing on the second viewing. I admired his body as he talked on my phone, mentally caressing the breadth of his shoulders and the slim V of his hips as he talked. Just a hint of hair dusting his chest, and none on his back. That was nice. His buttocks were fascinating. Small, firm, and taut. I badly wanted to feel the smoothness of that muscled backside and clasped my hands, not trusting them to not reach for that wonderful bronzed flesh.

He finished the call and began another. “Ramsey? It’s me. I need you to come meet me.”

As Beau gave Ramsey my address, I realized what had been bothering me about his appearance and rescue. He’d sure gotten here fast. I glanced back in the kitchen, thinking of Sara and frowning. Something wasn’t adding up.

On a hunch, I tiptoed toward the broken window and peeked outside. No sign of the Viper in my driveway, but his clothes were strewn across my front yard. Wherever he’d come from, he’d walked. And considering how fast he’d gotten here, he must have been very close nearby.

I turned away from the window, managing to stay remarkably calm. “How did you get to my house so fast?”

He put the phone back into the cradle. His gray eyes bored into mine, challenging. “I was outside.”

“Why were you outside? I broke up with you.”

“And I came here to talk to you about that,” Beau said. “Because I know the timing is all wrong, and I don’t care. I wanted to see you again, so I decided to come talk to you, and then I smelled that thing. The same thing that I smelled in the cab, Bathsheba. I didn’t tell you then, because I didn’t want to worry you, but something unnatural is stalking you. Something that’s stronger than any supe I’ve run across and that likes the taste of blood.”

“I see,” I said in a soft voice, trembling. “You saved us. Thank you.”

“You looked like you were handling things just fine.” He crossed his arms over his chest, which really emphasized his nakedness. “So are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“If I knew what it was, don’t you think I’d have taken care of it? Something is hunting you. Or Sara. Maybe both of you.”

I gave a tremulous laugh. “Maybe we should be asking if you have enemies.”

His expression remained grave, which made me shiver. The werewolves had Savannah because they wanted Sara. Maybe they wanted me as well? I knew that they couldn’t turn me into a wolf, but they didn’t know that.

A warm arm wrapped around my shoulder. I suddenly found my nose smooshed against Beau’s chest and he pulled me tight against him. “Come sit on the couch,” he said in a low, hypnotic voice. “I’ll go get Sara.”

My arms clamped around his waist and I pulled him against me. “She’s fine. She just needs a little time to recover and won’t appreciate us bothering her.” At his skeptical look, I laid my head on his shoulder. “Stay with me. Please.”

I was not above emotional manipulation to keep him away from my very wolfy sister.

“Don’t worry,” he said, keeping me pressed to his side as he steered us toward the couch. “Everything is going to be fine. Whatever it was is gone. I’ve called my clan in and they’re going to come help us.”

Us. Not “you.” As if we were joined at the hip already. It wouldn’t hurt to let him think we could still be together, and I huddled next to his naked body on the couch. My mind kept running through the events over and over, the growls, the horrible smell, fear for Sara, who must have been terrified, yet I couldn’t get to her as long as Beau was here and she was still a wolf… .

We sat on the couch for a long while. Beau stroked my hair and whispered small things to me, and I … liked it. There was something soothing about letting someone hold me and pet me as I fretted. Though I couldn’t tell Beau my problems, he knew I was upset and sought to make it better.

That was a new concept. Usually I was so busy holding the pieces together for Sara and me that I never got a chance to relax or let someone else shoulder the burden, even for a second.

It was an intoxicating feeling. It made me want things that I couldn’t have. I must have trembled again, for Beau pressed his lips to my tangled hair, hugging me closer. “I’m here, Bathsheba. You’re safe. I’ll take care of things.”

Strangely enough, that made me feel better. He couldn’t possibly help me, but knowing that he was willing to try somehow made all the difference in the world.

A few men soon showed up and let themselves into the house. I jerked upright at the sight of them, but Beau wasn’t tense next to me, so he knew them. After getting a good look at the strangers, I understood. They all looked much like Beau—tall, lean, dark-haired, and built. Same light-colored eyes, same bone structure. Obviously more members of the Russell clan.

Standing before them naked, Beau didn’t look the slightest bit awkward as they all began to talk as if I hadn’t been there.

“Humans, Beau?” One of the strangers gave me an incredulous look. Another sniffed his surroundings, nostrils flaring, as if this all disagreed with him.

“Miss Ward is my girlfriend.”

No, she’s not. She can’t be. Not if she’s smart.

Another spoke up. “Are you serious?”

The entire house grew deathly quiet, as if a massive insult had just been spoken. One of the men jabbed the other in the shoulder. “Boss,” he began, and I could practically smell the apology forthcoming.

Jeez. Supes really didn’t care for humans.

But Beau only gave them a lazy grin that made my heart stutter. “Serious,” was all he said, and pulled me behind him in a possessive gesture. “Now, where’s Ramsey?”

One of the clones gestured outside. “Getting his kit from the back of the truck.”

Beau grunted acknowledgment. “You bring your weapons?”