Amber Eyes (Amber Eyes #1)(15)

“She reminds me of her. Her hair and eyes. Her seeming need for solitude.”

Jericho rolled his eyes, but he could see why Hunter had said it.

“We’re going to have to be patient. I don’t know what it is about her, Jericho, but…”He trailed off as he touched her hair.

“How long?”Jericho asked. “What are we talking about here? A fling? Sex? Something more? We take off to parts unknown for weeks at a time.”

Hunter frowned as he stared down at Kaya’s sleeping form. “I don’t know. Why do we have to have an answer now? Today? We’ll take it as it comes.”

Then he looked up at Jericho, his eyes burning with quiet intensity. “She needs us. That’s what I know today.”

“And maybe we need her,”Jericho returned.

Chapter Nine

Kaya awoke, her skin crawling with the edgy need to shift. The room was bathed in the pale shadows of dawn, and the fire had reduced to a scattering of barely glowing embers. And yet she was engulfed in warmth.

She was still draped across Hunter’s lap, only during the course of the night she’d turned to face him and edged upward until her cheek rested against his chest, her head tucked securely under his chin.

Both his arms were wrapped around her, his left hand cradling her hip. The reassuring rise and fall of his chest against her face soothed some of the restlessness, but still, the cougar rose.

She needed to go so the cat could run.

Regretfully, she pushed herself up only to be caught in two hands. She looked up to see Hunter staring back at her, his eyes unclouded by sleep. How long had he lain awake holding her?

“I must go,”she said.

His grip tightened until his fingers pressed into the skin above her elbows. “Why, Kaya? Where are you going? What waits for you out there?”

She placed her palms on his hard chest, enjoying the muscular planes, the dips and curves, the subtle ridges.

“I will come back. Please do not worry for me.”

He shook his head. “No. I won’t allow it this time.”

She understood his reluctance, even if his arrogance ruffled her independent spirit. Never had she answered to anyone. It was as foreign to her as having a home.

“Hunter, I have to go. I don’t have a choice. Will you please trust me?”She looked beseechingly at him. “I’ll return tonight, before it falls dark.”

“Are you in some kind of trouble?”he demanded. “Is someone hurting you in some way? Are you threatened? Jericho and I can help you.”

She smiled and slid her hand up to cup his jaw. “Will you trust me? Please? I swear to you on my honor that I will return.”

He sighed deeply. His green eyes were rife with indecision. With reluctance. “I don’t want you to leave, but if you must…if you must go, I’ll understand.”

Her heart lightened with relief. “Thank you.”

“But,”he said, holding up a finger, “you’ll go out dressed and warm this time.”

“But—”

She broke off at the fierceness in his eyes. It wasn’t as if she could explain why she’d rather leave the clothes behind. She’d just have to get out of sight of the cabin and undress before she shifted. She could stow the clothing and return to the spot tonight to put it back on.

“No buts,”he countered. “And you’re going to put some damn boots on. They’ll be way too big but if we put enough pairs of socks on you, they’ll do, and they’ll keep you warm.”

“Okay,”she agreed. The resolve she saw in his face told her in no uncertain terms that she’d never get out of the door unless she capitulated.

“And you’re going to eat a decent meal too,”he muttered.

She leaned forward and brushed her lips across his in a brief kiss. When she would have pulled away, he palmed the back of her head and held her so that his mouth could meet hers again.

Pleasure exploded in her brain. Bright and mindless. She could only follow her instincts, because every thought left her. His tongue feathered lightly over her bottom lip, and she opened her mouth. He took immediate advantage and slid inside, tasting her, leaving his taste on her tongue.

Firm and spicy, warm and so delicious. Male. He tasted wholly male, rugged and woodsy.

She broke away, gasping for air, struggling to clear her clouded senseless. He looked similarly affected, and that gave her sweet satisfaction.

“Did you like kissing me?”she asked.

He appeared surprised by her question, but his eyes darkened, his pupils dilating until only a thin ring of green surrounded the black orbs. “I like it too damn much,”he growled.

“I like kissing you too,”she said shyly. “Does this mean you don’t dislike me so much?”

He touched her face, sliding his palm over her cheek. Then he smiled, and she watched in wonder as it transformed his entire face. She raised trembling fingers to trace the curve of his mouth.

“I’ve never seen you smile.”

The thump of feet startled her into dropping her hand. She stared beyond the couch to Jericho’s bedroom to see him walk out in his shorts. Her gaze fastened on his broad chest, to the light covering of hair along the upper portion and the thin line leading down to his navel.

He stared back at her, his eyes flashing when he saw her perched on Hunter’s lap.