Page 15 of The Scent of Seduction

Jaryn stepped back, and she instantly missed his heat. He led her a few feet away, and Nicole's eyes widened at the sight of a large blanket spread out in the grass beside the lake.

“What’s all this?”

“I wanted to make sure you were comfortable. There’s nothing worse than being all itchy from sitting in the grass.”

Jaryn’s forethought was endearing and sweet. She rose up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you.”

When she opened her eyes, it was to find Jaryn’s still closed and his nostrils flaring as he breathed deeply. Maybe she’d tempted the wolf too much, but his caring had deserved some type of reward.

Jaryn opened his eyes and Nicole gasped at the glowing silver orbs, nearly as bright as the one in the sky. When he rested his large palm against her cheek, she felt it tremble against her skin. She nuzzled the palm.

“Do you still want to watch?” he asked roughly.

She nodded.

“Then sit and make yourself comfortable.”

Nicole lowered herself to the blanket and lifted her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees. The denim was soft, but didn’t hold the same appeal against her skin as Jaryn’s touch.

Jaryn stepped back from the blanket. First, he toed off his sneakers, then removed his socks. She had a vague impression of strong masculine feet before they disappeared into the grass. Her eyes traveled up and her mouth went dry as he lifted his long-sleeved shirt over the top of his head, revealing a perfectly sculpted torso. She knew he was a physical guy, but she’d never heard him talk about working out. Were all those muscles a result of his wolf genetics? If so, sign her up, please. His hands came to rest at the waistband of his jeans. Nicole’s eyes couldn’t move away from the long fingers and the skin they slowly revealed. The button came undone; the zipper lowered, and she swallowed hard as she realized that Jaryn wore nothing beneath the denim. With a hard shove, the jeans fell, then he kicked them toward her.

Nicole caught the flying garment instinctively, but she didn’t blink as she got her first look at the man—her man—in all his glory. Broad shoulders tapered to a trim waist and lean hips. She followed the outer edge of his corded legs down to where they disappeared in the grass, then back up. The man even had attractive knees! Who has attractive knees, seriously? And when she finally got up enough courage to look at his groin, a small whimper of need escaped. Long and hard, his cock stood tall against his stomach.

Holy shit! I must have done something right in a previous life.

She licked her lips and heard Jaryn groan.

“I’d better do this now, before I end up on that blanket and have you beneath me, screaming in pleasure.”

And why do I think that’s a bad thing, again? Oh right, imminent chance of babies. Not ready for that, but oh God, if that weren’t the case, this Little Red Riding Hood would have a tasty wolf snack tonight.

“Jesus, Nicole. You gotta calm down for me, baby. You’re reading so hot right now, I’m about one second away from eating you alive.”

She closed her eyes. Maybe if she didn’t have all that delicious male flesh on display for her, it would cool things off between them. She felt something cold bump her hand.

Her eyes flew open to find not Jaryn, but a large white, black, and gray wolf with bright silver eyes staring at her. The cold bump had come from his black nose. She stared at the animal in silence. Her hand reached out, and the wolf dipped its head. Her fingers skimmed through the fur between his ears. It was soft, softer than she’d expected. The wolf took a step closer, and she moved to kneel on the blanket. Her hands buried themselves in his scruff, and she received a lick. Nicole laughed and wiped her cheek with her shoulder, only to get another kiss from the lupine.

“Stop that!” She looked into the familiar silver eyes. “That’s really you in there, isn’t it? Can you understand me? Do you know who I am?”

Jaryn lifted one of his paws and placed it against Nicole’s chest. “You want to go for a run?”

Jaryn’s ears perked up and his tail wagged high. Nicole smiled. “Go on. I’ll wait here for you.”

Jaryn looked out across the meadow, then back at her. She could see the desire in his eyes to go do whatever wolves do when they run, but it appeared he was reluctant to leave her side.

“It’s okay, Jaryn. I’ll be fine. There’s nobody around. I’ll probably just lay here and stargaze till you get back. The blanket is enough to keep me warm.”

With a short yip, Jaryn took off. It was amazing how quickly his four legs ate up the ground. It wasn’t long before she lost sight of Jaryn in the darkness. Nicole lay back on the blanket to do exactly as she’d told Jaryn she would. Wrapping the blanket around her, she stared into the night sky.

“So tell me about these barracks,” Shaun said.

Jaryn and Shaun spread out the satellite map across the table in the conference room of their office. It showed an aerial view of Adam's compound. They’d been able to pinpoint the location with Nicole’s directions and now had in front of them a bird’s eye view of Nicole’s former prison. It was funny to see it from this vantage point—it actually appeared to be a lovely estate. Large, green grassy areas, a majestic home, ponds and formal gardens—even the coach house was visible. What you couldn’t see was the resignation and hopelessness in the eyes of the individuals held captive in the buildings scattered around the picturesque landscape.

Nicole pointed to group of flat-roofed structures on the back of the property. “There are five barracks. I’m pretty sure they all have both video and motion security. I may be off in my approximation, but I think there are around ten to fifteen hostages housed in each building. There’s at least two guards assigned at all times.”

She pointed to the coach house. “When not on duty, the guards stay there. I don’t know what kind of rotation they keep or exactly how many there are in total. Adam, of course, lives in the main house, and there’s a permanent staff of ten tasked with cleaning, cooking and whatever else Adam demands of them. They’re all hostages.”

Jaryn pointed to an octagonal structure on the north side of the main house. “What’s this?”

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