Page 3 of Sanctuary

“He’s not my ride,” the man answered as he casually kept the gate closed with his foot.

“Then why are you here?” Gemma thought he had come with the sheriff. Who was this man? “You work for Lance?”

“No.” The man had crossed his arms over his massive chest, his eyes intently watching her.

There was something so intense about him, he actually reminded her of the wolves, which was odd. “Okay, I give.” She used her own foot to try to move his, but he wasn’t budging. “Who are you and what are you doing here? While you’re answering those questions, you can move your foot so I can get through the gate.”

“I’m Eric Jackson, and I’m an independent investigator here at the request of the Kentucky Wildlife Association,” the man replied without moving his foot. “You, Ms. Stone, are under investigation.”

******

Eric watched the emotions rush over her paling features. He almost felt sorry for her, but he had a job to do, and nothing would stop him from doing it. Not even a pretty face. His rush to keep her safe when he’d first arrived was unsettling. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t save a woman, or a man for that matter. No, it was the absolute horror of seeing her in danger. She was just a stranger, yet never had he had a reaction such as that.

“What?” He frowned so deeply in thought, he didn’t hear what she was saying, only saw her full lips moving.

“I said, under investigation for what?” she repeated, her voice even. Though she tried to sound strong, there was a shaky vibe to her tone indicating her nerves. “You know what, never mind that for now. I want to see your credentials.”

Thank God his phone rang at that moment. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at it. “Excuse me, I have to take this.”

Eric walked away toward his SUV before answering. “Yeah?”

“You there yet?” his brother Cole asked.

“Just got here.” Eric walked around the back of his SUV and opened the hatch. Pulling out his duffle bag, he searched for his fake credentials. “And thank Kile for making up these damn papers. You were right. She asked.”

Cole laughed loudly through the phone, making Eric roll his eyes. “When in the hell are you guys going to start figuring out I know my shit.” Cole finally calmed his laughing down. “You owe me fifty bucks.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Eric grabbed his fake ID as well as the papers Kile had made up for just this purpose. “You still owe me fifty so let’s call it even, asshole.”

Eric hung up in the middle of Cole telling him he was full of shit. Making sure he had everything, he shut the hatch of the SUV and started back toward the woman who watched him closely. He hoped to hell she didn’t call to check on his paperwork because, as smart as Kile was and the ease he could make anything fake look legit, the dumbass had used his real name. It was too late in the game now to change it.

As he made his way back toward her and the older man, Eric took a minute to look at her. His gaze traveled from her well-worn work boots, up her long, thick legs that could hold a man tight, and the overly large sweatshirt that couldn’t hide the lushness of her breasts. She was built, no doubt about that, just the way he liked women, but he had a job to do. He didn’t have time to wine and dine a beautiful woman, who by the looks of it, wanted to feed him to her wolves.

He handed her the fake paperwork and watched as she glanced over it, not just once, but three times. As she searched, her bottom lip slid between her teeth. His cock twitched at the innocent gesture, and he knew he needed to focus elsewhere and quick.

“If you need me to give you some blood, I’m willing.” He reverted to a smartass comment, not wanting her to look at his fake credentials too closely, and definitely not wanting to grab her in his arms so he could shove his tongue down her throat. Jesus, he was attracted to this woman who was definitely not dressed to impress and smelled strongly of the wolves she took care of.

“Got a knife?” she said, cocking her eyebrow as she still stared at his paperwork.

Eric chuckled, thinking she would fit in well with him and his brothers with her quick, smartass jabs. The thought of that happening made him frown. His brothers were rough around the edges and loved to embarrass the hell out of him. Then again, he did the same with them. But why in the hell was he thinking of her meeting his brothers? What the fuck was wrong with him?

Finally, she handed him back his paperwork, and he felt some relief. At least that was the case until she turned around, bent over to grab a bucket, and walked away. His eyes fixed on her ass. Immediately his cock strained against his jeans, and his own lip slipped between his teeth as he growled low in his chest.

“Are you coming?” She had stopped and was looking over her shoulder at him.

He gave a short nod as he followed her, thinking of her innocent question, but giving it a much dirtier meaning. Maybe he should have sent one of his brothers for this job. His mood turned dark at the thought of one of them being in close proximity to this woman, because he had no doubt their thoughts would be as dirty as his were where she was concerned, and that pissed him off with a rage he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Chapter 3

Gemma rushed to the trailer which was not only her office but housed all the food, etc. for her wolves. Her heart practically pounding out of her chest and not because she was running away from the man. No, it had been because when she had looked over her shoulder to see if he was following her, he had been staring at her ass. She couldn’t remember a time any man had really paid her or her ass any attention. At least not a man who looked like him. Holy smokes, she needed to get him the hell out of there, and fast. She didn’t have time for some good-looking piece of ass ruining all her plans. The wolves, the sanctuary, were her life and no man fit in with her life there. Lonely as it was at times, she couldn’t think of herself. She never had and with a second glance his way, she realized with him she could, and that terrified her.

She raced past the enclosures and knew the wolves could feel her agitation. They paced back and forth, a few even stopped and howled before they once again began to pace. Slowing as she passed Luna, the oldest wolf under her protection, Gemma reached in slowly and touched her head. Luna was special; she was also the she-wolf of the whole group. She and Gemma had a special bond, one Gemma felt the first day Luna had come to her, sick and brutally mistreated. Luna’s injuries had been so bad that Gemma hadn’t thought the old wolf would pull through; she’d spent many nights inside the enclosure nursing the elderly wolf to health.

“Hello, old one,” the man, who she’d forgotten for a second, said as he started to reach through the enclosure.

“I’d be careful,” Gemma warned. “She hates men.”

To her surprise, the man knelt in front of Luna, his hand resting on the enclosure as his fingers slowly wrapped around the wire. He leaned close to Luna, who watched him intently. Usually when men approached her enclosure, Luna would give a warning sneer with a deep growl, and as they drew closer, she’d grow more aggressive. With this man though, none of that happened, and they were pretty much face-to-face. Gemma was more impressed than she would ever admit. Who the hell was this man?

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