Page 10 of Her Convict Wolf

“No one could heal that fast.”

“Emory—”

I shiver. Every time he says my name, my eyes automatically lock onto his. It’s like he’s calling directly to my soul. Like there’s an irresistible force connecting us. And I love hearing my old name, my real name on his tongue. I haven’t heard it for such a long time.

Maxim’s voice is tense, and I sense he’s about to tell me something important.

“I’m a shapeshifter. You know what that is?”

“Tell me,” I murmur, wanting him to say the words. Some layers of memory are beginning to separate out. Moments from the past—where he seemed to have fur spilling from the cuffs of his suit. Where his canines seemed longer than a man’s should be.

“It means I have an animal, right here.” He lays a massive hand on his chest. “I’m half-man, half-wolf. Sometimes the man is in charge, but other times, the wolf takes over. It means I’m strong. Almost impossible to kill with a bullet. And I have enhanced senses. That’s how I found you here. I followed your scent.”

“You followed my scent?” I echo. “All that way?” I know it’s screwy that out of all the things he’s just told me, this is the thing I’m hanging onto.

He nods. “I’ll never leave you alone again, Emory.” His light-colored eyes blaze with intensity. With… yearning?

My breath shudders in my throat. “Why? What am I to you?”

“We’re connected. Don’t you feel it?”

I get that tingle again. Ido.

I study his features. Time has made his face more rugged. Now his face is no longer covered in dirt, I can see a bunch of smaller scars, too. But, to me, he’s even more handsome than before.

I feel like… I want to be held in his arms. Like I want those firm lips to press to my own. Like I want to feel him deep inside me.

But he’s Maxim. My childhood hero. I shouldn’t feel this way about him.

“I’m going to protect you,” he says. “Keep you safe.”

Protect me.Okay, that’s what he means. Just like he used to.

But he just broke out of jail.

“You came all this way.” I indicate his bright orange pants. “Wasn’t it dangerous?”

He shrugs. “It was nothing.”

“But won’t they come after you?”

He sighs. “They will. I was working undercover. I did a deal with the DA in exchange for my brother’s freedom. He’s in a shifter max-security prison.”

I blink, absorbing the information. Sounds like the Maxim I knew—generous, self-sacrificing.

He reaches for my hand, and I let him take it. Electricity seems to flow between us. I used to grab onto his hand when I was a kid, wrapping all my tiny fingers around one of his huge ones. But this is different. I imagine those huge, callused hands stripping off my clothes, running all over my bare body. Touching my breasts, my—

I’m so glad he can’t read my thoughts. Can’t tell that there’s a very inappropriate ache between my legs right now.

“You need to leave with me, now, Emory. There’s someplace I can take you, that no one knows about. You’ll be safe.”

Safe.That sounds like heaven. And if Maxim promises I’ll be safe, I believe him—

A stab of realization hits me in the gut. “Wait—you said your brotherisin prison?”

He nods.

“So, he won’t get out if you don’t hold up your end of the bargain?”

---