Page 35 of Relics of the Wolf

Duncan hesitated. “I prefer to keep my past to myself.”

“Your past? Or your heritage? It’s not like something that happened in your youth would give you more power, right?”

He shrugged and returned my gaze without looking away, but I could tell he didn’t want to go into more detail.

I lifted a hand and stepped back, not wanting to push him. I didn’t appreciate when people pried into my past, after all.

“Would you trust me more if I told you?” he asked softly.

“I guess if it was the truth and I could tell it was the truth.”

He snorted softly. “I don’t have a lie detector that I can hand you to hold on me.”

“What? All that equipment in your van and no lie detector? That’s disappointing.”

“The treasures I find don’t usually get mendacious with me.”

“No? Those rusty forks haven’t looked trustworthy.”

He laughed softly, then stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me. His grip was loose, and I could have stepped out of it if I wished, but I caught myself leaning into him and wanting him to reveal… whatever he would.

“I like it when you verbally fence with me,” Duncan said. “Usually, people with power are arrogant and stuck on themselves. You’re fun.”

“Thanks, but I’m a property manager who only gets by on what I’m paid because of the free rent. I’m the opposite of someone with power.”

“You know what I mean. The power of the wolf.” Duncan rested his face against the side of my head, his lips brushing the tip of my ear. Pleasure zipped along my nerves. “It has nothing to do with one’s station in the human world,” he continued, “though you could certainly use it to claim money and status and power there, if you wished. Most werewolves scorn everything human and prefer to be left alone, but history is full of those who used their lycanthropy to create minions and take land and wealth for themselves. You would never consider doing such. You want to win ethically and morally.”

“You know me that well, do you?”

“I’ve seen your envelopes.”

“And following a budget defines me?”

“Following the rules when you have the option not to does.”

It surprised me that he valued that. He’d come to Seattle to steal something from my apartment, after all. He didn’t seem that much of a rule follower himself.

I shifted my head to look him in the eyes. Only my wolf blood sharpening my vision allowed me to see his face in the deepening dark, the strong line of his jaw, the scar above his eyebrow, the way he gazed back at me with intensity, his arms tightening around me. His power seemed to envelop me as well, promising he would protect me and that I would enjoy being with him.

I opened my mouth to say that I might indeed trust him more if he told me about his past. But he must have assumed my parted lips meant I wanted to be kissed, for his mouth lowered, capturing mine.

I hesitated, conflicted on whether I wanted this. Oh, my body responded to him, nerves lighting up with longing, and I had to resist the urge to grip his shoulders and return the kiss—hard. But he was still a question mark, his intentions unknown. His past and his heritage were a mystery.

Despite all my reservations, the feel of his hard body and his power mingling with mine was appealing. Appealing and arousing. Before I’d made up my mind about the wisdom of the choice, I kissed him back, reveling in his touch and his interest. He found me more thanfun. We were close enough that I could tell that.

A howl came from the driveway.

That wasn’t one of my cousins. It sounded like Lorenzo, the white wolf saying this was pack territory and that this activity wasn’t welcome here, not with a stranger.

Duncan growled, not breaking our kiss, and he clasped my butt, keeping me close to him,moldedto him. Though my body sang with pleasure, I leaned back.

He released me slowly, with reluctance. A hint of that growl lingered in his voice when he shot a dark look toward the driveway and said, “I hadn’t imagined the family being so involved if I chose to date a mature woman almost as old as I am.”

“We’re not dating. We’re tracking bad guys.”

“Ah.” His gaze returned to me. “I was confused by your eager lip touching.”

“And your hand on my ass?”

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