Page 10 of Wolf's Keep

A very solid, corporeal ghost.

She swallowed hard, blackness darkening the edge of her vision. She squeezed her eyes closed, opened them again, and her vision cleared. The hard reality of his body, muscled, strong and pressed against her remained.

Extending her index finger, she poked his chest. Firm muscle covered bone, resisting pressure. Fingers shaking, she reached up to his face, brushing her fingers through his beard, touching his cheek. His skin was warm against her palm. With a soft moan, he leaned into her hand. She met his hooded gaze, snatching her hand away as though burned.

Not a ghost. A living, breathing man.

Not good. In fact, very,verybad.

She struggled against his hold, her heart pounding a thousand beats per minute. She had to get free, but his arms didn’t budge one iota. Bigger, stronger, he held her fast.Who the hell is this guy?Right now, an exhibitionist ghost would be preferable to any other alternative.

“Let me go.”

She meant it as a command, but it came out all breathy and husky. His gaze dipped to her lips, held there, and her breath stalled. So focused on his face, on his mouth only inches from hers, he took her by surprise, plucking the forgotten gold disc from her nerveless fingers, holding it up in front of her face. He spoke foreign words, their meaning dancing beyond her understanding.Old French? Maybe.His voice was a deep rumble, smooth with a hint of steel in it, but the words tumbling from his mouth had a gentle, lyrical quality to them, like whisperings of sweet nothings in her ears. Hell, she nearly swooned.

She renewed her efforts to free herself, but he only held her tighter. Whoever this man was, whatever his intentions were, she had to get away from him. And she had to get that disc back. She couldn’t let him take something so crucial from the site. She hadn’t even photographed it. Too curious, she’d focused on the inscription rather than following protocol.

Shit.

“Give that back to me. You can’t take it.” She made a grab for it, but he moved it beyond her reach. “It’s an artifact. It belongs in a museum.”

God, who am I? Indiana Jones?

He snarled at her, a vicious sound, more beast than human, and she stopped reaching for it, her hand frozen in mid-air. Did she really want to risk her life for an artifact?

Hell no.

“Let me go or I’ll scream. You won’t want to be here when the security guards come running.”

His eyes narrowed, but he made no move to relax his hold.

“Where. Did. You. Get. This?” This time he spoke in Latin, the authority in his voice sending a shiver up her spine, his eyes glinting in the moonlight.Latin now?Oh, her history loving brain found that really impressive. It also sounded a warning.

“Answer my question and I might consider releasing you.”

Would he though? She could only hope. “I found it. It’s part of my job,” she said, using a garbled mix of Old French, Latin and English. She stared at him, her breath coming in short, sharp pants. “This is crazy. This can’t be happening.”

He shook his head, frowning at her words. “You are on my land, far from the village and alone. At night. Dressed to seduce a man. Do not tell me this is not what you planned.” He growled again, tightening his grip, crushing her against his naked body and lowering his head. “I am more than amenable to your charms.”

Dressed to…? She wasn’t… The brush of his lips against hers startled her out of her confusion.

Oh, hell no.

Raising her knee, she slammed it into his groin.

“Merde!” He released her, doubling over.

Dragging in a gulp of much needed oxygen, Erin turned on her heel and ran. She’d no clue what strange twilight reality she’d stumbled into and right now she didn’t care. The disc be damned. She had to escape him before her wobbly legs gave out and the darkness clawing at her mind claimed her. And before she did something really, really stupid—like let him kiss her. Shesoshould have gone on that date with Greg.

Recovering faster than she expected, he lunged for her, his hand grasping her wrist and dragging her back against his body. She screamed, her head thumping against his chest, but he didn’t release his grip. The thudding in her head intensified and her vision blurred.

“No, no, no, no, no,” she whimpered, her words slurring as blackness claimed her.

He caught her as she fell. Nausea roiling in his gut, Gaharet scooped her up, clenching his jaw against the painful throbbing in his injured groin. Laying her gently on the ground next to his clothing, he dressed quickly. She had caught him off guard in more ways than one.

He groaned, adjusting himself in his breeches. It had taken everything he had to remain standing after the blow from her knee.Merde!Thank the Lord for his werewolf blood. He was already healing, but the white, hot burst of pain as her knee had connected, he never wanted a repeat of. Slender and unarmed as she appeared to be, he would not be underestimating her again.

He gathered her in his arms, gritting his teeth, and made his way back to his keep. He should not have attempted to kiss her. Held within his arms, her body arching against him, and her lips parted in invitation, temptation had overwhelmed his good sense. Did she have any idea how she affected him? Her nipples puckered, pressing against thin fabric, her curves accentuated by fitted cloth. His naked body had reveled in all her softness pressed against him.

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