Page 16 of A Wolf's Treasure
“I’m so sorry,” she cried into his chest.
“I’m no’ sorry at all,” he told her. “How do ye feel?”
“I feel horrible,” she admitted. Her eyes found his face, and she touched his cheek. “I can’t believe you let me do that.”
“I can handle yer passion, lass.”
“That was more than just passion.”
“Aye, and I can handle that, tae. Whatever ye need, Bronaugh, I’m here for ye. Just dinna talk aboot leaving me. No’ ever again.” He tried his injured arm, and found he was able to move it. The bone was nearly knitted back together. Taking her face between his hands, he forced her to look at him. “I love ye, lass. More than my own life. And I will no’ be losing ye tae yer dark side. Do ye hear me? I will no’. If ye need someone tae take it out on, ye come find me. Anytime, day or night.” He smiled, trying to lighten the weight on her shoulders. “Wha’ male would no’ love his lass tae be so unable tae resist him she had tae sink her teeth into him?”
She laughed, and the light came back into his life. Leaning into him, she kissed him hard on the mouth. “I love you, Marc.”
“I love ye, my Bronaugh. More than my own life.” Wrapping her in his arms again, he released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and tucked her head back against his chest so she couldn’t see the worry in his eyes. “It will be alright, Bronaugh, lass. I swear it tae ye. Dinna fash yerself.”
Chapter 5
Ryanne shivered in the drizzly rain that managed to find a way through the thick canopy above her. It would’ve been much more comfortable to stay in the dry warmth of the Duncan’s Jeep, but she didn’t trust herself to stay there. Listening to him, being so close to him, she’d started to…feel things. Things she had no business feeling. That shifter was too distracting, and her obsession with him needed to stop.
She gave a derisive laugh as the cabin she’d been staying in came into view. It wasn’t hers. It belonged to the wolves. She’d found it weeks ago when she’d first seen Duncan and his friend in the forest. They’d been spying on Keelin’s house, and Ryanne had been doing the same. All of them watching Duana, thean olcprincess, search the house with her soul suckers.
Ryanne had come there to talk to Keelin, and her heart had stopped when she saw the princess had beat her there. Keelin was The Key. Keelin had to be protected. And she had no idea where she was now.
When she’d found the two shifters spying from the trees, it had taken Ryanne off guard. Not knowing what else to do, she’d run. But not before she’d caught the eyes of the one closest to her. Bright green eyes that had flashed with danger when he’d spotted her, only to settle into something else entirely. Something she couldn’t read.
And when she’d come across the cabin later that day, she knew it must belong to the wolves. It smelled like them, masculine and earthy, although the place felt cold and empty, like no one had been there for a while. Taking to the trees, she’d watched for them to return. And when, a few hours after nightfall, they hadn’t returned, Ryanne jumped down and went inside. It was the perfect little shelter for her while she tried to find out what happened to Keelin.
Ryanne opened the door and went inside, immediately shucking off her wet clothing and leaving them in a pile on the floor where they landed. Barefoot and naked, she loaded the small stove with wood and got a small fire going, letting the heat dry her. She had a wistful thought of the days when her people could run around naked as wood nymphs all the time, before the humans came in such droves with their strange beliefs that the nude form was something bad. Something to be ashamed of.
Pfft.
Her body was strong and sensual and capable of feeling love and loss and pain and hope. It was not something she was ashamed of, nor would it ever be.
Something scratched at the door. Expecting her late-night visitor, she hadn’t shut it tight, and sure enough, it was pushed open just wide enough to allow a fat, furry burglar inside. He stopped when he saw her standing there, his eyes wide and unblinking behind his mask until he realized who she was. Then he waddled over to the fire and sat beside her foot.
The little raccoon had also been staying at the cabin. Probably longer than Ryanne had. She brought him treats and shared the heat, and he allowed her to stay.
“Hello,” she told him with a smile.
He didn’t answer, sitting back on his haunches and holding his little hands out like he was warming them.
Ryanne walked over to the small kitchen and pulled out the bag of peanuts she’d found there the first night and brought them back over to the stove. She pulled one out and handed it to the raccoon, watching him with a smile as he deftly pulled it out of its shell and nibbled on it. She pulled one out for herself, tucked the bag under her arm to free her hands, and did the same.
She was glad he’d come back. She liked the company. It had been a long time since she’d had a friend.
As she shared her dinner of nuts, Ryanne used the peaceful lull of the early morning hours to revisit the reason she had travelled so far to come to this place. She had to face the truth. She was being way too careless. If she didn’t get a grip on herself, she would be discovered. And she wasn’t ready for anyone to know, yet. Allowing the shifter to see her was bad enough. Letting him get to know her was much too dangerous.
A stab of sorrow went through her when she thought of never seeing him again. But it had to be done. The chances that he knew the one she was seeking out here were slim, but one could never be too careful when it came to revenge on one’s father.
With a sigh, she set three more peanuts on the floor beside her new friend and put the rest back in the cabinet. Then she put some more wood on the fire and went over to the small bed. When the sun came up, she was going to make her way down to Keelin’s house and see if she could find anything that would give her a clue as to where she was, because it was now very apparent she wasn’t coming back.
Crawling beneath the sleeping bags, she said goodnight to the little bandit and tried to get some sleep.
In the darkness, bright, green eyes found her, and a Scottish brogue swore she would not be getting away so easily.
Ryanne breathed in his masculine, earthy scent and smiled in her sleep.
Chapter 6
