SEALed Embrace (3 page)

“I
need to go shower.”

He
glanced at Garren, but finally released the bag.

With
one final look at the men who had saved her life, she struggled with the bag,
trying to go down the hall to the bathroom. Sean took pity on her and gripped
the handle to carry it the rest of the way. He set it down on the toilet seat
lid and pulled out a towel and washcloth for her, not that she didn’t know
where everything was kept. Leaning in the doorway, he shoved his hands into his
pockets.

“You
aren’t really going to go with those guys, are you?”

“The
only place I want to go is back to my place.”

“Please
be reasonable, Isi. I’m trying to protect you.”

She
licked her lips. “At what expense, Sean? You know they’ll think there’s more
going on between us if I stay here. Our relationship has always worked because
they knew we weren’t more than friends.”

“I’ll
do whatever I must to keep you safe.”

“What
the hell is that supposed to mean?” she demanded.

Sean
shook his head and sighed. “Don’t worry about it right now. Just get cleaned up
and we can talk about it more later. I’ll send these guys on their way and
figure out something for us to have for dinner. I know you’re starving.”

Her
stomach chose that moment to rumble and she felt her cheeks heat. Honestly, she
only hoped she could stay standing long enough to shower. She wasn’t feeling
all that steady at the moment, but she was way too filthy to take a tub bath.
The lights over the large mirror left little to the imagination. She looked
like she’d been in a horror movie. Streaks of dirt tracked her face and arms; her
hair had dried, half of it plastered to her face and neck. Grimy didn’t even
begin to describe her PJs. They would probably need to be thrown out, not that
she really wanted to hang on to a reminder of what had happened to her.

After
Sean left, she turned the shower on, sighing in pleasure at the hot water that
rained down on her hand. It was just what she needed to ease her tense muscles.
It only took her a moment to strip out of her clothes and step under the spray.
She closed the shower door behind her and wet her washcloth. Lathering it
generously, she began scrubbing her skin until it glowed with health again.
Sean kept a bottle of mango shampoo just for her, for the few times she’d
crashed at his place after a late night of watching movies. She used a large
amount of it now to wash her hair, really digging in until the strands were
squeaky clean.

Even
though she was clean, she wasn’t ready to get out yet. It felt too damn good to
just stand under the spray, but she knew her legs wouldn’t hold her up much
longer. She tipped her face up for another moment before shutting off the
water. She staggered out the shower door and grabbed the towel Sean had left
for her. Wringing the water from her hair, she dried the thick mass as best she
could before running the towel over her body. She’d just barely wrapped it
around herself when her legs finally gave up the fight and she tumbled to the
ground, taking her bag with her. The loud
thump
brought booted footsteps down the hall at a near run.

Garren
flung the door open and scanned the room before settling those gorgeous green
eyes on her splayed form. She covered herself best as she could and pushed up
into a seated position before grabbing her head as the world spun. He entered
the room, crouched beside her, and with gentle hands, lifted her against his
chest.

“What
happened?” Sean asked, hovering in the doorway.

“Back
up and close the damn door,” Garren nearly growled.

Sean
wore a mutinous expression. “I’m not leaving her here with you. Not while she
isn’t dressed.”

“I
said get out!” Garren roared, and it was definitely a roar. There was little
doubt that he was some sort of cat. A tiger maybe? There had been a flash of
gold in his eyes for a moment, as if he were having trouble containing his
beast.

Sean
didn’t look pleased, but he backed away and closed the door. When she was alone
with Garren once more, she just stared at him, not knowing what to say or do.
Why had he reacted so swiftly when she’d fallen? For that matter, why had he
sent Sean away? It made more sense for her friend to help her than it did for this
brooding, silent man to come to her aid.

His
hands gently caressed her. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

She
shook her head, not sure if she trusted her voice just yet.

Garren
rose with her in his arms and she hoped her racing heart didn’t betray her. She
wanted to place her nose against the warm skin of his throat and breathe him
in, to nuzzle along his jaw and feel the rasp of his whiskers against her lips.
Her cat had never been interested in anyone before, but the beast wanted to
scent-mark Garren in the worst way. Just the thought of the women in town
getting their claws into this fine specimen of a man had her cat yowling in her
head.

He
settled her on the lid of the toilet and reached for her bag. He rummaged
around a bit and then pulled out two white lacy scraps of fabric. Her cheeks
flushed as he studied her thong and bra for so long that she thought the wisps
might burst into flame. His heated gaze met hers and he handed the garments to
her.

“Do
you need help?” he asked, his voice low and gravelly, his beast obviously close
to the surface.

She
dropped her gaze to the material in her hands. If she could stand, she could
dress herself. But that was the million-dollar question. Could she stand on her
own? It was one thing to have Garren help her take her clothes
off
but another to have him help her put
them on. Isi didn’t like feeling needy and wimpy.

Taking
the decision out of her hands, he lifted her to her feet and kept his hands
around her waist. When she looked up, his gaze was burning into her. If she’d
thought he was going to be a gentleman and look away, she just knew now that
she was going to be sadly disappointed. His nostrils flared and she knew he was
taking in her scent, had no doubt that he could smell her arousal. Just being
near the man made her wet, not exactly something that had ever happened to her
before. Oh she’d had an infatuation or two over the years, but she’d never had
such a primitive reaction to a man before. For the first time in her life, she
contemplated the positives and negatives of tackling the man, taking him to the
floor, stripping him naked and having her wicked way with him. She’d read
enough books to figure out what went where, even if she hadn’t had the
opportunity to practice before now. After all, no one wanted the retard of the
pack. Just one of the many delightful names she’d been called since that first
shift, or in her case, non-shift.

Her
tongue darted out to dampen her bottom lip. He tracked the motion and made a
chuffing noise, but he didn’t move any closer. Nor did he move away. He held
perfectly still, as if waiting to see what she would do, almost as if daring
her to take what she wanted. Was that the kind of woman he liked? The kind who
took charge and went after her heart’s desire? She wasn’t sure she was that
brave.

Isi’s
gaze fell to the floor and she reached down to step into her thong, pulling it
up under the towel. The terry material parted as she slid the scrap of lace up
over her hips, but by then the important parts were covered. Well, except her
breasts. There was no way for her to put on her bra without him seeing. If she
turned around, he’d just have a great view through the mirror. Her breasts
weren’t overly large, but they weren’t small either. She thought they made a
nice handful for any man, not that any had wanted to take them for a test drive
before.

Steeling
her nerves, she reached for the front of the towel. Her eyes flicked up once
more. He was watching her every move, taking everything in. She loosened the
towel and let it fall to the floor, trying to fight the blush rushing to her
cheeks. Isi could see the strain in Garren and knew he was fighting his beast.
With just one word, he would take her, if that’s what she wanted. Her nipples
hardened in the cool bathroom air and his pupils dilated, then became slits,
like cat’s eyes. They flashed gold again and there was a rumble deep in his
chest.

With
shaky hands, she slid her bra straps up her arms, fitted the cups under her
breasts and snapped the front enclosure. The hands at her waist tightened for a
moment and she felt the distinctive pinch of claws against her skin. Would he
shift? Was he that far gone? And from what, sharing the bathroom with her while
she dressed? She’d never really thought of herself as sexy before. Maybe she
held more power than she’d thought.

He
dropped to his knees before her and leaned closer, inhaling her scent once
more. A purr rumbled out of him. It answered her question as to whether or not
he was a cat—she was just still unsure of what kind. Her money was still on
tiger. He was too bulky to be something like a jaguar or cheetah. Garren’s
mouth opened and he breathed her in, taking her scent into his mouth. She’d
done that before herself, but knowing he was memorizing her scent was… well,
there were just no words.

She
watched and shifted as fangs descended over his lower lip. What would it feel
like to have him bite her? Cat shifters didn’t differ much from wolves in that
they both bit their mates, usually during sex. What would it feel like to have
him filling her, thrusting in and out of her hot, wet pussy and then clamp down
on her shoulder with those beautiful teeth right as her orgasm hit? She
shivered again.

“You’re
cold.” His gaze met hers.

Slowly,
she shook her head. Cold? Not hardly. No, she was very, very hot.
 

Green
bled to gold again as his beast nudged a little closer to the surface. When the
door began to open, Garren snarled and slammed it shut. Whoever was on the
other side was determined though and tried to push it open again. Garren let
loose with a roar that shook the walls.

Not
a tiger. Definitely not a tiger. No, the man melting her bones, drenching her
panties and sending her system into a tailspin was the king of the jungle. She
heard a whimper on the other side of the door and realized it must have been
Sean trying to enter. He might be the alpha’s son, but even he had enough sense
to be scared of the big kitty.

Garren
turned to face her, his golden gaze pulsing with energy. Wrapping his hands
around her waist, he tugged her closer and buried his face in her neck. He
began rubbing his cheek along her skin, his whiskers rasping against her. Down
her neck, across the top of her breast and down her arm. She burrowed her
fingers in his thick hair, letting her fingers sift through the silken strands.
Closely cropped on the sides and back, there was still enough on top for her to
get a decent grip. He nipped her hip as a purr rumbled out of him.

“Garren,
what are you doing?” Was that her voice? All soft and breathy?

“Making
sure everyone knows you’re under my protection.” His voice was more of a growl
than that of a human.

“And
do you, uh, do this often?”

His
tongue had partially shifted with him and the sandpaper texture rasped along
her stomach before he moved to her other side, rubbing and nipping his way to
her neck. Pressing his fangs against her throat, he scraped them against the
delicate flesh there. He was flirting with danger. It wouldn’t take much. Just
one bite would tie them together for eternity. Surely he didn’t want that!

“Garren?”

“Do
you know how good you smell? How wonderful you taste?” He purred.

“You
don’t want this, Garren. You know you don’t. You have to fight your cat.”

He
nuzzled her neck some more. “Don’t wanna.”

She
shoved against him, not that his big, bad self budged an inch. “You don’t want
to mate me, Garren. Think about what you’re doing. Get control of your beast!”

She
felt his teeth against her throat again and tried to shove him away once more.
“Garren, listen to me! You don’t want to mate me.”

He
growled. “You don’t want me? You would prefer Dagan?”

His
insecurity was a little cute. “No, I don’t want Dagan. And it isn’t that I
don’t want you, it’s just… you don’t know me. We only met today, and I was
unconscious for most of the time. Besides, you deserve better.”

Garren
grunted and began licking the skin where her neck met her shoulder. “Better
than my mate?”

She
curled her hands against him. “What makes you think I’m your mate? What makes
me different from the countless women you’ve no doubt fucked?”

“No
one smells like you. Even before your shower I knew who you were, but now that
you’re all nice and clean…” He purred. “I would very much like to get you
dirty.”

His
words made her blood heat.

“Garren,
I can’t shift. I wouldn’t be a proper mate for anyone, much less someone like
you. Who knows in how many ways I might be defective. What if I can’t give you
cubs? Did you ever think of that?”

He
stopped licking her long enough to look her in the eye. “The gods gave you to
me. I find it hard to believe they would bless me with a mate and not allow me
to have cubs. Your fears are unfounded.”