Reading Online Novel

A Mate's Denial(24)



He opened her door with a smile, but instantly, his face drew up. “What is it?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“You’re afraid.”

How did he know that? Was her face that transparent?

“No, I’m not.”

“I can smell it,” he spat. “What are you afraid of?” He scanned the woods, apparently looking for a threat.

What he’d said caught her attention. “Smell it?”

His eyes focused on her, his hand cradling her cheek. “What is it that has you scared?”

Oh, this was silly. “Nothing. I’m not scared. It’s just… remember what I said about creepers? A girl can never be too safe.”

His face fell so fast and hard, it was like watching lightning strike. “You’re afraid of me? I could never hurt you. Don’t you know that?”

No. She didn’t. She’d been with a man that claimed to love her for three years and yet, he hurt her repeatedly. She’d known Trager a week.

But she believed he was different. She knew that much.

He stepped away from her, staring at the ground. “I’ll take you back if you want. Just say the word.”

Kerrigan climbed out of the truck, and shut the door. She’d trusted him with her body, she might as well trust him now.

He glanced at her, his eyes troubled.

“I have trust issues,” she blurted. Damn it. But maybe he could understand.

Brushing a strand of hair from her eyes, he sighed. “Do you want to go back?” His voice was soft.

She shook her head. “No. I want to see your place.”

He nodded. Kissed her forehead. “We’ll talk about your trust issues when we get there.”

***

A ten minute trek through the woods brought them to a quaint little log cabin. A door and a large double window took up most of the front, and a small stone chimney rose from the roof.

“Here we are,” Trager said, opening the door for her to walk through.

Inside, the décor was minimal. A coffee-colored leather couch and matching chair took up the area designated as the living room. A short counter separated the open room and the kitchen.

“Feel free to look around,” Trager said. “I’m going to take a shower.” With that, he was gone.

Kerrigan rummaged around the kitchen, locating the coffee supplies, and started a pot. Then she acquainted herself with the rest of the place. There were exactly four rooms if you counted the kitchen and living room as two, and not one giant room. The bathroom was occupied, but Trager’s bedroom was free.

Kerrigan ducked inside. A king-sized bed with red plaid flannel sheets. She grinned. Exactly what she expected to see in a log cabin. His room was very manly. It smelled like leather and pine. She loved it.

Turning to leave, she stopped short. Trager, in only a towel, powerful chest glistening from his shower.

“Oh. Hi.”

His eyes burned. “Do you like the bed?”

She pressed her lips together. “Don’t know. Haven’t tried it out yet.”

What he’d done to her last night set off a firestorm in her. She wanted to lick those drops of water from his chest. Instead, she ran a hand across the planes.

“I like you touching me,” he said, huskily. He crowded her against the wall. “I like it very much.”

She pressed her palms flat against his hard muscles.

“But we have things we need to talk about, dream-girl. Time to set things straight.” His voice was gentle. How he could be so full of power that it seemed to take up all the air in the room, and yet so tender at the same time… it baffled her.

She nodded. “Yes. You’re right. I’ll wait in the living room.” Slipping past him, she was almost to the door when he smacked her on the ass.

She yelped and turned to find his sexy smirk.

“Been wanting to do that for awhile,” he murmured.

She narrowed her gaze, but as soon as she left the room, her face split in a wide grin.





Chapter Eleven


He was going to do it. He was going to lay all his cards on the table. Tell her everything. He’d considered all his options in the shower, and this was the only thing that had any hope of working. He was running out of time with the Ravendale threat. He was running out of time before his mate left for Alaska. Fucking time was not on his side. But besides that, Kerrigan deserved to know how he felt about her. Even if she didn’t feel the same about him.

He’d just gotten his jeans buttoned when Kerrigan’s startled scream blasted through the house. For a millisecond, his heart stopped, gripped in fear-gnarled claws. But then he busted through the door and into the living room. Part of him expected to find a tarantula or something of that sort. What he did not expect to find, and what made his blood boil to a rolling rage, was a wolf.