He leaned forward, hoping she would take the hint and put her hand on his head again. Touch him just once more so he could take the warmth back with him when he went to the compound.
Instead, she brought out her blanket and wrapped it around him. Then, impulsively, she leaned forward and kissed the top of his bear head. His fur.
That’s it. The girl was crazy.
After that, she scampered back into the woods, her light leading the way into the distance. He crawled after her, following her until he saw her go in through the gate at the edge of the forest that led to the meadow where the house sat.
When she was safe, he let out a breath and became aware of his body trembling. He suddenly felt if he allowed it, he could change back.
With a shaky breath, he shifted, feeling the world blur and his claws retract. He felt dizzy and nauseous and aware that the scratchy but warm blanket she’d brought was still around him. He pulled it over him and started his walk back to the compound.
Probably, even bleeding from his leg and naked under a blanket, no one would notice when he slipped back into the compound while the men were out drinking.
He couldn’t see his leg in the dark, but it was already feeling better. It would be okay.
Still, tonight had changed everything, and not just because he’d nearly died.
He was free from the bear trap, but he had a feeling he would never be free from the way he felt about the girl who had helped him. The girl with the kind blue eyes and soft hands.
He had to see her again, soon. As a boy. Become her friend and then see her again and again. There was something between them. He felt it all the way down to his bones.#p#分页标题#e#
1
Ten Years Later
For the second time in her life, Carrie was receiving a kiss that felt like a promise.
The lips against hers were soft, and rough stubble on the man’s face grazed hers as he moved against her. His hand cupped her neck, holding her against him as her lips opened in shock, allowing him entrance. His tongue swept through her, lighting her with fiery heat.
But it was the firmness of the embrace, the insistence of his lips pressing to hers that made her feel like this contact was some kind of silent oath.
She’d been kissed like this just once before in her lifetime, at a much younger age, in a much different situation. Yet the feeling was the same.
Safety and a small thrill. Something new and adventurous but secure.
Still, she planted her hands on the bar and tried to keep ahold of reality as the man finished the kiss and pulled back.
Dark eyes met hers. So dark they could have been black, but they were blue. A deep, penetrating sapphire night fringed with dark lashes.
She’d known only one man with those astounding, dark eyes.
But that was impossible…
She blinked at him, but his expression was cool, calm, not giving away even a hint of the passion they’d shared as he released her neck and walked back in his heavy boots and motorcycle leather to the rowdy group of men seated in the back of the bar.
The Aces.
A motorcycle gang that had run the town for as long as she could remember. Then again, in a small country town, what else was there to do?
There were the normal people like her who ran businesses for tourists and tried to stay out of the way. And then there were the Aces. Men wearing leather who swaggered through town, obliterating things or lives as they pleased. Not that they’d ever done anything to her exactly. Not until recently, when they’d started invading her bar nearly every night to harass her.
She also saw them around town sometimes. Out in front of the auto shop they used as a front for the huge warehouse out back, where it was rumored they dealt in weapons and other unsavory trades.
It was so disappointing to see a man with such beautiful, familiar eyes sitting next to them.
What was Cage McCann doing back in Winter Falls? More importantly, what was he doing sitting there with the Aces, looking like he’d just achieved everything he wanted?
Her heart pounded as she turned back to the bar and began wiping it down. Anything to keep her eyes off the man in the corner.
His kiss still burned on her lips, and she looked up at him once more, as if still unable to believe he was there.
But it was Cage all right. An older version, broader through the shoulders than the teen she’d known ten years ago. He still had that striking, handsome look about him. Light, smooth skin that contrasted his black brows and thick, dark hair. The stubble shading his angular jaw gave a hard edge to his appearance, but she knew when he smiled, the effect was soft and devastating.
She sighed and looked away, heart still pounding.
She missed him every day. The ache was always present, like a phantom limb, but she’d reassured herself at least he’d gotten out of this place and away from the Aces by enrolling in the army.