His power seemed to lick around her. She shivered as fear and curiosity tickled the back of her neck.
"You have a … presence. It feels more than. And the way you look. When I saw you standing in the door with the light behind you, I could imagine a lion gazing out at me … is that … ?" Speaking those thoughts, that question, brought on a sense of doubt. She hugged herself and pressed her lips together.
Jude glanced down at her arms. "You're afraid."
"I … no. Well, yes, but not of you." At his questioning look, she clarified. "I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing if I keep talking."
He smiled and the wary feline tension blew away like dandelion fluff, leaving her without a substantial memory of it. She frowned.
"Our differences don't linger in human minds," he said.
She eyed him. "You knew what I was thinking?"
"No. We don't have mind-reading abilities outside very specific bonds. Your body language is plain."
"I see." Uncertain how to proceed, she squared her shoulders. "Well, I won't tell anybody."
"My professional reputation thanks you." He winked at her and gestured at the couches again. "Rest, sweetheart. I'll wait outside until the door's replaced."
This time, she didn't bother trying to resist the clear command in his tone. Surrender came naturally to her, was what she wanted to do, and this small thing didn't really threaten her resolve to remain in charge of her own life.
She ignored the little voice that accused her of lying to herself.
4
True to his word, Jude stayed until the glass guy finished, but he got a call while she was busy making some calls of her own, and by the time she was finished, he was gone. It wasn't until after he cleared out that she realized his presence had given her a subtle sense of safety. The warm, secure cocoon had hopped into the back of his SUV and rode away with him, leaving her chilled and strangely disappointed.
Again with the disappointment, which she had no business feeling. Jude had performed his job above and beyond the terms of her contract, and while they'd both blurred the definition of professionalism, she was the one who'd really crossed a line.
What had possessed her to call him out as a shifter? It was no business of hers. Everything she knew about them, which wasn't much, indicated they were secretive individuals who kept their natures close and their habits private.
As much as she coveted her own privacy these days, she should have respected his.
So, no, she had no reason to be disappointed. The only thing she should feel for Jude Burke was relief that he'd gone without probing the same way she had. He was dangerous to her.
He was...more.
More than she could handle.
If one man made a type, her ex had shown her that Jude was it. Oh, he looked nothing like Paul, and Paul was a mere mortal. They both carried themselves with straight-backed strength, with focus and authority.
That was where the similarities ended, but those common points were enough. A man who took charge, who could work her body over and take her down to the intersection of pleasure and pain and push her over into the peace of surrender-that man.
That man would take her back to the place she'd fought so hard to leave.
After she'd escaped Paul's hold, she'd vowed to protect herself from that kind of man, that kind of vulnerability, and to never go down that road again.
Jude was too strong, too alpha. Dangerous not because he used intimidation or the unspoken threat of force, but because he didn't need to. It tg, too alpha. phacf lyiemain lear order ishopdidn't matter how badly she wanted to bare her throat for his strength. He couldn't be part of her new life. She'd left Seattle in order to learn how to fly after a lifetime of crawling. Jude didn't mesh with her goals. Unless she wanted to compromise the gains she'd made-the beginning of financial independence her trendy little shop promised to deliver, emotional freedom in the aftermath of a bad relationship, the sense of self she'd lost with Paul-unless she wanted to walk away from the fragile seedlings of a fresh start, she had to forget all about Jude Burke.
Her new friend, Alexa Voorhees, an esthetician at the spa that operated next door to Lily's shop, was doing an excellent job at helping with the forgetfulness.
"The tension in your legs is out of this world. I have a friend who's a massage therapist. Remind me to give you her card before you leave."
Lily moaned a wordless sound of agreement. Between the steamy, bubbling foot soak and Alexa's capable hands working the muscles of her lower legs and feet, she couldn't get anything coherent out of her mouth. Alexa found pressure points that sent tingles all through Lily's body, all the way up to her scalp.