With a much lighter heart, she breezed into the sitting area and pulled out her laptop. There was no phone so she couldn’t access the internet, but she could work on a few articles that she had started awhile back. As she plugged the machine in, Mel decided to ask the Kennedys about getting the phone hooked up. At least she’d have access to dial-up. It would cost a bit, but she could justify the expense to Aldrich. He wouldn’t be pleased about having to wait for her reports nor would he like having to leave messages for her with the Kennedys. The man was way too uptight for that sort of arrangement.
Mel happily settled down and spent the rest of the day working, totally unaware of the controversy she was creating in various locales across the continent.
Chapter 10
Ryne glared at his Beta then abruptly turned away to stare out the window. Bryan was just teasing him, but his comments were hitting a little too close to home.
“Aww, come on Ryne. If she’s just a human female, then why are you letting her get under your skin?” Even with his back turned, Ryne knew Bryan was smirking.
“How many times do I have to tell you? She isn’t getting under my skin.”
“Of course not. I just imagined the fact that you kept Daniel and me away from her yesterday.”
“The less she saw of the pack, the better.” He answered in clipped tones.
“And naturally, you had to drive her home.”
“She was dizzy. It wasn’t safe for her to drive.”
“Well, what about going to see her last night?” Ryne turned, ready to deny the accusation, but Bryan just shook his head and kept talking. “You said you were going to see Lucy, but it wasn’t her scent on you when you came home. And I talked to Lucy today at the diner. She didn’t see you last night.”
“All right.” Ryne sighed gustily. “I went to see the girl, but only because she had a head injury. I got to thinking that she was alone and could have a concussion. Someone had to check on her, to make sure she didn’t fall into a coma.”
“Yeah, right.” The two men stared at each other for a moment. Ryne’s face darkening while Bryan just kept grinning wider and wider. “Face it, boss. She’s caught your fancy. Why fight it? The way I see it, she’s here for a week or two. Use the time to your advantage. Bang her a few times and get her out of your system.”
The comment didn’t sit well with Ryne and he growled a warning.
Bryan threw up his hands and backed out of the room. “Okay, I get the message. I'm dropping the subject for now. Don’t go all Alpha on me.”
As the door slammed shut, Ryne relaxed and slumped down on the sofa, rubbing his face with his hands. What was the matter with him? Bryan was right. Melody Greene was just a human female. She was cute, but irritating, nothing that special really. So why was she running through his head?
He couldn’t believe what he’d done last night. The idea of her alone with a head injury had bothered him all evening. After pacing restlessly, and driving his friends crazy with his miserable attitude, he’d announced he was going into town to see Lucy. And he had planned on seeing her—a romp with Lucy usually left him feeling relaxed and mellow. It was just that he was going to check on Ms. Greene first.
After parking the car down the road, he’d changed into his wolf form and silently padded up to her cabin. No one had noticed him sniffing around the building. When he had heard her ragged breathing, he transformed back to human and peered in the window. She was lying in bed, obviously distressed, and without thinking, he opened the window and climbed in.
She was apparently in the throes of a nightmare, thrashing about on the bed. He had gripped her shoulders, turning her over and commanding her to look at him, thinking that if she wasn’t dreaming, she’d feel better. It was only later that he realized how foolish he’d been. What if she had completely woken up? Seeing him, uninvited in her bedroom in the middle of the night, would have had her screaming the house down. No amount of fast talking could have explained his way out of that one.
Thankfully, she’d only partially opened her eyes before closing them again, a blissful smile on her face as she relaxed against him. Then, without him even realizing it at first, his wolf slipped past his guard and took over. He found himself pressing a soft kiss to her lips, just offering comfort, of course. Only it hadn’t stayed that way. She’d kissed him back and before he knew it, he was lying on top of her, caressing her, while she moaned in pleasure.
He should have stopped then; he knew it, but his wolf didn’t care. She’d tasted so good; the smell of her arousal had thrown all common sense out of his head. The feel of her body pressed against his, her soft sighs and smooth skin, the way she moved under him, needing him, begging him in her sleepy voice...