Jaxson(4)

He was undeniably hot, but he was rushing at her, and he was still a shifter. Olivia unlocked her quivering body and scrambled to grab one of the cattle-prod sticks the men had left behind. She held it in front of her to ward off the shifter and shrunk back against the wall.

He jogged to a stop just out of her reach. “Whoa! Hey…” He raised both hands into the air. “I’m not going to hurt you. Promise.” He gave her a lopsided smile that sent flutters through her lady parts, but she kept the stick trained on him.

“You’re a shifter,” she said, stating the obvious because her brain was blurry from everything that had happened.

“And you’re a human,” he said with a laugh in his voice. “I figured that out on account of an electric prod being your weapon of choice.”

Damn. Even his voice was drenched in hotness. And he was only partly right about her being human, but she certainly wasn’t going to point that out. Her hand was shaking, but she managed to keep him at a distance with the stick.

He relaxed his hands-up position. “Come on, now. You’re not going to hurt me with that thing.” He extended one hand toward her, palm up. “How about you just give it to me, we put it down, and we can call this whole thing done?” He edged a little closer, slowly reaching for the cattle prod like she was a skittish but heavily-armed deer, all while holding her gaze with gorgeous clear blue eyes as bright as the Seattle sky.

Her hand wavered, but who was she kidding? This man wasn’t going to hurt her. She let out a shuddering breath and handed the torture stick over to him. His face lit with a smile, and he tossed the cattle prod behind him, sending it clattering on the pavement. Hands now free, he dropped them to work at the buttons on his pants. He was standing far too close, and it was clear he was going commando underneath his tattered jeans. She swallowed and tried to look anywhere else other than the gorgeous man dressing in front of her.

Her desperate attempt didn’t go unnoticed. “Sorry,” he said, drawing her back. “Nudity is an occupational hazard.” His smile had morphed into a full smirk. “And you’ve got to be kidding me, trying to stop those guys with a phone.” He nodded to the device in her hand, which was now hanging limp at her side.

“I… um…” God, why wouldn’t her mouth work? Oh right. Because a Greek God was standing in front of her and… was he checking her out? His gaze was roaming her body, scouring and scrutinizing every inch.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his gaze finally reaching hers again.

Her cheeks flamed. He was just concerned about her, not hot for her too-plump body. Obviously. She was embarrassed she’d even conjured that thought. Had to be leftover tremors still rattling her brain.

She swallowed and managed to find her voice. “I’m fine.” But her voice squeaked, and he frowned in response.

He looked her over again, and then slowly leaned in to plant his hands on either side of her head, surrounding her with a mountain of muscles. She sucked in a breath and pressed harder against the wall. He wasn’t touching her, but she could feel the warmth radiating from his muscular arms. The scent of pine, warm earth, and the heat of the fight was on him. She should be terrified, struggling to get away, but instead she was overwhelmed by the raw sex-appeal rolling off him in waves.

“You’re not all right,” he said softly, peering into her eyes. “You’re in shock. You just witnessed a violent attack in an alley with dangerous men you don’t know. I’m sorry you had to see that, but it’s over now. You’re safe. And I promise I won’t let any harm come to you.” He dipped his head, leaning even closer. “Do you believe me?”

She nodded, somewhat erratically. But she actually did believe him—he could obviously kill her if he wanted, but instead, he was reassuring her. With his words. And his body. And his ridiculously sexy voice.

His smile returned, and he eased back a little, but still stayed close enough to make her chest hurt with how hard her heart was pounding.

“Thanks for trying to save me,” he said, voice still soft. “That was a very sweet thing to do. Brave and sweet. Also very stupid.”

She gave a small shrug, as much as she could with him so close. Because what could she do, walk away? “They were going to kill you.” His nearness was making it hard for her to breathe. Hard to speak.

His smile blazed brighter. “Actually, I had just gotten them right where I wanted them.”

That made her eyebrows hike up. “It didn’t quite look that way from this end of the alley.”

“You’ll just have to trust me on that.” The smirk was almost too much, especially this close, but then it faded. He leaned in fast and planted a light kiss on her cheek. “But thank you anyway,” he whispered in her ear.