Chapter Two

Caleb stood within the shadows of the cabin, keeping watch over his mate as she slept. She hadn’t regained consciousness since the blast, but the mate bond assured him she was bruised but otherwise unharmed. Unfortunately, in order to protect her, he’d been forced to shift to his were form. Now, when she awakened, he’d have to deal not only with her resistance to their mating, but to her fear of him.

The road ahead wasn’t going to be an easy one, but at least he had the comfort of knowing she was safe for now. The cabin he’d brought her to lay hidden in the mountains high above Haven, its location known to only a trusted few. It wasn't much to look at, just the one room containing a bed, kitchenette, and a small adjoining bathroom off the back, but the strongest spells known to his kind protected it. He could leave her, confident she would come to no harm while he tracked and destroyed his enemy.

She murmured in her sleep, and he moved out of the shadows, seeking the reason for her unrest. When she moved her legs restlessly, rubbing her thighs together, he growled his approval. His little spitfire needed him, and he needed her. She was quickly becoming the center of his world, and God help anyone who tried to take her from him.

Giving in to the need to touch her, he squatted next to the bed and lightly traced a finger down the side of her cheek. She wrinkled her nose and swatted his hand away. He smiled, accepting the inevitable. She resisted him, even in her sleep. Not that he expected anything less; his mate was no submissive. She was a woman with a mind of her own, and that suited him just fine.

“Open your eyes, baby. We need to talk.”

“Later,” Max groaned, keeping her eyes firmly closed. “I hurt too much to talk.”

Caleb’s heart raced with alarm. He’d checked her thoroughly. There’d been no sign of broken bones or internal bleeding, but more importantly, as her mate, he’d felt nothing that indicated any serious damage. But what if he’d missed something?

“Where does it hurt, sweetheart?”

“Everywhere…I feel like—Oh, my God.” Max’s eyes popped open, and her gaze locked with his.

He almost flinched at the look of horror that crossed her face.

“You turned into a—” She sat up abruptly, her eyes wide with fear as she huddled against the headboard.

Caleb stood up slowly and took a step back. He knew his size alone was intimidating, and after what she’d seen, she had every reason to fear him.

“Easy, baby,” he said softly, holding his hands palm out. I know you must be scared, but you’re safe with me. You remember who I am, right? I’m Sheriff Caleb McCain.”

“I remember who and what you are.” She scrambled off the bed and snatched up the lamp sitting on the bedside table. “Just keep your distance!”

Caleb looked away, not wanting her to see the smile tugging at his lips. Did she really think she could injure him with a lamp? He weighed well over two-hundred pounds and stood close to seven feet tall. In his were form, he nearly doubled in size and was damn near impossible to kill. She, on the other hand, weighed next to nothing. The top of her head barely reached the middle of his chest. He admired her spunk, but his little darling needed to learn her limitations.

“Baby, put the lamp down. It weighs almost as much as you do, and I’d hate for you to hurt yourself.” Caleb tried to keep the amusement out of his voice, not wanting to hurt her feelings, but when she lifted the lamp higher and nearly lost her footing, he couldn’t keep a smile from forming on his lips.

She gave him a blistering look then snapped her arm back and threw the lamp at him, barely missing his head.

He ducked, and his condescending smile gave way to a scowl. “Woman, you almost hit my head.” He eyed the broken lamp. “That’s no way to treat a man who just saved your life.”

“Don’t come near me,” she shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him. “You’re a werewolf for God’s sake! If I had a gun, I’d shoot you.” She stilled suddenly, and her eyes widened. “Did you bite me?” She ran a hand over her neck and arms. “Am I going to turn furry on the next full moon?”

“No! I’d never—well, maybe not never,” he amended, thinking of the time he would claim her. “But I didn’t bite you. In any case, that whole turning furry thing from a were bite is an urban legend.”

When she continued to eye him warily, he ran a frustrated hand through his hair and decided to try a different approach. “Look, this isn’t going the way I planned. I assure you, I can explain everything. Just get back in bed, and I’ll get you something to eat. What you need now is nourishment and a few more hours of rest.”

She shook her head. “Not going to happen. Just step aside so I can get out of here.”

“I can’t do that. It’s not safe for you to leave the cabin, and besides, you can’t go out dressed like that.”

She glanced down at herself, and Caleb grimaced at the look on her face when she glared at him.

“Now before you get your panties in a knot, take note. I didn’t remove them or your bra, and I didn’t peek, despite the temptation.” He’d added the last bit about not peeking in hopes of earning a few brownie points for good behavior, but as her gaze moved over him, taking in the fact he wore a pair of baggy sweats and nothing else, he doubted even a testimonial from Mother Teresa would help him. Worse yet, the moment she’d jumped out of bed jiggling her goodies, he’d sported a hard-on the size of a nightstick.

“Did you do anything freaky to me while I slept?” she asked suspiciously, darting a quick glance at the front of his sweats.

Caleb almost groaned. He hadn’t thought he could get any harder, but she’d just made a liar out of him. His little darlin’ didn’t like the idea of his taking advantage while she was asleep, but the thought that he might have turned her on. He could smell her arousal, like honeysuckle in summer, and it was giving him a hard-on from hell. If he didn’t have her soon, he was going to disgrace himself like a pubescent wolf getting his first whiff of tail.

Caleb shifted his feet in an effort to ease the pressure in his groin and smiled at her. “Baby, you’re damn hard on a man’s ego, but let me assure you, if I’d done anything to you, your sweet little pussy would be quivering with satisfaction instead of aching with need. And I wouldn’t be standing here waving a flagpole in your face.”

“Smug bastard,” Max snapped, standing her ground, despite the rosy hue of embarrassment coloring her brown skin. “I’m not your baby, or anything else. My name is Maxine, Max will do, but baby is out. And as for sleeping while you got your freak on, well, let’s just say I believe in the old adage, the bigger the man, the smaller the package. In which case…” Her gaze dropped dismissingly to the bulge in his sweats. “…that’s probably a couple of rolled socks you’ve shoved down the front of your pants.”

Caleb didn’t even try to keep the grin off his face. She knew what he was, but werewolf or no werewolf, she wanted to kick his butt if he’d taken advantage of her. Damn, this woman pleased him, and seeing her in her pretty little granny panties made him want to strip her naked and spend hours buried in her sweet fire.

He’d always had a strong sexual appetite, but what he felt for this woman was more than lust. Mother Nature might have put a biological lock on his hormones, but she couldn’t control his emotions. This woman was the mate of his heart and the better half of his soul. Of that, he had no doubt.

“Baby—Max,” he amended when her eyes narrowed. “I know you think I’m a monster, but I did protect you from the blast, and if I’d wanted to harm you, I’ve had ample opportunity to do so. I won’t force you to get back in bed, but why not sit down? I’ll sit over there.” He nodded at the small kitchen table off the center of the room.

Max acted as if she hadn’t heard him, but Caleb saw her glance at the door. She was thinking of making a run for it, and Caleb opened his mouth to tell her not to bother, when it dawned on him that while he was worried about explaining things to her, she had a little explaining of her own to do.

“Max,” he said softly. “When you woke up, you didn’t ask me what I was. You accused me of being a werewolf. And that strikes me as odd, because most people don’t believe werewolves exist. Even if they saw one of my kind, they’d think they were hallucinating. But you didn’t doubt your sanity. You didn’t doubt what you’d seen. The moment you saw my face, you knew what I was. You knew exactly what I was. Now, how could that be?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Just before I blacked out, I saw your face change. You transformed right before my eyes, and I really don’t know if I fainted in reaction or lost consciousness because of the blast.”

Caleb closed the distance between them, not crowding her but letting her know he would get an honest answer from her one way or the other. “To save our lives, I had no choice but to shift. The man who attacked meant to kill us. He would have, too, if I’d remained in my human form. Shifting allowed me to absorb the force of the blast and prevent it from shredding you to bits. But I’d bet the family farm that you already knew of my kind before you saw me change.”

He could see she wanted to deny it, and several long seconds passed before she finally sighed and looked at him with resignation in her eyes.

“Okay, you win. I’ll tell you what I know,” she murmured in a defeated tone. “But I want to get dressed first. I’m not having this conversation in my underwear.”

Caleb pulled a blanket from the bed and tossed it to her, making it clear he wasn’t going to wait for her to get dressed. Max caught it and wrapped it toga style around her body before sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Okay, baby,” Caleb said, settling into one of the kitchen chairs and folding his arms across his chest. “Out with it. And don’t spare me the details. When it comes to you, I’ll decide what’s relevant.”