Heart of the wolf (29 page)

He nodded, absorbing her quavering admission. "Look," he said with an effort, "we need to get cleaned up and go to bed." Looking around, Wolf added, "I don't think
Summers
will try anything more tonight. I'll stay with you. Skeet will alert us if anyone tries to get within a mile of this place."

With a sigh, Sarah nodded. "Let me get a quick bath." She looked down at her dirty clothes. "I smell like fear."

"You're in good company," Wolf mused.

Sarah had just changed into her cotton nightgown when Wolf knocked lightly at the bedroom door.

"Come in."

Wolf walked in, narrowing his gaze on Sarah. She looked small and vulnerable as he approached. He missed nothing, from her distraught features to the shadowed darkness lingering in her eyes as she put a damp towel across the back of a wooden chair. He'd just taken a hot, cleansing shower himself, but before he climbed onto the couch to sleep, he wanted to make sure Sarah was all right.

"How are you feeling?" Wolf wanted so badly to reach out and pull her into the safety of his arms.

Sarah stood uncertainly by her bed.
"I
feel like I could fall asleep on my feet."

Wolf nodded and crossed to the bed, pulling back the covers. "Get in," he ordered softly.

"Where will you be?"

"I'll sleep on the couch," Wolf promised. Sarah was slurring her words with fatigue. "Come on, climb in and I'll tuck you in." Wolf wanted to do much more than that. He wanted to lie beside Sarah and hold her.

Stumbling to the bed, Sarah slipped off her robe and set it aside. "Thanks," she whispered wearily, getting into bed. She no longer questioned her heart, which was clearly ruling her fuzzy brain. She reached up and caught Wolf's hand. "Come to bed with me? Hold me?" She saw surprise flare in Ms darkened eyes and feared he'd say no. "Please, Wolf. I—-I don't want to be alone tonight. . . ."

He squeezed her hand, shattered by her honesty. "Okay," he rasped. "Let me make one more tour of the cabin, and then I'll join you."

Nodding, Sarah moved over in the double bed and brought the sheet and blanket back. She watched as Wolf tamed and left. Skeet came in and lay down on the braided oval rug, Ms
chin
resting on Ms crossed paws, his eyes and ears alert. When Wolf returned, he carried the rifle in his hand. He shut the bedroom door and locked it. Then he placed the rifle on Ms
side
of the bed, where he could get
ahold
of it in a hurry. The lights were already off, but a slice of moonlight filtered through the lacy curtains at the east window.

Sarah's heart pounded briefly as Wolf divested himself of his shirt. He gave her a sheepish look.

"I'll wear my briefs," he said.

Sarah nodded, her mouth going dry as he pulled off his jeans, dropping them in a heap on the floor near the bed. The moonlight accentuated his powerful build. Sarah had never felt such a keen longing.

Wolf got into bed, bringing up the sheet and blanket. It was so easy to turn onto his side, slide one arm beneath Sarah's shoulders and draw her against him. She nestled her head in the crook of his shoulder, her arm going around his waist. With a sigh, Wolf closed his eyes, the exhaustion torn from Mm. The cool cotton of Sarah's nightgown was such a thin barrier between their bodies. Yet he controlled his need of her. Tonight he could give Sarah the protection he'd never been able
io
give Maria. It had nothing to do with sex. It had to do with unselfish love.

He pressed a chaste kiss to her damp hair. "Go to sleep, honey. I'll hold you."

Wolf's deep, vibrating voice drifted through Sarah, and she felt safe. All the panic died within her as Wolf grazed her arm with his hand, as if to reassure her. His lips against her hair stirred her senses, but the exhaustion and shock of the attack overwhelmed her.

"Thank you. . ." She fell into a deep, spiraling sleep.

Wolf kissed her temple. The words
I love you
wanted to escape. He whispered instead, "Sleep, honey. You're safe. . . ."

His rough, low voice lulled Sarah to sleep almost immediately. She vaguely remembered his lips pressed to her
temple,
and the gentle strength of his hand on hers.

The sun was shining brightly into the bedroom when Sarah awoke. She sat up, groggy and disoriented. Looking at the clock on the bedside table, she saw that it was nearly ten in the morning! The odor of sausage frying heightened her senses as she scrambled to get out of bed. Every muscle in her body protested, and she groaned.

"Slow down," she reprimanded herself, standing. Touching her cheek where she'd been slapped the night before, Sarah found it puffy. It hurt to open and shut her mouth. First she'd wash up, then she'd get dressed, Sarah could hear Wolf moving around in the kitchen, and she relaxed.

After a hot shower to take away some of the soreness, Sarah chose a short-sleeved white blouse and pair of jeans. Although her feet were getting better, she still couldn't put on her mining boots, and she had to settle for a pair of sandals instead. She brushed her hair,
then
headed for the kitchen.

"Hi," Sarah whispered, halting at the entrance. Wolf wore the same jeans and shirt he had the night before. When he lifted his chin and met her eyes, Sarah saw how bloodshot his were. Hadn't he slept?

Wolf looked up, stunned by Sarah's natural beauty as she stood uncertainly in the doorway. He smiled tenderly, remembering last night, remembering the softness of her against him, of her shallow breath against his chest. "Come on in. I'm fixing us pancakes and sausage." He transferred a stack from the oven to two plat® on the table. Placing the links in a basket between them on the table, he asked, "How'd you sleep?"

Self-consciously Sarah shrugged. She was hotly aware of the light burning in Wolf's eyes. It made her feel a keening ache that centered in her lower body, as if she were missing something and didn't know what. Yet Wolf's gaze made her feel
whole,
made her feel like a woman. "Like the dead," she said,
then
grimaced as she sat down. "Scratch that. I slept like a log. 'Dead' sounds terrible to me right now.”

Wolf poured them coffee and joined her. The color had returned to Sarah's face. Her blond hair was freshly washed and dried, failing about her shoulders like a golden frame. He wanted to say so much, yet didn't know where to begin. Or end. He loved her.
it
was that simple, and that complex. But Sarah appeared so tentative, so fragile, after last night's attack that he didn't know what to say. "I understand."

"You look awful."

"I kept watch last night," Wolf said gruffly, handing her the maple syrup.

"Watch?"

"Yes. I'm treating this situation like a wartime one. One person
sleeps,
the other stays awake in case the enemy comes around.”

Shivering outwardly, Sarah set the syrup down on the table. "This is like a nightmare, Wolf."

"It's getting messy," he agreed. "This morning I called Morgan and filled him in on the situation."

"What do you mean?"

"I wanted to put him on alert and let him know what was happening out here." Wolf saw the color drain from Sarah's face. "I intend to handle this, but just in case, I want someone from outside this area to know what the hell
is
going on."

Sarah felt her stomach shrink in terror. "What can he do?"

Wolf tendered a smile to ease her fear. "Honey, they're professional soldiers. We've got a sheriff who's in cahoots with
Summers
. And he's got a lot of men on his payroll if he wants to attack us. If I can't handle this, then we're going to need help, and the only help I can count on is from
Perseus
."

"Summers wouldn't like that. Wolf, he's got a lot of men."

"I know that," he said patiently. "And don't
worry,
I'm not going to drive into Philipsburg like a posse, shooting up the town. I'm going into town this morning to try and negotiate a settlement on this with
Summers
."

Fear shot through Sarah. Wolf could be killed—just like her father. An icy coldness bathed her. "I never thought it would come to this. I thought
Summers
would just harass me off and on."

Wolf shook his head grimly. "He'll never lay another hand on you. Thai's a promise."

The words, spoken in a low, menacing growl, made a chill work its way up Sarah's spine. Her world was coming apart at the seams, and Wolf was all that was keeping it from completely collapsing around her. "If you weren't here,
Summers
would already have the mine," she murmured.

“And you might possibly be dead.''

The thought was sobering. She gave Wolf a sideways glance. For a few awkward minutes, she pushed the pancakes around on her
plate,
forcing herself to eat. Who knew what lay ahead today? Keeping up her strength had to be primary, so she forced the food down.

Wolf watched Sarah through hooded eyes as he ate. He didn't taste the food. All his senses were focused on her. Her brow was drawn in a frown, and he saw the tension around her soft mouth. A mouth he wanted to worship, to kiss reverently, for the rest of his life. He knew he didn't deserve this kind of second chance—not with someone as courageous as Sarah. She was a match for him in every way—proud, independent, unselfish, and generous to a fault. What had last night meant to her? His mind returned to Sheriff Noonan's remark about Philip Barlow.

His mouth tightening, Wolf put his fork and plate aside. He had to know. "Sarah?"

She raised her head. Wolf's entire demeanor had become dark and serious. Her heart started a dreadful pounding. "Yes?"

"Maybe I don't have any right to ask you this, but 1 need to know about a guy named Philip Barlow. Noonan said he was your boyfriend?"

"Oh." She pushed the plate aside and opted to slip her fingers around the ceramic mug filled with coffee. "I imagine he didn't have anything good to say about me in relation to Philip, either?"

Wolf shook his head. "No."

With a slight shrug, Sarah whispered, "When
I
turned Ricky
Nooaan
in to the FBI, my boyfriend, Philip, got really furious with me."

"Why?" Wolf's heart beat a little harder.