Live It Up (3 page)

He was naked!

In the shower!

With her!

Her eyes now wide open, she watched as he pumped some shower gel into his hands and turned toward her. He seemed utterly unconscious of how he looked. She licked her lips. “Where are your clothes?”

He frowned. “They’d have gotten wet. Turn around; I’ll wash your back first.” With a hand on her shoulders he helped her change positions, and as she leaned her forehead against the wall she told herself she really should be complaining.

Instead, she let him do whatever the hell he wanted, especially when he started kneading her nape.

“Mmm,” she moaned, her eyes closing once again, her willpower utterly overcome by the amazing sensations his hands wrought upon her body.

It was one thing to take care of her when she was half out it; it was an altogether different thing when the human was awake and warm and—

Fuck, down boy!
he admonished himself as his cock stirred.

Her skin felt unbelievably soft underneath his hands, and when she moaned in open appreciation, he nearly let go of his hard-earned control and cupped her ass.

His lion was once more pacing inside him, just as he’d done all week. He was far too curious about this female, wanting to smell her and taste her and touch her.

Fuck, I’d like to taste her too.

The thought echoed inside his mind as he soaped up her back and let his fingers trail down her spine.

She arched up, her butt brushing his groin in a furtive move. She stilled.

Crap!
“I’m gonna wash your hair now,” he said out loud, his voice sounding husky.

“Okay.”

He grabbed the bottle of hotel shampoo and poured some onto his hands. Taking a deep breath, he lathered her hair, letting his fingers run through her long strands. He kneaded the back of her head and heard her small intake of breath. A moan rumbled up in his throat when the smell of her arousal drifted over him.

What are you doing? She’s hurt and barely standing!

But she smelled so good, a mix of spice and sunshine that was thoroughly intoxicating. His lion agreed, sniffing the air and pawing at his insides, wanting him to claim her.

Shit, no!
He jerked away from the female and nearly hit himself on the overhead showerhead. “I… I have to go.” He stumbled out of the stall and grabbed his clothes, putting them on without even drying himself first.

His lion wanted her.

Out of all the women out there, why did he go and pick that one?
She’s not even a lioness! Fuck!

He needed to leave, get as far away from her as possible. Except he couldn’t. She could barely walk, and he’d left her all alone in the shower. One wrong move and she was going to hurt herself again, and this time, it’d be his fault.

No, he couldn’t leave her. He just had to stay away from her as much as possible. No more showers. No more touching her.

He couldn’t let his lion get his way this time. Look at what happened when he’d let his animal in control and had ended up mated…

* * * *

Sunny had no idea what had just happened. One moment, the stranger had had his hands on her and God but it’d felt so good; the next, he’d disappeared, leaving her behind feeling completely bewildered. “Andy?”

“I’ll be right there! Don’t move without me, okay?”

“Okay,” she muttered under her breath, tilting her head toward the shower spray in the hope that by the time he came back her hair would be rinsed out.

She leaned more fully against the wall and closed her eyes, a curious heaviness weighing her body down. If only she could sit down…maybe even lie down, she thought as she felt herself start to topple forward.

“Whoa there.” His voice echoed inside the bathroom as arms reached for her. “You need to get back to bed.”

She snuggled into his embrace and let him carry her back to the bedroom. It was only when he covered her with a towel then tugged her under the sheet that she opened her eyes and said, “Sorry about your clothes. I know you didn’t want them to get wet.”

He blinked down at her then his lips curved into a soft smile. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Why don’t you take a nap while I go out and get us some food?”

“Okay,” she whispered back, her eyes already closing. She turned onto her left side and grabbed the pillow. Mmm, it smelled just like him too.

Chapter Three

“No.” Sunny crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the man standing at the foot of the bed. “I won’t go back with you to…wherever you said your hometown is. I’m on a road trip here.”

“You can’t be on a road trip without a car.”

“I’ll find another one!”

“With what money?”

“I don’t even know you,” she added, ignoring his comment. So what if she was sitting up for the first time in days? So what if he’d helped her throughout it all? She still didn’t know the guy.

“I owe you. My…family owes you. Let me at least do this for you. You’ll be able to recover much more easily than in this cheap motel room.”

“You don’t owe me anything. You already rescued me! I just want to forget all this ever happened.”

Something flashed in his eyes. “I can’t let you do that.”

She blinked. “Wh-what?”

“I’ll go get the car.” And with that, he opened the door and let it slam shut behind him.

“What the hell just happened?” Sunny asked out loud. Something was seriously wrong. Between Mary and the blood and now Andy acting weirdly…and oh my God, he’d never even told her what the cops had said about all this. And what about her car? She knew it had to be totaled, but she’d like to see it to believe it.

Get out of here. Now!

She obeyed her instincts, and as she moved gingerly to her feet, clinging to the wall for purchase, she hoped he wouldn’t be back soon.

He’d grabbed her stuff from her car at one point so it didn’t take her long to find a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt that were clean enough. When it came to underwear though, she could barely stomach the thought of putting a bra on.

Ignoring it for now, she sat down on the bed and managed to dress herself more or less haphazardly. She was just tugging down the shirt when the door opened once again.

He was in front of her before she could even move. He stood only inches away from her, his face hard as granite, his eyes dark. “You should have waited for me.”

“I just wanted to get dressed.”

“You’re in pain. I can smell it.”

She looked up at him and frowned. “Smell it?”

He drew back a little. “Yes. I mean, the blood and all.”

“I’m not bleeding again, am I?” Scared, she pulled the tee up and examined the bandage covering her stomach. “I can’t see anything. Can you?”

“Yeah.” His voice came out soft and husky.

She gazed up at him and gulped. His eyes… God, his eyes had changed colors again. They were a bright blue and so very mesmerizing. She felt herself lean toward him, need surging inside her.

Maybe I should have put that bra on after all…
The thought swirled inside her mind, but she couldn’t make herself look away from him. It took a supreme effort to make her break the hold he had on her.

Even as she blinked and looked down at the floor, even as she tugged the shirt back down, hiding herself, she still felt the heat of his gaze on her.

“Stop that!” she told his feet, unwilling to look into his eyes again.

“I’m not doing anything.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No, little kitten, I’m not. Let me pack up our stuff and then we’ll be on our way. You should be able to lie down on the backseat, so the ride shouldn’t be too uncomfortable.”

“But I don’t want to go!”

“Tough.”

She looked up just in time to watch his ass disappear into the bathroom. It was a nice view, sure, but still… “Are you always like this?”

“Like what?” he asked loud enough she could hear him from her position on the bed.

“Giving orders. Not listening to what people say to you.”

“Pretty much, yeah. You’ll get used to it.”

She opened her mouth then realized she had no idea what to say.

“Seriously?” she finally gasped.

“Yup. Ready?” He had bags under both arms, and she watched as he grabbed her purse and hooked it around his neck.

He looked cute like that. She started smiling then realized she’d been considering running away from him only minutes ago. She shook her head. The guy had a weird effect on her. “I need shoes,” she eventually replied, berating herself inwardly at the inane comment.

She should be telling him no. She should go to wherever he’d dumped her car and take a look at it herself. Instead, she found herself saying thanks when he slid flip-flops onto her feet. Once he’d put their stuff in his car, he came back to help her stand up and walk, slow as hell, to the dirty khaki-colored SUV that was parked in front of their motel room.

“That’s your car?”

“Yup. Like it?”

“It’s a gas guzzler!”

“So?”

She shot him a glare, but he didn’t even notice.

“Let me,” he said seconds before he grabbed her waist in both hands and lifted her onto the backseat. And as she lay down on the blankets he’d prepared for her, she knew without a doubt that she was making a mistake. She just couldn’t seem to help herself.

He intrigued her. She wanted to know more about him.

Her mother had always said her curiosity would be the death of her. Sunny would just hope she’d been wrong.

After all, what were the odds of her facing death twice in a week?

* * * *

As soon as he heard her breathing slow down, Andy slid his cell phone from his shirt pocket and pressed speed dial one.

“Son?” his father answered.

“I’m on my way. We should be there by lunchtime.”

“Good. How is she holding up?”

“She’s still weak. It’s going to take her a few more days to get back to normal, maybe even more. I don’t know. I still think Nate should examine her.”

“Then I’ll have him visit you this afternoon once he’s closed the practice for the day.”

“Sounds good. Tell him to bring Kellie with him. I’m sure Sunny will feel better if another woman is present.”

“I will.” Silence followed, then, “What’s going on, Andy?”

He looked dead ahead, his lion growling inside him at the insinuation lacing his father’s words. “Nothing is going on.”

“You’re my son.”

“So what?”

“Don’t play games with me. You might be our Enforcer, but I’m still your Alpha.”

“True.”

His father sighed on the other end of the line. “You don’t want to tell me, I get that, but please be more careful than your brothers were. She’s already a problem. Don’t make her an even bigger one.”

Beep-beep.

Great, his dad had hung up on him.
Damn Alpha shit!
Andy swore inwardly. He really hated it when his father knew what was going on inside his head when he himself wasn’t even sure what was happening.

So what if his lion liked the human female? It wasn’t as if he was going to act on it. Like his dad had reminded him, he was the Pride Enforcer. He had responsibilities. One of them included the woman lying only inches behind him, her soft snores resonating throughout the car.

She might not know it yet, but her road trip was at an end…at least until his father decided what to do with her.

* * * *

Sunny woke just in time to lean up against the car door and watch out the window as they entered a small town. The streets were bordered by tall trees swaying in the wind. The houses were nondescript, and the shops they passed all looked similar to the ones she’d shopped throughout the country over the past weeks. So why was she feeling weirded out all of a sudden?

She focused on the people walking on the streets and realized there was something in the way they moved…

“We’re here,” Andy announced before she could put a specific word on her misgivings.

He turned left and stopped in front of one of the biggest houses she’d seen in town. “Is this your home?”

“Yes.”

She watched him get out of the car just as the front door opened and men filed out. Her breath caught in her throat. The two men stood at attention on the porch as if they were waiting to be put on review.
What the hell?

Andy walked up to them and said something, both nodding at him in obvious respect. Was he in the military? Could that be it? After all, he had the right haircut for that. But why weren’t they on a base then? And where were their uniforms?