Tall Dark Handsome Lycan (6 page)

Eventually he would t
ake a trip to Somerset, Sam reasoned, surely to visit Toni’s new home with John. She wondered when she would see him again after she returned home.  A heaviness weighed around her heart.  Sam was going to probe the disturbing feeling further, but stopped once the car dipped under his weight.  His presence beside her rattled her nerves and she wondered at the extent of her feelings for him.

She didn’t need to turn her head to know he was
watching her. She could feel his dark gaze on her and she wrapped her arms protectively around her.

“Are you still cold?”
He asked.

“No. I’m fine now.
Thanks.”

By the time they arrived at the villa, Sam had gotten herself so worked up with anxiety and nerves at their near kiss, she quickly unlocked her door and practically stumbled out of the car in her haste to go inside the house and sprint to the privacy of her room.

Leo reached her side before she started her mad dash into the house and he raised a dark brow as he stared at her.

Sam tried to hide the nervous twitch from her mouth.
“I…I’m going to bed.”

He didn’t respond as he led her into the house, but she caught the grim set of his jaw and the hardening of his expression.
He turned on the chandelier and a soft glow of light filled the hall. Sam made her way to the stairs, but his hand shot out and he stopped her.

“Why are you
behaving like this?” He demanded.

“Like what?”
She asked, braving a look at him. He sounded angry, but when she saw his face, she was half-frightened, half-excited to see desire still etched on his handsome features.

“
I frighten you.”

Sam laughed, but it sounded strained and forced.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then why, as we speak,
I see you inching your way backward toward the stairs?”

“I’m tired and I want to go to bed.”

“Liar.”

Sam
bristled. “Look, I’m still suffering from jetlag,” she said, startled to realize she had only met him this morning, “and I’m still reeling from what we just went through with Nitsa.”

Leo’s brow knotted into a dark slash and he ran a shaky hand through his hair. “
For the record, I never thought you went for short, summer flings.”

Sam waited for him to mention Katina, but he didn’t.
Was it one night stands he went for, then? “Let’s forget it. It was…it was an emotional evening for everyone,” she said.

Grim-faced, he
withdrew from her. “Very well. Goodnight,” he said brusquely.

“Goodnight.”
Relieved, Sam turned to go upstairs, but his deep voice stopped her.

“Sam.”

Slowly she turned and gave him a guarded look.

“Thank you for helping Nitsa.
Maria is like family to me and I am grateful for your help this evening.”

She
was warmed by his admission, especially since she knew how hard it must have been for him to make it. “You’re welcome, Leo,” she replied softly.

His
gaze flickered over her standing on the stairs in her sheer nightgown and his over-sized shirt, and he cleared his throat abruptly. “Goodnight, Sam.”

“Goodnight, Leo,” she whispered.

And he turned abruptly on his heels and disappeared into his office.

                                    
             * * * *

Leo needed a stiff drink.
In four hundred years, he’d bedded thousands of women, but he’d never encountered anyone like Samantha Hope. He couldn’t deny his attraction to her, nor hers to him, and he sure as hell would get to the bottom of Matt’s file on her.

Dammit!  He’d never desired a woman as much as he wanted Sam in all his existence. 
He went to the window and stared out into the night.  His loins tightened as the memory of her breasts outlined under the nightdress teased his restless mind.  He wanted her.  Now.  His human fought his beast from going up to her room and taking her.  Frustrated, he flung aside the curtain and stared up into the night sky.  The full moon was coming soon.  An ancient, primitive instinct tugged at his beast and he threw back his head and howled.  When his raw energy was spent, he closed his eyes and dropped the curtain as he released a ragged breath.

Leo prided himself on always being in control of his emotions
, especially when it came to women. He didn’t believe in wasting time or playing games. When he was physically attracted to a woman, usually the woman reciprocated his feelings, and they engaged in a healthy bout of sex.  He was always open and honest with them, and never made them think there was anything more to their relationship than sex. 

Lycans, vampires, witches, humans—he’d bedded them all.  As for his mate, his
one
, the woman destined to be his, he would find her when the time was right. 

Yet, time was a factor that wasn’t relevant to him.  He was immortal and he had all the time in the world to settle down.

His mood darkened as he thought about the enticing woman upstairs. She was different.  She had clearly rejected him, even though his instincts were telling him she felt otherwise, and rejection was something he’d never faced in all his four hundred years.

Still,
she had saved him the trouble of ending what would inevitably be a short lived affair.  He seriously doubted the sexy psychic upstairs was his
one. 
His
one
would have let him kiss her.  His
one
would have ended up in his bed tonight.  That was the biggest legacy of the Lycan Legend.  A passion and love so deep and profound, nothing could keep the Lycan and his mate apart.

If she clearly wasn’t his
one
, then why the hell was he in such a foul mood? He cursed under his breath.

Samantha Hope must have had a bit of a witch in her because he
’d been bewitched since the first moment she’d spoken to him on the telephone over two months ago. And then, when he had met her at the airport, he had been pole-axed not only by her striking beauty, but by her strength and determination.

He
swore again.  He needed to take a damn cold shower.

The next morning, Sam slipped on tan shorts and a blue T-shirt over her black bikini. After packing her brown tote bag with everything she needed for her day on the beach, she went downstairs.

Her goal today was to relax
and forget about yesterday’s events. She hardly slept a wink last night. Thoughts of Leo had kept her tossing and turning all night long and her stomach had fluttered like a hundred butterflies trying to escape.

Pursing her lips, she decided the only way she was going to find any peace was if she put him out of her mind completely.
Sam was surprised to find Maria in the kitchen making breakfast.

“Good morning.” Sam smiled at the older woman. “I thought you’d still be at the hospital.”

Maria beamed at her. “Good morning. I returned early this morning. The doctor told me to go because nothing is going to happen today. He said I should come back later. My daughter was sleeping when I left.”

“I’m so happy she’s
fine.”

“Me, too,” Maria
glanced at the kitchen clock and frowned.

“Don’t worry, Maria.  I’m sure your daughter’s still sleeping soundly.  When are you going back?”

“After breakfast, but I can only stay with her for a couple of hours.  I have to come back here to prepare dinner.”

“I can help.”

Maria smiled.
“You have already been a big help. My daughter was telling me how much she likes you.  Please sit down. For you, a big breakfast this morning.” Maria gave Sam a searching look and slowly her expression changed to one of concern. “You did not sleep well,
koritsimou
?”

The mirror hadn’
t lied this morning when Sam noticed the dark circles under her eyes. “No,” she replied honestly. “I’m afraid not.”

“The bed was not comfortable?”
Maria wiped her hands on her apron and frowned. “Maybe you were cold? I will send you more blankets.”

“No, no. The bed…
The whole room, actually, was very comfortable.” How could Sam tell Maria that thoughts of Leo had kept her up most of the night?  “Did you hear that strange animal howling last night?  It sounded like a wolf.”  Maria’s gaze wavered and she appeared uncomfortable.  Sam frowned. 

“I did not hear anything.”

Sam deepened her frown.  “How could you not?  It was so loud, for a moment I thought there was a wild animal in the house.”  Maria’s expression grew taut and Sam had the curious feeling the older woman was hiding something.  “I am sure it was nothing.  Just a stray dog,” she said.

Maria’s face immediately brightened and she turned around to place two slices of bread into the toaster.  “Yes!  A dog.  That is what it must have been.”

“By the way, I’ve never slept in such a big bed.”

The older woman smiled.
“Your room is one of the best guest rooms in the house. I am very pleased Leo gave it to you.”

Confusion washed over Sam
, her thought of the wolf disappearing. Leo had told her all the rooms looked the same. Why did he go to the trouble of giving her the nicest one when he had made his dislike of her so apparent? Furthermore, if he disliked her so much, why did he want to kiss her? Sam’s spirits sunk, realizing the answers to both questions.

Leo must have given Sam the nicest room for Toni’s benefit.
He obviously wanted to ensure Sam had nothing, but good things to say about his hospitality.

As for the kiss…
well, Sam mused objectively, Leo was a hot-blooded male and she had been practically naked in that see-through nightgown. What reason could there be other than a purely physical, male response to an attractive, skimpily dressed woman?

Sam
scowled. Why was she thinking about Leo again? She turned her attention to Maria and focused on something else.. “I forgot to thank you for the dinner you left in my room last night. That was very kind of you, Maria. The meal was delicious.”

The older woman frowned.
“What dinner, my girl?”

Sam blinked.
“The dinner tray you brought up to my room while I slept.” An unsettling fear nagged her stomach.

“
It must have been Leo who brought it up to you. When you did not come down to eat, he asked me to make you a plate and leave it in the oven.”

“He did?”
Sam asked in a small voice, her face getting warm at the thought of Leo standing over her bed while she slept. Still, a part of her couldn’t help feeling warmed at the thought of him making sure she ate.

Maria smiled, nodding.
“He must have brought your dinner up when he realised you were not coming down.  Leo is a very good and very kind man, Sam. On the outside he is cold and distant, but on the inside he is very warm, very nice. The best.”

“I…I must thank him.”
One thing was certain about him. He was a man full of surprises.

“A
nd I must thank you again for last night, Sam. You were an angel sent from heaven.”

Sam smiled and took the cup of coffee Maria offered her. “I was happy to help.”
Her eyes widened at the huge plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns Maria placed in front of her. “I can’t possibly eat all of this. I was only going to have some toast this morning.”

“Never mind the toast.
You need to eat a big meal.”

Sam
was touched by the woman’s concern and smiled. “All right, but you can’t keep spoiling me like this or I won’t want to leave.”

Leo strolled into the kitchen and Sam’s stomach
jolted. He seemed a little worse off than her this morning, as though he hadn’t slept at all, and she almost felt sorry for him. She glanced over his white polo shirt, taupe trousers, and slightly damp hair. Leo gave her a guarded look and she wondered if he had heard her comment about not wanting to leave. His dark, unfathomable gaze went to her heaping plate and Sam thought she detected a brief flash of satisfaction on his face.

“Good morning,” he said before he a
bruptly turned and filled his coffee mug.

Sam
stared at his broad, muscular back and her mind sped to the heart stopping moment last night when she’d seen him naked. Her breath caught and she blinked rapidly, trying to fend the stirring memory away.  It was no use. His male beauty was right there in front of her and she was never more intensely aware of a man before in her life.

Leo inquired politely after Nitsa’s health and Maria happily obliged him with the good news.

“I was just telling Sam,” Maria offered heartily, “how lucky we were to have her last night.”