The Keeping (16 page)

A little voice
felt it was important to point out that the waitress had left Mel
with the impression that the two had a rather loose relationship;
it seemed more a ‘friends with benefits’ type of thing... Mel
pulled a face. It didn’t matter either way. Sure, the man was good
looking—sort of a sexy, bad-ass kind of a guy—but she didn’t really
know him, and the little bit of conversation they’d had, hadn’t
been that cordial. Lucy was welcome to him...wasn’t she? But if
that was the case, then why did the idea of him being with the
waitress, irk her? She realized that she was scowling and
determinedly cleared her expression.

Figuratively
throwing her hands up in despair over her own confusing thoughts,
Mel drained her cup and checked the time. She was surprised to find
that it was eleven-thirty. The diner was starting to fill with the
luncheon crowd and, since she wasn’t really hungry, she probably
should go, so there would be room for other customers.

Getting to her
feet, she picked up her purse and stepped outside. It was another
beautiful spring day, and having nothing better to do with her
time, Mel decided to go for a walk. The main street was only two
blocks long, but there were a few side streets as well. With a
smile, she set off to explore the little town.

Forty-five minutes
later, she found herself standing in front of Miller’s Service
Station having discovered almost all of what the little town had to
offer. Now, she faced the same dilemma with which she’d started the
day; did she go in and talk to Taylor or leave him alone? Nibbling
her lip, she weighed the pros and cons of each course of
action.

“Adding ‘stalker’
to your list of crimes now?”

The sound of a
deep, male voice speaking behind her had Mel giving a little scream
and turning quickly. Unfortunately, she lost her balance and
started to fall backwards, tipping off the curb and stumbling onto
the street. Simultaneously, several things happened. A horn blared,
Ryne grabbed her, pulling her flush against his body and a truck
whizzed by.

It had happened so
quickly, all she could do was gape up at him.

“Suicidal, too?”
Ryne was staring down at her, his expression somewhere between
anger and exasperation.

Mel was mesmerized
by the intense blue of his eyes and only slowly became aware of the
way their bodies fit together. Her mouth was level with his throat,
her hands pressed to his chest and his hips snugly cradled her
stomach. She could see his throat move as he swallowed, feel the
strong beating of his heart, and smell the very male scent of him
wrapping itself around her. Unthinkingly, she allowed her fingers
to spread out over the hard planes of his chest, while her gaze
focused on his lips. They were firm, the lower one slightly fuller
and curved into a...a smirk?

Suddenly
recognizing the situation she was in, Melody looked him in the eye.
He was laughing at her—oh, not out loud—but she could tell from his
expression, he was laughing at her. She struggled to step away, but
he merely locked his arms more tightly around her.

“Let me go!”

“That’s all you
ever say to me.” He sighed and pretended to pout.

“That’s because
you’re always grabbing me!”

“And you’d rather
I let you fall into the street, right into the path of a delivery
van?” Ryne tilted his head questioningly.

Mel stopped
struggling as the gravity of what almost happened hit her. “No. I
suppose I should thank you.”

Ryne nodded and
looked at her expectantly.

“What?” Mel
frowned and then realized what he wanted. She huffed, still
thoroughly put out by the man, even if he did save her life. “Okay.
Fine. Thank you, Ryne Taylor, for pulling me to safety. Now let me
go.”

“Is that all?”

“All?”

“Just a thank you?
Saving your life surely deserves something
more...personal...tangible...than a mere ‘thank you.’ Actions speak
louder than words, you know.” He winked at her and then grinned
evilly.

Mel closed her
eyes and counted to ten, knowing exactly what he wanted. All right.
She’d kiss him and then, if he didn’t let her go, she’d knee him in
the groin. Opening her eyes, she stood on tiptoe and placed a
chaste kiss on his lips. At least it was supposed to be a chaste
kiss. No sooner had their lips touched than Ryne immediately took
control.

Using one of his
hands to cradle the back of her head, he angled their mouths,
pressing his lips to hers, stroking the seam of her lips with his
tongue. Of its own volition, her mouth opened in response to his
implied request. His tongue skimmed the smooth inner surface of her
lower lip before venturing deeper. Words couldn’t even begin to
describe the sensations that coursed through her. Mel’s entire body
tingled and she pressed herself closer, wanting even more contact
with him. A moan escaped her, desire starting to uncurl within. She
was trying to work her hands free in order to pull him closer, when
suddenly she found herself standing a foot away.

She blinked in
surprise. “What?”

Ryne smirked,
seemingly cool, and unaffected by their encounter. “Okay, so you’re
a trespasser, a stalker, have suicidal tendencies, and you’re a sex
maniac.”

“Sex maniac!”

He nodded. “You’re
the one that kissed me.”

“But you said...”
Mel sputtered, unable to finish the sentence, she was so
enraged.

“I said something
tangible would be nice to go with the thank you. It could have been
a cup of coffee or a handshake. You just assumed it was a
kiss.”

Mel narrowed her
eyes and glared.

“You also
disturbed the peace this morning.” He folded his arms and gave her
a look that was reminiscent of the one given her by the police last
time she’d been caught speeding. “That was your horn, wasn’t
it?”

“Ooh!” Not even
realizing what she was doing, Mel stamped her foot in frustration
and Ryne burst out laughing. She gave him an ‘I wish you would drop
dead’ look and turned to leave only to find herself jerked back
when he grabbed her arm.

“Hey! Where do you
think you’re going?” He’d stopped laughing, but was still
smiling.

Mel tugged on her
arm and spoke through clenched teeth. “I’m leaving before I do
something I’ll regret.”

“Really? So you
don’t regret anything you’ve done up to this point, like
trespassing, or stalking me, or kissing me?”

It took Mel a
moment to figure out that he was implying she’d enjoyed kissing
him. For a brief second, she considered denying it, but figured
he’d somehow or other twist that around, too. Instead she switched
to one of his other accusations. “I’m not stalking you.”

“No? You scaled my
gate on Saturday. You parked outside my place on Sunday—my friend,
Bryan, told me about that one—and today you’ve sat in the diner
across from where I work and watched every move I made. Sorry,
honey. That’s stalking.”

“I was not
watching every move you made.”

“Correction. You
couldn’t see inside the building but every time I stepped out, I
could feel you watching me.”

“You were only out
once.” Mel folded her arms and affected a pout, staring blindly at
the building behind him, rather than looking at his irritating—but
oh so handsome—face. After a brief moment she winced, realizing
she’d just given herself away. If she hadn’t been watching him, how
would she have known he only came out once? Damn! If he was paying
attention—and she was sure he was—he’d have the goods on her!

“Stalker.” He
taunted back. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His
hands were casually tucked in his back pockets and he had a look of
infinite patience on his face, as if he’d wait forever until she
conceded.

Mel exhaled
gustily and ran her hands through her hair, pushing it away from
her warm face; their verbal sparring was causing her to feel hot
and flushed. “All right. I was sort of...stalking you.”

Ryne grinned
happily. “See? That wasn’t so hard to admit. You know, I’ve never
had a stalker before.”

“Really?” She was
surprised that someone with his amazingly good looks had never been
followed around by a woman.

“Nope.” He headed
inside the service station and she hurried after him, intrigued.
“Most women take one look at me and just openly throw themselves at
my feet.”

Mel snorted and
rolled her eyes. “Not conceited much, are you?”

Now inside the
building, Ryne turned to face her, leaning against a workbench. “I
prefer to call it having a healthy self-esteem.” When she raised an
eyebrow at him, he just laughed. “So, Melody Greene, aka stalker
girl, I hear you want to interview me.” He suddenly looked serious
and it took Mel a moment to switch gears and organize her
thoughts.

“Um...yeah... I
mean, yes... Yes, of course. I do want to interview you.”

“Why?”

The coldness of
his eyes sent a shiver down her spine and Mel had to wonder where
the man she’d just been talking to had gone. Eyes that cold could
belong to a murderer. Maybe he was responsible for that missing
sales clerk! No, she’d already decided that wasn’t a plausible
theory. Still feeling a bit nervous, she licked her lips and gave a
carefully worded answer. “Well, I’m trying to write a paper on up
and coming artists and I’ve seen some of your work and thought it
was good. Really good.”

Ryne didn’t say
anything. He just gave her a considering look, as if trying to
decide whether or not he believed her. Abruptly he stood up, his
movement bringing him into her personal space. She stepped back and
swallowed. Something about him seemed threatening, over-powering,
and she found herself staring at the ground, unable to meet his
eyes. What sounded like a rather satisfied rumble came from his
chest and she dared to glance up at him. He was still staring at
her, but it wasn’t so scary now. It was more a look of interest, as
if he found her puzzling, but fascinating. Mel swallowed and
cleared her throat.

“I...I think the
interview would be beneficial to your career.”

“You’ll need to
convince me of that.”

“Well—”

He interrupted,
reaching around her to grab his coat, which was on a hook beside
her. Mel jumped back as his arm brushed against her breast and
electrical waves went through her. Ryne didn’t seem to notice and
talked as if there’d been no contact between them. “I’m done here;
I only work until noon on Mondays. Meet me for supper at The Broken
Antler at six-thirty. You can convince me then.”

His sudden change
of topic once again had Mel floundering. She hurried after him as
he walked out of the building. “The Broken Antler?”

“Uh-huh. It’s the
bar next door. They have great burgers, hotdogs, chilli, chicken
fingers—that sort of stuff.”

Not sure what else
to do but agree, Mel nodded. “All right. Six thirty.”

Ryne didn’t
respond. He simply walked away, got in a black pickup truck, and
drove away.

Chapter
12

Ryne headed for
home, mulling about his encounter with Melody Greene. He hadn’t
meant to approach her—to interact as he had—but seeing her standing
just yards away, he suddenly found himself walking towards her and
starting a conversation. Damn his inner wolf!

She was a funny
little thing, and not about to back down from him either.
Chuckling, he thought of how easy it was to tease her. Mind you,
she’d held her own, dishing out some good comebacks. Sparring with
her was fun, invigorating even. He liked a woman who kept him on
his toes and she certainly did that. There was a fire within her,
as well. A grin spread across his face as he recalled how her
cheeks turned pink and her brown eyes flashed with temper.

On some level, she
appealed to him physically as well. He’d sensed his wolf humming in
approval when he’d carried her from his house the other day and
then today, when she’d kissed him... Ryne recalled the feel of her
lush breasts pressed against him, her hot mouth moving under his,
her soft sighs tickling his ears—thank heavens he’d had enough
sense to break it off when he had. For a moment during the kiss,
the memories of pleasuring her while she slept had taken over and
he’d been tempted to continue where he’d left off. It was a good
thing he’d pushed her away before she noticed his arousal. Ryne
shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the path his mind was following
still having an effect on him. Seeking to quell his growing
erection, he turned his thoughts to less pleasant matters.

The girl claimed
she wanted to interview him because she’d liked his work as a
photographer, but he’d sensed some deception on her part. Between
werewolves, lies were hard to detect, but humans were less adept at
hiding their true selves. The dilation of her pupils, the tilt of
her head, a certain quality of voice and breathing patterns, all
led him to believe that Ms. Greene had told him a part truth, but
not the whole truth. How had she tracked him down? What was she
hiding? What was her real agenda?

He stopped the
truck as he reached the gated edge of his territory. Climbing out,
he dealt with the lock, drove the truck through, and then secured
the gate again, pausing for a moment to enjoy the scenery. Tall
pines rose up on either side of the driveway, acting like sentinels
that guarded the privacy of his home. Unlike much of the
surrounding area, this forest was untouched and unharvested.
Decaying logs, the remains of ancient trees, were scattered on the
ground in amongst young saplings and strong maturing conifers.
Patches of snow were still visible but Ryne knew in another month
ferns, wild flowers and other forms of natural vegetation would
carpet the forest floor. Already, signs of animal life were
increasing as the temperatures warmed. Tracks from a myriad of
creatures tattooed the muddy ground while birds chirped and
twittered overhead in the trees. This would be his first spring on
his own land and he was anxious to explore his domain without a
concealing blanket of snow. A wolf needed to become one with his
territory, knowing every wrinkle in the land, the placement of each
plant. Like a lover, he would watch it breathe and grow, sensing
its moods, caring for it, guarding it against those who dared to
trespass. He inhaled deeply, taking in the earthy, woodsy scents.
Mine
, both he and his wolf declared.