He dropped the box on the other bed. Before she could say anything about that, Stephen opened the door and tossed Kellen a first-aid kit. "You'll want to remove the stitches before we knock off for the night."
Then he was gone with the door shut tight and the slink-chick of the lock sliding into place. This left Kellen with a face that looked like he'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Stephen's implication as to what Kellen should be doing couldn't have been clearer.
Well, well. It appeared that Stephen and Leo were giving her and Kellen space to figure out where they would go from here. Good. She'd already decided that she liked them, but this nudged them higher on her list of people she respected. They certainly weren't worried about what their wolves thought of the situation.
"Why don't you lay down on the other bed while I go wash my hands," Kellen said, not looking at her.
Even though it wasn’t necessary, Samara slipped off the sweatshirt she'd put on earlier, so she hadn’t boiled the boys by turning up the heater in the van. Underneath was a brand new army green tank top Kellen had given her before they had left, just tight enough to keep things interesting. If nothing else, it gave Kellen plenty of room to examine her stitches before removing them.
Chills slithered across her skin. She convinced herself that was because the weather was colder up here near the Canadian border. Kellen returned and slipped two surgical gloves over his hands. Then he gestured for her to lie down. She did as instructed and turned her head to the side so he could have a clear view of her neck. The feathery touch of his fingers tickled a bit, forcing her to swallow hard and ignore the heat building from inside. The heat died a hard death when the cold touch of alcohol hit her skin, the scent powerful enough to make her scrunch her nose in distaste. She waited while he rubbed the wet gauze over her wound.
More than anything she wished she could watch what he was doing, but she forced herself to remain still. She felt the sharp tip of the scissors clip the stitches and the tweezers pull them free. There was no pain, though. When he was done, Kellen placed a band-aid on the area.
"Keep the band aid on for the next twenty-four hours and don't wash the area. There will be a small scar, but that should fade soon." She remained on the bed as he put the first aid kit back together. After he finished, he stood. "I'll be next door if you need anything."
"Stay with me." It sounded more like a command than a request, so she tried again. "I don't care how much you love your brothers. You belong here. You want me, and I want you. My attraction to you is powerful. You feel the same. I can see it in your eyes every time you look away from me."
"I can't."
She sat up, but that only put her face in line with his fly, so to avoid temptation again, she stood. "Is it because of your mother?"
He stepped back, all color draining from his face.
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. I recognized the face in the picture on the wall. Your mother is part of the Riverstone Pack and there is a good chance I might have killed her when I escaped."
Kellen turned away, taking the first aid kit with him.
"Answer me. Please." She'd added the please so it wouldn't quite sound as if she were barking orders at him.
He turned back to her and tossed the first aid kit on the bed with her backpack. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, his head hung low. "My mother made her choice. After the three of us decided to walk away from pack life, I took a few days to travel back here to talk to her. I managed to get her alone, near one of the barns. I offered her everything...my love, her freedom, a real home. None of it mattered.” He let out a little growl that would have sounded sexy if it weren’t for the situation. As he spoke, Kellen's whole face changed. He looked nothing like the man who'd watched over her.
When he took a long pause, she almost reached out to him. But the breath that shuddered from his chest stopped her.
He went on. “There was nothing in her eyes that had any care or concern for me anymore. Josiah had managed to bring her into his devoted cult, even though she got nothing out of it. I didn't understand then, and I still don't understand now. If she truly is dead then...yes, it hurts and it will always hurt because I want to remember the woman who raised me with my father before he died. The woman who chose a self-centered narcissistic alpha asshole over her own kin, her child...that woman is not my mother and I need to accept that."
All of his warmth, kindness and quiet strength now carried the weight of exhaustion, something she could relate to. Deep lines carved into his forehead and his eyes were dull with grief. His jaw clenched as if restraining words he didn't want her to hear, private words that a man would never share except with those who he trusted, and maybe not even then.
He acted as if he’d lost her and didn't believe he'd ever get her back. The harshness of it, the unfairness, hit Samara in the gut. Her parents had raised her with love. Her grandfather tried his best to love her in the only way he knew—by teaching her how to protect herself.
She couldn't stand the look of devastation she saw in Kellen.
Standing on her tiptoes, she pulled him down so she could kiss him. This kiss had nothing to do with desire, but everything to do with comfort. She wanted nothing more than to banish the sadness of his past and bring him back to the present. Yes, he had his brotherhood, and they were perfectly happy with each other's company, but there was a love beyond brotherhood that he clearly needed—and wanted. He'd fallen in love and committed himself to those other women until their deaths. That meant he could fall in love again.
Only to lose you too? If your wolf is dead then you'll die long before he does. Is that what you want?
What she wanted was to stop his pain. Kellen was convinced her wolf still lived. And for the first time since she'd been turned, Samara thought about what she had to do to bring her wolf back from wherever her shadow had drifted off to.
She had no idea where to start, so she focused on Kellen instead, pouring herself into his emotions, letting him feel her give more than just body.
He got the message and pulled her into a fierce hug before releasing her to kiss her back. Her body was lifted off the ground and molded to his perfectly. They kissed until they were breathless. Gasping, she slid back to the bed and pulled him down on top of her when she lay back. Not even the squeak of the springs, the lumps of the mattress, or the scratchiness of the blanket, could distract her from Kellen's weight pressing against her as he kept his mouth sealed to hers.
Breaking the kiss, Kellen stared at her with a heated gaze as she caught her breath. He rolled to the side and pulled off his shirt and jeans. She did as well but had to waste time unclipping her knife and slipping off her bra.
They gravitated back together. Every nerve in her body came alive under his touch, and she let her hands roam over the uneven hills and valleys of his muscled back. Odd, that he had only a fine dusting of dark hair over his tan chest, given he could grow fur so thick water would roll off his wolf instead of soaking him.
She couldn't hold back her moan when he reached down, parted her legs, and touched her in her most sensitive place.
Oh, heavens.
