“Your sister left,” he said.
She released a heavy breath.
“Tell me, why doesn’t Nadia seem concerned about leaving us alone?”
Kat yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Nadia’s men never want anything to do with me, and that goes both ways. She knows I’d never betray her trust. I’m a loyal wolf.”
CHAPTER3
Kat didn’t want to impose on her sister, especially after the last visit when Nadia had kicked her out of the apartment for painting the walls pale yellow. Kat hadn’t meant any harm; she’d just thought the place needed a little cheering up. What she really wanted to do was shift and relax, but she wasn’t allowed to because the last time she did, her wolf had left a ton of black hairs all over Nadia’s white couch.
Nadia could be a real bitch, but Kat wasn’t perfect by a mile. After all, who wants to hang out with a woman who dedicates her life to tracking down thugs? When on assignment, Kat spent most of her days and nights in bars, going undercover and squeezing juicy gossip from her informants. She had to dress the part, and eventually the lines blurred on how much of it was an act and how much was really her. As long as the clothes were comfortable, she didn’t care.
Granted, leather pants had their downside. As badass and sexy as they looked, they also made her legs sweat. Kat preferred distressed jeans or a pair of khakis, but unfortunately she had nothing else to wear at the moment since she’d driven into town straight from a biker bar in Shreveport.
After waking up in Prince’s armpit, she’d slinked out of the room to retrieve two leftover slices of pizza from the dining table. Kat meandered into the living room and sat on the sofa beside Prince.
Prince. What kind of name was that? Tall, graceful like a panther, long hair—and Kat had always had a thing for long-haired men. On top of that, he smelled good… beneath all the cologne. Prince had a face that artists chiseled from marble, and don’t get her started on his eyes. The intensity of his gaze made her talk faster than usual. Up close, the contrasting colors were arresting, and they pulled her in like magnets. Men shouldn’t have eyes that sexy. Especially not with wolfish brows that sometimes slanted in a way that sent a shiver up her spine. Prince was like a knight all cleaned up and wearing a silk suit. Okay, so maybe that was a little overboard, but she definitely enjoyed the sexy image in her mind of him astride a black stallion, wielding a sword.
Nadia had picked a winner this time. Not too young, not too old, and an alpha to boot.
But Kat knew beneath all the layers of sophistication was a man like any other man. At the end of the day, he was no different than the guy selling magazines in the airport. Same basic wants and needs, even if he didn’t choose to acknowledge them.
“Have a bite,” she offered, handing him a slice of room-temperature pizza. “You didn’t eat enough at dinner. I know this isn’t exactly a four-star meal, but at least it’s more edible than my sister’s wild game.”
He eyed the pizza skeptically. “I wouldn’t go so far as to call that edible.”
That was a little high and mighty. She turned to face him and waved the pizza in front of his mouth, brushing the tip against his lower lip. “Don’t think I didn’t notice your stomach growling earlier. What do you think lulled me to sleep? We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I prefer the hard way, but it’s up to you.”
Kat was joking, but much to her surprise, he took the slice from her hand and bit into it. Nowthatpiqued her curiosity even more. How often do you get to see someone experience their first bite of pizza?
“Well? How is it?”
The lines in his jaw moved as he chewed and swallowed. “Like you.”
She dusted off her fingers. “And how am I like a pizza? Except for the supreme part.”
“Bursting with flavor, but probably not good for me.”
Kat laughed heartily and folded up her own slice, shoving half of it into her mouth.
“I’ve never seen a woman with such a ravenous appetite,” he remarked.
“I have a screwed-up metabolism,” she said around a mouthful of pizza. “My wolf is always in starvation mode.”
“Yet you have the same figure as Nadia.”
Her eyes flashed up with interest that Prince had noticed her body. It kind of made her want to blush, except Kat hadn’t blushed since she was twelve and a boy named Danny had kissed her on a dare. Twelve was much too young for a Shifter girl to be kissing boys, and Kat hadn’t done it again until she was twenty-one.
Kat finished her last bite and licked her finger. “My job requires a lot of running and climbing over walls, so I guess I need all the calories I can cram in.”
His eyes slid down to her legs and back up again.
“Are you doing what I think you’re doing?” she asked. It was a trait Kat was familiar with because she did the same thing in her profession.
“I… I was…”
When color touched his cheeks, she couldn’t help but smirk. The stammering was even more adorable.
