Chapter 8
ELAINEmumbled in her sleep. Connor sat up straighter, but she didn’t awaken.
He wasn’t sure how long she would sleep. Josh had given her a natural sedative, one that seemed to work well with some of his shifter patients. In general, shifters didn’t respond to many human medications, but Josh had studied a lot of ancient medicines as well as pharmaceuticals, and he knew what sorts of treatments had an effect on their people.
“This is valerian,” he’d explained earlier, giving her the pill. “It should help you rest.”
“My kids.” It had been the fifth time in as many minutes that she’d asked.
“They’re already asleep. The shift knocked them out. Their bodies need time to recuperate. Their heart rates were a bit elevated immediately afterward, but they’re calm now. Andy managed to give himself some deep scratches, but I’ve bandaged him up. I have an ointment that will help him heal quickly as well. If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay through the night to monitor them, just in case.” Josh had pointed a stern finger at her before leaving her bedroom. “Close your eyes. That’s an order.”
Connor would never forget the look on her face then. She’d glared at him, her mouth twisted with resentment, her eyes bright with tears. “I want to be alone.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, I want to win the title of Miss America. I guess that’s not happening any time soon either. I’m staying, lady. Get used to it and get some rest.”
She’d turned her back on him, and he’d remained in his seat, staring at her for the better part of three hours. He was thirsty, and he had to take a piss, but he didn’t dare move. He couldn’t.
She’d confronted a bear. A real man-eating bear.
Like a lunatic.
He couldn’t wrap his head around it.
He knew the bear probably wouldn’t have hurt her. Most wild animals perceived shape shifters as something superior, their alphas, in a way. Besides, his people in full shift tended to be bigger than their wild counterparts, more intimidating. He had no doubt if Elaine had been forced to defend herself, her bear would have rushed to the fore and protected her.
But this proved she wasn’t thinking straight. Even if the Alaskan bear presented no real threat, how was she to know the beast wasn’t rabid? She could still have been hurt, and if she’d been any more careless, she could have been killed.
Connor’s mountain lion hissed at the thought, scratching him with its claws.
“Okay, okay. I don’t like the idea either.” He shoved his fist into his gut. “Settle down.”
Unable to ignore the call of nature any longer, he padded toward her bathroom, leaving the door open a crack in case she called out. He took care of his business and washed his hands. As he did, he got a look at himself in the mirror above the sink.
“Christ. I look like shit.”
He’d been at his best just a few hours earlier. Now he had circles under his eyes. His lips were red from chewing on them. He’d removed his tie, the one he’d chosen because it matched the color of Elaine’s eyes, and had tossed it on her bed. One of the buttons on his shirt had popped off when he’d carried Elaine out of the party room. And his hair, the hair he’d combed so carefully at the start of the evening, was mussed from running his hands through it.
He was the one who looked half dead.
If he didn’t know any better, he’d swear his body was responding to Elaine’s emotions. When she was low, he was low. She’d had this huge cathartic moment in front of all their friends, but he was the one who looked as if he’d been through a war.
And to think he’d set out to seduce her this evening. He might have succeeded if he hadn’t opened his big trap. What had he been thinking, telling her about the dreams of Lloyd?
“Idiot.” Shaking his head, he went back to her bedroom and plunked himself into the chair.
Did he have any hope here at all? Elaine had walked up to a mature brown bear in an effort to reconnect with her dead mate. That kind of love should come around only once in a lifetime. Surely that sort of magic didn’t happen twice.
And yet, when he’d heard her cries of anguish, when the mascara tears began rolling down her face, his heart had broken. She occupied his every thought, and he wanted so badly to take her pain away.
He still wanted to kiss her too.
After the kids got settled with Josh, she’d changed out of the copper dress and into a worn T-shirt, silky boxers, and woolly socks. The comfy ensemble had given Connor the hard-on of his life. It was worse than seeing her all dolled up. Just something about the way her breasts bounced and the allure of her ass under those silk boxers…
It had taken all his strength to pretend he hadn’t noticed, but he had. He’d memorized each curve and the way the cotton fabric settled on her chest.
Even now, she slept, heedless of his gaze. Although a sheet covered her, he couldn’t miss the contours of her shapely figure. All those amazing peaks and valleys. The enticing dip between her legs.
His throat dried up, and his mountain lion’s growl sounded more like a rasp.
