She held his transformed gaze, her eyes drinking him in. There was no fear in her face, only heat and desire. Only warm acceptance.
Knox undressed, then took her under the warm spray with him.
What he wanted to give her now wasn’t sexual, despite his rampant arousal. She deserved care and compassion tonight.
He wanted to give her everything. Not only tonight, but for as long as she would have him.
That he cared deeply about her was no longer a shock for him to admit, at least to himself. But this other feeling was far more profound than simple affection.
In the short time since he’d met her, Leni had become the primary cause in his life. She’d become part of who he was. His heart had known it for a while now. It had taken his Hunter’s coldly logical brain a bit longer to clue in.
He loved this woman.
The realization staggered him.
And it was piss poor timing, considering the phone call he’d made earlier today.
He soaped her shoulders and pretty breasts as she stood in front of him, wreathed in clouds of billowing steam. Her hands moved over him too, slick and warm, each stroke making the coil of need inside him twist tighter, more demanding.
He groaned when she reached down and found his jutting erection. “Ah, Christ, that feels too good,” he admitted, his throat as dry as ash while she pumped him. “I promise, my motives were honorable when I brought you in here.”
She leaned her head forward and took his nipple between her teeth. When she released it, her breath skated hotly against his chest. “That’s too bad, because I need to feel you inside me, Knox.”
Holy hell. His body responded with eager interest. The rest of him had equally tenuous resistance.
“Then turn around,” he uttered thickly, his fangs surging against his tongue.
His fingers cleaved into the slick heat of her sex, readying her for him. He entered on a long, slow thrust. As hungered as he was, he took his time. She came twice before he let his own release roll over him.
Afterward, they lathered each other again, kissing and caressing until the water ran cold and they had no choice but to leave.
Knox could see the exhaustion still clinging to Leni even after they had toweled off. She was emotionally drained, half asleep on her bare feet.
“Come here,” he said, scooping her into his arms.
He carried her to the bed and laid her on the cool sheets. Then he slipped in beside her.
He was still hard, never fully sated when it came to his desire for her.
A different hunger raked him as well, but the thought of leaving her side to feed held little appeal. He only wished he could claim the same about the steady drum of her pulse as she drifted off to sleep in his arms. It echoed in his own veins, a siren’s call that took all he had to resist.
He needed blood after the recovery of his burns.
But there was something else he needed even more.
He had no doubt that the threat posed by Travis Parrish was only going to worsen. He had no intention of waiting for that to happen.
He was going to take great pleasure making that point clear.
Lenora Calhoun was his, and he protected what belonged to him.
CHAPTER 19
He hated the idea of leaving Leni and Riley unguarded, even for a minute.
Knowing they were both asleep in their beds, vulnerable to any threat, added urgency to Knox’s lightning-quick pace across the frozen woodlands. He followed the river, heading for the large spread of forested land northwest of town.
He’d had several hours of daylight to wait out back at Leni’s house today, and he had made use of it by doing a bit of internet reconnaissance on the Parrishes. He’d dug up a handful of interesting articles about their impressive twenty-eight-thousand-acre domain and the once-lucrative lumber operation that had been on a steady decline for the past decade.
