He led her to the back door off the kitchen and peeled back the curtain.“I was sleeping and heard the deck boards squeak.At first, I thought it was just the wind.Then I heard a small crash.I came to the window and saw it—the cat—staring at me from the end.”He pointed to the far side of the porch.“I know I sound like I’m going loopy.If the phones weren’t down I’d call the wildlife officer to take care of it.”
She bumped him out of the way with her shoulder and shoved open the curtain as far as it would stretch.He’d already turned on the porch light, so a yellow glow stretched the length of the porch and a few feet into the snowy yard.Tracks ate up the snow that should have covered the edge of the deck.Something had disturbed the pristine area, but not necessarily a cougar.
“Those don’t look like mountain-lion prints.”
His abdomen pressed against her arm as he moved closer.Gosh, he was tall.She was five foot seven, so that put him at close to six and a half feet.His washboard abs brushed against her elbow, and longing burned in her belly.
It was the first time that she’d had skin-to-skin contact with a man since moving to Whistlemore.
“What’s it look like to you then?”he asked.An edge tugged at the question, but she didn’t take the bait.Who was she to question what he’d seen?All she could do was point out the obvious.
“The tracks look like skid marks,” she said.“I don’t see any clear paw indents, but we’d have to go outside to inspect.”Despite her unstable belief in his claim, she wasn’t going to set foot out of the house.She hiked up her chin and stared at the hard ridge of his jawbone.“You’re sure you saw it?That it looked at you?”
His stomach muscles bunched against her arm.He cleared his throat.“I hadn’t turned on the light when I saw it.But there was a figure and I saw its eyes glowing.”
She twisted her lips and dropped the curtain.“Well, it’s outside and we’re safe here.No one in town will be out walking in this tonight.”She stepped away from the window.The green depths of his eyes roamed her face, moved to the thin material of her shirt, stopped, and continued down.Warmth awakened her breasts and her nipples turned to hard nubs.Thank god she’d worn thick flannel pants to hide the curve of her hips.A cord jumped in his forearm, and he opened and closed his hand at his side as if to stop himself from touching her.
She molded her arms across her chest.Her ribs ached beneath the pressure, but it did nothing to calm the fire he’d roused.
When this is over, I’m going to the city to get laid.
He turned and coughed, covering his mouth with his elbow.The deep rattle made her wince.All she wanted to do was check him over, but she curled her fingernails into her side.“Do you want to take something for that?”
He faced her again, and a flare of amusement lit his eyes.“You mean to tell me you have cough syrup?”
She snorted and turned to the cupboard.“You mean something to stifle your symptoms and allow the virus to thrive?Not quite.But I have a few things that can help boost your immune system so you can fight this better, hopefully before it turns into anything worse.”She pulled a glass jar of elderberry syrup from the fridge, shook it, and poured a shot glass full.
He wrinkled his nose.The expression should have been annoying on a grown-ass man, but on Jaxon...it was cute.He seemed genuinely concerned about the taste.
“It’s actually pretty good stuff.I sell this at the market and can barely keep it in stock this time of year.”
He reached for the glass, and his fingers slipped over hers.The rough callouses on the inside of his hand conjured all kinds of delicious fantasies.He tossed back the liquid.His eyebrows rose, and he licked off the deep purple ring around his top lip.
“Holy shit that’s...potent.”
She didn’t hide her grin.“It’s packed full of elderberries, ginger root, spices, and raw honey.”She returned the bottle to the fridge then went to the medicine cabinet over the toaster and poured about a teaspoon of colloidal silver into a plastic medicine cup.“Feel free to take this every few hours.”
“That’s the stuff you cleaned my wound with.”
She tilted her head and tried not to roll her eyes.“That’s right.It has multiple purposes.Just don’t use a spoon.The metal interacts with the silver and makes it less effective.”
He accepted the spoon, smelled it, and lifted one perfectly shaped brown eyebrow.“I’m starting to wonder if you’re trying to drug me.”
Laughter tickled her throat.Some of the paleness left his skin, along with the shadow of anxiety that had been taking up residence on his face ever since she opened the door.Not to mention he didn’t appear the least bit uneasy standing in front of her in only his briefs.
Her gaze dipped to the black material below his waist.His manhood pressed against the tight underwear, promising to fill every inch of her.“I like my men conscious.”She rocked onto the edges of her feet.“They’re more useful that way.”As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to gobble them back in.Goodness, she must be going bonkers.She was flirting.Which was a surefire way to get all that male yumminess in her panties before she had the chance to screw her head back on straight.
His mouth quirked, and he placed the cup on the counter.The movement brought him into her personal space.His scent had changed.Now, instead of fearful, it was...primeval.She inhaled before he returned to his position a couple of feet away, dragging in the intoxicating aroma of sweat, sea-breeze-scented aftershave, and whatever pheromones were getting her juices going.
She sidled around him.“I need to get to bed.”She dragged her fingers through her hair, stopping when they got trapped in the unkempt strands.She yanked them out harder than she normally would.“If you need anything, ugh, don’t wake me.Make yourself at home.”She waved toward the kitchen and fluttered into the hall.
“McKenna.”The low drawl of his voice sent tremors along her inner thighs.
She cast a glance over her shoulder.
“Thanks.”
She lifted a hand in acknowledgment and fled to her room.Shutting the door, she pressed her back to the thin wood.Her heart pummeled against her breastplate, drowning out the sound of reason in her head.Over the years, she’d had boyfriends and the occasional fling.It wasn’t as if being around man candy was entirely foreign to her.Sure, she’d lost her touch and composure over the years, but when had she become so darn weak?She’d never had a man send her into a tailspin.She had a firm grip on reality.Some said she was wise beyond her years—Livy said she was a seventy-year-old woman trapped in a twenty-nine-year-old’s body.She pleasured herself regularly, and indulged in flirting and maybe sex on the rare occasion she ventured to the city.So why did Jaxon get under her skin?
