Wait, what had he said about spaghetti? Her brow furrowed in confusion. Shit, she must have been more shaken up than she’d realized.
Murphy nodded toward the kitchen island, and she followed the motion, staring blankly at the items on the counter. What had she been doing? “Make me dinner, Nes?” he asked softly, the words penetrating the anxiety in her mind.
Nes. The nickname was so unexpected, so familiar as it stirred up tender emotions of her youth, that she almost broke down.
Blinking quickly, she focused on the box of spaghetti and the jar of sauce. Right. Murphy was hungry and exhausted. She’d wanted to make him something to eat.
She cleared her throat, pointing toward the stools. “Have a seat and I’ll whip something up.”
Murphy kept his angrily clenched fists hidden under the countertop as he sat on the stool, tracking her every movement across his kitchen with a look of feigned indifference on his face.
Nessa, the female he couldn’t let go of, had flinched away from his touch, and for the briefest moment, her spike of fear had permeated the air. She’d looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack when she’d stumbled away from him, her gaze unfocused, and he had heard her heart thumping wildly in her chest.
That look, and the scent of her fear, were gone now, but that didn’t change the rage burning in his gut, or the fact that his bear was roaring in his mind, demanding he protect her. For once, he agreed with the beast about his little mate. He needed to protect Nessa. But from what? He suspected it wasn’t just recent events that had her riled up.
His nails turned into sharp claws as his rage swelled, and they pierced the skin of his palms until warm blood coated the tips.
She’d been afraid he was going to hit her. She’d reacted so strongly that it was impossible to draw any other conclusion. He wished he could blame the cause for her distress on Jason. But he couldn’t, mostly because this wasn’t the first time he’d seen her react like this.
The day Murphy had met her, he’d raised his voice while they’d argued. She’d flinched then, too. He hadn’t realized thenwhy she’d reacted so poorly, but he was starting to understand her behavior now.
Pieces of the puzzle surrounding his intriguing mate were beginning to fall into place. Her identity was bogus. She was afraid of men’s angry voices and quick movements. Right now, all he had was speculation, but his instincts were shouting at him that he was right.
Nessa was on the run from an abusive past.
A growl formed in his throat, so deep and menacing that he couldn’t hold it back. Nessa stilled, eyes flying up to meet his as she filled a large pot with water.
Murphy cleared his throat, and the growl turned into more of a dull, awkward rumble. “Sorry. Bad habit.”
“Of growling at people who use your sink?”
Despite the darkness of his thoughts, Murphy’s lips twitched and a small smile formed. “I’m protective of what’s mine, Nessa.” The words were true, but Murphy didn’t mean the water.
Nessa was his, and even though they didn’t intend to mate one another, she was under his protection. He needed to keep her close and safeguard her. If not just for her sake, then for his, too. If he had mating sickness, only Nessa’s presence in his life would quell the side effects.
Once he discovered and annihilated the threat to her, and his mating sickness wore off, then they could go their separate ways. Though, as he watched her move around his home, her sweet scent heavy in the air and his bear sighing in contentment at her nearness, it was a struggle to remember exactly why mating her was a bad idea.
Chapter 6
“How did you find my house?” Murphy asked, watching as Nessa slid the stiff noodles slowly into the boiling pot of water.
“I called Hunny and asked for directions. She met me at the gate, and I followed her here. Your home is lovely, by the way.”
“Thank you. I’m partial to it,” Murphy added, unsure of where to steer their conversation. He wanted to ask about her past, about who she was running from, but obviously he didn’t want to spook her.
For all he knew, he was completely wrong about his assumptions. Maybe she was just a jumpy female. He didn’t buy that for a second, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d misjudged someone he’d care for.
Although … Did he care for Nessa? His bear did on an instinctual level, but Murphy didn’t know her, and what hedidknow, he’d already condemned her shamelessly for. Guilt twisted his gut.
He’d disliked her on principle just because she was a human, even though that wasn’t fair to her. He’d assumed she was untrustworthy because her background check had been bogus, and while he believed she was running from trouble, he naively figured she was the reason for her misfortune.
But what if he’d been wrong? What if she was running from danger? What if she was an innocent in need? Murphy’s protective instincts exploded through his system.
His claws cut deeper into his palms, and he bit the inside of his cheek to keep a snarl from pouring from his lips. His counterpart stomped through his mind, on the prowl for an enemy to take out, wanting to defend their female. Dissatisfied that it couldn’t act now.
Murphy closed his eyes, a muscle jumping in his jaw as he struggled to calm down.We don’t want to scare Nessa,he reminded his bear.
Immediately, his bear stopped its incessant pacing, and some of the fury riding Murphy dissipated. Releasing a long exhale, he opened his eyes, focusing on the intriguing shade of Nessa’s hair under the warm glow of the kitchen light.
