Still, strong, masculine types had been her kryptonite. Now, however, she feared them. So why was it impossible to purge this one from her mind? It would be so simple if she could just forget about his existence entirely. Unfortunately, she didn’t think that was going to happen anytime soon.
Ugh!
It would be one thing if Nessa actually liked Murphy—then her obsessive behavior would make sense. But shedidn’tlike him. There was no way she did. He was just so …seriousandcranky, and she was the total opposite. They were two opposing forces, destined to butt heads at every encounter.
Last time she’d seen him, she’d been lying in a pool of her own blood. Jason, the dickhead werewolf who’d attacked them, had just savagely ripped her open, and Murphy had intervened.
He’d saved her life.
And how had she repaid that? Hysterically. She’d screamed at him. She’d called him a monster. And when he’d tried to keep her from bleeding out, she’d recoiled from his touch like she thought he’d finish the job.
Granted, she had just watched him murder someone and then shapeshift from a freaking grizzly bear and into a man. A very rugged, handsome, andnakedman, for that matter, but still … Anyone who’d witnessed something similar probably would have reacted the same way, though, right? Of course, they would have.
Then why do I feel so guilty?
Because Murphy had looked so distraught, so helpless as he’d watched lying there, wounded. His expression had seemed so haunted, like someone he cared for dearly was dying and he was powerless to save them. No one had ever looked at her like thatbefore; with such regret for her pain and so much longing, and the memory had stuck with her.
What was even crazier about that night, if such a thing were possible, was that she distinctly remembered hearing Murphy call her ‘mate.’
Mate!
She wasn’t a supernatural expert, but she’d read enough paranormal romance books to know what the hellthatmeant. Then again, was any of that even real or was it all fantasized?
She almost laughed out loud. Her entire life right now was beyond belief; why should the books not be based on fact?
Suddenly, her heart clenched painfully in her chest, just like it did each time she thought about that moment. It was as if her body was in agreement with his confession. But how was that even possible? She was a human. It wasn’t like she’d feel a connection between them, even if they were mates.
Could theybemates?
She doubted it.
Right,she thought sarcastically.You just think about Murphy all day long, dream about him. When you wake up, he’s the first thing you think about, for some bizarre reason. Not to mention, he’s the only man you’ve felt attracted to since—
Nessa cut that thought off abruptly. The last thing she wanted to do was think about Tony and what happened back in Chicago.
But she couldn’t deny the truth; she’d instantly found Murphy attractive from the first time she’d laid eyes on him, which was both alarming and extremely inconvenient for a variety of reasons. The most prominent reason being that she’d sworn off relationships in general, and men in particular, after she’d run away from her problems a few years ago.
Tony, the last man she’d been romantically involved with, had become a monster in his own right over time, and he had taken out his darkness on her. Physically and emotionally. Any wayhe could tear her down, he had done so. He’d made her despise everything: sex, love, herself.
When she’d finally escaped that life, she’d been more than willing to forsake men forever. And until Murphy—an extremely tall, well-built and well-dressed man with smoldering brown eyes; short, dark hair; a chiseled jawline; and a five-o’clock shadow—had wandered into her teahouse nearly three months ago for a meeting, it had been easy enough to accomplish.
Unfortunately, one look at the man and her body had flared to life. The cobwebs lurking inside her vagina had burst into flames, disintegrating on the spot, leaving her hot and definitely bothered.
Her traitorous body hadn’t even cared that her first interaction with Murphy hadnotgone well. Actually, he’d been a complete jerk.
First, he’d scared her, and then he’d gotten ridiculously territorial when one of the men he’d set up the meeting with had become a little too interested in her. Why she had even found him remotely attractive after that was beyond her.
But Murphy’s territorial behavior made sense now, if the whole ‘mates’ thing was true. Unless that word meant something completely different to supernatural creatures in real life than it did in the books. Maybe supes all originated from Australia, and it simply meant ‘human friend.’
That was plausible, right?
Nessa probably should have asked for some clarification on that at some point after Murphy’s declaration. But when she’d woken up in the clinic on his property, he’d been gone. The only trace of him left behind was the scent of his cologne, which now seemed to haunt her every waking moment.
It was like he’d spritzed his signature fragrance—pine, sandalwood and some kind of light, sweet flower—right underher nose when he’d met her and it had somehow seeped into her pores, where it had lingered since. Kind of weird, right?
Not if they were mates, though.
Nessa sighed.
