“Trouble? Company?” he said in a low voice.
She shook her head and partially shifted, letting her ears curve up and her snout poke out so her senses would be their sharpest.
The only scents that drifted through her nostrils were from regular old non-shifting wildlife. The only sounds she heard were the cool rushing wind, the crackle of paws on leaves, the creak of peepers and crickets, the rippling of the water on the lake.
She shifted back, smoothing out her skin, rounding her ears, and glanced at Blake. “No, I didn’t hear anything, but I had to make absolutely sure.”
She took a deep breath. “Ok. Why I left. Did your research turn up the fact that my mother was a raging drunk?”
“Yes,” he said, sounding apologetic. “Kind of hard to miss, with all the DUIs and drunk and disorderlies she had. Five DUIS, got her license yanked, a dozen d&ds.”
“I didn’t know about most of those, actually. Huh.” After all this time, Krista still found herself getting pissed off at the extent of her mother’s dishonesty. “She’d disappear for days on end on a regular basis after my father left us, sometimes weeks, but I never knew where she was. So sometimes she must have been drying out in jail cells a few towns away. Our town has one part-time police chief and one jail cell, and gossip flies from one end of town to the other faster than a 747. I’d have heard about it if she was there.”
“Some of them happened after you left.” Grant gave her a sympathetic glance.
“Yeah, figures. Anyway, my mother… she’d bring home different guys all the time. Some of them got a little handsy. And finally, when I was fourteen, there was this one guy who she really liked, because he had a job and everything. One night, he flat-out tried to rip my clothes off when she was passed out drunk, and I actually had to shift and bite his ankle to get away from him.” A growl rumbled up from Blake’s throat. “And the worst thing was, when she sobered up, she slapped my face and accused me of leading him on and trying to steal him from her. I just had to get out of there.”
A cloud of anger enveloped him, so thick she could have chewed it. His face went hairy and he clenched his fists. “If I ever meet that person, I’ll tear their head off and play soccer with it.”
“Thank you, I think? He died from bad moonshine a few months later. But that’s very nice of you. And terrifying.”
But she smiled because she could feel the anger and protectiveness flowing from him, and it wrapped around her like a warm blanket, making her feel snuggly and safe.
Even if just a few minutes ago he’d admitted that he only wanted her for her body. Which was hurtful.
He rolled his shoulders and unclenched his fists. “But you weren’t living at home anymore when you left Flowering Dogwood. You’d been living with Dawnie Reed’s family for two years.”
They had surprisingly good intel, she had to admit. Then again, federal agencies were always sniffing around the Reeds, trying to dig up dirt on them. Trying to find some mud that would stick. That was near-impossible. She knew that better than anyone.
He looked at her intently.
“Yes.” She paused again, sniffing the air. If she were going to talk about what happened with the Reeds…
She hesitated.
“You were saying?”
“Quiet. Now wearebeing watched.”
He looked at her, puzzled. “I’ve got a wicked sense of smell, Krista. I don’t…”
She shook her head.
“I know, I don’t smell or hear anything either. This is… holler intuition. I can sense someone’s eyes on us. Might even be through a telescope. I just know.” She looked at him defensively. “I’m not crazy. Well, okay, youdriveme crazy, but I’m not imagining things.
“I believe you. I mean, I also think you’re just legit crazy whether I’m here or not, but I believe you if you say someone’s watching us. That’s a problem. We’re supposed to be fated mates,” he murmured. “And we’re not acting like it. Maybe we should go into the tent so they can’t see us? Or, ah, we could fake a kiss like we did back at your office.”
“You think you’re getting your lips on me again after you just said that the attraction between us was only physical?” That still stung.
“I never said that!” he said indignantly. “I never said anything like that! You really are loony-tunes!”
“Oh, great! You think I’m crazy,andyou only want me for my body!” She leaped to her feet, and he followed suit.
“I swear, you are hearing voices!” he was shouting with frustration now. “You need professional help!”
She turned to storm away, but he leaped in front of her. “You are not stomping off into the woods without me, woman!” She tried to dodge him, but he blocked her again.
“Caveman!” she yelled.
“Nutcase!”
She tried to shove him again, but she tripped and fell into his arms.
“Clumsy nutcase,” he added.
Then the next thing she knew, his lips brushed against hers.
“But you’remyclumsy, crazy nutcase.” And then he claimed her mouth with a kiss so hungry and passionate that her eyes rolled back in her head and all rational thought vanished from her mind.
