“It will sound an alarm if anything comes within range,” she said, returning to the camp. “We both need some real sleep.”
She carried the LED lamp into the tent and climbed inside. Reed watched Siren unlace her shoes and climb into her sleeping bag from the doorway.
“Are you going to come in or are you sleeping out there?” she asked, unstrapping her pistol.
He crawled in and zipped the tent flap behind him. Siren lay down on her back and stared at the ceiling. Reed pulled off his shoes and crawled into his sleeping bag. They both lay theresilently, her musk and gunmetal scent filling his nostrils in the closed space.
His bear roared inside him so powerfully, he had to clench his jaw to keep it inside. She was six inches away, lying on her back. The sound of her breathing filled the closed space. Her body heat radiated off her.
He turned his head and found himself staring directly at her profile. The line of her jaw, the curve of her throat. There was something about her that was so incredibly sharp but also devastatingly feminine. It did him in.
His bear was pacing under his skin, desperate to touch her. The mate bond was a physical ache in his chest, in his groin. She was right there. He could touch her if he reached for her, but he kept his hands inside his own sleeping bag.
“Goodnight,” she said, turning off the LED lamp.
“Goodnight,” he said, his voice raspy.
They lay there in silence, the forest sounds filtering through the tent fabric. Crickets, the low wind, the distant hoot of an owl in the trees. Reed’s heart pounded in his ears.
He was acutely aware of her movements. The scent of her body filled his lungs. Was she feeling it too? This insatiable pull?
He stared at her, with her back to him. He was desperate to reach out and pull her against him. To feel her slim, taut body in his arms. The tension in the small space was so thick it felt like he was choking on it.
Siren turned around to face him and he almost turned away. He’d been staring at the back of her head, fantasizing about pulling her against him. His face burned in the darkness.
He could see the glint of her eyes, staring at him. The walls felt like they were closing in. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t speak.
He’d just told her things he never spoke of to anyone. The kids. The dog. The taste of blood. It was part of himself he didn’t want to look at.
“I’m sorry if I was insensitive about your shift,” she said, her voice soft. He’d never heard her use this tone before. “I just… I don’t want you to get hurt. I’d never forgive myself if I let that happen.”
“I feel like I should be protecting you,” he said, hating that he was the one who needed her protection.
“Just let me help you.” She reached out from her sleeping bag and grasped his shoulder. It was the first time she’d touched him. A wave of heat ran through his entire body. “I have extensive training in this type of thing. That’s how you can protect us both. Okay?”
There was a pleading tone in her voice that made him melt. He couldn’t help it. The warmth of her hand on his shoulder made him harden. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like this.
He wanted to grab her and kiss her. Rip off the sleeping bag and feel her naked flesh under his palms. Taste her mouth, her skin, her pussy.
“I want whatever you want,” he said, his voice rough as gravel.
“Good,” she said, sounding relieved. She let go of his arm and turned on to her back.
He watched her in the low light. His cock was hard as steel. His mate was lying right there. He gritted his teeth and turned over to stare at the ceiling. He knew his own pheromones were pumping into the tent, filling the space with his need.
Reed reminded himself that Siren had been shot. She was hurt and bleeding. He could smell it under the scent of her musk. He could never in a million years initiate what his inner bear was begging for and showing him in a barrage of erotic images.
“Reed.” Her voice was husky. Sexy in ways that made this all a thousand times harder.
“Yeah,” he said, his voice cracking. He wanted to kiss her. Just one kiss. The need was so intense it hurt to resist it.
“We should sleep,” she said.
“Yeah.”
She rolled over on her side, facing away from him. He did the same, covering his nose with his own T-shirt. The scent of her body was doing crazy things to his inner bear, and he needed to do something to make it stop.
Chapter
