Loch and Key (25 page)

“Flowers? Quartet? The beach?” Kenzie gave a slow smile. “I do believe you’re a romantic, Chief.”

He pulled her fully onto his lap and gave a low, sexy laugh. “One of us has to be.”

“Well, you’ll just have to teach me.”

“I like teaching you things, sugar.” His tone dropped to an intimate, deep level.

All the sensual things they’d done together flitted through her head and she smiled.

“I like that too. Maybe we should try again right now.”

“Now?”

“Oh, aye.” And she lifted her head for the kiss he was already leaning down to take.

Chapter Eighteen

The doorbell was ringing.

Delonna groaned. Dammit. She should really get up and get it. But that meant getting out of bed and throwing on a bathrobe.

Unless, wait a minute. He was here!

She flung herself out of bed, ignoring the pounding in her head as she searched for her robe. It wasn’t anywhere in sight, and dammit if she wanted to keep listening to that doorbell ring.

Besides, boy short panties and a tank top were hardly scandalous when your boyfriend had seen you naked on multiple occasions. James was a few days overdue for showing up, but she’d known he’d come eventually.

Delonna glanced through the peephole, saw the male chest, and opened the door, a seductive smile on her face. Well, as seductive as anyone recovering from a disgusting head wound could be.

Her smile faded and she blinked in dismay.

“Hello, luv.”

Not James, but her boss. Aleck was on her doorstep, while she stood there embarrassingly underdressed, with a stupid look on her face.

“Heeeey, boss boy.” And didn’t she feel like an idiot. “Kenzie isn’t here right now. She’s over at Brett’s.”

His eyes widened for a moment as he took in her appearance, before his gaze snapped back up to eye level.

“Aye. Figured as much. I came to see you, actually.” His smile seemed a little strained now. “Can I come in?”

“Umm, sure.”

She needed to find some pants. And like five minutes ago. “Sorry about the lack of clothes, I totally didn’t realize it was you on that side of the door.”

“Clearly.”

Six foot five of pure male sexiness stepped past her and into her house, carrying what looked like a box of chocolates. She closed the door behind him, trying to figure out why her pulse was going a little bananas.

Why was he here?

“Let me, um, find some shorts or something.” She averted her gaze and dashed past him to her bedroom.

When she came back out a few minutes later, denim shorts now covering her pasty white thighs, he was looking at the pictures on the wall.

“You gals have done wonders with this place.”

“Kenzie’s hardly here. I’m pretty sure she’ll be moving out soon anyway. They’re beyond serious.”

“Aye, they are.” He turned to face her “And you and your bloke. Are you two serious?”

She blinked, taken aback by the left field question. He stared at her, concern and something else in those vividly green eyes. It became almost hard to breathe, and she definitely couldn’t look away.

“I… I don’t know.” She’d been home from the hospital for two days. James hadn’t called. Hadn’t visited. Just a text to make sure she was okay.

“Sorry, that was a bit out of line.” His gaze darkened.

She blinked. “Why are you here, Aleck?”

“I came to check up on you and see how you’re doing.” He took a step toward her.

When he reached out to catch her chin, tilting her head, her breath caught and it wasn’t from the pain.

“That looks bloody awful. What is that? Six staples?”

“Eight,” she whispered.

“I’m sorry.” He shook his head. “So damn sorry that bastart hurt you too while trying to get to Kenzie.”

“I’m all right. We both are.”

“Aye, thank God. I came to thank you too.”

“Thank me?” Why was he still lightly holding her chin?

“For texting me. If you hadn’t, things could’ve ended quite a bit for the worse.”

She lifted her gaze and knew it was a bad idea. Her gaze locked on his and something shifted inside her. Grew warm.

“I knew you’d come,” she finally said softly.

His thumb traced the edge of her jaw, moved in slightly toward her mouth.

Her heart sped up and without intending to, she leaned forward, lifting herself up onto her tiptoes. Her lips brushed his.

He went completely still, before he cursed against her mouth and moved his lips against hers. His tongue delved deep, teasing and stroking. Tasting her as much as she did him.

And just as quickly as it started, it was over. He pulled away, his gaze wide with disbelief.

“Shit, I’m so sorry,” she muttered, her body starting to shake with shock. “It’s the pain meds—they’re pretty strong and make me a little loopy. Can we forget that just happened?”

What had she done? What had she
done
?

“It’s forgotten already.” He turned to stride toward the door. “See you on Friday, and not a day earlier.”

“But I work tomorrow.”

“If you come in, I’ll simply send you home. Get yourself healed, Delonna. I’ll make sure you still get paid.”

He disappeared a moment later, and she leaned back against the wall with a ragged sigh.

So, yeah, that had just happened. She’d kissed her boss.

Fuck
.

Walking into the kitchen, she glanced down at the bottle of prescription pain pills she had yet to touch.

What in the everlasting hell had she been thinking?

About the Author

Shelli is a New York Times Bestselling Author who read her first romance novel when she snatched it off her mother’s bookshelf at the age of eleven. One taste and she was forever hooked. It wasn’t until many years later that she decided to pursue writing stories of her own. By then she acknowledged the voices in her head didn’t make her crazy, they made her a writer.

Shelli currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her daughter where she writes various genres of romance. She’s a compulsive volunteer, and has been known to spontaneously burst into song.

Look for these titles by Shelli Stevens

Now Available:

Trust and Dare

Theirs to Capture

Four Play

Foreign Affair

Savage

Savage Hunger

Savage Betrayal

Savage Revenge

Seattle Steam

Dangerous Grounds

Tempting Adam

Seducing Allie

Chances Are

Anybody but Justin

Luck be Delanie

Protecting Phoebe

Holding Out for a Hero

Going Down

Command and Control

Flash Point

The McLaughlins

Good Girl Gone Plaid

Kilty Pleasure

Coming Soon:

The McLaughlins

Highland Fling

Taking her captive could prove his innocence…or make her a target.

Savage Revenge

© 2013 Shelli Stevens

Savage, Book 3

Agent and Alpha Nathan Larson has fled his pack, his agency and Washington State on a life-or-death mission to prove himself innocent of a savage massacre he’s pretty sure he didn’t commit.

So far he’s covered his tracks, but it’s only a matter of time. He needs a place to hunker down under the radar, and he intends to make it happen. No matter who becomes collateral damage.

Sage Christensen knows every shifter in this small California town, and the darkly attractive, brooding alpha attempting to flirt with her stands out like a flea on a white cat. She quickly realizes she was right to be wary when he follows her home and holds her captive.

Despite her refusal to be a compliant victim, she can’t deny their chemistry. Or the gut instinct that maybe he really is innocent. But with the trail of dead women growing longer, Sage begins to wonder if it was a mistake to trust her safety, her body—and her heart—to a man who has no idea how deep his dark side is buried.

Warning: This book has an Alpha male on the run, and a quirky novelist destined to be his captive. There will be bloodshed, lovemaking, and excitement aplenty.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Savage Revenge:

Sage had the door open, with one foot out, before he reached her and snagged her around the waist.

“Son of a bitch,” he roared. “How in the hell did you get free?”

He lifted her back into the house and slammed the door.

She was apparently done being complacent, though. She squirmed, kicked and hit before he finally had to drop her to try and get a better grip.

But it wasn’t that easy, because in an instant she had scurried away and grabbed any kind of makeshift weapon she could get her hands on.

He ducked from the remote control that flew at his head and lunged toward her. He missed.

“How did you get yourself untied?” he roared.

“You seriously underestimate me.” She darted past him, throwing a small lamp at him in the process.

It clipped his shoulder before crashing to the floor. “Clearly.”

A growl of fury erupted past his lips as he threw himself at her full speed.

He took her down linebacker style, rolling them both on the hardwood floors.

“Get off me.”

She slapped at his shoulders, trying to free herself, and he caught her wrists in one hand to get her under control.

Her expression morphed from frustration to pain, and her sharp cry had his anger vanishing. Had he hurt her? He hadn’t realized his grasp was that tight.

A quick scan of her body, though, and he dropped her wrists from his grasp after seeing the raw, red cuts there.

“Jesus, woman, what the hell did you do to yourself?”

She winced and gently cradled one wrist. “I cut them while freeing myself.”

He leaned down and slid an arm around her waist, helping her to her feet. “You mind filling me in on how you even got free?”

“I rolled myself off the bed and cut the rope on the metal frame. There’s a sharp corner that I’ve cut my foot on more than once while climbing into bed.”

Smart girl. “So when I found you on the floor and scooped you back up, you were probably already halfway through your ropes?”

“Pretty much.”

He grunted and steered her toward the kitchen. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’m a shifter—it’ll stop fast.”

“Still, it wouldn’t hurt you to wash the cuts. That frame might be rusty and why risk any slowed healing?”

“Does it matter? I have a feeling you wouldn’t mind seeing me suffer.”

Christ. This again. “It’s not my intent to hurt you, Sage. I can’t stress that enough.”

“Then what
is
your intent?”

“I just need a place to lay low. To figure out a few things.” He turned on the sink and gently pulled her wrists under the water. “And you’re going to help me with that.”

She winced as he added soap over her raw but already healing wrists. “Not exactly willing here.”

Their heads were close and he was suddenly all too aware of her as a female. The wrist he held was delicate and soft, and the scent of her shampoo mixed with the citrus soap he was using to wash her wounds.

“It would be a little weird if you were,” he finally agreed.

Her gaze lifted to meet his. Searching. “Are you really a P.I.A. agent?”

“Yes. And not just an agent. I’m also the commander of my unit.”

She shook her head, her breathing not quite as steady now. Was it from the information he’d just divulged, or their proximity?

“You sound as if you should be one of the
good
guys. What did you do?”

He was a good guy. Or so he’d used to think. He shrugged, not quite ready to answer that. Not quite sure he could.

So he changed the subject instead.

“This could’ve been so much easier on both of us, Sage. At the bar last night I was trying to make you fall for me. Trying to gain your trust so you’d willingly take me home.”

“I’m sorry I was so uncooperative.” Her sarcasm ran rampant. “And I don’t take men home.”

When he glanced up at her, her gaze had slid to his mouth.

Interesting
. Maybe she was a more aware of him than she cared to admit. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and everything primal inside him responded.