Yearnings: A Paranormal Romance Box Set (87 page)

She squatted down to the floor. Double hell son of a bitch. He didn’t want her seeing him like this. Didn’t want anyone to. Least of all, her. He could feel her eyes roving over every naked inch of him. Realizing as much aggravated him. Another thick clump of hair came off his skin. His senses veered back to images, emotions. The dark-haired man. Protect Leigh. Testing his weight backward, his thigh muscles cramped up. Grant grunted. His vision reeled back to those toes. “Get Beatrice,” he said between spasms, doing everything he could not to fall on his side and moan in pain.

Forget modesty. If Leigh could face spirits, she’d just have to survive facing him in full glory, too. Another punch of pain hit him, yet his mind latched onto the idea of her gaze feasting on his naked body. Like an animal, he wanted to flex his back, display his musculature for her admiration. Splendid. Just what he needed right now. Libido kicking in. Had to be the wolf inside of him, bending his usual discipline under primal will. Thankfully, Leigh kept her distance, no matter how much he wanted her near, he also hated her seeing him like this. The impulse to draw her in warred for dominance over the hope she would leave. A new wave of pain crashed over him.

At least each wave hurt less than the one before. Soon, he’d be feeling no more than sore.

A hard pound on the door made him jerk his head upward. Fire tore through his neck muscles. Leigh stepped back. His attention turned to her legs, exposed from the mid-knee down and sporting some very shapely calves. One thought snagged his mind—if he licked the skin behind her knees, what would she taste like? Grant shook off the thought.

“
Someone must have heard me scream,” Leigh said. No hysterics. A touch of fear, but she hadn’t run. Impressive, considering what she had witnessed.

Except for his sister, no one else had ever seen him change, and that had been entirely bad luck. Beatrice had run straight to Nick and revealed the secret Grant had only managed to keep for six or so months. Grant didn’t know the voice. “Probably just Nick.” The last person on earth, other than Leigh, that Grant would like seeing him like this.

“
Nick? Wh—?” Another hard knock. “What if it isn’t Nick?” Leigh asked.

“
Trust me. Who else would be pounding the door down?”

“
Ship’s security?”

The knob turned, but Grant had locked the door. Beatrice clearly hadn’t gotten Nick a key. Hell, she might be at the door with him, though, all worked up with worry. No matter how excruciating the pain, Grant had to get off all fours. “Could I bother you for a sheet?” he said, glad to have his more human sensibilities dominating the base emotions Leigh stirred in the wolf.

He buried images of paws furiously scratching, one pure instinct gripping him, down and focused. Later, once he could think more than feel, he would figure out why the wolf was so worried about this woman.

Another hard pound. “Miss Hamilton?”

“
Definitely Nick. I’d recognize that pseudo-investigator tone anywhere.”

That got Leigh moving. She disappeared into the bedroom and scurried back, sheet in hand. She tossed the cool material over him. The billowing sent the last of his wolf’s pelt to the floor. Gingerly, he got to his feet.

“
Miss Hamilton, I’m coming in!”

Grant shot a grin Leigh’s way, then unlocked the door.

Sure enough, Nick came stumbling in, shoulder first. He caught his balance and spun on Grant. “Well, if it isn’t wolf-man himself. No wonder you didn’t answer.” He saw Leigh. “What in the bloody hell is going on?”

“
Not what you’re thinking.” Grant adjusted the sheet on his waist, peered to see Beatrice wasn’t outside, and then shut the door. “Where is my sister?”

“
Where are your clothes?” Nick asked, blocking Leigh as if Grant were about to attack her.

“
Nick, I presume?” Leigh asked, coming around.

Aha. So Nick didn’t know Leigh as he’d alluded to. Grant smiled wide.

“
Nicholas Levitt, private criminal investigator, at your service. And you, Miss Hamilton, need to please excuse Mr. Connel and me.”

If he kissed Leigh’s hand, Grant would lunge on the man. He didn’t have to, because Leigh pulled away.

“
No, I don’t think so, Mr. Levitt. Seeing as we’ve never met, I’ll leave if Mr. Connel asks instead.”

“
Leaving is for your own safety,” Nick said, holding his arms out and trying to stay in front of her, but Leigh kept moving aside.

“
Trust me, I have an excellent sense of my own safety.”

“
Trust me, you don’t know what you’re facing here,” Nick said, again attempting to herd her toward the bedroom.

“
And you’re the person in charge of such things?”

Her hair was a tumble of waxy strands. She needed a bath. Maybe she had been sick after all. Grant forced his eyes off her naked calves, ignoring the curve and hollow of muscle along the side. “I’m not going to hurt her, Levitt. She already survived seeing me switch. Leave it be.”

Nick paused a moment, taking in the two of them. “You prefer that her reputation is ruined. Is that it?”

Grant shrugged. “Are you planning to tell anyone, Nick?”

“
If it means protecting her from danger, yes.”

Leigh crossed her arms. “Excuse me, but my reputation is my business. But thank you both for your chivalrous concern.”

Nick seemed to rankle her a bit. Grant liked that. Nice to see he wasn’t the only person on two legs that Nick didn’t charm, even if he were right. Leigh should be scrambling to the bedroom instead of standing there half dressed. Not that Grant cared at all how dressed or undressed the girl was. He refused to.

He fully blamed the change and the damned animal instinct ruling his mind for even noticing anything about Leigh. His human self was gaining control, but he was far from his normal, contained self. The inky blackness of shifting to the wolf had changed to a dense mist. Far more important matters besides the shape of this woman’s calves or the ivory color of her skin were at hand. Like Tristan. Which reminded him, he had questions for Miss Hamilton.

The next knock jarred Grant. He recognized the sound of authority in the knock.

The noise of Grant shifting to wolf had obviously brought the ship’s security down. Nick motioned Leigh and Grant toward the bedroom. Grant hesitated. If he followed Leigh in, it risked security finding Leigh and Grant in a bedroom, him half dressed, her in nightclothes, and not in their own quarters.

Another knock and bellow preceded the jangle of keys. They had keys. Of course they had keys. Grant and Nick exchanged a look. Answer it?

“
If I open the door for them, the situation will look better,” Nick said.

Leigh nodded smartly and shut herself into the bedroom. Grant adjusted his sheet, and stood his ground. Stupidity ran in his blood, it appeared, but running away went against his nature. Plus, he’d done enough damage. Leigh might not care about her reputation, but he did.

Nick opened the door.

Two navy-clad men palming weighty sticks stepped through, trampling the cuff of Grant’s shirt. “We have reports of a disturbance,” one said, eyes leveled on Grant.

“
I’m not surprised,” Grant said, nodding. A thump on the bedroom door almost made him wince. He imagined Leigh pressing her ear up to the door, the neck of her nightgown dipping—stop. “Been trying to get this idiot out of my room.”

Nick threw a glare his way. “Your room? Don’t you mean your sister’s room?”

Grant saw the ruse as Nick’s attempt to distract the two men from the noise. “I’d like to know how you know such a thing, along with why you’re here at all.”

“
She is my employer. Room numbers come in handy when you’re trying to have a meeting.”

That remark hit a little too close. “Can’t meet now, seeing as she isn’t here. I think you’d best leave with these two fine gentlemen, but I’ll be happy to give her a message, Levitt.”

“
Nah. I’ll stay and tell her myself.”

“
Unless the registered occupant can attest to either of you being welcome here, you’ll both be leaving with us.” The taller one liked that idea, clearly. “I’ll need you dressed, sir. Immediately.”

“
You’re on my clothes.”

The officer retrieved the shirt, and moved to the door to grab the pants, and paused. “Is there something else you two would like to share with us?” Slowly, he stood and tossed the shirt at Grant.

Nick jerked his head, trying to send Grant a silent message, it would appear. Grant didn’t care. Both of them leaving suited him just fine. Better to leave Leigh alone than have either of them with her on their own. Who knew what Nick would try on the woman?

At least, Leigh had stood her ground against them.

Nick coughed. Both officers spotted the scattered chunks of fur. One bent and fingered a bit of it. “You two aren’t trying to get around ship regulations now, are you?”

“
I’ll let you take this one, friend,” Nick said, cuffing Grant on the arm before waltzing past the two men. “Let Beatrice know I came by?”

A swift uppercut would have wiped Levitt’s grin off nicely. Unfortunately, the officers didn’t give Grant the chance to wipe anything. They let Nick pass and stepped closer to Grant.

“
We’ll need the animal kenneled, sir.”

Grant adjusted his sheet and edged to block the bedroom door. “I assure you, there’s no animal here. Just an argument between two men. Now over.”

“
Mmm. Interesting. So, help me understand,” the tall one said. “Two reports of a disturbance, another report of an animal...was it howling? Growling?” he asked the shorter guard.

“
Yowling in pain.”

“
That’s right. Yowling. You’re doing a piss poor job of hiding those scratch marks, so you tell me why I shouldn’t think you have a dog in here?”

“
I do have a dog on board. Duchy is her name, but I haven’t taken her out of the kennel.”

The officers eyed each other. “We’ll need to search the bedroom.”

Like hell they would. He’d yet to see a search that came out clean. Tax evasion? Why not plant an illegal something just to get the cuffs on a man, right? “By all means. But my sister is due back at any moment. She’ll pitch a fit if we go in there. You know how private women can be.”

Where was Beatrice?

As sick as Leigh had been, she wouldn’t leave her alone for this long. Unless Leigh hadn’t been sick. No. She’d looked sickly. Pounds lighter, shadows under her eyes. Did that mean her calves would normally be curvier? “My sister wouldn’t dream of bringing an animal in here. She’s a stickler for rules. She doesn’t even like dogs.” Well, except for Duchy, but who wouldn’t? “I’m sure she’ll be able to explain the scratches.”

If they searched the bedroom, would they find Leigh? They would question Leigh. Nothing about her being in the suite violated any regulation, yet Grant’s mind reeled with options to block them from entering. He needed to protect her.

Nodding, the taller man kicked at the fur. “Look, I know animal hair when I see it.”

Seeing the shoe hit the pile made Grant’s muscles bunch. The faint metallic taste of blood hit the back of his throat. Grant swallowed. He couldn’t shift. Not again. Not now. “I’m sure she’ll have a reasonable explanation for it.”

“
You seem to have been here long enough to have one yourself.”

“
Well, I could lie. I could tell you that’s my hair, that I’m really an animal,” he said. “But I tend to think you’ve heard better.”

The shorter officer suppressed a grin and rocked back on his heels. The taller man looked like he had an uppercut or two with Grant’s name on them. “How ’bout you get dressed now?”

Grant shook out the shirt, only one tear showing as he did. Before he could ask for a bit of privacy, behind him, the bedroom door opened. Arm hanging in midair, he froze. Each man peered around either side of him.

“
Ma’am?” the short one said, and damn it if his gaze didn’t amble downward and stop right where Leigh’s bare calves must be.

Grant growled.

~~~

Chapter Eight

The man was causing more trouble and creating more attention than Leigh wanted or needed. What was it with men and authority that sent them into battle mode? Ignoring Grant’s glare and pretending the two officers weren’t staring at her feet, Leigh marched into the room.

“
Can I help you?” she said, hands on hips. She didn’t expect a full view of Grant’s back front and center. Having him face her was worse. She stepped around him.

“
A disturbance was reported, ma’am,” the one with bright blue eyes said. “Are you Beatrice Grayson?”

“
No. Leigh Hamilton. Her assistant.”

Grant coughed. “If you all will excuse me, I’d like to get dressed.”

If that was his best attempt at diverting attention, they were in a world of trouble. Leigh wouldn’t look at him and risk another jolt to her system. “Yes, please, use the bedroom. Now, about this disturbance. The two gentlemen had a disagreement. I believe you arrived and settled it. Did you not?”

“
We’ll need to speak to Mrs. Grayson. Animals are required to be kenneled.”