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  * * * *

  Make it quick, my ass. He shoved a wad of bills onto the table before taking off after her. She had another think coming if she thought he was going to just do the deed--and quickly at that--and be on his way.

  He listened to the cadence of her sandals along the marble floor as they made their way to the elevators. She still hadn't turned to look at him. He could tell by the way she moved that she knew he was still behind her. There was something of a glitch in the gentle sway of her hips. It was as if she wanted to be sure they didn't swing too seductively. Anyone walking by would never guess the challenge they presented to one another.

  She was going to let the elevator door close on him, but he grabbed it with his hand, setting off the sensor and pushing it back into place. Her eyes didn't meet his as he entered the compartment and stood an arm's width away.

  "Tryin' to lose me?" he bent his head down, letting the words travel the distance to her shoulder. He smiled as a slight shiver ran up her back.

  "No." She looked straight ahead and punched the button to her floor.

  "Good," his smile turned into a chuckle. She was clearly uncomfortable, rubbing her arms slightly and clinging to her side of the car.

  "Why did you follow me here?" She still didn't turn to face him.

  "I thought we covered that." He let out an exasperated sigh before reaching out and hitting the stop button on the control panel.

  "What did you do that for?" her panicked eyes sprung up.

  "So we could talk before we head on up there." He folded his arms, standing with his feet slightly parted, looking her up and down as if she were lunch. "You really want to do this? Just jump in the sack like it's nothing?"

  "It is nothing," she tried to reach for the stop button to start the elevator again, but he moved to stand between her and it.

  "You're a damned bad liar." He reached out to stroke her cheek and shuddered when she closed her eyes to his touch. What could that mean? By the tight lines of her face, he couldn't tell if she were fighting against him or herself.

  "Jake," the word was barely a whisper. She slowly opened her eyes and stared into his. Something about that look shook him to his soul. This was different. She was different. He had known it when he came here.

  He dropped his hand when she pulled her cheek away. If she stepped back, he swore he'd give her some space, see her to her room and then leave. If she came forward, if she even hinted that she felt anything near to what he was feeling, he would follow her up and not let her go. It was her move.

  Josie backed against the compartment, separating them. Jake's hand clenched into a fist. Unwittingly, she had cast the die. "You want to know why I'm here?" he was doing the best he could.

  She slowly shook her head.

  "I'm here because Martin sent me." The lie tasted bitter on his tongue. "He thought I could talk you into coming back." He turned and punched the button, staring the car again.

  "Why didn't he just call?"

  "I think he thought the snakes were the reason you left. He doesn't know about us, does he?" He narrowed his eyes, hoping to see something in hers to tell him what to do next.

  "No, he doesn't know anything about what happened between us."

  Not us, what happened. All the clues were there. Jake was choosing to ignore them. She couldn't even admit there was an "us." He took in a sharp breath as the elevator car stopped.

  She pushed past him, turning on her heel as she stepped out. "You coming?"

  It was an informal request, but his body leapt in reaction. She was inviting him in for sex. They agreed upon it downstairs and now the moment of reckoning was here.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Josie felt her heart sink as the elevator door closed. He hadn't even answered her. Instead, he had tipped his hat in her direction and watched as the door closed, separating them.

  She fumbled with the door, hoping she could manage to slide the key card into place and open it before she fell apart in a fit of tears.

  She hadn't expected him to come here. She never even thought he would try. They meant nothing to each other, after all. Nothing, she lied. She didn't know when she had fallen in love with him or how. All she knew is that it hurt more than anything she had ever imagined.

  Maybe this is what happens to the body when it awakens after a long, emotionless sleep. Everything is felt tenfold. All things are more intense, more severe. And pain is excruciating.

  She let the first teardrops fall as she pushed the door open. She fumbled with the "Do not disturb" sign before finally placing it on the knob. Then she punched in the combination to alert the front desk to hold her calls. Now that she was completely safe from interruption, she sank into the queen size bed and let the sobs wring through her body.

  Love was not supposed to hurt. She could have prevented it. She could have dragged him in, whatever she had to do. A little more seduction and he could have been hers. Instead, she had treated the proposed encounter as a cold arrangement, a challenge. Not something that she would feel down to her soul.

  She only thought she had been brought to life by her nights with Jake. She hadn't. She had been brought to life by her feelings for him. And she had lied to herself about them.

  Jake obviously didn't feel anything for her. Sure, he was here, but she could picture Martin sending him after his wayward niece. Maybe Martin thought that the problem really was the snakes and wanted Jake to talk her into coming back. It seemed logical enough.

  Something in her gut protested this logic. Would Jake have really come this far just to talk to her about her fear of snakes? It didn't seem likely.

  Jake. The name shattered her heart. She should have known it would be broken if she got close to him. He was the reason she had left. She knew she was getting too close.

  She pulled herself off of the bed. Lying here sobbing wouldn't do any good. She was made of sterner stuff. She had survived a horrible loss when Brian died. She could survive this, too. She didn't need Jake Moore.

  She dragged a hand through her hair as she walked over to the window. The sunny Arkansas day was beckoning her to come outside. No, it was taunting her, mocking her swollen red eyes. She hugged her arms around her body, rocking slightly, hoping to dull the ache in her chest and her head.

  "I can do this," she murmured. "I can beat this feeling."

  She pried open the fridge door, which seemed to be stuck thanks to the heat of the day. She reached in, feeling around for her ice cream and settled her fingers around the pint. She smiled slightly, remembering that Sandra Bullock line from Miss Congeniality. She was about to get chip faced. Except this was fudge ripple, not chocolate chip. Semantics, she decided, going back to the bed and sitting with a hard thump.

  She didn't need Jake Moore, she reminded herself one last time.

  To hell with him.

  * * * *

  Jake's conquest of one problem only led to another, this one far more difficult than the previous one. It took every ounce of strength not to set foot outside of that elevator. It took even more to sit here at the bar pretending as if the woman who had driven him to this level of insanity wasn't upstairs right now.

  He glanced up at the ceiling, not saying a silent prayer, but rather muffling a silent curse. He hadn't expected to find anything back in Carolton. Nothing even close to what he had found in Josie Mitchell.

  He slowly sipped the shot glass of whiskey, letting the flavor linger on his tongue. It reminded him of a woman, heated, sweet, smooth. He felt himself harden at the thought. It was a feat that six months ago would have had him jumping for joy and heading for the local pick up joint. Not tonight. Tonight, it made his entire body ache with longing.

  To hell with it. He threw the liquid back in one swift motion and then tapped his glass on the bar to indicate another. The bartender silently poured a third glass of the amber liquid and placed it in front of him. He turned back to wipe down the other end of the bar, leaving Jake to attend the glass in solitude.

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nbsp; "I was wrong." Her voice caught him by surprise.

  "What the hell do you mean?"

  "I mean I was wrong. About you, about us. I'm in love with you, Jake. And I can't handle all that's happened. I need answers. I have so many questions."

  "And you think the way to those answers is to push me away?"

  "No. I just don't know if I can handle the truth."

  "The truth about me or about you?"

  "Both."

  She sat on the barstool next to his and reached out for his hand. He didn't resist.

  "You have to trust me."

  "I do trust you."

  "I love you, Josie. I will help you find your father, and I will help you solve this riddle of your life. But you have to do me one favor."

  "What's that?"

  "You have to let me into your life. All of it. I'm not a fling."

  "I know that. I shouldn't have said it. I wanted to protect myself."

  "I told you once before that it was my job to protect you. If you come back home with me, I will make sure that whoever is looking for you won't get to you. I will protect you. With my life. Do you understand that?"

  She nodded and gave his hand a squeeze. "Yes, I understand it."

  "Good. Now, you said you had a dinner date. You wanna cancel those plans?"

  "I thought you'd never ask."

  Epilogue

  Returning to Carolton was easy, but facing what Jake knew they would face there wasn't going to be. All the research he had done, all the stories he had gathered led him to one conclusion: the werewolf threat there was real. They hadn't made themselves known to the public yet, but he knew they were there, lying in wait.

  And he held the one thing they wanted most of all: someone born with the gene. Protecting Josie was going to be more difficult than he had ever imagined. But now that she was his wife, his bond with her went beyond loving her. She was his, and he would protect her.

  No matter the cost.