“Naked? Well, it wasn’t what I was expecting when I came back.”
“Why did you come back?” she asked. Her hand still rested on his arm. He placed a hand over hers, suddenly unsure how to answer that.
“You should be resting, not talking.”
“Fine. You talk, I’ll rest. Why did you come back?”
He was surprised at how sharp her gaze was when he finally lifted his to look at her from the point where his hand was. There wasn’t even a shadow of pain any longer.
“Don’t you hurt?” he prodded.
“I can push it out of my mind.” She squeezed his arm, relaxing again. “Now, answer the question. Please,” she finished with a sighing breath.
How could he answer it? In a matter of an hour so much had changed, or not at all. There was only one way to find out.
“Selene,” he began as he searched for the right way to put it. “The kiss? I don’t know.” He wanted to stand, to pace, to leave so she couldn’t see the truth, or hear it. “I swore off women after I divorced Rebecca. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“I know you didn’t,” she offered. His arm had begun to tingle where her hand rested. Her eyes were closed again as she listened, resting as ordered. “But I wanted it too. I just didn’t realize how much until…”
“Until I started it,” he finished for her. “It won’t happen again,” he vowed. He thought he saw a frown move over her face, but if it had, she’d been too quick to hide it from him. He patted her hand.
“Look, you rest. I’ll tell them you’ve taken a day or two off.”
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him, but she sounded distracted again. He sat with her for some time, carefully monitoring her for a fever, until she fell asleep, her hand trustingly held under his. He watched her for more than two hours, waiting for the first signs of a fever, but when she continued to rest peacefully, he knew he needed to get home and rest himself. He’d be pulling double duty at the hospital with her in the condition she was in.
It wasn’t until he was half way home to his apartment in town that he realized she’d never explained why she had been out, running wild and naked, or how she had been shot.
***
Selene woke up in bed where Bram had left her and the first thing that hit her was the hunger. She wasn’t surprised. Blood loss required iron and protein. Before she did anything about it though, she took an inventory of her parts. She poked a finger at her shoulder, and winced at the tender pain that lanced through her. The worst of it was healing over already. The swollen flesh had mostly returned to normal and the redness would be gone soon as well.
She lifted herself from the bed, slipping on her robe as she padded to the kitchen. She took out some beef tips and warming a skillet, browned them just enough to take the chill from the meat. She ate them like popcorn, popping them and munching one after another as she made her way back to her room. Sinking back to the edge of the bed, she lifted the phone at her bedside to call in and see how things were holding together with her unexpected absence. She was startled by a knock on her front door.
She glanced at the clock. It was just after ten, and she didn’t even have to guess at who was standing outside on her porch. She may not have heard him, but she knew who it was. She left her emptied plate on the nightstand, wiping her hands on the towel that had covered her shoulder for most of the night. Blood was blood. It would eventually come out, she mused as she made her way to open the door.
She was hit anew with the overwhelming male scent that was Bram and she trembled weakly when it swung open. She felt herself weave a fraction of a step, but it was enough for him to notice. His words were gruff when he lifted her from her feet and carried her back to bed. “I knew you were full of baloney. You shouldn’t have moved.” He laid her back down, slipping the robe over to cover her legs. “I could have let myself in,” he reprimanded her as he pulled the sheets and blanket back up and covered her.
She could tell by his gaze that he was very aware she was still naked as a jaybird under her robe. So he wasn’t as unaffected as he’d played last night. She felt her heart trip a little over the thought.
“I’m fine. I was just about to call in and see if they needed me,” she told him.
“It’s quiet on the front. You, on the other hand, need to rest.” He pulled the chair close again as he opened his bag. “Let’s check you out.” She held out her wrist and let him check her pulse, which sped up erratically once he touched her again.
She knew the bond was going to get stronger. Her blood had been on his hands. It was becoming stronger every second. She watched as his gaze widened when he finished timing her count. “How are you still standing?” he wondered out loud.
She almost laughed, wanting to tell him it was him and not her wound that was making her react, but he wouldn’t believe her. Not yet. But that was about to change. Drastically.
“Shoulder please,” he said as he stared at her, a clinical tilt to his chin. All business, all professional.
She bit her lip, suddenly shy. Not because he’d seen her, but because he was about to see more of the truth.
“Come on, Selene. I’m a doctor and so are you. Anatomy is just that.” Was that a hitch in his voice? She tried to look at him out of the corner of her eye, but he was focused on the collar of her robe, no lower and definitely not where she could make eye contact.
“Okay, but you asked for it,” she muttered. She sat up, resting against the pillows behind her for balance. She shrugged her shoulder and let the robe gape open, baring her upper body to the swell of her breast.
“What the hell?” His face blanched as he stared at the shoulder, his half-raised hand ready for the exam, floating slowly back to the bed.
“I told you I’d be fine,” she reminded him.
“Obviously,” he said, completely distracted by what he was looking at. “Where did it go?”
“It’s still there, very tender in fact,” she offered.
“A wound that deep does not heal overnight. Not even in a week.” His mouth was slightly open as he lifted his gaze to her. Shocked was only the beginning.
He leaned back as he continued to just stare. She rewrapped her robe, pulling the collar back up as she waited for the first questions. When he remained silent, she began to feel uncomfortable.
“Bram, if you want to ask, just do it. Otherwise, I’d like to dress and brush my teeth. I’ve only been up about an hour.”
“At least you slept well.” He swallowed.
“Yes, thank you for that,” she said as she clasped her fingers in front of her, her head bowed as she waited.
He half rose, then sat back down. “If I let you dress, will you tell me anyway.”
She knew what he meant. She could feel it like an arc of electricity between them. A spark, and all they would have to do is touch again to send into a full flame.
“I will tell you what I can.” It would have to be a compromise. This was happening too fast between them, too fast for her. It was the most she could offer.
He nodded once, gathering his bag and exiting with a quick step, closing the door behind him. She released a soft sigh. Why did it have to be so damn difficult? Why couldn’t she just fall in love and that be it? Why did what she was have to be a factor? And why did love have to be so damn elusive?
She was done and dressed in less than ten minutes, walking out to the living room on bare feet. She carried the plate but her steps slowed when she realized what he was staring at. No, that was too much. It was way too soon, she thought as she placed her plate on the kitchen table.
“You have beautiful paintings,” he said.
“I’m surprised you didn’t see them last night. You and Morgan were right underneath them,” she said as she stepped back into the room. She wrapped her arms around her waist fear and trepidation keeping her from saying more.
“I’ve seen this one,” he whispered. He pointed at a beautiful oil painting of a pale white wolf, head raised in
a full throated cry of freedom with a nebulous moon hanging like a hole in the sky. “I thought I was imagining it. A vision. I was lost and she kept reappearing. I don’t know.”
He stopped talking looking at her with a rueful grin. “I’ve never spoken of it to anyone. I didn’t know if it was real, and I didn’t want to know if it wasn’t.”
“Do you remember anything about her?” she asked unable to hide the hesitant hitch in her voice, stopping a step or two away from him.
“Only that it had these incredible piercing gray eyes. The coat in the painting is exact,” he said with admiration. “Whoever did the painting is extraordinary.”
“My father did them,” she offered. He still stared in inspired wonder at the painting that hung to the right of the fireplace.
“Your father is very talented.”
“I’m sure he’d be glad to hear it from someone other than his adoring family,” she said with a quiet hitch in her voice.
“Is this wolf still in the area? I’ve always wondered what she was doing this far west,” he said, drawn into his memories.
“Yes, she is.” She took a deep breath. “That’s part of what caused last night’s problems.”
He spun to face her, his attention rapt. Which she had intended. “I was out last night tracking the poacher, but he backtracked on me and shot at me. I wasn’t quick enough to avoid it.”
“You mean the poacher that is stalking the woods? He’s looking for that beautiful creature?” His face was frozen between shock and outrage.
Oh yeah, she had all of his attention now.
“I told you I’d explain what I could. I owed you that much for being here when I needed you,” she told him honestly. She swept her foot back and forth as she gathered her thoughts. “Morgan and I have been tracking him since last year. We thought we’d gotten rid of him. We’ve destroyed enough traps, I know that. I guess in his meanderings through the Pacific Rim, he’s caught sight of the wolves that do live out here and since they’re not banded or tracked, he thinks they’re fair game.”
“How many wolves are there? Surely the preservation society is aware?”
She shook her head. “I doubt it. They are very reclusive. I know they don’t care for humans.”
He spun, pointing at the white one. “But what about that one? She was not a mirage.”
Her voice lowered again. “No, she wasn’t.”
He looked at her closely. “You know of her don’t you?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes.”
His voice had grown hoarse, an unexplained expression in his gaze as he stared at her. “And you’ve seen them, all of them? How many are there?”
“I’ve seen them all. Out here, there are three.” She could feel him trying to connect the dots. It had to be his realization. She wouldn’t do more than point the way. It would be better if it didn’t happen today. Too much of anything was not a good thing.
He shook his head as he turned and paced a few steps. “It doesn’t make any sense. You were out after dark.” His head snapped up. She watched intently as his eyes dilated at the memory. “And you were naked. What happened? How could you have done anything at night?”
She stepped back, not going any further. “I can’t explain that, not now. I wouldn’t know how even if I wanted to,” she said barely above a murmur.
His face froze. “Can you explain the healed shoulder?”
“It’s an ability everyone in my family shares.” She shrugged, offering an indifferent stance, but she couldn’t meet his gaze. “Morgan’s the one who has actually been doing the tracking. I just had a dumb luck run in with him.”
She stepped back again when he stopped pacing in front of her. If he touched her… When she moved, his face jerked, like he’d been slapped. She licked her lips, beginning to feel desperate. He was too close. She was too aware. “Bram, you should probably just try to forget it. You should go back to the hospital. I’ll be in later, second or third shift to compensate.”
“Just forget it?” he growled as his jaw tightened. “Just forget that I saw you collapse naked in the grass? That I dug a bullet out of your shoulder? That not even twelve hours later you’re more than seventy percent healed?” His hands captured her shoulders and she gasped as his heated skin singed her. “How can I possibly forget? I haven’t been able to forget one thing about you!”
She knew what he was going to do. She couldn’t have stopped him if she’d wanted to. She didn’t even try.
His lips landed on hers with possessive force. His promise to not repeat last night was completely obliterated as the heat of him enveloped her, igniting the spark that flared between them to sunburst levels of intensity.
She didn’t even try to fight the way her body wanted to respond, demanded to. The ache that was just under the surface flared to life with his touch as his mouth captured hers and commanded her.
She molded herself against him, feeling him along her body. His hands were firm as he anchored her, sliding around her body to keep her there. She whimpered when he used his tongue against her, demanding access.
She felt alive, completely absorbed in him, in his touch. She felt him shudder beneath her fingertips where they stroked his hard frame. Felt the hard-fought signs of control as he softened the kiss. His breathing was as ragged as hers when he finally lifted his head, but only so far as to look at her. His hands still held her firm.
“Selene.” His voice wound down her spine with a sensuous caress. She shivered lightly from the shock. Her eyes opened slowly, searching but unknowing for what.
“Your eyes,” he whispered. He spoke as if from far away, as he held her. “You have these incredible gray eyes. They remind me…” His words were slowing, his expression becoming withdrawn.
“They remind you of what, Bram?” she prompted gently.
His smile was easy but the shadow in his gaze was her answer. Denial. It was for the best.
“It doesn’t matter.” His hands fell free as he stepped away from her. “It’s time I left. That is unless you need something.”
Only you. “No, I’m fine. I should be capable by this afternoon.” He started to reach for his bag.
“Bram, you didn’t tell anyone about last night did you?”
He paused briefly. “No. It didn’t seem prudent under the circumstances.” He faced her again, the calm and professional doctor. “But if anyone should ask, you can always just say we split the shift or something for personal business.”
“Thank you. I’ll be in a little later.” She reached for the door as he walked out, waiting until his car was out of sight to close it.
SEVEN
A few days later, she was walking the halls as if nothing had happened at all. No one that he’d heard had even raised a question to the sudden unexplained switch of shift hours. She was relaxed and smiling with everyone.
Well, almost everyone. There was a definite tension now between them, and it had been his fault for it. If he’d just left well enough alone. But he admitted now it would have been impossible. The way she made him feel when he was with her. He felt protective for one, and regardless of what had been the catalyst, if she was anywhere nearby, he would know. It was almost as if he could feel her, a touch on his skin, a whisper in his ear and he would know. The memory of her kiss was still there too. The soft warmth of her, the burning heat, the hungry desire that was Selene. He’d found himself walking around for hours with a half arousal because he couldn’t shake the memory.
This was all new to him. He’d never experienced what he felt when he was with Selene, never desired like he did for her. The picture of her smile, her hair, her eyes. There was something about her eyes, a memory, but every time he tried to place the connection, he lost the picture. He was lost in thought when the phone on Priss’s desk rang, breaking into his introspective reverie.
“Of course, Chief. We can send two. Yes, repeat it. Yes, I have one here.” He straightened at the intense sound of her voice, matching her express
ion. “On their way.” She hung up and paged Selene.
“Doctor Benedetti, that was Chief Swarenson. He needs backup for a severe accident. The EMT’s are understaffed this month,” she said, standing in agitation.
“I’m here,” Selene gasped as she jogged up to the counter.
Priss handed her the details. “He’s out on the interstate, but they had a rollover in the ravine and two are missing. They need hands and doctors.”
“I’ll go,” he said without thinking.
“We’ll take the Jeep,” she said. “Page Doctor Dave. I’ll make sure one of us comes back with an ambulance to help.” She rushed without a backward glance to the double doors, Bram close on her heels.
He watched as she drove with sharp, quick precision to the sight of the accident.
“Jesus,” she whispered. “Six, seven cars. What the hell were they doing?”
“That’s not counting the roll over.”
They spotted Chief Swarenson and Gabriel Markson, his deputy, as they slid to a gravel-spitting stop on the shoulder while Chief Swarenson directed the paramedics that they did have and the three volunteer firemen to aid with the low-grade injuries.
“Thank you for coming so quickly,” Chief Swarenson said over the loud popping of a door coming free. “Two of our guys are on vacation and of course a third’s wife went into labor this morning.”
“No problem. Where’s the roll over?” Bram asked as he looked over the metal carnage. Chief Swarenson pointed to a destroyed safety rail. “They hit, and went over by the nose. One of our guys is down there now, but he says a passenger is missing. Get down there and see what’s going on.” The Chief shot them both a grateful look as they spun to slide down the damaged embankment.
“Jeffrey, it’s Selene. What’s the status?” she said as she landed at his side. The paramedic nodded as he cradled the driver’s broken arm, wrapping a splint. “Drugs. All over the damn car.” He tossed an angry chin over his patient. “They’re stoned out of their minds. I wouldn’t be surprised if they caused this,” he said with a tight jaw.
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