Tall Dark Handsome Lycan

by Anastasia Maltezos

  “Stay here. You have done the right thing waking me up. I will take over from here,” he replied hoarsely.

  She pursed her lips. “I have first aid training. What will you do if Nitsa’s water breaks and the ambulance hasn’t arrived? Are you prepared to deliver a baby?” His face whitened. “I’m coming with you,” she stated firmly.

  * * * *

  Thirty minutes later, Saw watched as Nitsa was safely secured on a gurney by one paramedic while another one opened the back door of the ambulance. She was thankful Nitsa’s water hadn’t broken.

  Maria hugged Leo and Sam before she tumbled her ample body into the back of the ambulance. “Sam, you are an angel. Efharisto, koritsakimou.”

  “You’re welcome. Good luck,” she smiled as she watched the paramedic shut the door and the ambulance sped away.

  Sam glanced up at Leo standing silently by her side. Their gazes locked and she noted the quirk in his mouth, the softening of his eyes.

  She released a shaky breath. “What a night! Can you imagine if we had to deliver a baby?”

  Leo remained silent as his expression warmed with admiration and interest. “You seemed to know what you were doing when you examined her.”

  Sam shrugged self-consciously. “I was shaking with fright.”

  “Yes, but you did not show it,” he remarked. “You never once betrayed your fear to Nitsa. She clung to your serene, calm countenance as though it was a life preserver. You were very brave, Sam.”

  She laughed nervously. “Anyone else would have done the same. I did what anyone would do in this situation, keeping the woman calm and comfortable.”

  “No. What you did was beyond normal. You kept checking her pulse, taking her temperature. I must say, I was very impressed by how you handled the crisis.”

  She could handle his arrogance and cruelty, but this gentler side of him made her feel out of sorts. “John’s a doctor and he encouraged me to take first aid training. I volunteer at an orphanage back home and being able to treat cuts comes in handy.”

  He seemed momentarily shocked by what she said, but he recovered quickly. “Granted, but you were prepared to deliver a baby had the need arisen. And that makes you very brave,” he added softly as he took her by the shoulders and pulled her gently toward him.

  Sam inhaled softly as she looked up into his eyes. Suddenly, the air was charged between them. He flicked an interested look at her mouth and she caught the immediate glint of determination on his face. Her heart fluttered. He was going to kiss her.

  Leo dipped his head a fraction of an inch, his gaze still locked with hers. Slowly, she parted her lips as his head dropped another fraction of an inch, bringing his chiselled mouth closer to hers. Sam closed her eyes.

  “You are a very beautiful woman. What other surprises do you have in store for me?” She heard him murmur deeply.

  “None,” she whispered, his warm breath on her skin as he bent even lower, cupping her face with his big, strong hands.

  “I want to kiss you,” he said softly, his deep voice sending shivers of delight up her spine.

  She opened her eyes and nearly melted at the look of desire on his face. Sam’s legs gave way and she reached out, grabbing his shirt to steady herself. Everything around them stilled and disappeared, making her feel as though they were the only two people left in the world. She was drowning in this man’s seductive energy and she tried grasping onto any last coherent thought.

  Katina.

  Her mind raced.

  This man was getting engaged soon and Sam was not going to be anyone’s short, summer fling. She was going home in two weeks and she wanted to return to her life in one piece. That was all she needed to think to give her the strength to bring her hands up to his chest and push herself away from him. “No!”

  His eyes smouldered as he stared at her. He looked like he was going to say something, but he clamped down on his jaw and remained silent. A telltale muscle twitched along his jaw and Sam could tell he was struggling with something she couldn’t define. Was rejection alien to him? Had no other woman ever said no to his advances?

  He cursed under his breath and reached out to take her back into his arms, but her words made him go still.

  “I don’t know what’s worse, a man with a girlfriend, trying to kiss me or a man thinking I’m the kind of woman who goes for short summer flings.”

  He clenched his jaw. Sam held her breath and struggled with her mixed emotions. She longed for his kiss and she knew kissing him was the last thing she should do. She could no longer deny she was madly attracted to him. Slowly, he dropped his hands to his sides.

  “Very well. We will return to the house.”

  He didn’t even seem in the slightest bit perturbed at the mention of his girlfriend and Sam wondered if he was accustomed to fooling around. Sam didn’t doubt he had a slew of women waiting in line to be with him. He was probably a walking menace to women’s senses everywhere.

  They made their way to his car in silence, and she shivered slightly in the cool, night air. She drew her arms around her for warmth. Without saying a word, Leo removed the white shirt from his shoulders and slipped it around her shoulders.

  “No. I’m fine. You need—” She kept her eyes averted from from his naked chest.

  “You’re practically naked, or have you forgotten your state of undress?”

  She looked down at herself and cringed with embarrassment. He was right. The cool air had made her breasts peak and she wondered, mortified, how long she had been exposing herself to him. Quickly, she slipped her arms through the sleeves of his shirt and fastened a couple of buttons. It’s warmth settled comfortably around her and Sam shivered again from his male scent still lingering on the soft cotton. It smelled like fresh rain mingled with woodsy soap.

  Leo opened her door and she slid into his car. She watched him walk around the front of the car, her gaze running over his bare, powerfully built torso and his form-fitting denims outlining his muscular legs. Leo was all male, she concluded, and wondered at the havoc he’d wreak when he stepped foot in the little town where she lived.

  Eventually he would take a trip to Somerset, Sam reasoned, surely to visit Toni’s new home with John. She wondered when she would see him again after she returned home. A heaviness weighed around her heart. Sam was going to probe the disturbing feeling further, but stopped once the car dipped under his weight. His presence beside her rattled her nerves and she wondered at the extent of her feelings for him.

  She didn’t need to turn her head to know he was watching her. She could feel his dark gaze on her and she wrapped her arms protectively around her.

  “Are you still cold?” He asked.

  “No. I’m fine now. Thanks.”

  By the time they arrived at the villa, Sam had gotten herself so worked up with anxiety and nerves at their near kiss, she quickly unlocked her door and practically stumbled out of the car in her haste to go inside the house and sprint to the privacy of her room.

  Leo reached her side before she started her mad dash into the house and he raised a dark brow as he stared at her.

  Sam tried to hide the nervous twitch from her mouth. “I…I’m going to bed.”

  He didn’t respond as he led her into the house, but she caught the grim set of his jaw and the hardening of his expression. He turned on the chandelier and a soft glow of light filled the hall. Sam made her way to the stairs, but his hand shot out and he stopped her.

  “Why are you behaving like this?” He demanded.

  “Like what?” She asked, braving a look at him. He sounded angry, but when she saw his face, she was half-frightened, half-excited to see desire still etched on his handsome features.

  “I frighten you.”

  Sam laughed, but it sounded strained and forced. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “Then why, as we speak, I see you inching your way backward toward the stairs?”

  “I’m tired and I want to go to bed.”

  “Liar.”<
br />
  Sam bristled. “Look, I’m still suffering from jetlag,” she said, startled to realize she had only met him this morning, “and I’m still reeling from what we just went through with Nitsa.”

  Leo’s brow knotted into a dark slash and he ran a shaky hand through his hair. “For the record, I never thought you went for short, summer flings.”

  Sam waited for him to mention Katina, but he didn’t. Was it one night stands he went for, then? “Let’s forget it. It was…it was an emotional evening for everyone,” she said.

  Grim-faced, he withdrew from her. “Very well. Goodnight,” he said brusquely.

  “Goodnight.” Relieved, Sam turned to go upstairs, but his deep voice stopped her.

  “Sam.”

  Slowly she turned and gave him a guarded look.

  “Thank you for helping Nitsa. Maria is like family to me and I am grateful for your help this evening.”

  She was warmed by his admission, especially since she knew how hard it must have been for him to make it. “You’re welcome, Leo,” she replied softly.

  His gaze flickered over her standing on the stairs in her sheer nightgown and his over-sized shirt, and he cleared his throat abruptly. “Goodnight, Sam.”

  “Goodnight, Leo,” she whispered.

  And he turned abruptly on his heels and disappeared into his office.

  * * * *

  Leo needed a stiff drink. In four hundred years, he’d bedded thousands of women, but he’d never encountered anyone like Samantha Hope. He couldn’t deny his attraction to her, nor hers to him, and he sure as hell would get to the bottom of Matt’s file on her.

  Dammit! He’d never desired a woman as much as he wanted Sam in all his existence. He went to the window and stared out into the night. His loins tightened as the memory of her breasts outlined under the nightdress teased his restless mind. He wanted her. Now. His human fought his beast from going up to her room and taking her. Frustrated, he flung aside the curtain and stared up into the night sky. The full moon was coming soon. An ancient, primitive instinct tugged at his beast and he threw back his head and howled. When his raw energy was spent, he closed his eyes and dropped the curtain as he released a ragged breath.

  Leo prided himself on always being in control of his emotions, especially when it came to women. He didn’t believe in wasting time or playing games. When he was physically attracted to a woman, usually the woman reciprocated his feelings, and they engaged in a healthy bout of sex. He was always open and honest with them, and never made them think there was anything more to their relationship than sex.

  Lycans, vampires, witches, humans—he’d bedded them all. As for his mate, his one, the woman destined to be his, he would find her when the time was right.

  Yet, time was a factor that wasn’t relevant to him. He was immortal and he had all the time in the world to settle down.

  His mood darkened as he thought about the enticing woman upstairs. She was different. She had clearly rejected him, even though his instincts were telling him she felt otherwise, and rejection was something he’d never faced in all his four hundred years.

  Still, she had saved him the trouble of ending what would inevitably be a short lived affair. He seriously doubted the sexy psychic upstairs was his one. His one would have let him kiss her. His one would have ended up in his bed tonight. That was the biggest legacy of the Lycan Legend. A passion and love so deep and profound, nothing could keep the Lycan and his mate apart.

  If she clearly wasn’t his one, then why the hell was he in such a foul mood? He cursed under his breath.

  Samantha Hope must have had a bit of a witch in her because he’d been bewitched since the first moment she’d spoken to him on the telephone over two months ago. And then, when he had met her at the airport, he had been pole-axed not only by her striking beauty, but by her strength and determination.

  He swore again. He needed to take a damn cold shower.

  Chapter 4

  The next morning, Sam slipped on tan shorts and a blue T-shirt over her black bikini. After packing her brown tote bag with everything she needed for her day on the beach, she went downstairs.

  Her goal today was to relax and forget about yesterday’s events. She hardly slept a wink last night. Thoughts of Leo had kept her tossing and turning all night long and her stomach had fluttered like a hundred butterflies trying to escape.

  Pursing her lips, she decided the only way she was going to find any peace was if she put him out of her mind completely. Sam was surprised to find Maria in the kitchen making breakfast.

  “Good morning.” Sam smiled at the older woman. “I thought you’d still be at the hospital.”

  Maria beamed at her. “Good morning. I returned early this morning. The doctor told me to go because nothing is going to happen today. He said I should come back later. My daughter was sleeping when I left.”

  “I’m so happy she’s fine.”

  “Me, too,” Maria glanced at the kitchen clock and frowned.

  “Don’t worry, Maria. I’m sure your daughter’s still sleeping soundly. When are you going back?”

  “After breakfast, but I can only stay with her for a couple of hours. I have to come back here to prepare dinner.”

  “I can help.”

  Maria smiled. “You have already been a big help. My daughter was telling me how much she likes you. Please sit down. For you, a big breakfast this morning.” Maria gave Sam a searching look and slowly her expression changed to one of concern. “You did not sleep well, koritsimou?”

  The mirror hadn’t lied this morning when Sam noticed the dark circles under her eyes. “No,” she replied honestly. “I’m afraid not.”

  “The bed was not comfortable?” Maria wiped her hands on her apron and frowned. “Maybe you were cold? I will send you more blankets.”

  “No, no. The bed… The whole room, actually, was very comfortable.” How could Sam tell Maria that thoughts of Leo had kept her up most of the night? “Did you hear that strange animal howling last night? It sounded like a wolf.” Maria’s gaze wavered and she appeared uncomfortable. Sam frowned.

  “I did not hear anything.”

  Sam deepened her frown. “How could you not? It was so loud, for a moment I thought there was a wild animal in the house.” Maria’s expression grew taut and Sam had the curious feeling the older woman was hiding something. “I am sure it was nothing. Just a stray dog,” she said.

  Maria’s face immediately brightened and she turned around to place two slices of bread into the toaster. “Yes! A dog. That is what it must have been.”

  “By the way, I’ve never slept in such a big bed.”

  The older woman smiled. “Your room is one of the best guest rooms in the house. I am very pleased Leo gave it to you.”

  Confusion washed over Sam, her thought of the wolf disappearing. Leo had told her all the rooms looked the same. Why did he go to the trouble of giving her the nicest one when he had made his dislike of her so apparent? Furthermore, if he disliked her so much, why did he want to kiss her? Sam’s spirits sunk, realizing the answers to both questions.

  Leo must have given Sam the nicest room for Toni’s benefit. He obviously wanted to ensure Sam had nothing, but good things to say about his hospitality.

  As for the kiss…well, Sam mused objectively, Leo was a hot-blooded male and she had been practically naked in that see-through nightgown. What reason could there be other than a purely physical, male response to an attractive, skimpily dressed woman?

  Sam scowled. Why was she thinking about Leo again? She turned her attention to Maria and focused on something else.. “I forgot to thank you for the dinner you left in my room last night. That was very kind of you, Maria. The meal was delicious.”

  The older woman frowned. “What dinner, my girl?”

  Sam blinked. “The dinner tray you brought up to my room while I slept.” An unsettling fear nagged her stomach.

  “It must have been Leo who brought it up to you. When you did not c
ome down to eat, he asked me to make you a plate and leave it in the oven.”

  “He did?” Sam asked in a small voice, her face getting warm at the thought of Leo standing over her bed while she slept. Still, a part of her couldn’t help feeling warmed at the thought of him making sure she ate.

  Maria smiled, nodding. “He must have brought your dinner up when he realised you were not coming down. Leo is a very good and very kind man, Sam. On the outside he is cold and distant, but on the inside he is very warm, very nice. The best.”

  “I…I must thank him.” One thing was certain about him. He was a man full of surprises.

  “And I must thank you again for last night, Sam. You were an angel sent from heaven.”

  Sam smiled and took the cup of coffee Maria offered her. “I was happy to help.” Her eyes widened at the huge plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns Maria placed in front of her. “I can’t possibly eat all of this. I was only going to have some toast this morning.”

  “Never mind the toast. You need to eat a big meal.”

  Sam was touched by the woman’s concern and smiled. “All right, but you can’t keep spoiling me like this or I won’t want to leave.”

  Leo strolled into the kitchen and Sam’s stomach jolted. He seemed a little worse off than her this morning, as though he hadn’t slept at all, and she almost felt sorry for him. She glanced over his white polo shirt, taupe trousers, and slightly damp hair. Leo gave her a guarded look and she wondered if he had heard her comment about not wanting to leave. His dark, unfathomable gaze went to her heaping plate and Sam thought she detected a brief flash of satisfaction on his face.

  “Good morning,” he said before he abruptly turned and filled his coffee mug.

  Sam stared at his broad, muscular back and her mind sped to the heart stopping moment last night when she’d seen him naked. Her breath caught and she blinked rapidly, trying to fend the stirring memory away. It was no use. His male beauty was right there in front of her and she was never more intensely aware of a man before in her life.

  Leo inquired politely after Nitsa’s health and Maria happily obliged him with the good news.