He turned and propped himself up with an arm against the wall. "I don't know. I think you'd look good without them."
Night-sky eyes stared at him without blinking. "You're not playing nice."
"You catch on quick, Red." From the gap in the door he could see her holding the towel closed over br**sts that appeared surprisingly generous given her small frame. The beast prowled closer to the surface of his mind.
"My name is Faith."
"Hmm." He moved enough to slide a strand of wet silk through his fingers. Right now, her hair was a dark red that reminded him of heart's blood. "Do you have extra clothes in your bag?"
"A shirt and the pants I was wearing earlier." She didn't protest his touch and he wondered if she even realized how far she'd come in mere hours. Something in Faith craved sensation and it was driving her to buck her conditioning under Silence. He was pleased. And it was because he liked touching her. The cat saw no reason to lie about that.
"I'll get you a T-shirt - you can get into your day clothes later in case you decide to go back to sleep." There was spare women's clothing in the cupboards, but he wanted her covered in his scent. And he was animal enough not to care why he wanted that. He just did. "Wait here."
This time, she didn't ask him to stop, but he felt her eyes on him all the way down the hall. She hadn't moved so much as an inch by the time he came back. Whatever it was that she'd seen, it had spooked the hell out of her, spooked her enough to break down her normal shield of cool reserve.
"Here."
"Thank you." She closed the door, leaving him to imagine all sorts of things. He was getting to the part about replacing his T-shirt with him when she walked out.
"I left the towel on the drying rod." She tucked her hair behind her ears.
He saw that his old black T-shirt hit her a bare few inches above the knee, covering way more than he'd expected. "You're short."
"Did you only notice now?"
"What are you, five two?"
"One hundred and fifty-five centimeters to be exact."
That made her a lot shorter than him. Which would make things very interesting in bed. He pushed off the wall, not surprised at the direction of his thoughts, but disturbed by the strength of them. Cats liked sensuous play and Faith was a very enticing female, small but formed just right. And that skin - it made him want to lick her up.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Faith took a step back and tilted up her head.
No emotion in either her tone or her expression. No scent of desire. But the cat knew full well she found him intriguing.
"Yes, it'll make things very interesting." He could easily lift her up against a wall and pound into her. Hard. But maybe he'd save that for later - his Psy would probably appreciate a bit less enthusiasm the first few times.
"Vaughn, your eyes are going more jaguar than usual."
He shook his head in a sharp movement and strode down the hallway. "I think the coffee's ready." What the hell was this Psy doing to him? He was known in DarkRiver for being aloof to the point of icy remoteness. Most of the newly mature females gave him a wide berth while they flaunted themselves to every other male, because they knew he wasn't led by his balls. At least not until now.
Faith caught up to him. "Do you have any nutrition I could have?"
"Nutrition?" He scowled. "Do you mean food?"
"I have some nutrition bars in my bag if you don't."
"You're worse than Sascha was." He put his hand on her lower back and urged her toward the kitchen.
She jumped away like a scalded cat. "I told you not to touch me."
He growled very low in his throat. "Minutes ago you were begging me not to let go. Make up your mind, Red." He was aware his voice sounded a touch more jaguar than Faith could probably handle.
"I wasn't completely in control when I woke." She stared at him with wary caution but didn't back away. Then she surprised him even more and took a step closer. "And you know that."
The cat growled again, but it was pleased. This woman might look fragile but she had a spine of pure steel. "Are you sure I'm that logical?"
"No. But you're not an animal either."
He leaned in close until he had her boxed against the wall, his arms on either side of her body. One simple lift and he could have her at his sexual mercy. "That's where you're wrong, baby." He brushed his lips over her ear. "I'm as animal as they come." Before she could say anything, he pushed off and walked into the kitchen.
He heard the ragged gasp of her breath a few seconds later. "Are you really?"
He looked over his shoulder. "What do you think?"
Chapter 7
She walked closer. "Your eyes aren't quite ... human."
Most people never figured that out, believing they were simply an unusual color. "My beast is stronger than most." And had been ever since that week when he'd survived by turning jaguar and staying that way. Because even a baby jaguar had a better chance of survival in the forest than a ten-year-old human boy. But being in cat form for that length of time at such a young age had permanently changed him.
As if reassured by his calmer tone, she took another step forward. "What does that mean?"
He poured some coffee into a cup. "Milk? Sugar?"
"I don't know."
"Here, taste." Lifting the black coffee to her lips, he watched her take a sip.
She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent as she tasted. He'd never seen any woman do that with the intensity of Faith, never been so aware of the inherent sensuality in the act.