"Whichever one waited in this cavern couldn't have been here long," she finally said. "It doesn't stink like the other one did. "
He had noticed that himself.
"I suspect they both spent some time in the other one. " He shrugged.
"Coyotes work better in teams. They challenge each other in their viciousness. It makes them more merciless. "
He watched as she finished checking a shadowed corner and turned back to face him. Her face was flushed, her nipples pressing against her T shirt as she snapped the flashlight off and clipped it to her belt. "I assume we're done here?"
"For now. " He glanced around one last time. "Hopefully by this evening Jonas will have some information for us as well as the pictures of the
Breeds who were murdered. I want you to look at them closely, see if you recognize them. "
Even their trainers wouldn't have recognized them the day before.
"That sounds fine. " She nodded. "Since I'm stuck with you at the house, I have to do some grocery shopping though. I bet you eat a lot, don't you?"
Her gaze roved over him. He knew the minute she spotted his erection and almost laughed out loud as her eyes widened in surprise.
"I have very strong appetites. " He was almost choking on his laughter as heat enveloped her face.
She cleared her throat, a nervous little sound-part arousal. part amusement. "I just bet you do," she muttered heading for the entrance of the cave. "Wouldn't surprise me a bit. "
Damn, she was cute. Tough as hell, with a mouth as mockingly sarcastic as anyone he had ever met, and with more secrets than any woman should have. But she made him laugh and kept him on his toes. A major accomplishment.
"You might want to look into stocking up on plenty of proteins for yourself too. " He kept his voice controlled, no sign of amusement or hidden meanings. "You'll need your strength. "
She turned back to him, a retort on her lips until she met the deliberately innocent expression he kept on his face.
She narrowed her eyes as she propped her hands on her hips, drawing attention to the ripe curves that had the blood pounding furiously between his thighs.
"You're not fooling me, Arness. " She arched that perfect little brow as she pursed her lips thoughtfully.
"You think you are. You want to. " Then she did smile. A sexy slow curve of her lips that had him gritting his teeth to hold back his groan. "Maybe you're the one who's going to need all that energy. I could be too much for you to handle, you know. "
She turned then, and with a twitch of her pretty ass she stepped over the ledge to the first foothold that would lead her back to the floor of the gully.
Too much for him to handle? Doubtful. Not impossible.
But very, very doubtful.
Chapter Six
Megan doubted it as well. As they searched through the remaining caverns, she fought to keep her senses alert, using her ability to draw from Braden's shield to hold back the less desired effects of the Empathy and to use her talents to search for answers instead.
She wasn't adept at it. She had never had the opportunity to work in such a way, but she found herself intrigued by the opportunity now. And by the warmth and the subtle information she drew on the man as well. There were dark places inside him, but he kept them hidden; he didn't let them affect him. There was violence, yes. But it was tempered, softened with compassion.
There was also dominance, a dominance that edged at the shields she was borrowing-shields he was controlling.
She probed at it, feeling the amusement, the lust, a hunger that was only growing.
She tried to ignore that, focusing instead on the remnants of emotions and actions that still lingered within the caverns. Not that there was much to latch on to. The Coyotes had come here to kill. They had followed the Breed couple from Broken Butte, but how had they known to start there?
They were there to kill the couple, then to wait on Megan. She sensed that; it had been uppermost in their minds. A clean sweep, but of what?
What were they attempting to hide?
"There's nothing here. " Braden finally sighed as they went through the last cavern, standing at the ledge and staring below with narrowed eyes. He gave his head a brief, firm shake. "Let's get back to the Raider and head out. I'll see if Jonas has come up with anything further in his interrogation of the Coyote he took back with him. "