“You did?”
“Yeah, I was on a road trip in Idaho, had slept by my bike, and in the morning, woke up and it was staring right at me. Close up too.”
“Wow, were you scared?”
“Nah, fascinated. I stood and it didn’t move. When I approached it, the thing snarled, like this picture.”
“Why did you approach it? Most normal people would back up.”
He gave her a look that saidyou’re really gonna put me in the normal people category?
“But it could have,” she went on, “attacked you.”
“It would have been a fair fight.” He took her finger and slid it down his arm, past a dragon, a skull, and to another wolf staring forward with glinting eyes.
She swallowed, her heart rate picking up. They were so close, his naked chest so broad, heat radiating off of it onto her. The scent of shower gel swirled in the air.
“Unless his buddy had joined in,” Jayden went on, his voice low and husky. “This guy was waiting in the wings. I didn’t see him at first, not until the first one slinked away and it joined him.” He paused. “Since then, I’ve always had an appreciation for wolves, for the way they have each other’s backs. It’s the way I am with my club brothers. The way they are with me. We look out for each other. Fiercely.”
She stroked the wolf, but it wasn’t fur she felt, it was the hard tendons beneath the surface of his skin. This man had been nothing but kind and protective since she’d met him. Patient too, and his fondness for Zak was genuine, which melted a piece of her heart in a way nothing or no one else ever had.
Chapter Nine
“Tammy,” Jayden said quietly.
Her attention was caught by two crucifixes on his left biceps. They were the same style as the ones her uncle had on his neck.
“And these,” she said, lightly touching first one then the other, drawing her fingertip down them top to bottom. “What do they signify?”
“I’ll tell you another time.”
“But this one looks new.” She traced the one on the right.
“Another time.” There was a finality in his tone.
Still, she pushed. “Why?”
He didn’t reply. Instead, he pinched her chin and tipped her face to his. “Before, when we kissed.”
“Yes?” He was looking at her so intently that her stomach clenched.
“It was good, right?”
“Yes.” More than good, she’d thought about it over and over. Reliving the moment their mouths had connected and all of her problems seemed to melt away.
His left eyebrow twitched. “Wanna do it again?”
“You want to … kiss me? Now?”
“Hell yeah.” He lowered his face, his breath warm on her lips. “But only if it’s what you want, too.”
“You’ve done so much for us.” She touched his cheek. “I’m so grateful.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Don’t you dare kiss me out of gratitude.”
“I didn’t mean that, no, not at all.”
“So what did you mean?”