“What?”she shot back, peeking through her fingers even though she knew she shouldn’t.“Ah, yes, I have.I’m just being polite bynotstaring at a naked stranger.”Of course, she realized too late that her fingers had parted just enough to let her stare anyway.She slammed them shut with a groan.
He chuckled, low and amused.
She peeked again, curious to see what he looked like when he laughed, but froze when she caught sight of him tugging the pants up.Relief hit first, thank God he was covering up, but then came the second, more dangerous wave.Davey’s old jeans clung to him indecently, the seams straining against thighs made of pure muscle.And hell, she wasn’t blind.The bulge in front wasn’t exactly ignorable.Heat scorched her face as she yanked her gaze up, only to find him watching her with a wicked curve to his mouth.Well, she had wanted to see him smile, and damn, it made him even more handsome.She snapped her gaze away.
“Is Davey your husband?”he asked, tugging the button closed.
“What?”she sputtered, dragging her eyes anywhere but there on him.
“Husband,” he repeated smoothly, his smirk deepening.“Davey?”
“No,” she snapped, narrowing her eyes, furious at herself for blushing like a schoolgirl.“Just a good friend.”
“Mm.”He slid into the shirt like he had all the time in the world, stretching the fabric across broad shoulders.“Well, tell him thanks for the clothes.”
Her stomach twisted.The sharp ache of grief rose before she could shove it back down.“I can’t,” she blurted, voice rough, sharper than she intended.“He’s dead.”
The humor vanished from his face instantly.His eyes, gold even in human form, softened, the smirk dying as if cut off mid-breath.He studied her, silent, and something in his gaze felt heavier than pity.It was both recognition and understanding.
Finally, his voice came quiet but steady.“I’m sorry for your loss.I’ll tell him myself someday.But until then…” He took a step closer, the weight of his presence stealing the air from the room.“…you should at least know my name.I’m?—”
CHAPTER3
Before he could finish saying his name, a sharp noise rattled at the door.Both of them froze.Macy’s stomach dropped in horror, but the man instantly shifted into protective mode, muscles coiling as he stepped in front of her like a wall.
“Macy!”A hissed voice came from the other side of the door.“I know you’re in there.Let me in before these damn Crows spot me.”
“Shit!”Macy cursed under her breath.Thinking fast, she grabbed the still nameless man by the arm, shoved him toward the back room, and slammed the door behind him.“Stay here.”
She didn’t wait for his protest.Snatching up an old towel from the counter, she rushed to the front, forcing her face into something resembling casual before grabbing the chair and moving it.Then she managed to crack the broken door open a little.
“Hey, Bruce,” she said, trying for nonchalance.It came out too bright and way too fake.By the way his golden cat eyes narrowed, she knew she wasn’t fooling him.
“Where is he?”Bruce slinked inside without invitation, his head swiveling, nose twitching as he scanned the room.
“Who?”Macy asked with wide eyes, throwing in a half-hearted laugh as she wrapped the towel tighter around her arm like she’d been busy.“I’m the only one here, Bruce.What areyoudoing here?”
Bruce’s whiskers twitched, his gaze sharpening on her.“So, we’re playin’ that game, are we?”
“What game?”Macy scoffed, shaking her head as if he were crazy.“I’m cleaning this old place out.That’s it.That’s all I’m doing.”
“Is that so?”He prowled further in, sniffing dramatically, before snapping his head back toward her.“In the…dark?”
“Who are you now?Inspector Catget?”Macy shot back, rolling her eyes as she glared at him.“There’s no electricity, genius.”
Bruce paused as if he were thinking.“Inspector Catget has a nice ring to it.”He hopped onto the rickety table by the door and, with an infuriatingly casual flick of his paw, hit the switch.The single bulb overhead flared to life, bathing the cabin in a warm glow.
“Dammit,” Macy hissed, darting to shut it back off, then yanked the curtain across the nearest window.Her heart was hammering.
“Ah…ha!”Bruce’s voice rang smug and loud.He pointed one furry paw straight at her, eyes glowing with triumph.“Where is the Werewolf, Macy?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Bruce.”Macy planted a hand on her hip, giving him her best glare.“There are no Werewolves anymore.You making stuff up again?I remember that time you tried to convince everyone you saw Bigfoot.Do you remember that?Huh?”
“I did see Bigfoot.And did you know that when you lie, you talk too much?”Bruce snorted when she sucked her lips between her teeth, proving that she knew that he knew she was lying out her ass.He then sniffed the air once, slow and deliberate, before narrowing his golden eyes at her.“Unless you’ve grown fur instead of feathers, then you’d best spill it, Crow.”
“I have nothing to spill, Cat.”Macy shot back, stepping into his path when he hopped off the table and padded toward the back of the cabin.“Where are you going?The front door is that way.”
She had barely finished the sentence when theactualfront door exploded inward, wood splintering as Rafe, Griffen, and Mac, the King of the Shifters, stormed inside like a wall of fury.Behind them, a crowd of Crow Shifters stared inside, not only through the busted door but also the windows.
