“You think?” he teased. “I kind of doubt that.”
“You hate secrets,” she reminded him, a thread of desperation sneaking into her voice despite her effort to sound cool and collected. “And I have plenty of them.”
His laughter made her smile.
“While I admire your tactic, it’s not gonna work. I care about you, Jewel. Whether you like it or not.”
Damn. If she responded in kind and told him the truth, she’d make things worse. Already the ties between them grew stronger, deeper.
Because she was afraid she might weep, she spun and headed back to the bathroom. No way would she let him see her cry.
That night, though Colton wanted her to sleep beside him in his double bed, Jewel deliberately chose the lumpy sofa. Best to put some distance between them. Especially since she planned tosneak out once he was asleep and attempt to release her wolf.
The urge had been building in her all day. Ever since she’d seen the wide open landscape, so perfect for a wild animal to run free, she’d known she had to try to change. This time, she had a feeling she’d either succeed or die trying.
But once she closed her eyes, to her complete surprise, she slept like a baby. No midnight run, no changing. She didn’t wake at all until the sound of Colton rattling around the kitchen roused her.
Tentatively, she stretched, testing out her body. She felt…rested. For once, the wolf inside her was at peace.
Weird.
Sitting up and pushing back the blankets, she rubbed the back of her neck and yawned.
Colton looked up from the coffeemaker and grinned. “Morning.”
“Good morning.” Looking at him made her feel warm and dizzy. Hellhounds, she had it bad. “What’s up?”
“I’m making coffee. I don’t know about you, but I could sure use a cup.”
“Me, too.” She blushed. Was this how normal people acted after a night spent making love? Having nothing to gauge by, Jewel murmured something more about how wonderful coffee sounded and padded toward the bathroom. She felt his gaze scorch her all the way there.
Damn, damn and double damn.
Once inside, she scrubbed her face so hard her skin turned red, then splashed cold water to rinse the soap off.
How had she let it come to this? Because she’d had no choice, she told herself, hating the way her hands shook, conscious of her ever-present need to change. Colton thought he knew her, but in fact he knew nothing about the real her. If he were to find out, he’d recoil in horror.
She’d heard the stories. Other shifters had tried to take human mates. Most failed. A few, a lucky few, succeeded. Jewel had never been even remotely lucky, not once in her life. She didn’t expect she’d start now.
Colton watched as Jewel stalked to the bathroom. He wondered if she had any idea how beautiful she was. Though they’d made love twice the night before, he wanted her again. But he knew he’d have to be careful. She was skittish enough already.
When she emerged a few minutes later, he handed her a mug of steaming coffee. “I put one cream and two sugars.”
Accepting it, she shot him a surprised look. “How’d you know?”
“Watched you make it enough times, I guess.”
While she sipped the coffee, his cell phone rang, making him jump. Flipping it open, he checked the caller ID. “Reba,” he told Jewel. “It’s about time she returned my call.”
“Reba,” she repeated. He could see her thoughts reflected in her expression. She’d believed the woman was her friend, but the Realtor obviously had another agenda.
He answered with a terse hello.
“Colton, I’m sorry. I meant to call back earlier, honestly I did. But there’s been a lot going on.” Reba sounded frantic. “I know I have a lot to explain and I promise I will, but not now. I know I was wrong, but…” She took a deep breath. “It’s Bettina. She’s missing and I think she’s done something bad to Roy.”
“Bettina?” Anger coiled in his stomach. “The woman who claimed to be my girlfriend? Who told Jewel I beat her up? And Roy, someone I thought was my friend, who lied about me, too? Why would I care where they are?”
“I understand. Really. But Colton, please listen. This is serious. I think Bettina’s crazy and she might have hurt Roy.” Her voice caught. “He’s in bad trouble.”
