“There’s no one near to see us. Are you okay?”
“I told you that already.” Irritation touched her voice. “And how do you know they can’t see you? You got eyes in the back of your head now?”
“I can smell them.” As he could smell her. Taste her. On his skin. In his mouth. His gaze dropped to her lips. “Can you drive?”
“I’ve only cut my leg. Shift shape before someone sees you. If you want to talk, wait till we get back to the cabins.”
“I’m not going back just yet.”
And neither was she—not until he’d tasted her more fully. His lips claimed hers, his kiss hard, demanding. Though she made a small sound of protest at the back of her throat, her lips yielded to his. His tongue savored the sweetness of her mouth as he pressed her back against the car. Her body trembled against him, her nipples hard against his chest. He slid his hand under her soft sweater, caressing their peaks as he pressed his groin against her. Wanting, needing, to get inside.
She felt so good, so right, that he wanted to keep on tasting and touching her forever. But now was not the time, because there were scents that would not wait. He pulled back. Her breathing was as harsh as his, her pupils wide and dilated. He touched her cheek, thumbing the thin trickle of blood away.
“Sorry.”
She took a shuddering breath. “You should be. It’s not like you can finish anything right now.”
“No.” But he certainly wanted to, and that in itself was somewhat surprising, given the number of condoms he’d thrown out this morning. The fever should have been well sated until this evening. “Perhaps tonight.”
“Perhaps.” Her tone suggested he shouldn’t count on it.
Though he certainly did. He took off the ridiculous pink scarf she’d forced him to wear and handed it to her. “I have to go. I found a spoor I have to follow.” He shifted shape before she could argue and leaped away.
* * *
FOR TWO SECONDS, KAT THOUGHT ABOUT FOLLOWING him. But if she didn’t drive the car away, the deputies would wonder why it was still there and perhaps begin a search. They couldn’t afford that, not right now, and not when the zombies and God knows what else might still be in the area.
She took a deep breath that did little to ease the ache of desire as she climbed into the car and headed for the cabins.
Her grandmother was asleep when she arrived. Kat headed into the bathroom and cleaned up the cuts on her face and leg, then made two cups of coffee and carried them into the bedroom. Gwen stirred as she sat down on the edge of the bed.
“You’re back,” she said, yawning as she sat up. “Did you find anything?”
“A necklace belonging to Janie, and another soul-sucker victim.” She handed her grandmother the coffee, then leaned against the wall. “This one was an old man, though.”
Gwen frowned. “New or old death?”
“Newish. He’s been dead for about a week.”
“So the mara is still taking its victims in a traditional manner. Wonder what it needs the kids for, then?”
Kat rubbed her arms. “I have a bad feeling that we don’t want to know the answer to that.”
“Me, too.” Gwen’s frown deepened. “I’ll have to call Seline and see if she’s discovered anything on rituals that need specific emotions for completion. Where’s that wolf of yours?”
“He ran off to follow a scent.” And she hoped he was careful. Those zombies were still out there, as was the soul-sucker. And he didn’t stand a chance against them—not when he didn’t believe he had to kill rather than arrest.
“Damn fool. Hope he has more sense than to charge in if he finds anything.”
“He’s a cop. He knows better than that.”
Gwen snorted. “He’s also a werewolf in the midst of moon heat, so sense is not playing a major role in his thought processes at the moment.”
“You want me to go look for him?”
Gwen hesitated. “No. You need to head over to this restaurant.” She grabbed a slip of paper from the dressing table and handed it to Kat. “With the moon high, that other werewolf is going to be trolling for victims tonight. You’ve got to stop him.”
“So this time he’s not hunting children for the mara?”