Circle of Desire (Damask Circle 3)

He touched a hand to her cheek, and she opened her eyes. He hated the contact lenses. On her, green was far prettier. “I’m going to have to take off your shirt to clean the wound properly.” The collar was brushing the thin line around her neck, irritating the wound and making it bleed again.

“Don’t need excuses.” Her voice was little more than a husky whisper. “Just ask.”

A mischievous smile played about her mouth, and heat shot to his groin. “I’m afraid even the thought of asking is out of the question tonight.” It was just as well he’d sated the worst of his desires last night, otherwise restraint would not be so easily offered.

“Tomorrow,” she said, closing her eyes again.

“Maybe.”

“Definitely.”

He eased the jacket off, then undid the buttons of her shirt and peeled it away. Her creamy breasts were smeared with blood and showed signs of heavy-handed bruising. Anger rose inside him, swift and sharp. He swallowed it. The berserker was dead, and as much as he wanted to go back and kick the bastard’s body, it wouldn’t achieve anything.

After soaking a swab in antiseptic, he carefully cleaned her wounds, then applied the herbs and bandaged them. She bore it all without comment, even though he saw her wince. She was undoubtedly braver than he was—straight antiseptic would have had him screaming. He put his jacket back on her and zipped it up as far as he could to keep her warm.

“Home, James,” she murmured as he did up her seat belt.

He smiled and brushed a kiss across her lips, then rose before he gave in to the desire to taste her more fully. Once they were on the road, he called Gwen to let her know everything was okay. Even so, she was waiting outside when they got back to the cabins.

She hobbled across to the car and flung open the door. “Nice job of bandaging,” she said after a few seconds. “And you used the herbs.”

“Why wouldn’t I? I’ve seen them work, remember.”

“That you did.” She patted his arm. “Put her in my bed for the time being, Detective, because your boss isn’t that far behind you.”

He raised an eyebrow as he lifted Kat. “How?”

“I called him after you left. I thought you might have needed some backup.”

Then they must have just missed each other, and for that he was grateful. Benton would have insisted on sending Kat to a hospital. She was far better here, under her grandmother’s care, though only a day ago he wouldn’t have admitted that.

He carried her into the cabin and placed her into bed, stripping off her shoes but leaving on his jacket. She was asleep, and he didn’t want to disturb her any more than necessary. He ran his fingers down her cheek to her lips, then bent and kissed them. Lightly, gently.

She stirred, murmuring something he couldn’t quite catch. “Sleep,” he murmured against her lips. “I’ll be here if you want me.”

She didn’t respond, and he spun, leaving the room before he could give in to the urge to do anything more.

“I’ll wait for Benton in the other cabin,” he said to Gwen. And hide any evidence that Kat and he had shared a bed. Mark might know the truth, but there was no need for Benton or anyone else to know what was going on between them.

Gwen nodded. “I’ll be in after he arrives. Then you can fill us all in on what happened.”

He snorted softly. “Benton is not going to believe anything you or I say.”

“Wouldn’t he have seen the werewolf?”

“Yeah, but Kat caught him early in the change. He looked more like a deformed and hairy man rather than a wolf.” And that was a good thing—he had no real wish for Benton to start believing in werewolves.

“A man whose tooth measurements will probably fit the marks left on the last victim’s bones.”

“Which will make him think the wolf killed the kid, and Kat says that’s not true.”

“And it isn’t, as you know.” Gwen patted his hand again. “Go clean up and rest while you can. It’s going to be a long night once your boss gets here.”

A long and noisy night, Ethan thought sourly, and headed into the other cabin.

“GODDAMN IT, MORGAN, I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER TELLING you to keep away from this case!”

“Keep your voice down.” Ethan crossed his arms and leaned a shoulder against the wall. “Katherine’s asleep in the other cabin.”