chapter 32

After he came, he’d gone to the bathroom to clean up, only to return and find her gone. At that point he was filled with confusion when it came to her. There was one thing that he did know. She wanted him. He shouldn’t be surprised that women found him sexually attractive, but seeing Nita’s response to him was better than anything. She had been the only woman he’d always wished would be interested in him. From the moment he’d laid eyes on her.

He grumbled on his way to the kitchen.

Liam sat there, smiling, using his pocket knife to sharpen a piece of wood into a sharp point. “Good morning, Chief.”

“What’s so good about it?” he snapped. Guilt crept up his neck. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be angry at you. I didn’t get much sleep.”

Liam’s brows rose with interest. “I didn’t think you would, but I don’t think it’s for the same reason I expected.”

To tell Liam about what had happened the previous night was a big no-no in Ky’s book. Nita was the woman he’d wanted for much longer than he cared to admit to even himself. He didn’t talk about his sex life, or the lack thereof with anyone. He was private and he wouldn’t go there.

“No. It’s not what you’re thinking.” Definitely not because he’d been balls deep in the woman he’d wanted for more than half his life. No. It was because he hadn’t been that he got no sleep.

“Look, I left last night because I thought you two might want to spend some time together.” Liam picked up a piece of toast and took a bite. “But you need to tell me about this injury.”

Ky fixed a cup of coffee and spoke. “Someone hit me. Hard enough to knock me out while I was distracted and on the phone.”

Liam frowned. “Didn’t you scent them?”

He shook his head. “That’s the thing. I think they wore hunter’s block. I definitely would have scented someone approaching. As it was, I can’t figure out how I didn’t even hear when they came in.”

Liam’s snort wasn’t surprised. “How could you hear anyone when you leave your doors open so people can come and go as they please?”

True. He didn’t bother shutting or locking doors during the day. Most of his clan had open access to his cabin.

His thoughts drifted back to the previous night. Dammit. Heat spread over his muscles and down to his cock. The image of Nita on her knees not more than twenty feet from his room pleasuring herself still did things to his system no woman ever had.

He wanted her. Bad. More than he was willing to admit to her just yet. She didn’t realize how special she’d been to him back in high school. They’d been young. His shyness and her friendship had kept him from doing anything bold like kissing her.

Most of the time their interactions turned to fun friendly activities. It was those activities that allowed his feelings for her to grow, to blossom into an even deeper set of feelings he’d hidden so well she’d never known. Now there she was, just a few hundred yards away from his house and willing to spend time with him. To see if they could be a perfect match. He already knew they were.

“We need to go hunting then.” Liam broke through his thoughts like a splash of cool water.

He was about to agree when Nita knocked at his door. “Good morning.” She waved at them.

He watched her, searching for any sign of embarrassment over the previous night, but she continued to smile. In fact, her smile widened as her gaze roamed down his body in a visual caress he loved.

“Good morning,” Liam lifted his knife in mock salute. “You look great today. Doesn’t she look great, Chief?”

He realized he’d been standing there, staring at her without speaking. What a frickin’ idiot. What happened to his ability to speak to women? It disappeared the moment Nita came back into his life.

“You look great,” he said once he remembered how to use his vocal cords.

“Thanks.” She slid a long curl behind her ear and glanced at the cup in his hand. “I would have made coffee in the baby cabin, but I couldn’t find any.”

“Baby cabin?” Liam laughed.

She grinned, nodding. “It’s so cute. It’s like a baby cabin. By the way.” She entered the kitchen and headed for the table Liam sat at. “I appreciate the extra bathroom space and large tub. I worried about getting stuck in a little tub, but you had comfort in mind when you made that. It is probably the biggest part of that cabin.” She met his gaze. “Aside from the bed.”

Well, shit. Going back to check out the size of the bed sounded mighty good to him. He knew they’d both fit in it.

“Come in and have some coffee,” Ky invited. “Do you mind if we do a walk down by the river with Liam this morning?”

She shook her head. “Nope. That sounds fun.”

Guilt burned in his chest. “I know that isn’t part of the date, but we have to go check on a few of our clan members and they’re likely to be down by our meeting house.”

“Yes, it’s fine.”

But something about the way she said the words worried him. It was her dismissive attitude. What changed between the previous night and now?

After breakfast, they hiked through the woods toward the river. “How far...is this river?” she panted, her cheeks red from the sun and her hair clinging to the sides of her face with perspiration.

“If you’re tired, we can take a break,” he offered, his guilt growing at the sheen of sweat over her mouth and the tired sigh she gave.

“It’s just that I’m not used to walking this much.” She scrunched her nose. “Okay, I’m not used to walking at all, but I am happy to continue if you guys slow it down a little.”

Fuck. What kind of bastard was he that he’d forgotten she was a city girl. He motioned for Liam to keep going ahead of them and handed her the water bottle he had in his pack. He’d packed it just for her, in case she got thirsty.

“Thank you,” she mumbled, before gulping the water down.

“I’m sorry for the long walk. We’re so used to walking and hiking these woods we forget the trails can be long and difficult for someone that’s not from around here.”

She groaned and sat down on a patch of grass. “It’s okay. I’m so out of shape it’s not even funny. I used to work out a long time ago, but I slacked like a good lazy girl the past few years. My last workout session consisted of me telling my trainer I needed a vacation from exercise.”

He laughed at the face of pain she made and sat down next to her. “That must have gone over well.”

She shook her head. “He didn’t think it was funny in the least. He said to call him when I was ready to get sweaty.”

“Have you called him?” he asked, now fully curious.

She raised a brow high. “It takes me almost four hours to get my hair to not look like a dry straw broom. I’m no longer interested in getting sweaty with him.” Her lips curled in a sexy grin. “There’s better ways to mess up my hair and get a workout.”

“There most certainly are.” He could count at least four that they could try and probably not mess up her hair much. He especially liked the one workout where she would get on her knees again.