Her gaze searched his. “Sounds as if you would have preferred me to sneak."
"I would have preferred you not to go at all."
Her stupid heart did an odd little dance, though heaven only knows why. It wasn't as if he'd been jealous. To be jealous, you had to actually care, and he never had. It was more likely the fact that she wasn't there when he wanted her. “That was never an option."
"There are always options, Vannah."
She snorted. “Like you had the option of telling me the truth?"
"That was never an option I had."
Too many things weren't on his list of options when it came to her, apparently. “Look, let's not get into this here."
"No.” He studied her for a second, his gaze hot, heavy. The smell of his desire washed across her senses, teasing her, caressing her, making her more ready for him than she'd ever been with anyone else. All without even touching her.
The worst thing was, she knew it wasn't the moon but the man himself. He was the fuel to her fire.
And he knew it, damn him.
He stepped so close that if she hadn't been breathing in as he breathed out, they would have touched. Each breath he released was a warm rasp of air that touched her lips, making them tingle. And that tingle flushed across her body, tiny footsteps of desire that eventually pooled low in her body. “Don't,” she said softly.
"I made a promise. I intend to keep it.” His eyes glittered at her. Dared her. “But you made no such pledge. You can touch me anytime you want."
And she did want to touch him. Badly.
"I intend to stick with the conditions I set."
"The moon will make that impossible, and you know it."
Maybe she did. But that didn't mean she had to give in the minute he crooked his little finger. Sure, she'd probably be a needy mess by the end of the day—if she made it to the end of the day—but she sure as hell wasn't going to be easy. Not this time.
And certainly not with the possibility of a reporter running around.
"We have work to do,” she said resolutely.
A condescending smile touched his lips. Lips she ached to kiss.
"You can't hold out forever, Vannah."
No. But she sure was going to hold out for as long as she could. At the very least, it was one way of showing him she wasn't the person he thought she was.
And right now she had no desire to explore why it was so important that he realize that was the point.
* * * *
Somehow, Savannah made it through the long afternoon and into the early evening. But God, it was hard.
She rubbed a hand across her eyes and leaned against the side of her car. She was so tired her eyeballs felt ready to fall out of her head, and so damn hungry she was ready to shift shape and hunt rabbits. And that was something she hadn't done since she was barely a teenager.
But both of those problems were nothing compared to the fever. It burned so badly it felt like her skin was on fire. Worst thing was she couldn't go back to the office when she was radiating desire like this, simply because it wasn't fair to the males on her team. She wouldn't fulfill the promise her hormones were sending out, and she certainly didn't want to place them in an uncomfortable position. Especially Ronan, who was more attuned to her scent because they'd been lovers.
Of course, there was one very simple way to cure the problem. Make like a bunny with Cade. She'd stop emoting the minute her hormones were sated. All she had to do then was keep them that way.
She blew out a breath and glanced up the road. Anton had driven up here earlier, and he and Cade had made a plaster mold of the smudged tracks they'd found. Then the two men had proceeded to search the forest to see if they could find exactly where the watcher had been standing. She'd been sent down to this end of the road like some unimportant underling to stop anyone coming up—an order she couldn't exactly rail against, because she knew the reason behind it. The fever—and the fact that Anton would undoubtedly become aware of it if he spent more than a few minutes in her company.
And even though her past relationship with Cade was something that would have to become known to everyone on this case, the fact that the two of them were once again involved wasn't.
Which meant she had one choice, and only one choice, about what she had to do next.