She hesitated, her pulse zooming, the need to give in to desire warring with the instinct to keep safe and keep her distance — emotionally, if not physically — from this man.
"We could go back to the kitchen and finish our coffee." But her voice came out with a betraying huskiness, and the heat singeing the air became a tempest that blasted them both.
His smile faded, but his dark eyes burned bright in the hall's semidarkness. "We could. Or you could tell me what you really want."
She could. But she wouldn't. The wolf within might be free, and it might want him with a fierceness she'd never felt before, but she suspected if she openly admitted that, she might also be forced to admit other things. Like how much she didn't hate him. Or, how she was beginning to fear the thought of him walking away at the end of this moon phase.
"Tell me." He dropped one hand and began undoing the knot at her waist.
A tremor of anticipation ran through her. "No."
"I can taste your desire on the air, little wolf. What harm is there in admitting it?"
"Plenty."
The knot fell away and her gown slipped apart. The warm air caressed her even warmer skin, and her breath caught, then quickened. But he didn't touch her. Instead, he caught the left edge of the gown and gently flicked it back and forth across one erect nipple. The sensation was like nothing she'd ever felt before — erotic, arousing, torturous.
"Tell me," he said softly.
She swallowed, but it didn't seem to ease the dryness in her throat or the trembling in her belly. "Why do you care? I'm yours for this phase, no matter what I do or don't admit."
"Is that what you want? For me to just take you any time I want? Right here and now?"
She licked her lips, and his gaze jumped to her mouth. Pinpricks of sweat danced across her skin. She needed him so badly she ached to scream, Yes. But she'd sworn not so long ago never to admit her needs to this man, and for the sake of sanity, for the sake of her heart, she had to stick to that vow.
"Does it really matter what I want?"
"Would you believe me if I said yes?"
"No."
"Why not?" He switched his attentions to her right nipple. She all but moaned at the sweet sensuality of the silk snapping across her skin.
"Because it's just another game. Just another way to destroy me."
His pause was brief, but nevertheless there. "Would it make any difference if I apologize?"
She briefly closed her eyes. He sounded sincere, and she so desperately wanted to believe that he was. But in the end, it didn't really matter, because he was still leaving once the murderer was caught, and she'd still be left here alone to clean up the mess. "An apology won't rectify the damage you've done."
"Perhaps if I explained — "
"Oh yeah, that'll work." Her voice was sharp with sarcasm. "Tell my dad I went to the moon dance for the sole purpose of seducing you to gain entry into the mansion. That'll surely make everything all right."
He leaned forward, brushing another sweet kiss across her mouth. "I wasn't intending to tell him that."
His warm breath tingled across her lips. She breathed in as he breathed out, until it seemed as if the spicy taste of him was filling every pore. She swallowed heavily. "I wouldn't tell him anything. If he sees you right now, he's likely to run for the nearest gun."
He raised a dark eyebrow. "I didn't think your dad believed in that sort of thing."
"He's a wolf, and I'm his little girl."
"And I'm nothing but trash taking advantage of you." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice that suggested he'd heard that sentiment more than once.
Part of her ached to deny the words, to tell him that he was so much more than his reputation had led her to believe. But she didn't. Salvation and survival lay in silence. He was a lone wolf who didn't want anything more than this moon dance. Except, perhaps, for an admission that she did need, just as badly as anyone else at the mansion, despite all the high ideals of her pack.
"It doesn't matter what he thinks," she said softly.
"No," he agreed after a moment. "But it matters what you think."