Wolf Tracks - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,45

most folks were asleep, except for the nocturnal hunters, like himself. That left all those hours between now and then for him to savor…perhaps…with Helen. If she was willing.

Something in her manner and the way she smiled at him made him think maybe she just might be. He’d wait until they were back in their suite, and then, he’d approach her calmly. He didn’t want to frighten her off. He’d be as gentle as he knew how to be, and he’d coax her, if necessary, though he wouldn’t push her past any limit she might want to set. He’d be a gentleman. Even if it killed him.

They climbed the porch stairs to the B&B, and he opened the door for her, remembering his manners. They didn’t encounter anyone on their way up the stairs to their room, and he unlocked the door to the suite with his key. She had one too, but she was waiting for him to do the honors, so he took charge. He opened the door and let her go in first, turning to close and lock the door behind them. Then, he turned…and she was in his arms.

Jim wanted to laugh. He hadn’t had to coax her at all. Quiet little Helen had seized what she wanted and had taken the initiative. She plastered her luscious body against his and threw her arms around his neck. It took him only a split second to get with the program and kiss her back.

He was pleasantly shocked by her aggressive move and wondered if she’d ever done anything like it in her life before. He’d bet she hadn’t. She was enthusiastic but unpracticed, and he found that entirely enchanting.

When she pressed him against the closed door and tried to climb him like a tree, he took hold of her legs and let her wrap them around him. She was fire in his arms, and her kiss was a tempestuous mix of desire and need that echoed through his soul. Her scent filled his nostrils and made his inner wolf stand up and take notice.

He wanted her desperately, and she was giving him every sign that she felt the same. He lifted her in his arms and walked toward the bedrooms at the other end of the suite. Their lips melded and fused, their tongues dueling and playing and driving desire higher with every lingering lick. Her body pressed against him in a need echoed in his own soul. He’d never been so hot for a woman. Not ever.

Had it been almost dying? Had it been the fact that she’d saved his life? Jim wasn’t going to put a lot of thought into it at the present moment, but he suspected it was really neither of those things. It was Helen. Pure and simple. Delicious, delicate Helen of the immense power and even bigger heart. Helen the innocent. Helen the man-eater. Helen of the Rockets. Helen of the Land. Healer Helen, the purest soul he’d ever had the good fortune to encounter.

Pure and just a little bit naughty. She bit at his lips while he opened the door to one of the bedrooms. He wasn’t sure exactly which. It didn’t matter. They both had what he most needed at the moment—a big, soft bed.

As it happened, he’d stumbled into Helen’s room. He realized it when he saw the big ubiquitous bag that seemed to hold everything she’d ever need and then some. It was just as well they’d ended up in her room. He still intended to go prowling later, and she’d probably prefer her own bed and being surrounded by her things. If he did it right, she’d never know when he left, and he’d be able to slip back into bed with her when he got back. He hoped.

But for now, they had hours to enjoy before duty, once again, called. He planned to make the most of them.

Helen didn’t know what had come over her. One minute, they’d been walking in the door, and the next, she’d jumped the poor man. Thank goodness he’d responded positively to her rather clumsy overture, not that she’d given him much alternative. Still, he could have put her away and then let her live through the mortification of a very embarrassing rejection. Instead, he’d joined her in the most delicious feast for the senses she’d ever had the pleasure to indulge in.

He kissed like a dream. Hard and soft, fast and slow. He seemed to know just what she