Savage Instinct (5 page)

Mentally, he called to his pack, but the distance made
mental communication useless.  He didn’t have his cell either, which would make
it that much harder to get a hold of them once they did have access to their
phones.  He hadn’t had to remember a number in years.  He thought he knew
Malik’s number, but he wouldn’t know until he tried it.

Lee Riker and his group of rag-tag werewolves would be no
match for Aiden and his pack.

Aiden had a rather small number of shifters in his
community, but each of them were self-disciplined, skilled, and quick-witted.  Their
numbers often caused others to think about trying to take them over, but their
connection to each other and their devotion caused the most rivals to rethink
jumping this crew.  Something about this group made them special.

Maybe it was their ability to remain in contact with each
other, even when they weren’t nearby.

Aiden missed the mind speak now.  He’d only thought he
needed a break from everyone and everything.  A chance to be the lone wolf and
free from pack responsibilities.

Turning on the water, Aiden stepped inside and washed the
dirt and blood off his body.  The water felt invigorating, easing his weary
mind and tired body.  Fast healing didn’t mean he couldn’t be sore from
fighting, and he suspected the contact with silver deep inside his chest had
left more of a mark than he realized.

He heard the door click open and sensed Nydia dropping
something off for him.  She lingered a moment longer than she should have,
intriguing him.

The door closed quietly.

A quick glance over his shoulder and he saw why she’d
paused—the curtain stood open just enough that one look in his direction and
she’d see water streaming down his naked body.

He’d never considered himself anything special.  Fit and
healthy, yes, but with average looks that most people would forget.  If
anything, he thought his jaw was a little too big and square, and he’d been
teased growing up for his “butt face” cleft chin.  Once upon a time, that had
bothered him.  He’d learned to get over it and accept that he wasn’t perfect
and closer to “butt” ugly than not.

It seemed Nydia liked what she saw, whether she wanted to
admit it or not.

He arched a brow, considering that development.

Perhaps he didn’t have to go out into the wilderness to
wait on his pack to return.  He could stay here a few days, fake being too
injured to leave, and guilt the woman into accepting him until he was ready to
leave.

She talked tough, but he could tell she had a soft heart
somewhere inside her.  If she hadn’t, she would’ve just driven off without him,
or dumped him at the nearest hospital instead of bringing him home and
doctoring him.

If he could keep her guilt high enough to prevent being
thrown out on the street, this just might work out in spite of the odds.

Getting out of the shower, Aiden grabbed a towel and dried
off, rubbing the Egyptian cotton over his head until his hair was mostly dry.

He saw she’d left him some pajama bottoms and slipped them
on.  Checking to make sure his bandage was still secure, not that he needed it,
and left the bathroom to find Nydia.

She was cleaning his blood off the tile floor at the front
door.  Not exactly something that would inspire thoughts of lust, but maybe the
pity angle.

Aiden limped across the floor and stumbled to the couch,
acting more tired than he felt and hoping he had the right amount of pathetic
to inspire sympathy.  It was hard to remember he was supposed to be injured.

She finished and stood, looking at him sprawled across her
couch.  A mix of emotions crossed her face, but he didn’t know her well enough
to tell what they were.

“Where can I sleep tonight?” he asked.

She frowned and looked down the hall, then back at him on
the couch.  “Here.”

“You don’t have an extra bed?  This isn’t quite long enough
for me.”

Nydia walked to a trash can and dropped the soiled paper
towels and set her tile cleaner on the counter in the kitchen.  The open floor
plan let him see everything she was doing.

“I do, but I don’t want you to get too comfortable here.  I
know what it’s like to have guests that don’t leave.”

He propped his head on his cupped hands, watching her with
one knee propped in the air.  He moved in a way to indicate his legs hurt from
the car accident.  She gave him a guilty look but quickly covered it by washing
her hands and turning away from his gaze.

“What makes you think I wouldn’t leave?”

“I have no idea if you’re homeless, an escaped criminal, or
something worse.  My luck, I’d have to call the cops to haul you away.  I mean,
why did you have a knife sticking out of your chest?  Care to enlighten me?”

He studied her a long moment.  “I guess you deserve that
much.  I was mugged and had everything stolen.”

She jerked her head back in disbelief.  “Even your
clothes?  You run into the terminator or something?”

He chuckled.  “Something like that.  I don’t know.  Maybe
he was high on meth or something.  I was lucky to escape with my life.  But
they might be waiting for me at my house.”

“Why don’t you just call the cops and let them check it
out?”

He floundered for a minute, trying to back himself up
without sounding like an idiot.  He should have thought more about his story
while he was alone.  He tried not to feel guilty at the little lies piling up,
but better that than tell the truth—that werewolves were on the prowl in Misty
Springs.  She’d throw him out on the spot.

“We’re in the south, honey.  You don’t call the cops unless
you need them.”

“So stabbing and robbing isn’t enough to warrant a call to
the police?  I’ve lived down here for years and never heard this,” she said,
shaking her head.

“You must be a yankee.”

Nydia propped a hand on her hip.  “I’m from Michigan
originally.  I’ve lived here since I was a kid.  What’s that got to do with
anything?  And they’re just as paranoid about cops there as they are down here,
apparently.”

“I guess you’d have to be born here to understand it.”

She raised one fine, black eyebrow and drummed her fingers
against her hip as if losing patience.  “I think you’re being condescending and
deliberately obtuse.  Do you have a stash of meth at your place and can’t risk
getting busted by the cops?”

He sat up and waved his hands.  “Hell no.  That shit is
like toxic waste.  Give me a few days and I’ll be out of your hair.  It’s the
least you could do, considering you clocked me with your car.”

“You make me doubt the wisdom of believing anything you
say.  I’m to believe you’re not a criminal being hunted by another criminal. 
And I don’t have to worry about someone tracking you down here and murdering
both of us in our sleep?  Or worry about you doing something to me?”

“That’s right,” he said, nodding.

She pursed her lips.  “Mmmmhmmm.  Just what I thought.  You
trying to stay.”

Aiden guffawed.  “You do have a smart mouth, and you don’t
miss a thing.  Just like I thought.”

“If you’re trying to insult me, it’s not working.  Anyway,
that’s what I’ve been told.  But only to people that rub me the wrong way.”

“Why don’t you let me know how to rub you the right way?”
he asked, his eyes glimmering and face relaxed despite the tension he felt in
every muscle.

Chapter
Five

A kick in the gut wouldn’t have impacted Nydia as hard as
seeing Aiden walk out of the bathroom wearing only the pajama bottoms. 
Somehow, all cleaned up with his short brown hair tousled around his face
affected her more than when he’d been stark naked and stuffed into the passenger
seat of her car.

Maybe it was the lack of blood, sweat, and dirt, but the
boy cleaned up good.  Too good.

The body wash he’d bathed with hit her first.  She’d never
noticed it smelled spicy before.  Sexy.

She wanted to crawl into the crook of his neck and live
there.

Nydia had always been a sucker for freshly washed skin.

Dark stubble covered his square jaw.  His face had a
fierceness to it softened only by thick curly lashes around his eyes and lips
that were full and bowed.  That mouth had the promise of sensual delights she
firmly denied imagining.  His green eyes practically glowed with intensity.

He walked with a limp, reinforcing the guilt swamping her
about hitting him with her car.  Guilt made her anxiety levels shoot through
the roof.

She couldn’t see any bruises on his chest, when she managed
to pry her eyes away from the damp happy trail that disappeared into his
pants.  He settled on the couch, making it look like a love seat with his long
frame.

When he’d asked about the guest bed, her mind leapt
immediately to her own lonely mattress and the carnal pursuits to be had there.

Get a grip, girl.  You just broke up a few
hours ago!

“Why don’t you let me know how to rub you the
right way?” he’d said.

She narrowed her eyes at him, feigning annoyance.  “Are you
flirting with me?”

“Flirting comes as naturally as breathing in the South,
ma’am,” he said.

“I thought ma’am was usually reserved for distinguished
women.”

He raked his gaze down her body and back up to her face. 
The look was as palpable as a caress, making her feel strangely exposed.  She
remembered taking her shirt off and wondered how much he’d paid attention to
her in her bra when she thought he’d been nearly unconscious.

He met her eyes, a playful grin on his face.  “When you’re
raised right, it’s used for all women.  See, things like that just confirm you
ain’t southern raised, honey.”

She wanted to ask exactly what he meant by that, but she
didn’t know him, and she had a pretty good idea what he was angling for.  It seemed
to her he was an incorrigible flirt, and didn’t need any encouragement from her
to make leaps in misjudgment.

He looked dangerous in a purely sexual way that would just
get her into trouble.  She wasn’t open for invitations.  Better to leave his
suggestive words and looks alone and give that boy a wide birth.

He could probably finagle her into doing whatever he wanted
if he tried long enough.  The knowledge disturbed her.  She didn’t like to
think she was a sucker for a pretty face, but she damned sure wasn’t immune to
it.

“I have to get cleaned up and ready for bed, myself,” she
said, fighting the heat steaming her insides to mush like overcooked
vegetables.  The man oozed sex appeal.  Bastard.

Be hard!  Be stern!  You don’t know this guy
, she
said to herself. 
He could be a rapist!

She might not tell him no if he tried something.

He looked like he wanted to try something.  Something
dirty.

It could just be her imagination running wild.

He looked like he’d be good in bed.  The kind of guy that would
bite and gnaw on her in all the right places, like a dog with a bone.

No, she would tell him no if he asked or hinted again.  She
didn’t want or need a man in her life right now.  Least of all one that had a
wild, animalistic glint in his green eyes that made her pulse race and her cunt
quiver like an earthquake rumbled underfoot.

Swallowing with an effort, she grabbed a blanket and pillow
for him and left him in the living without saying another word.  Retreating to
her bedroom with her purse and car keys, she closed the door firmly behind her
and leaned against the hollow core door, trying to catch her breath.

Why was she so out of breath and shaky feeling?

Sweat dampened her shirt, making her feel sticky and
uncomfortable.

She was emotionally and physically drained.  The thought of
bathing after the ordeal of her day made her want to fall asleep on her feet.

She straightened up and turned the lock on the door with
authority, satisfied when it clicked into place.

After thinking it over a good minute, she decided that just
in case he was a maniac rapist waiting until she fell asleep or got naked in
the shower psycho style to make a move, she wedged herself on the other side of
her dresser and forced it in front of the door.  The clawed feet made a
terrible racket as they dragged across the laminate flooring.

She winced but didn’t give a damn what he thought.  This
was her house, and if she wanted to barricade herself in her room, then that’s
what she’d do.  She wasn’t about to shower or sleep without an obstacle between
them.

Just in case.

***

Sleeping on a couch too short for him to spread out on made
Aiden’s neck and back ache.  Sunlight streamed through the blinds, making him
wonder why the builders faced her house to the East to meet the sun.

“Ah!  It’s too damned bright in here,” he muttered to
himself, burying his head under a pillow.

The damage was done, however.  He was awake, and he wasn’t
sure he could handle staying at Nydia’s place until his pack returned.  Maybe
he’d try calling them when she got up and brought her phone out with her.

His stomach rumbled, trying to eat a hole through his back.

Healing himself after the fight had taken a lot more energy
than he was used to, plus, he’d been interrupted in his hunt before he’d
managed to track down any game.

It was a wonder he’d had the reserves to shift or heal at
all, but he supposed that was more instinct and adrenaline than anything else.

Nydia was still asleep in her bedroom.  His ears twitched,
listening for movement.  He didn’t want her suspicions raised any more than
they already were at his ability to walk around without any pain.  Keeping up
the pretense was wearing his nerves thin.

Walking into the kitchen, he opened the fridge and peered
inside for something to eat.  She had cheese sticks, which he unpeeled and
began munching on as he continued to look for bacon or sausage.  There were
eggs, but if there wasn’t any meat in the house, he didn’t feel like going to
the effort of cooking.  Besides, she might think he was better and could leave
if he started “iron chef-ing” it in the kitchen by cooking his own breakfast
concoction.

He couldn’t find any meat in the meat drawer or the
freezer.

Aiden frowned.  His stomach growled.

Maybe she just hadn’t gone grocery shopping in a while?  What
the hell kind of person didn’t have meat in their house?

The implications made Aiden shudder.

He moved to the pantry but didn’t find anything but canisters
of Arborio rice, canned beans and peas, pasta, flour, and sugar.  Low sodium,
organic and all garbage in Aiden’s eyes.  Everything seemed to have a place
with the labels neatly facing in the same visible direction.

Just looking at her pantry, he could tell she was one of
those new age health nuts.  She was probably a vegetarian too.

Aiden shuddered again.

He rubbed the back of his neck to make the hairs there
settle back down.

Finally, he spotted bread and peanut butter and pulled both
out to make himself a sandwich.  He opened the bread and pulled out three
slices for a triple decker, smeared the nut butter all over everything, and
munched away, dripping crumbs over the countertop.

Feeling a little better, he went to the fridge again and
poured himself a glass of milk, drained it, and left that on the counter too
before heading back to the couch to catch some more sleep.

He was doubtful he could sleep anymore, so when he heard
shrill complaints coming from the kitchen sometime mid-morning, he roused up
with a start.

“Why did you leave a mess in my kitchen?” Nydia demanded,
standing over him with her dark face scrunched in irritation.

She actually looked cute when she was mad, and normally,
mad chicks just pissed him off.

“Huh?” he asked, playing the dumb card.  When all else
fails, playing dumb usually worked.

She waved her hands in exasperation.  “You left the bread
open.  It’s stale now.  The peanut butter lid was off and you got crumbs inside
the peanut butter and all over the counter.  Don’t you know when you do that,
the bread molds inside the peanut butter?  And then you left dirty dishes on
the counter.  Did you not get raised right or something?  I guess I should be
glad you didn’t drink out of the milk jug and got a cup.”

He arched his brows.  “So I got a little raising.  Are you
OCD or something?”

She crossed her arms over her chest, making her breasts
bulge against her blouse.  Aiden couldn’t fail to notice the dark skin peeping
out of her white shirt.  He liked the contrast and thought she looked sexy in
the morning with her black hair tousled from sleep and no makeup on.  Even the
way her forehead wrinkled was pretty cute.

“Not diagnosed as having any problems.  I like to think of
myself as particular,” she said.

“I’ll say.  I’m sorry.  I was too tired to clean up.  My
legs hurt where you hit me with the car.  I struggled to stand as long as I
did.”  If he could have, he would have laughed at himself for that one and the
look on her face.  Gawd, he felt like such an ass.

She frowned, glancing from his legs to his face.  “Well,
I’m sorry I fussed.  I guess they were right and I am a bitch.”  She sighed.  “I’m
used to things being a certain way in my house.  I’m not used to having company
over so long.  Richard never lifted a finger to feed himself or help in the
kitchen.”

“Who’s Richard?”

She groaned.  “Just some jerk I was dating.  I guess I
overlooked just how big a jerk he really was because I wanted it to work out.”

“Is that were these clothes came from?”

“Yeah.”

She went into the kitchen and made some lemonade for the
two of them.  She watched Aiden out of the corner of her eye as she made the
drinks.  He appeared to be using all the strength he had just to sit up on the
couch.  It was obvious that he was in a great deal of pain and agony.

He needed to go to a hospital.  She wondered if he had a
phobia of doctors.  She knew plenty of people did, and hospitals gave her the
willies.  She’d hated getting shots with a passion, but then, didn’t most
people?

She made a mental note to check his wound at the next
opportunity.  She didn’t want to urge him to get up if he didn’t have to.

Nydia joined him in the living room and sat in the chair
opposite the sofa.  She’d asked for a few days off for a long weekend.  They
were going to spend extra time up in the mountains fishing and swimming and
letting his family get to know her.  That hadn’t exactly worked out, and now
she had this guy in her house.