Wild Hearts (5 page)

Chapter Five

Shyla returned to the back bedroom with a fresh basin of warm water and clean washcloths. Coal turned his head on the white pillow, a stark contrast against his dark hair, and followed her with his gaze until she settled on the edge of the bed. Despite having tended his wounds most of the day, she still found her mouth dry when her eyes landed on his immaculate body.

This time proved no different. She scoured over the hard cuts and deep lines of his chest and abs. The prominent veins bulging over his thick, corded biceps and forearms intrigued her. She imagined a nice body beneath all his black attire, but never something so sumptuous and decadent.

She peeled her gaze away and wrung out a clean cloth.

Coal caught her wrist as she began to dab at his vicious wound. Blood welled over the torn ridges of skin from his forceful movement.

“Put your arm down and relax. Every time you move, you prevent the blood from clotting and the wound from beginning to heal,” she scolded quietly.

“I’m healing. You just don’t see it. Within the next couple hours, things might be in good shape.”

Coal brought her fingers to his mouth and brushed his lips over her damp knuckles. Shyla held back a shiver of pleasure. The last thing she should be concerned about was bedding the man already bedridden. Hot moisture seeped from her core. She crossed her legs and squeezed, willing her arousal to cease and dry.

“After everything you saw a little while ago, do you believe us?” he asked.

Shyla sighed, easing her hand out of his grip. She dropped the cloth into the basin and wiped her hand on her jeans.

“I don’t have any other option. There’s nothing that can logically explain what happened to you and that guy. You changed right before my eyes.” She scratched her hair and shrugged. “Shouldn’t I be in hysterics right now? Screaming for animal control or begging someone to take me to the closest psych ward?” She lifted her gaze to his. “Why am I upset because you’re hurt and I somehow feel responsible for your injuries, putting the unnatural occurrences aside?”

“This is natural, Shyla. This is part of who you are. And don’t you dare feel responsible for what happened at the diner. Never be sorry for who you are and what you are. Otherwise, Jacy and I wouldn’t be here.”

“To protect me,” she said.

“Sweetheart, we’re here to do more than protect you.” Coal’s voice dropped in timbre, and a flicker of mischief touched his eyes beneath the surfacing pain. “White wolves have always been appointed two mates for a couple reasons. Well, perceived reasons. You see, the white wolf gene is so rare that, when it comes to the surface, those who still follow traditional beliefs think it’s a sign from the spirits of good things to come. White wolves are revered and honored. Each white is spiritually appointed her mates for the purpose of protection and strengthening pack bonds and liaisons. Jacy and I are practically brothers, but we were both born into separate packs.”

Shyla mulled over his complex explanation. She reached up to his hair and combed her fingers through the silky length of it, keeping it back from his face. His eyes closed. He turned his head in to her palm and kissed her tender flesh. The wetness in her crotch intensified as the deafening thumping of her heart increased in rhythm.

“You’re practically a stranger to me. Why would you risk your life for me when you aren’t sure I’m what you think I am?”

“You are. There’s a certain scent that differs in a white. A sweeter, more reassuring smell. You calm the beasts around you without batting an eye or speaking a word. It’s your presence, your spirit, that speaks to the wolves.” While nuzzling against her palm, he lifted his hand to her head. She allowed him to lead her down to him. She held her breath when he turned his dark gaze to her, so close and hypnotic. “My life is nothing without you. If you died because I failed to protect you, I would cease to live.”

“But Jacy—”

“Can’t challenge a creature like Rian. That wolf is my equal. He would’ve torn Jacy to shreds, and he well knows it.”

“So he let you go after him yourself to end up having your arm torn to shreds?”

“I told him to go after you. He shouldn’t worry a blink about me, sweetheart, when your life’s in peril.”

The logs in the small fireplace popped and crackled through the ensuing silence. Shyla shamelessly traced the fine contours of his face, the strong jaw barely bristling with the hints of a beard. The outpouring of perfection in his face made her heart flutter and her eyes sting with tears. This man would’ve—and very well could’ve—died for her. His unspoken loyalty hooked her and fastened a large portion of her spirit to him.

Such a tragic loss Coal could have been. Control, knowledge, and beauty melted down into the steel form of a man—no, wolf—who vied for her without openly admitting to it.

The bottomless black of his eyes softened, siphoning the warm orange light of the fire as its glow danced over the small room. They filled with something she couldn’t quite figure out, but it drew her in, almost making her forget about the vicious wound on his shoulder.

“I–I should really wrap—”

“No.” His fingers tunneled to the back of her head and pulled her the short distance to his mouth. His kiss teased her, closed lips brushing over hers. Sensuality and sexual prowess poured out of him, making her light-headed. Her arms fought to brace her weight above him.

The moment his tongue slid into her mouth, she collapsed with a moan. Coal sucked in a sharp breath.

“Oh, God,” she gasped, scrambling off him. Fresh blood streamed up and out of his wound from her having agitated it. She grappled for the sopping cloth from the basin. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

Coal chuckled despite the pained crease in his forehead. “I’ll take a hundred of those pangs for a single kiss from you. Trust me, other things are hurting more than that scratch right now.”

Shyla caught her eyes drifting down his hard body until it landed on the quilt properly covering him from waist to toe.

Where she imagined his penis might be, the blanket tented toward the ceiling. Heat washed over her face and through her body, pooling in her crotch.

She cleared her throat and turned away, rigorously blotting the thin trails of blood from his shoulder and arm. She kept her face lowered, eyes trained on her work, and her veil of thick hair between their gazes.

He burned piercing holes through her head.

“You’re not in the least bit interested?” he asked.

Shyla suppressed a shiver of excitement.

“I’m beyond interested. I want.”

The sudden release of Coal’s breath ruffled her hair. She glanced at him through the separated strands. Her dabbing sputtered to a stop.

“Take. Take anything you want.”
Coal’s voice filled her mind like a dark satin sheet, cool and hot at the same time. So deep it rippled in the shadowed sea of her thoughts and a surge of lust blinded her.
“
I told you we’re here for you. Two males for you. Get used to the idea. We’re not going anywhere, love.”

“How’s your shoulder?” she asked, trying to lighten the suddenly thick air in the room. Her voice rolled out just as thick and sexually charged as his.

“If I didn’t suffer such a traumatic injury to my shoulder, I doubt you’d be pushing your curiosity off to the side.”

“You’re conceited.” Her heart skipped and her fingers trembled as they wrung the cloth over her lap. “I’m here for a week, and I’m going home. I have no place out here. I have my apartment, my job, my
life
all waiting for me in New York. Whatever goes on here cannot keep me here. I barely knew my grandfather aside from the stories he used to write me.” Damn if she could lie any more. She wanted to stay here. She wanted a reason to love this place, not to go running home with regret filling her spirit.

She wanted to love Coal and Jacy. She wanted to love the fantastical ideas of wolves and packs and all the legends that enriched this quaint little town.

“There’s no connection to this place. You’ll have to find your white wolf somewhere else because I’m not her.”

Shyla pressed to her feet and dropped the cloth in the basin. She had to put distance between Coal and herself. His intensity melted her. It whispered unrealistic promises to her. He backed those whispers in voice.

The bed creaked behind her a moment before Coal’s arm slid around her waist and pulled her down beside him. She averted her gaze anywhere but down until he pinched her chin in a tender grip and held her head steady, their eyes meeting.

“Normally I wouldn’t care if I sat naked or clothed in front of anyone. Rest assured, I’m covered for your sake.” He combed her hair behind her ear and offered a small grin. “Regardless what comes out of your mouth, remember I can hear your thoughts.”

“You’re invading my privacy,” she said.

“I’d be invading your privacy if I had to dig into your mind, but you constantly speak your thoughts without realizing it. Something that can be dangerous if you’re in the vicinity of a predator.” His hand dropped and covered hers, folding his strong fingers around her own. She leaned forward and rested her forehead on his solid shoulder with a sigh. He petted her back. “Don’t be afraid of us. Don’t discount us because we’re not your typical city boys. You’ll be cared for in the best ways.”

He pressed a kiss to her hair.

She closed her eyes, fatigue sweeping over her.

“You need to lie back and stop moving your shoulder. Give it a chance to heal or I’ll put a stitch in it, and I can’t even sew a button onto a shirt.”

“As long as you promise me you’ll go rest yourself and not worry about New York or whether Jacy and I plan to up and leave.”

She nodded once, sitting back. Coal kissed her forehead then her mouth before sidling toward the center of the bed and lying back. Her blood stirred in her gut, teasing her crotch. She folded her arms, her fingers biting into her sweater. She wanted to curl up to Coal’s side and fall asleep. The full form of his solid body lured her with assurance. He would never let harm come to her.

His gaze lifted to her and flickered, his acknowledgement of hearing her thoughts.

“Jacy’ll be back any minute with clean clothes for you. Get some sleep, okay?” she asked.

One corner of Coal’s mouth lifted before his eyes closed. The firelight cast shadows over his impeccable face, his long, dark lashes coming to rest over his cheeks.

Shyla stared at him for a long moment, knowing damn well he would not go to sleep until she left. She couldn’t help herself. Staring at him reminded her of a fallen angel, some dark beauty who lived in solitude. She thought about climbing into the bed and curling around him, but stifled the idea. She needed a good night’s rest, and sleeping in the same bed as Coal Demmering would definitely not fill that order properly.

But, the tantalizing images that plagued her mind as she left the room filled an entirely different order.

* * * *

Jacy dropped the pile of fresh clothes on the evidence of Coal’s desire. He snickered when his friend growled and cringed.

“You bastard,” Coal said through gritting teeth.

“Just making sure you’re incapacitated completely because I intend to take her first.” He nodded to Coal’s shoulder. “It’s a shame you have that wound. Wouldn’t it be fun to see just how far we could push her limits? Two of us with her? Guess it’ll have to wait until you’re better. In the meantime, I’ll let you imagine what I’ll be doing to her.”

“Shut up,” Coal snapped.

Jacy’s satisfaction only increased by the sound of his friend’s growing aggravation. For beginners, he knew Coal seldom held any emotion toward women, and as hard as he hid behind his cool exterior, Shyla had snagged an unsnaggable creature. Jacy fell long before Coal did, or so he thought. Either way, both he and Coal had taken flight over the cliff for the woman he sensed sleeping in the other bedroom.

The victory lay in that he would claim their mate before Coal. That was enough, to taunt his friend and relish this seldom experienced outcome.

He folded his arms over his chest, his smile surely beaming down on his injured friend. Coal’s eyes narrowed. His nostrils flared.

Pissed didn’t describe the look.

Enraged? Perhaps that was a better choice of words.

“You want me to send you images of what she looks like naked? I’ll happily supply you with a prelude,” Jacy teased. Coal snorted and looked away. “Hey, just messing with you. Well, for the most part. How’s your arm?”

“Better. Any word on Rian?” Coal asked, blatantly changing the subject with a grunt.

“Nope. Maybe he never made it home. Tomorrow we’ll bring Shyla back to town. Len offered to watch her while we follow the blood trail. I stopped back at the diner to help him get rid of the kill I left in his back lot. Bro, you and Rian left one helluva mess. We boarded up the windows so the average tourist wouldn’t look inside and see the bloodbath left in your path.”