“You’re awake! Thank God,” Gabe said, sighing heavily.
“Where am I?”
Valerie’s voice came out in a soft whisper, her beautiful face creased in confusion. Gabe’s chest tightened at the sound of her voice, and he gently swept the dark blonde hair away from her face as her long lashed eyelids began to flutter open.
“I brought you back to my place, where you’re going to be safe,” Gabe said.
“The record store!” Val exclaimed, sitting up a lot more quickly than she should have. She winced in pain, her dark green eyes narrow as she brought her hand to her forehead.
“Take it easy, kid! Are you trying to kill yourself?” Gabe exclaimed, pressing his hand on her shoulder and easing her back into the bed.
“No, it’s just that I was trying to get full-time hours. They’re not going to let me do that now. I let the place get broken into.”
“What you did was nearly get yourself raped and abducted!” Gabe said, unable to contain the anger broiling in his chest. When he had seen her there, so hopeless and defenseless, it had been all he could do to keep from tearing the man’s throat out right then and there. And truth be told, Gabe had left quite a mess in the alley, once he knew the kid was unconscious and wouldn’t see the brutality of the attack. He wouldn’t have been able to forgive himself for showing her what a monster he could be when it came down to it. She was important enough to him that he would fight for her. He knew that much now, anyway.
“Why are you naked?” Val asked, her voice hushed and an attractive flush creeping across her cheeks. He stiffened when the wolf inside him caught the alluring scent of her arousal. But there was no way he could let himself act on it. Not after everything that had happened. “I don’t remember you being naked…”
“What do you remember, exactly?” Gabe asked, hoping to divert the attention away from his body. Maybe if he got her talking, he would be able to ignore the deep intensity of her desire. At least enough that it wouldn’t get him all fuzzy brained. But the truth was, it had been a long time since he had been with a woman. Maybe too long.
“I don’t really want to think about it,” Val said quietly. Gabe nodded. He could hardly blame her for that.
“What the hell were you thinking, anyway? Why were you out there so late?” Gabe hesitated before speaking his real fear. “You weren’t looking for me, were you?”
If the girl had been out there looking for him and had gotten herself into trouble like that, how would he be able to live with himself? It had been his own damn fault that he had claimed her. She couldn’t help it if the whole thing just confused her. That was all on him.
“No,” Val said, shaking her head and trying to sit up again. “I was working late today. Randall had a family emergency…”
“Randall…” Gabe said, a small growl reverberating in his voice. Val laughed softly.
“Down boy,” she said, touching his arm lightly. She drew back immediately, as if she had touched a flame. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Gabe said, his eyes dark as he studied her. “Are you all right? They didn’t…did they?”
“I’m all right,” Val said.
The wolf wasn’t satisfied with this, and Gabe found himself trying to gauge the scents around her body to determine whether or not she was telling him the truth. She was, but there was something disturbing about the scent of the man who had attacked her. Something familiar.
“You’re sure?” Gabe asked, quirking his brow at her.
“I’m sure,” Val said, yawning. “It’s just been a long night. I haven’t eaten since two in the afternoon. I usually pick up dinner on the way to the gas station but I had to call off.”
Gabe was startled by the revelation and immediately left the room. The girl worked herself to the bone to be able to afford living in Stonybrooke. The place was rife with dangers. She probably had no idea who the men were that had attacked her, but after confronting them for himself and placing the scent of their leader, Gabe knew it was bad news.
But he would have to think about that later. For now, it was his job to take care of the girl. To feed her; to make sure she was safe and sound.
He set to work cooking a dinner unlike any he had made since his wife had passed away; an elaborate shifter meal, but a quick one, and then brought it into the bedroom where the girl was dozing lightly on the bed.
“Please, eat something. I’m worried an empty stomach may have contributed to your fainting,” Gabe said. He wanted to be angry that she was there; that she looked so good; so right stretched out and sleeping peacefully between his sheets. But all he could do was gaze upon her and try to fight the warmth that her presence stirred in him. There was just something about her he liked. He couldn’t help himself.
“Thanks,” Val said, sitting up and taking the tray from him.
He watched her closely as she ate; so closely that it seemed to make her uncomfortable, but he wasn’t going to leave until he was certain she was well on her way to feeling better.
Finally, he took the empty plate from her and whisked it into the kitchen, catching a glimpse of himself in the glass cabinet. He was still naked. It was shameless. But the wolf wouldn’t be embarrassed by anything. It was at home, and felt perfectly comfortable strutting its stuff in front of the girl.
“I’m sorry,” Gabe said, walking briskly into the bedroom and grabbing a pair of pajama pants. He slipped them on and Val averted her gaze, another heavy scent of arousal filling the air between them. Gabe swallowed hard, doing his best to ignore it, but when he looked at Val again, her eyes were heavy lidded with desire.
“It’s all right,” she said softly.
“You’re bleeding,” he said, gripping her hand in his and twisting her arm gently to look at her elbow.
“I’m fine,” she said, a little breathlessly. “Really.”
Gabe shook his head and retrieved a small first aid kit from the bathroom. He dabbed gently at the cut with a cotton ball full of alcohol and then dressed the wound, Val wincing the entire time.
“There,” he said quietly. “That should do it.”
But when Gabe looked back into Val’s eyes, he knew there had been no point in denying what he already knew. The wolf wanted her. Badly. It had claimed her for a reason, and now that she was there with him, her body rife with desire, there was only one thing he could do. Give in.