Sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting a golden glow in the bedroom. The softness and warmth of Bryce’s bed enveloped Alexis as if she were sleeping in a cloud. The last time she’d been this comfortable, she’d spent the night in a hotel room before Macey’s wedding. After scrounging together enough money to buy her bridesmaid dress and pay for one night in the lush hotel, she’d been broke ever since. She needed to find a job fast.

Rising onto her elbows, she spotted her clean clothes sitting on the nightstand, folded into a neat stack. The house key she’d left in the living room last night lay on top.

She rolled onto her side and pressed her face into the pillow. As she inhaled deeply, a masculine, woodsy scent with a hint of citrus danced in her senses. She pulled the pillow on top of her head, allowing herself to get lost in the magnificent scent of Bryce. He’d been nothing but kind to her all evening. She’d fully expected him to try to climb into bed with her. No man was that nice without expecting something in return.

But Bryce had told her goodnight and left her alone all night. Maybe he really was different. Maybe not. She hugged the pillow tighter.

A knock on the door roused her from her thoughts, and she flung the pillow away from her face. Bryce stood in the doorway wearing nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants. His light brown hair was mussed on one side, making a sort of wave on top of his head. Just enough scruff peppered his jaw to give him a rugged look, and glorious muscles rippled down his stomach to disappear into the waistband of his sweats. Her own stomach fluttered, and she had to tear her gaze away.

He grinned and stepped into the room. “Were you smelling my pillow?”

Her ears burned. “No. Why would I do that?”

Grabbing a shirt from the closet, he slipped it over his head. “Yes, you were. You were sniffing it. What’s it smell like?”

She ground her teeth as the heat from her ears spread across her cheeks. “It smells like you, dumbass.” She chunked the pillow at his head, but he caught it in his hands.

His smile faded. “Dumbass? Is that what you think of me?”

She opened her mouth for another sarcastic answer, but the hurt in his eyes made the words stick in her throat. “I don’t know what to think.”

He set the pillow down and looked at her quizzically. Sinking onto the edge of the bed, he took her hand in his and ran a finger up her forearm. His gentle touch lit a fire in her core and sent shivers running down her spine. She wasn’t used to gentle.

“The bruises are gone.” His fingers grazed her forehead as he brushed the hair away from her face, and her breath hitched. “Even your eye. How is that possible?”

She pulled from his grasp and slipped her arm under the blanket. “I’m a fast healer. Always have been.”

He held her gaze. “You fell a hundred feet.”

“No, I wasn’t up that high. I told you, the report was wrong.”

“Why were you up there?” So much concern emanated from his voice that she almost believed he cared about her.

She inhaled deeply. Something about Bryce made her want to open up and tell him everything. Maybe it was his kind eyes or his open posture. Possibly the smolder in his gaze. Her wolf insisted on another, much stickier reason, but she intended to ignore that instinct like she’d been doing since she met him.

It was probably a trick he learned in police school to get people to confess their crimes. If she told him about Eric, she’d have to leave out the supernatural part. Then the testosterone would kick in, and Bryce would insist on going after him. Cop or not, he was no match for a werewolf.

She faked a smile. “I’m starving. Got any more Snickers?”

He sighed and pressed his lips into a line. “There’s a café a few blocks away. I’ll go grab some breakfast while you get dressed. Then we can get your car.” Rising to his feet, he pulled a pair of pants from a drawer. “Will you be here when I get back?”

“I will.”

Nodding, he hesitated in the doorway before turning on his heel and striding out of the room.

Alexis lay in bed until the front door opened and closed and the key turned in the lock. Taking one more deep inhale of Bryce’s masculine scent on the sheets, she sat up and stretched her arms over her head. A mild ache replaced the excruciating pain from yesterday.

Would it be wrong to stay in bed and invite Bryce to join her when he returned? The stirring she’d felt in her soul when she first met him was back in full force, and if she wasn’t careful, her wolf would try to claim him. A low growl rumbled in her chest. Who was she kidding? Her wolf was already trying.

Would that be such a bad thing?

Yes, it would. She was a rogue, and he was a human. Her wolf was wrong about this. She wouldn’t be bound to any man.

Slipping out of bed, she got dressed and padded into the kitchen to open the fridge. A six-pack of beer, a half-empty carton of two-percent milk, and what was left of a loaf of bread. His fridge screamed typical bachelor, but nothing else about him fit the stereotype. A whine from the living room pulled her attention to the goofy dog on the couch. He rested his chin on a cushion, and his bright blue eyes stared at her with intensity.

“I’m sorry, Sam. I forgot to tell you good morning.”

The dog jumped off the sofa and bounded toward her. She scratched him behind the ears, and he licked her face before wagging his entire body and prancing around her feet.

“Maybe we can play later, okay?” She scanned the kitchen countertops for a coffee maker. Her head hurt from the fall, and a little caffeine might fix it. She found a bag of coffee and some filters in the cabinet—at least he had all the essentials—but when she filled the machine and flipped the switch to run it, nothing happened.

“Damn it. I need my caffeine.” She unplugged the machine and rummaged through the drawers to find a screwdriver. The back of the contraption popped off, and she turned it around to examine it. A wire had come loose from a terminal. A simple fix. With a few turns of a screw, she reattached the wire and tightened the connections of the others. She replaced the cover, plugged the machine in, and flipped the switch again. The little red light blinked on as the coffee started brewing. “Thank God.”

“We’ve got a problem,” Bryce said as he stepped through the door. “Their coffee machine is down, and mine broke—” He inhaled deeply. “Wait. Do I smell coffee?”

She took two mugs from a cabinet and set them on the counter. “It had a loose wire. I fixed it.”

“Fantastic.” He grinned and dropped a white paper bag on the table. “I got sausage kolaches. I thought you could use some protein to build up your strength.”

“Thanks.” She poured the coffee and carried it to the table.

“I got some beignets too.” His gaze locked with hers, and her breath caught.

Why did he have to bring this up now? “I’m sorry about that. I lost track of time, and I had to be somewhere.” She sank into a chair and lowered her gaze to her mug.

Dropping into a seat, he pulled a French doughnut from the bag. “No big deal. I found someone else to go with me.”

Something in his tone said that her leaving the wedding without saying goodbye had hurt him more than he wanted her to know. “Who’d you go with?”

He narrowed his eyes briefly before focusing on the beignet. “Best to eat them while they’re warm.” He shoved it into his mouth. “So good.”

A thin layer of powered sugar dusted his lips, and she could almost taste the sweetness on her tongue. Her mouth watered. Why did he have to be so damn hot?

She always found herself attracted to the same type of men: muscular, good-looking assholes with tragic pasts. She’d convince herself that their cocky, abrasive attitudes were simply masks covering their wounded, softer sides. The softer sides didn’t exist, though. Not in her experience.

Bryce seemed different. Sure, he was full of himself—most good-looking men were—but an undercurrent of kindness laced his actions. And she couldn’t help but notice the fire that coursed through her veins when his tongue slipped out to lick the sugar from his lips. Oh, the places she’d like to feel his tongue. She shook her head to chase away the thoughts. “Thanks for taking me to get my car.”

“My pleasure.” He sipped his coffee. “What are you going to do once you have it back?”

“What do you mean?” She took a bite of the beignet and savored the sugary flavors dancing on her tongue.

“Are you staying in Pearl River? Do you live there now?”

She stopped chewing, clamping the mushed-up dough between her teeth. The thought of what to do next, where to go, hadn’t crossed her mind. What would she do? She swallowed the beignet and took a sip of coffee. “I told you. I don’t really live anywhere. I’m a wanderer.” She forced a smile.

“You like living out of your car?” No judgment laced his words, simply curiosity.

She shrugged. “It suits me.” Hell no, she didn’t like it. But she’d spent her entire life on the run, first moving from foster home to foster home, then living on the streets. She didn’t know how to stay in one place. Didn’t know if she could. Every time she got comfortable somewhere, anxiety would get the best of her, and she’d run away. A rogue could never have an easy life, and that was all she’d ever be.

He shook his head. “It’s too cold to sleep in your car. You can stay with me as long as you like.”

Her stomach tightened around the butterflies attempting to take flight. Why was his offer so damn appealing? After she’d left Eric more than a year ago, she’d sworn off men all together. Then she’d met Bryce, and her wolf had been protesting her decision ever since.

Going back to Eric when he’d called her to do the sound-proofing job should have solidified her decision that men were bad news. Then again, if she hadn’t done the job and gotten into trouble with him, she wouldn’t have been sitting across from the sweetest, sexiest man she’d ever met. Fate had led her to this moment, but…

She shook her head. “Thank you, but I’m not going to steal your bed another night.”

“If it means you’re safe and have a warm place to sleep, I will gladly take the couch. Plus, you fixed my coffee maker. Saved me from buying a new one, so I owe you.” He winked. “Think about it.”

There he went with that kindness again. “I’m sure your red-headed nurse would be jealous if I stayed.”

He stopped mid-swallow, choking on his coffee. Setting the cup down, he gave his head an adamant shake. “Lauren? She’s just a friend.”

The words “back off” had nearly slipped from Alexis’s lips when the nurse had come on to Bryce in the hospital, but that would have been her wolf talking. As a woman, Alexis knew better than to get involved with him. Yeah, right. “Seemed like more than that to me. I may be injured, but I’m not blind. I saw the way she looked at you.”

He straightened his spine, a cocky grin lifting the corners of his mouth. “I am easy on the eyes.”

See, she wanted to tell her wolf. He’s no different from all the others. She leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms. “And you’re proud of it.”

“So? I’ve worked hard to look this way. Don’t tell me you don’t know you’re beautiful. You’ve probably got men tripping all over themselves to be with you.”

“It’s different for a woman.”

“How so?”

Being with the man wasn’t the issue. What happened afterward always proved to be the problem. Men didn’t want to love her; they wanted to conquer her. It was either wham, bam, thank you ma’am, now get the hell out of my house, or they wanted to dominate every part of her life and treat her like an object rather than a person. She shrugged. “It just is.”

His gaze locked with hers. “Lauren was a one-and-done deal. Don’t worry about her.”

“I’m not worried, but maybe you should have informed her of that. Women don’t like to be used.”

His posture deflated as worry knit his brow. “I did. We both agreed before it happened. I don’t know why she keeps it up.”

Because he was smoking hot. No woman would be satisfied having him once. Alexis sure wouldn’t. “It’s not her fault if she’s fallen for a womanizer.”

“Womanizer?” His gaze hardened, and he straightened his spine. “Let’s get one thing straight. I never use people. Never.” He snatched the empty doughnut bag from the table and chunked it in the trash. Then he yanked a wet wipe from a plastic dispenser and cleaned the table. Every muscle in his body tensed as he furiously wiped the wooden top.

Maybe the name-calling was a little harsh. “Hey, I’m sorry.” She stood and placed a hand on his arm to still him. “I was out of line. Your love life is none of my business.”

He inhaled deeply and straightened to face her, his body mere inches from her own. Heat radiated from his skin, and his woodsy citrus scent made her head spin. She looked into his unreadable hazel eyes and fought the urge to press her lips to his. They looked soft, the scruff on his skin around them rough, masculine. Her comment had sparked a passion in him she’d never seen before. Would it be wrong to kiss him now?

He leaned in, his face drifting toward hers. No sugar remained on his lips, but she could imagine the taste on her tongue. Sweet, with a hint of coffee. She parted her lips, and her pulse thrummed in her throat.

He bypassed her mouth and hovered near her ear. “Damn right it’s none of your business. Let’s go get your car.” He stepped past her, grabbed a jacket from the coat rack, and tossed it to her.

She caught it and stood there watching as he turned and bounded down the stairs. Slipping her arms into the sleeves, she pulled the jacket tightly around her. She’d barely scratched the surface with Bryce, and a hint of that mythical softer side had already been revealed. How could she convince herself he was like all the other men she’d dated, when his actions repeatedly proved otherwise?

Bryce gripped the steering wheel and focused on the road. Neither of them had spoken since they’d left his house, but it was just as well. His mind couldn’t have formed a coherent sentence if his life depended on it. The woman had him so riled up he didn’t know if he wanted to kiss her or take his key back and never speak to her again.

Alexis stared out the window and toyed with the buttons on his jacket. His chest tightened. Something about seeing her wearing his clothes turned his insides to mush and his outsides rock hard.

But she thought he was a womanizer. A dumbass. He could see why she would think those things. In his quest to rid himself of the nerd he used to be, he tended to come off as aloof at times. Stoic. He’d rather people saw him as detached than a geek.

But not a womanizer.

“I really don’t use women.” He glanced at her and focused on the road. “I told Lauren I wasn’t interested in dating anyone. She said she felt the same, so I didn’t think any harm would come of it.”

She looked at him, her expression hard, distant. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. It’s none of my business.”

“I don’t want you to think poorly of me.” More than that, damn it, he wanted her to like him. To feel the same heat he felt every time he touched her.

“It doesn’t matter what I think.” She lifted a shoulder and returned her gaze to the window.

He gripped the steering wheel tighter. “It matters to me.”

Letting out a sigh, she shifted in her seat to face him. “I don’t think poorly of you. But I do have a terrible habit of being attracted to the wrong kind of men, so you’ll have to excuse me if I keep my distance.”

His pulse quickened. “You’re attracted to me?”

She grinned and mussed his hair. “Who wouldn’t be? Take a left here. My car’s in the lot on the right.”

He turned left and rolled into the parking lot. Her gaze darted around like she was looking for something. Possibly for the reason she climbed that damn electrical tower in the first place. Seemingly satisfied, she looked at him and smiled.

He let go of the steering wheel and fisted his hands in his lap. “What makes you think I’m the wrong kind of man?”

“You all are.” She offered him the house key.

“Keep it. My offer stands. If you get too cold, or…if you need a shot of whiskey, my door is open.”

She slipped the key into her pocket. “Thanks, Bryce. For your help and for not asking too many questions.” She leaned across the console and pressed her lips to his cheek.

Electricity shot through his core as her mouth hovered near his face. He turned toward her, their noses brushing, her breath warming his skin. Her gaze landed on his lips, and she swallowed. His pulse thrummed. He hesitated, giving her plenty of time to move away, but she didn’t.

Leaning in, he tentatively brushed his lips against hers, fully expecting her back away or slap him. Instead, she returned the kiss, parting her lips as her breath hitched in her throat. She tasted like sugar and coffee, and as he slipped out his tongue, a slight moan resonated from her chest.

He moved closer, reaching across the console to slid his fingers into her hair, deepening the kiss. Her lips were soft, her skin warm, and as her fingers grazed his neck, he closed his eyes and lost himself to the moment.

With a shuddering breath, she pulled away and cupped his cheek in her hand. Though her eyes held passion, her brow knit with worry. “Thanks again.” She slipped out the door before he could respond.

His oversized jacket nearly swallowed her, the slight horizontal motion of the fabric the only indication of her hips swaying as she walked to her car. His mouth tugged into an involuntary grin as he imagined what her curves looked like beneath the coat. He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and ran his tongue over the surface, savoring the last hint of Alexis on his skin.

As she reached her car and stuck the key in the door, a burly, dark-haired man carrying a doughnut box called her name. Alexis spun around, and fear flashed in her eyes. The man’s brows lifted briefly in surprise before he hardened his gaze and marched toward her, stepping so close that her back pressed into the car as he set the box on the top.

Bryce flung open his door and stomped toward them.

“I thought you were dead, baby.” The man reached a hand toward her face.

She slapped it away. “You thought wrong.”

“Is this guy bothering you?” Bryce stepped next to her, trying to create some space between Alexis and the man, but the guy wouldn’t back off.

Alexis glanced between them and focused on the dark-haired man. “Everything’s fine. Isn’t it, Eric? Sergeant Samuels was nice enough to bring me to my car once I got out of the hospital.”

He didn’t miss the emphasis she placed on his title, like she was warning Eric not to make a move. This guy must have been the reason Alexis fell from that tower. Was he her boyfriend? The “wrong kind of man” she’d said she was attracted to? He had to wonder if some of the bruises mottling her skin yesterday were there before she fell.

“Oh, yes, Sergeant.” Eric’s voice oozed with false charm. “I’m so happy to see my girlfriend alive after that tumble she took.” He reached for her hand, but she yanked it away.

“I’m not your girlfriend.”

“Hey, man.” Bryce put a heavy hand on Eric’s shoulder. “Back off.”

Eric took a swing. Bryce jerked away, the man’s fist narrowly missing his jaw. Bryce moved forward to return the favor, but he stopped short as Alexis stepped between them.

“Boys.” She held up her hands. “There’s no need for this.”

“You’re right,” Bryce said. “There’s not. Get in the car, Alexis. Let’s go home.”

“She’s not going anywhere with you.” Eric shoved Alexis out of the way and lunged at Bryce. His fist connected with the side of his head, sending him careening to the ground, and an explosion of pain ricocheted through his skull.

He blinked away the kaleidoscope dancing in his vision and got to his feet. Alexis clung to Eric’s arm, but he jerked it away and charged Bryce again. He took another swing, but Bryce ducked and rammed a shoulder into his stomach, knocking him off his feet. He tried to pin him to the ground, but the guy had super-human strength. He flipped Bryce onto his back and landed another punch square in his jaw. Eric grabbed him by the shirt, and Bryce could’ve sworn the guy started to shimmer and vibrate. He squeezed his eyes shut to chase away the wavering vision, and the pain in his head made his stomach turn. How hard had he been hit?

“Stop it, Eric,” Alexis said. “There’s people. Cameras.”

Bryce turned his pounding head toward the strip center, where a crowd of patrons had gathered to witness the fight. Several people held their cell phones out, recording the incident. Shit. Just what he needed.

Eric glanced at the crowd and growled before rising to his feet and dragging Bryce up with him. “Sorry about that, officer.” He smoothed the front of Bryce’s shirt.

Bryce grabbed his arm, wrenching it behind his back before snatching his cuffs from his belt and slapping them on his wrist. “You’re under arrest for assaulting a police officer.” He cuffed the other hand and shoved Eric to his knees.

Eric laughed. “Looks more like battery to me, dude. I beat your ass.”

Ignoring the jibe, he phoned the local police to make the official arrest. Within five minutes, an officer arrived and put Eric in the back seat of the squad car. Bryce gave his statement, and the officer turned to Alexis. She told him everything that happened in the parking lot, but she didn’t elaborate further.

“Tell him what he did to you, Alexis,” Bryce said. “If you want this guy to stay locked up, you need to tell him how he hurt you.”

Her eyes widened as she shook her head. “He didn’t hurt me. I’m fine.”

He would never understand why so many women defended the bastards who beat them. Stepping closer to her, he lowered his voice. “It’s for the best. Please tell him.”

She chewed her bottom lip and stared hard into his eyes, as if she were pleading with him to understand. “That’s it, officer.” She looked at the uniform. “That’s all I have to say. Am I free to go?”

The officer cut his gaze from Alexis to Bryce and nodded. “We’ll be in touch.”

As soon as the patrol car left the parking lot and the crowd dispersed, Alexis turned to him with panic in her eyes. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”

“I put an abuser in jail where he belongs.”

“Eric’s more than an abuser. He’s…Oh, forget it. I have to go.” She reached for the door handle, but he grasped her hand. Her fingers felt like ice, and the color had drained from her cheeks.

“He’s what, Alexis? What aren’t you telling me?” He winced as a new flush of pain throbbed through his head. His eye pounded, his vision narrowing into a slit. No one had beaten him this badly since high school.

“Nothing.” She took a deep breath and searched his eyes…or eye. He could only see out of one. “Oh, Bryce.” She swept her fingers across his cheek and placed a soft kiss on his brow.

The throbbing in his head subsided, replaced by a dull ache. How could a simple touch from this woman ease his pain? “Let me help you. Unless someone posts bail, he’ll be locked up for a few days. After that…” He shoved his hands in his pockets. After that, the usual would happen. If she wouldn’t press charges, Eric would find her. Abusers always did. “I can protect you.”

She smiled and brushed her thumb across his lower lip. “I don’t need protection. But thank you.”

He let her open the door this time and watched as she climbed inside. “You have my key. I hope you’ll use it.”