Page 87 of Shephard
It was an impossible situation, the ache in my cock only increasing. I wanted to rip off her clothes, but even I wasn’t that much of an asshole. The labored exhale I issued caught me by surprise. Using the tips of my fingers, I brushed them down theside of her face. Pepper thumped her tail twice in approval. I did like this girl. Far too much. Everything in my body tingled.
Every. Fucking. Thing.
Which is why I curled my fingers, immediately backing away. I’d been spot on before.
Doing everything I could to rid my mind and body of the need for her was in her best interest.
My entire body felt like lead as I walked to the door, ready to turn off the light. “Sweet dreams, sweetheart. You deserve them.”
CHAPTER 23
Shephard
My need to protect and keep the woman was growing stronger.
It was all I’d been thinking about for the last couple of hours. I’d added wood to the fire. I’d paced the downstairs. Hell, I’d walked outside to catch a solid breath of crisp air.
Nothing had helped.
Denise’s voice remained with me, her challenging words as well. She was tough, which made the dominant inside of me want nothing more than to command her to surrender. Shit. I was losing all sense of perspective. How long had I been in Danger Falls? A freaking week? It felt like a lot longer.
I’d studied the information on Jameson for a second and third time. The smoking gun was too much of a draw to ignore.
Yet I knew doing anything would cause a further rift between us.
Even with Denise’s irritation toward me, I’d seen the same expression of desire crossing her face as she’d had the first night we’d had sex. Her scent still lingered on my skin. As I pulled my hand to my nose, my thoughts registered how juvenile it was to be sniffing my hand.
My entire body hurt from the extreme tension riding every muscle. The lack of sleep was only one of the reasons I was having a difficult time concentrating. The woman lying in my bed upstairs was the other.
I was freaking pathetic.
Forcing myself to think about something else was proving to be a problem, but one I’d need to overcome if I wanted to be able to make good on my plan with her.
Still, it was going to be one of the toughest things I’d ever had to do.
I had yet to finish an entire drink, which wasn’t like me. Hell, nothing was at this point. I was completely out of character. After powering back the rest of what was in my glass, I shifted to grab the bottle. I had my doubts I’d be able to sleep tonight. Might as well have another drink and think the dilemma through.
If that was possible.
She’d left the jump drive on the table. Sighing, I debated whether or not to get any further involved in the case she was determined to lose herself in. I wasn’t a fan of the FBI, the DEA, or the CIA for that matter. I’d almost been captured by a wayward agent who’d been in way over his head. He’d been on the job for less than three months. He’d thought I was the big, bad wolf and he would get his fifteen minutes of fame.
Russ and the top brass within our secret organization had been required to pull a few strings and dance a little jig to convince the guy I wasn’t public enemy number one. I’d also only been a few steps ahead of the CIA on a couple of occasions, their work in foreign countries more aggressive than in the United States.
However, all three organizations knew how to make life miserable for someone in what they considered an expendable position such as a park ranger. Like the buzzards could track someone on a mountainside.
I snorted and grabbed the drive. I wasn’t giving up on my thought someone had discovered where I was living. Even if the first murder had been two months prior.
There was something to be said about the quietness of a night while most people were asleep. I’d spent so much time in the darkness that I was accustomed to the dim lighting and the lack of interaction with humanity. Being able to sit in the small office where the only sound was the satellite system humming was peaceful.
I’d always accomplished more at night than during most days.
Maybe it was all the muddy foxholes I’d been forced to crawl through in complete blackness. I’d honed my abilities to become completely detached about killing and seeing dead, mutilated bodies. A shrink I’d been sent to prior to being allowed to leave the organization had said it had developed into an unhealthy technique. I’d laughed in his face. Maybe it had, but if I’d dwelled on the blood and gore, I would have gone mad.
I popped in the drive, noticing I’d left the notes I’d taken sprawled across the desk. I was developing bad habits already.Live a little. I snorted as I thought about her advice. Other than engaging in hot sex, I wouldn’t know what the hell that meant.
The drive had huge files and I was remotely surprised the coroner had taken such highly detailed pictures. This wasn’t a high crime area, but you wouldn’t know it by her work. She also had decent notes, although some were nothing more than cruder photos of her handwritten thoughts and data on an old-fashioned spiral-bound notebook. If she hadn’t been able to type them into her computer, that could mean she was getting pushed.
The FBI waited for no man.