Page 8 of Safety Hazard

A smile quirked his lips. “You analyzing me, Inspector?”

“Something’s different about you,” I said, my scientific curiosity temporarily overriding my awareness of our naked proximity. “The way you smell things before anyone else notices them. The way you track through the forest without maps. Your body temperature. Your eyes—”

His expression shifted, becoming more guarded. “My eyes?”

“They reflect light,” I said softly, reaching up to touch his face. “Like an animal’s.”

For a moment, tension radiated from him. Then he sighed, his breath warm against my palm. “You’re too observant for your own good.”

“What are you?” I asked, the question slipping out before I could consider how ridiculous it sounded.

Instead of laughing, he held my gaze steadily. “What do you think I am?”

A dozen possibilities flashed through my mind, each more absurd than the last. Yet something about this man, something primal and not quite human, made me voice the most ridiculous one.

“Werewolf,” I whispered, expecting him to laugh.

He didn’t. Instead, he leaned down until his forehead rested against mine. “Give the inspector a gold star.”

My breath caught. “That’s not—that’s not possible.”

“Says the man who’s been documenting my ‘impossible’ abilities for three days.” His hands tightened slightly on my waist. “Are you afraid?”

I should have been. Any rational person would have been terrified. Instead, I found myself gripped by a bizarre combination of scientific fascination and intense arousal.

“No,” I answered honestly. “I’m not afraid of you.”

Relief softened his features. “Good. Because I’d never hurt you.” One hand slid up my back to curl around my neck. “Quite the opposite.”

The blanket had fallen to pool around our feet, leaving me as naked as he was. Our bodies were barely touching, yet I felt consumed by his heat, drawn to it like a moth to flame. When his other hand slid lower to cup my ass, I gasped, my body arching into his.

“Tell me you want this,” he growled, his voice rougher than before. “Tell me you want me.”

“I want—” My voice caught as his thigh pressed between my legs. “I want data. Information. I want to understand.”

He laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest into mine. “Of course you do. But that’s not all you want, is it?”

His thigh rubbed deliberately against my rapidly hardening cock, the friction sending sparks of pleasure up my spine. My hands clutched at his shoulders, fingers digging into unyielding muscle.

“No,” I admitted, abandoning pretense. “That’s not all I want.”

His mouth claimed mine in a kiss that was pure possession, hot and demanding and overwhelming. I opened to him instantly, my analytical mind finally surrendering to the primal need his touch ignited. His hands roamed freely now, exploring my body with confident familiarity, as though he already knew every sensitive spot, every place that would make me gasp.

When he finally broke the kiss, we were both breathing heavily. He leaned down to speak directly into my ear, his voice a rough whisper. “I’m going to take you to that cot, Inspector. I’m going to spread you open and taste every inch of you. Then I’m going to fuck you until you forget every regulation in your precious rulebook. Any objections?”

I shook my head, beyond words. He smiled against my skin, then surprised me by lifting me effortlessly, one arm under my knees, the other supporting my back. I made an undignified squeaking sound, my arms automatically circling his neck.

“I can walk,” I protested weakly.

“I know.” He carried me the few steps to the narrow cot and laid me down with surprising gentleness. “But I like feeling you in my arms.”

The cot creaked alarmingly as he joined me, his larger body covering mine completely. The weight of him should have been claustrophobic; instead, it felt like an anchor in the storm that raged outside—and inside me.

His mouth found my neck, teeth grazing sensitive skin as he worked his way down to my collarbone. Each nip sent shivers through me, each soothing lick afterward a contrasting pleasure. When he reached my chest, he paused to look up at me, his eyes definitely glowing now in the dim light.

“Still with me?” he asked, surprising me with his thoughtfulness.

I nodded, reaching down to touch his face. “Still with you.”