Crimson Moon

Thirteen

Lou woke up with a strong sense of deja vu. She was back on the floor next to a roaring fire, buried in a pile of thick blankets, finally warm. The last thing she remembered was Cain trying to undress her in the bathroom, completely nude himself. Amazingly, she hadn't felt fear or helpless in that moment, simply embarrassed he was about to see her undressed. Of course, her brain had been clouded with the fact that she was almost frozen solid so that had to be why she hadn't been afraid of the huge man attempting to remove her clothing.

She sat up slowly, keeping the blankets wrapped around her shoulders. She was dressed in more of Ryland's clothes, another sweatshirt and sweatpants since the last ones had been plunged into the freezing lake.

The sound of rustling behind her caused her to turn around. There, only a few feet away, sat Cain. He was sitting on the ground, his back pressed against the couch and his arms resting on his knees. He was clothed now, wearing basketball shorts and a t-shirt across his massive frame. She swallowed nervously, not because she felt unsafe, but because he had saved her yet again. She owed him, and she didn't like owing anyone.

Her teeth grabbed onto her bottom lip when he didn't say anything, just continued to look at her with unnerving blue eyes. Her stomach twisted at his attention and she pulled the blankets tighter around her.

"Where is everyone?" she finally asked, simply to break the silence.

"Probably in bed. It's almost midnight," he said softly.

"What? How long was I asleep?"

He shrugged. "About five hours. No one blames you; being chased by a moose is exhausting."

Blood rushed to her cheeks and her gaze dropped from his. "Another moment I wish I could shift. That moose wouldn't have stood a chance."

"No, it wouldn't have," he agreed with a small smirk. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, looking up at him again. "I'm fine, thanks to you."

Now it was his turn to look away. "I did what anyone would have done."
"But it wasn't anyone, it was you," she reminded him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Lou." Then he managed to look sheepish. "I also need to apologize."

Her head cocked to the side. "What for?"

He let out a huge breath. "For trying to undress you earlier. I wasn't thinking, and I'm sorry for that."

She shook her head. "You don't have to apologize. You were trying to get the freezing clothes off of me." She wouldn't dare tell him that her heart rate increased at the memory of his hands on her, pulling at her clothes. Or the sight of his bare chest only inches from her face. Her dream from the cave came rushing back to her and her cheeks heated to dangerous levels. Oh, god, would he know? No, that's ridiculous. How would he know that she'd had an incredibly erotic dream about him? His mouth and hands on her body, touching her, pleasuring her...

Stop! She commanded herself, blushing deeply at the direction her thoughts were taking. She had to change the topic to something that wasn't about him removing her clothes.

Lou cleared her throat softly. "How'd it go with Xander?"

Her wolf growled at the mention of the male. Last time they'd seen him, he'd cornered her in the bedroom she was staying in and touched her. He'd run his hands all over body, rubbing himself all over her, and she shivered at the memory. If it hadn't been for Joey coming to check on her, she knew it would have progressed to a much worse scenario.

Cain's eyes flashed and his hands clenched together. "About as well as anything can go with Xander. I haven't seen him in nine years, and that still wasn't enough time." He scratched absently at his beard and sighed. "But we convinced him you'd never been here. Fortunately, your brother was here. He's a hell of a tracker."