just holding her with a tenderness that suggested she was precious cargo. Tears prickled her closed eyelids. She wouldn't think that. Couldn't think that. It wasn't safe. 'Safe isn't always what it's cracked up to be,' he said softly. 'Safe can be horribly lonely.'
Which she'd discovered over the years, so why was she holding on to it so tightly? She didn't know, and that scared her almost as much as exploring what she might feel for him. She let her gaze rake the face she knew would haunt her dreams forever. 'How could a relationship between us ever work?'
Especially given her father's edict? 'You don't want to come back to Ripple Creek, I don't really want to leave. I want a family. You want nothing more than a good time.'
'All relationships must compromise to survive.'
'But not all relationships are worth the effort. It's just the moon that binds us, nothing more. I can't help what I feel.'
'You haven't explored what you feel.' He paused as the doors to the hospital swished open. 'Let's discuss this when we're alone.'
'There's nothing to discuss.' And there would be no later. Not for them.
Because of who he was. Because of who she was, and the way she'd been brought up. She was willing enough to shake the shackles of her parents' beliefs and rules, but she didn't want them completely out of her life. She was a wolf, and family was everything. She couldn't walk away from her parents--not forever-- and if she wanted Duncan in her life that's what she would have to do. Her father had made it clear he'd forgive the moon dance, but he would not forgive a continuing dalliance with someone like
Duncan.
If it came down to a choice, there really was none. To keep her family in her life, she had to stick to her original plan and walk away from him. No matter what she might feel.
No matter how much it hurt.
Duncan paced the confines of the emergency waiting room. He itched to be a part of the posse Savannah was arranging to go after Betise and Iyona, but his first priority was Neva and her safety. But once he had her tucked securely away, he was going after the two bitches. No matter how forcefully Savannah had ordered him away. And yet even as he paced he knew the anger that burned him was not so much the need for revenge, but rather annoyance at Neva's continuing insistence that this was nothing more than a moon dance. Because of who he was. Because of what he'd done. And because of her parents.
His mother had once told him that fate had a way of catching up and making you pay. He'd thought jail time had been his punishment, but this was far worse than anything he'd faced in the few days he'd spent in jail. He'd once been sure there was never going to be anyone out there for him. To actually find her and hold her, and yet be faced with the knowledge that she might never admit to what lay between them, was surely a punishment that far outweighed any of the crimes of his past. But as he'd told Savannah, the past was something he could do nothing about--beyond regret it. It had shaped him, had helped make him what he was today, but it wasn't who he was today. Surely time would make Neva see that. If she'd give him time. Right now, he doubted she would.
Footsteps echoed down the hall. He looked up and saw a nurse wheeling Neva towards him. Her face was pale and she looked tired, but the smile that touched her full lips made his blood surge.
'The doctor says I have to take it easy with my arm for the next day or so.' Her green eyes twinkled mischievously. 'Looks like you're going to have to do all the work tonight.' He fell into step beside the wheelchair as they headed toward the exit. 'I was under the impression I was doing all the work anyway.'
A slight blush crept through her cheeks, and she cast a sideways glance at the nurse, who was grinning with delight. But if Neva was at all worried about what the nurse might be thinking, her next words belied it. 'And who approached whom to start with?'
'Ah yes,' he said softly, his gaze meeting hers. 'An amazing experience I shall never forget.' The bloom of heat in her cheeks grew. But so did her smile. 'Well, there you go. Having done all the hard work to begin with, I deserve to sit back and enjoy it for a while.'
'Then I shall endeavor to see that you do.' He swung her out of the wheelchair and into his arms, kissing her briefly but passionately before glancing at the nurse. 'Thanks.'
Still smiling, the nurse nodded and retreated back inside. He glanced down at Neva. 'Ready?'
'That depends on what I'm supposed to be ready for.' Her voice was low and sexy as hell, and heat shot to his groin. She smelled so good, so damn desirable, it was all he could do not to take her right there and then. He forced his feet to move down the pavement. 'To go home, witch.'
'If that's all you're offering, then I guess so.'
He couldn't help smiling. In a couple of days she'd gone from a reticent lover to an all too willing participant. She was amazing. Totally amazing. 'Let's get out of the snow first.'
'I've never done it in the snow,' she said thoughtfully. She was running her fingers up and down his arms, a gentle caress that burned deep.
And making it damn hard to walk. 'It's cold.'
'But romantic.'
Her breath was war m and sweet against his neck, and the smell of her arousal stirred his senses and made him hunger. Half a block had never seemed so far away. 'Hypothermia is never romantic.'
She raised an eyebrow, eyes glimmering with green fire in the darkness. 'You only get hypothermia if you're out in the cold a long time.'
'I plan for it to be a long time.'
'With the moon rising high and the urgency I feel beating through your skin? Doubtful.' She paused and looked around. 'This is not the way to my house.'
'No, it's the way to mine.' Luckily, the lodge was down the other end of the street from the hospital, otherwise he'd be calling a cab. She might want to make love in the snow, but right now she was beginning to shiver. She frowned. 'I don't want to go to the mansion.'
'Good, because we're not going there.'
Her surprise rippled around him. 'You own a house here in Ripple Creek?'
'Sort of.'
'What's 'sort of' supposed to mean?'
'That I own it, but it's not a house.'
She gave him a long look that was filled with annoyance. 'Then what is it?'
'It's Snowflake Lodge. My mother left it to me when she died.' And he'd already called ahead to ensure one of the cabins was open and ready for them.
'Really? I thought the Harpers owned it.'
'They manage it on my behalf. I doubt Betise and Iyona would think to look there, as it's one of the smaller lodges and definitely middle range.'
'And the Sinclairs are well-known for their deluxe tastes.'
'Exactly. You can stay there until I get this all sorted out.'
Fear touched her eyes, and the warm caress of her fingers against his skin stopped. 'You keep saying I rather than we. You're going after them, aren't you?'
'Yes. They have to be stopped.'
'Savannah and the rangers will stop them.'
'I intend to be there as backup.' Not that he distrusted the abilities of Savannah's team. He just suspected Betise and Iyona would not be so easily caught. Not if they'd been planning all this for a long time.
He walked down the lodge's driveway, past the main lobby entrance and through the terraced gardens.
The cabin they'd been assigned was at the rear of the property and extremely private.
'You're leaving once they're caught, aren't you?' He hesitated. 'For a while.'
'So this could be our last night?'
He didn't answer. Didn't dare, lest he blurt out exactly what he was feeling. She wouldn't believe it. Not until she'd reached deep inside and discovered the truth for herself.
He placed her gently on her feet then opened the door and had a quick look inside to ensure all was ready. The room was warm, lit by the golden light of the fire burning in the huge stone fireplace. Two sofas and a couple of well-padded chairs corralled the fire, and on the other side of the room, there was a
