Katarina finished her apples, slid off the bed, and walked to dispose of the empty packet. She wasn’t running yet, but she felt a lot better. She went to stand in front of Reed’s chair. Reaching out, she lifted his chin and made him look at her.
“You think too much and feel too little. This is why zest of life is gone. I could give that back to you, but then I think—why bother? It wouldn’t last. You don’t want zest. You don’t want pack. You don’t want family because some are evil seeds. From your words, I do not think you want anything in life except to be alone. Me being interesting means nothing. How could I ever know you want me? I have no answer to this question. A female should know.”
Reed stared at the female who refused to let him establish any boundaries. He was supposed to be in a quieter phase of his life. He was supposed to be able to find peace. How could he do that when he kept having an emotional cold war with his very own Russian?
Sighing, Katarina turned away and started back toward the bed. One of Reed’s hands grabbed her wrist and spun her back to face him. “You’re right. I don’t want to be young again. I don’t want the life that comes with it,” he said, and then let her go.
Katarina stood there and searched his face. She saw torment and struggle. She saw centuries of disappointment weighing on him. When others saw his calm, she saw below it. Another male was hiding out there in that dark place and he tugged at her.
She stepped closer. “I wish to kiss you. Tell me, Temptation, are you interested in kissing me back?”
Reed’s answer was to use his hands to pull her onto his lap. He ran his hands through her hair and got caught in the tangles.
“My hair is mess. I need shower.” She tried to back out of his lap, but he held her firm.
“Who was the bearded Russian wolf, Katarina?”
She sighed at Reed massaging her scalp despite the tangles. He was putting her to sleep. Maybe he was terrible in bed. Maybe he had no heat. But this was nice. She would take what comfort she could get. “Science would say bearded wolf is my father. I do not consider him that.”
“He said you belonged to him.”
Katarina chuckled. “It is his favorite delusion. I killed all those he sent to kill me, but still he does not believe when I tell him I belong only to myself.”
Reed lifted one of her hands and kissed each finger. “He didn’t take it well when I told him that you were mine now.”
“I am no one’s. I am lone wolf, Temptation. Do not forget that.”
Reed let go of her fingers and pulled her tighter to him. “And don’t you forget that you’re not alone anymore. There are some things you need to know about me. I don’t share. I don’t…” Katarina’s finger over his lips stopped his declaration short.
“All that can wait until your infamous later. See how much better that works?” she pointed out with a grin.
“Yes, but…”
“Enough buts,” Katarina declared and pressed her lips to his.
The heat she’d been seeking exploded in flames when Reed’s tongue entered her mouth to explore. Sweat beaded on her forehead and all he’d done so far was kiss her.
“More—bol’she,” she whispered when he set her mouth free for a moment.
Reed’s hands under her shirt cupping her breasts sent her diving for his mouth. Russian streamed from her before her tongue tangled joyfully with his. Katarina pushed her fingers through his long hair and dreamed of it draping over her as he plunged deep.
She rose to her knees and then sat down higher in his lap. Feeling the hardness of him twitch between her legs made her dizzy.
Katarina giggled as she pulled away. “I think you are more than interested, Temptation.”
Reed’s continued silence as he ran his enormous fangs over her neck was loaded with something powerful that she couldn’t wait to unleash.
Her head was spinning now. If she didn’t have him soon, she’d tear everything in this place apart. This was nothing she’d felt before. This was primal… and becoming critical.
“Katarina, we can’t do this.”
She reared back in Reed’s arms. His words hit her like a hard slap. There was nowhere on her body that didn’t ache.
“Please don’t look at me like that. I want you. This is not about not wanting you,” Reed said desperately, gripping her shoulders with nearly all his strength to keep her from retreating when she went to move away. “I want you more than my next breath, but you’re in heat. Do you really want to risk getting with a child right now?”
“I’m in…” Her mind rolled with his words. Male wolves always knew—they knew before the females in their lives.
She shook her head to clear it. “Let me go,” she ordered, and was disappointed when he did. She should be grateful, shouldn’t she?
Free of Reed’s grip, Katarina slid backwards and when she stood, she walked backwards until she hit the bed. “It’s not my time. I have months to go. With no male, heat does not come often. When it does, I feel it.”
Wait…
What did the men who tried to steal her say? She was valuable for blood and babies—that’s what they said. She buried her face in her hands. They must have done something to her.
If Reed hadn’t stopped… but he did.
“Bastards! They gave me drugs when they took me—something to bring cycle on. This is only answer. They told me plan was for me to make babies for experiments.” Katarina laughed with no humor and ran a shaking hand through her hair. When it got caught in a tangle, she yanked it out. “No more pity party. I need shower.”
She rose and started toward the bathroom. At the door, she turned to look back at the male who now sat stoically in his chair. “I guess we are both lucky that you only find me interesting.”
When she disappeared from sight, Reed stood and walked to the fireplace. He picked up the wrought iron tools and bent them quietly in half while he listened to Katarina sniffling in the shower.
10
To put a healthy distance between her and Reed, Katarina spent the day by the lake. What Reed did with himself, she had no idea. Used to her own company, it was no hardship for her to entertain herself. Colorado was beautiful. It was warmer than Russia or Alaska. It was like a vacation to be here.
She skipped rocks and gathered firewood for the people who would be in the cabin next. There was a place near the cabin to stack it. Heidi would say her actions were good karma. Katarina was simply happy to have a purpose that accomplished something.
When she felt she was recovered from the tranquilizer, Katarina undressed, shifted to wolf, and spent a couple hours in the lake catching fish. It was a fun activity and one the icy lakes where she’d lived most of her life would not have made as enjoyable. She kept only enough fish for their evening meal and let the rest go free.
Assuming she and Reed would both be keeping their human forms, she built a fire in a metal ring that looked like they had made it for that purpose. With all the trees surrounding them, it was easy to find a stick or two to slide the fish onto. What was hardest was finding something to raise the food to a decent height so the fish wouldn’t burn. A pile of discarded bricks she discovered behind the cabin served the purpose quite nicely.