“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” She bit her lip. “I don’t have a lot of experience with werewolves. I don’t know how to help you.”
“I’m teasing.” He was staring at her, a softness in his eyes. It made her stomach quiver.
She cleared her throat as her body heated. “I’ll go get you some more water.” She hurried into the kitchen.
Gripping the edge of the deep kitchen sink, she sucked in a deep breath. What the hell was wrong with her? How could someone she barely knew physically affect her so much?
She filled the glass with water and headed down the hallway.
“Get over yourself, Kate. It’s not like he’s going to jump you the second you walk into the bedroom.” She sighed.
So much for wishful thinking.
***
Kate stayed close to the house for most of the day, wanting to be near in case Braxton’s condition worsened. He’d drifted off to sleep and rested for the better part of the day.
With nothing else to do with her nervous energy, Kate took the opportunity to clean. With no paying guests, that particular job was over quickly. The sheets on the beds were already clean. So she went through each room and polished the furniture and swept the floors. After cleaning out the refrigerator, she cleaned out her cabinets and even organized her junk drawer.
Despite her cleaning frenzy, she was too nervous to sit still. She found herself gazing down the hall toward the bedroom with Beau’s words of warning about Braxton echoing in her mind.
Was Braxton dangerous? Apparently, someone had thought so or they wouldn’t have shot him. It was complicated enough that he’d been shot, but finding out he was a werewolf just added to the mix.
Unable to resist, she gave in to her longing and tiptoed down the hall to the bedroom. She opened the door and peeked in on him. His massive chest rose and fell as he slept soundly. He was all muscle and brawn, and his large frame looked very out of place in the feminine wrought iron bed. Her gaze drifted over the many colorful tattoos that encased both arms, from shoulders to wrists, wondering what each design meant.
Kate licked her lips, feeling a pull in the pit of her stomach. His tattoos were hot. Normally she didn’t like tattoos. She preferred clean-cut golfer types.
But on Braxton, she liked them a little too much.
Shaking her head, she headed back to the kitchen and turned on her laptop. Putting her cursor in the search box, she typed in werewolf.
The massive numbers of results for werewolves surprised her. She scrolled and clicked, reading everything she could and quickly losing track of time.
A hard knock on the front door startled her back to reality.
Who could be out in this weather?
She pulled back the lacy curtain at the window overlooking the porch and groaned when she saw who it was.
“What does he want?” She let the curtain drop and clenched her hands. The last thing she needed was Mr. Bigsby poking around and finding Braxton.
Straightening her shoulders, she opened the door.
“Mr. Bigsby, I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Looks like you weren’t expecting anybody.” His thin lips slid over his too-perfect teeth as his gaze raked across her jeans and long-sleeved T-shirt.
“Excuse me?” Kate tightened her grip on the doorknob, prepared to shut the door if he couldn’t be polite. If he thought he could intimidate her in her own house, he was very mistaken. Until the bank took possession of the property, this was still her home.
“I meant I didn’t think you’d have anyone here with the weather like this. I didn’t even think I’d be able to make it up your driveway.” He glanced over his shoulder at the snowy yard.
Kate narrowed her eyes. “How did you manage to make it up my driveway?”
Bigsby’s smile widened and he shoved his thumb over his shoulder. “Four-wheel-drive, of course. It’s the latest model.”
Kate glanced at the blood-red pickup truck with enormous knobby tires. “Of course it is.”
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Bigsby took another step closer and Kate instinctively stepped back, putting as much distance between them as possible.
“Actually, I have a guest and…”
“Sure you do.” Ignoring her, he stepped across the threshold and into her living room. He brushed the snow off his jacket and onto her clean hardwood floors. He gave her a smug smile. “See, this is much better than standing out on the porch and talking.”
She gritted her teeth and slowly closed the door. Bigsby wasted no time and headed for the kitchen, making himself at home on one of the barstools near the island.
“Doing a little research?” He nodded toward her laptop.
Her stomach lurched. She quickly closed her computer.
“I’m afraid, Kate, that’s not going to help you.” Bigsby leveled a serious glare at her.
“What do you mean?” Her heart lurched in her chest. Had he seen what she’d been searching for on her computer?
He shrugged his shoulders, causing more snow to fall on her floor. “Come on, Kate, stop trying to hide what’s going on. I already know.”