She did the same, putting a few inches between them, then her gaze slid down over him to his groin where he had no doubt his hard-on was blatantly obvious. She licked her lips, and his dick throbbed. He ignored it and stared out to sea waiting for the sting of desire to subside.
“If that was to try and make me feel better, it didn’t work.”
He turned to look at her. Her lips were slightly swollen from his kiss, her hair escaping to curl around her face, her cheeks flushed. “I kissed you because I wanted to, kitten. No other reason.”
“I get it. You feel sorry for me.”
He studied her for a minute, his head cocked. She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever come across, more so now she’d lost the black leather and the attitude. There was a softness, a vulnerability to her. Though she wasn’t soft; she was fighting for what she wanted. Fighting against a life of slavery. Even if her… father offered her a home, she’d still be tied to the Abyss by Ash’s sigil, never truly free.
“Maybe I do feel sorry for you. But that’s not why I kissed you.”
She pushed herself to her feet. “I need to be alone for a while.” He raised his eyebrows, and she continued. “I just learned that I’m responsible for the death of at least eight people. I need…” She trailed off and stood looking down at him. “I won’t run. Not without telling you.”
“Actually, I have a favor to ask.”
“You do?”
He nodded. This would give him a little more time—tomorrow would be soon enough to head back. “It’s full moon. I’m going to change whether I like it or not. And this is a strange place. I need someone to watch my back. And if you know anywhere relatively safe…?”
She smiled. Everyone liked to feel useful, and it would stop her bolting. Whatever she said, he didn’t quite trust her not to run. And it would give him time to decide how much to tell her, what his best tack would be for getting her home safely. The demon stuff was out, but maybe he could hint that there were secrets she could only learn back in the Abyss.
“About an hour inland from here, in the mountains. You’ll be safe.”
“Good.” There was one thing he did need to say though. “Shera—no alcohol.”
She frowned but nodded. “I’m going to shift.”
He watched as she wandered back to the gate and disappeared into the garden. A few seconds later a black cat leaped nimbly over the low wall and disappeared into the buildings at the back of the beach.
Chapter Five
Shera did her best thinking in cat form. Things always seemed simpler. So she found a shady spot halfway up a tree where she could survey the surrounding land—she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched.
Or the feeling that she was somehow changing. Inside.
She’d killed eight people. And ignorance was no excuse. They were dead because of her. Horrible deaths. What would it feel like to burn?
A shiver ran through her.
They were dead, and there was nothing she could do to take that back. But the weird thing was that while she wanted to feel guilty, and expected to feel guilty, she didn’t, not really. She wished they hadn’t died but… She shook her head then rested her chin on her paws.
Of course, she couldn’t use the rest of the gold. Which was a pain because she was running out of money. Hard to have fun when you were broke. Maybe she needed a rich boyfriend. Her mind flashed back to Carl. Was he rich? Somehow she found it impossible to think of him in terms of a boyfriend. He was hardly a boy. She had no clue how old he was. Werewolves weren’t one of the immortal races like shifters, but they were long-lived and usually maintained the appearance they’d had when they were bitten. Carl looked to be in his late twenties, but that meant nothing.
He’d kissed her. And it had felt so good. Maybe he’d take some more pity on her and shag her before he left, if she asked him nicely.
That would be one thing off her list.
Something moved in the dappled shadows close to where the branch met the tree trunk. Without thinking she pounced, caught the lizard in her teeth, crunched down, and the warm metallic taste of fresh blood filled her mouth, sliding down her throat, warming her belly.
She stilled in shock. She’d never killed anything before, either as a human or in her other forms. The only time she’d ever attacked anything was the other night when she’d gone back for Carl.
She spat the thing out, and it lay on its back, throat torn out, and she waited for the remorse to fill her.
And waited.
No remorse.
Inching forward, she lapped at the blood. It tasted so good. She licked her lips, picked the lizard up in her teeth, and ate it. The bones made a pleasant crunching noise as they snapped. She swallowed and licked her paws.
This wasn’t right. Maybe she was in shock.