The Shaman Part 5

She discovered that they were standing in a great room the size of her apartment. It was spotless, but completely bare of any frills-clearly a bachelor pad.

When she turned to look at Greywolf, he was looking her over in an a.s.sessing and none too friendly manner. "If I was married," he said coolly, "I wouldn't have been fooling around with you in the alley."

Charlie blushed guiltily. "Sorry."

He lifted one brow.

"I mean it. I'm usually a better judge of people ... but I'm tired and ... well it's a big house."

"I like open s.p.a.ces ... Bed or couch?"

She looked a question.

"There're three bedrooms, but only one bed ... mine."

"The couch is fine," she said, moving toward it with a sense of relief and taking a seat.

Greywolf disappeared, returning several minutes later with a blanket, a pillow, a towel and a men's unders.h.i.+rt, still in the pack. "The bathroom's down the hall."

Charlie stared at the bounty, both surprised and pleased by his thoughtfulness. When she glanced around again, however, he was heading up the stairs. "Thanks!"

He nodded but kept going. Shrugging mentally, Charlie grabbed the towel and T-s.h.i.+rt and headed down the short hall that led to the bathroom. She was almost tired enough to just fall on the couch and sleep, but she felt almost as unclean from being in the presence of such brutal violence as she did from handling the body. She'd been wearing gloves, of course, but nothing short of a hot, thorough scrubbing was going to remove the sensation of having touched dead flesh-if even that would.

Her hair was thick and dried slowly. She would've preferred not was.h.i.+ng it since she knew she'd have to sleep with wet hair, but, not surprisingly, there was no shower cap. When she'd finished, she washed her panties out and hung them over the shower rod to dry. The T-s.h.i.+rt came down almost to the middle of her thighs. In any case, Greywolf had already gone to bed and she planned to be up before him in the morning.

Returning to the great room, she grabbed her purse then crawled onto the couch, folding her legs Indian style. She'd just finished brus.h.i.+ng the tangles from her hair when the creak of a floor board made her look up with a startled jerk. Greywolf was standing no more than six feet from where she sat, staring at her fixedly. As she stared at him in stunned surprise, she saw his adam's apple bob on a convulsive swallow. Slowly, almost like a sleepwalker, he leaned over and placed a blow dryer on the coffee table in front of her. "I thought you might need this," he said gruffly.

"Thanks," she said, smiling. It wasn't until she leaned over to pick it up that she remembered she'd left her panties hanging over the rod in the bathroom. She looked down at herself quickly and discovered the T-s.h.i.+rt had ridden up her hips when she sat, baring her to the breezes. By the time she looked up again, Greywolf was headed back up the stairs.

s.n.a.t.c.hing the towel up, she, belatedly, covered herself, glaring at his retreating back. He paused at the top, gripping the bal.u.s.trade in white knuckled fists as he leaned over it and looked down at her. "Remember what I told you," he growled, then turned and disappeared before she could think of anything to say.

Charlie stared after him blankly, wondering what he meant by the cryptic remark.

The remark in the alley? She shrugged it off. In all likelihood she'd be gone before he even woke up in the morning and unless forensics turned up something it wasn't likely she'd be back.

Something brushed between her thigh, nudging her knees apart and parted the folds of her s.e.x, rubbing against her c.l.i.t, making the muscles in her belly clench in a spasm of pleasure. Charlie felt a moan straining against her chest, felt sleep drifting beyond her grasp. She lay perfectly still, enjoying the pleasure that seeped through her lethargy, making her heart beat faster, the blood rush through her veins, as warmth and pleasure.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

Greywolf was kneeling beside the couch. Still groggy to a state of near drunkenness, she pushed herself up on the couch, turning to face him. Still uncertain whether she was dreaming or awake, she watched him through half closed eyes as he caught her ankles. Spreading them wide, he bent her knees and hooked her heels on the edge of the couch.

She blinked at him, still dazed with sleep and desire, looked down as he pushed the T-s.h.i.+rt she wore higher. When she looked at him again, she saw that he was staring at her genitals. He lifted a hand, brushed the curls of her bush, ran a shaking finger gently over the parted petals of flesh. She inhaled on a gasp as he rubbed his finger lightly over her c.l.i.t and he looked up at her, his face taut, his eyes glittering. Scooping a b.u.t.t cheek into each hand, he lifted her hips, lowered his head and opened his mouth over her.

The heat went through her like a shock wave. She cried out, no longer caught between dream and reality, no longer simmering on the edge of desire, but on fire from it. She caught his head with both hands, trying to push him away, but felt desire lance every ounce of strength from her muscles as he sucked her c.l.i.t. "Oh G.o.d! John!" she gasped shakily. "You gave me your word."

He lifted his head. "Only for the night."

She forced her eyes open and looked at him dizzily, uncomprehendingly.

"You want me to stop?" he asked hoa.r.s.ely.

She nodded, swallowed. "Yes."

He lowered his head again, ran his tongue along her cleft and teased her c.l.i.t.

"You're certain?" he murmured.

"NO! I mean, yes!" she stammered.

He leaned down and sucked her c.l.i.t again for several moments, sending sharp arrows of pleasure knifing through her. Charlie felt her belly spasm, felt her body escalating toward release.

He lifted his head, sat back on his heels.

Panting, almost sobbing for breath, Charlie stared at him in confusion.

"I wanted to taste you."

At his words, a shock wave of pleasure went through her. The muscles in her s.e.x clenched, aching for the feel of him. He was waiting, she finally realized, allowing her to decide-forcing her to. It was unfair. Her body was humming for his touch, reeling from the caresses he'd already bestowed, aching for the feel of him filling her. He'd taken unfair advantage, caught her while she was sleeping and vulnerable.

She could almost hate him for that ... but she wanted him.

She was going to have a hard time living with herself if she gave in to his underhanded ploy.

She was afraid she would deeply regret it if she didn't.

She slipped off the couch, straddling his thighs. "You're a sneaking a.s.shole, Greywolf," she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck and staring him dead in the eyes.

He caught the back of her head. "So I've been told," he growled, opening his mouth over hers and kissing her with an almost angry, savage intensity that boiled the blood in her veins. Her head swam dizzily as he twisted, laying her back against the carpet and following her down. She ran her hand down his bare chest, slipped her fingers beneath the waistband of his jeans and cupped his s.e.x. He pulled away, unfastening his jeans and tugging the zipper down.

Freed from the restriction of his shorts and jeans, his c.o.c.k landed heavily in her palm and she glanced down at it, a little alarmed. He pushed her back onto the floor, shoved her T-s.h.i.+rt up, kneading her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, tugging at her nipples with his lips, sucking them.

Gasping, she reached blindly for his c.o.c.k, stretching, trying to capture it in her hand once more. He s.h.i.+fted upward, pus.h.i.+ng her thighs apart and she caught hold of him at last, rubbing the head of his c.o.c.k against her c.l.i.t, searching a little frantically for her opening. Pus.h.i.+ng her hand away, he aligned their bodies and thrust, his c.o.c.k slipping in the juices of their bodies. Charlie gasped, digging her fingers into his shoulders as she felt herself slipping along the carpet.

He cursed, grasped her waist and thrust again. She locked her legs around his waist, pus.h.i.+ng in counter to his short thrusts as he slipped slowly inside of her. They lay panting for a moment when he had sunk his c.o.c.k fully inside of her. After a moment, he lifted his head. Sweat beaded his brow. His teeth were clenched. "Christ, you're tight, baby."

The desire in his expression and his words sent an echo through her. Charlie swallowed convulsively against her dry throat, feeling the muscles of her pa.s.sage clench around him, feeling every muscle in her body tense as if she were gathering herself to leap. He groaned, ground his teeth and began moving, striving for a rhythm that yielded the most exquisite sensations. Charlie released her grip on his waist, dropping her feet to the floor and thrust in counter to the ram of his c.o.c.k, leaning up to kiss nibbling bites along his chest, then tilting her head back to reach his throat.

He twisted, leaning down to cover her mouth with his own, plunging his tongue and retreating in like rhythm to the thrusts of his c.o.c.k. After a moment, groaning in frustration at the difficulty in reaching her, he scooped an arm beneath her shoulders and held her to him as he rolled up onto his knees once more.

Charlie gasped as he slipped an arm around her b.u.t.tocks, pulling her close, settling his c.o.c.k more deeply inside her. Sensual delight seemed to arc inside her like an electric current, fusing her pleasure centers together, building toward release. She gripped his shoulders as he bent his head and sucked love bites along her throat and along her collar bone and shoulder. She arched her back as he moved lower, offering her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. The impetuous of his mouth suckling her nipple ripped her climax from her in an explosion of warmth that flooded her s.e.x. The muscles inside of her convulsed, ma.s.saging his c.o.c.k. He released her breast with a groan, his arms tightening around her almost painfully as his own release jolted through him, his c.o.c.k jerking against the mouth of her s.e.x as his hot seed erupted inside of her.

Chapter Seven.

The problem with one night stands, Charlie realized even as she floated upwards from spent ecstasy, was the awkwardness that immediately followed having s.e.x with a virtual stranger. Was there a graceful way to exit? Nothing came immediately to mind, but as she clung to him in the aftermath, staring at the morning light seeping through the drapes, providence smiled upon her.

"Oh my G.o.d! What time is it?" she cried, clambering off of his lap and looking around for a clock. "Seven or there about." "s.h.i.+t!" she exclaimed inelegantly and dashed for the bathroom. The moment she slammed the door behind her she collapsed back against it, covering her face with her hands. Her mind seemed incapable of grasping what she'd just done and after a moment, she lurched toward the shower and turned it on full blast.

The T-s.h.i.+rt smelled like him. She was on the point of ripping it off and tossing it onto the floor when it occurred to her that she could use it as a shower turban to keep her hair from getting soaked again. Tying it around her head, she got into the shower and began scrubbing a little frantically, trying not to think about what she'd just done.

She found it impossible. Her nipples were still sensitive from his touch, her s.e.x even more so. The steam from the shower seemed to activate his scent on her skin and her p.u.s.s.y throbbed with fond memory. It wasn't bad enough that she'd behaved recklessly, and totally unprofessionally. For all she knew, Greywolf could turn out to be a suspect in the case ... if she had a case.

It didn't bear thinking on. He beat on the bathroom door and she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Yes?" "Are you all right?" What kind of a question was that? h.e.l.l no, she wasn't all right! "I'm fine! I just ... uh ... I was supposed to meet Dr. Bob at eight. I don't want to be late." "You're sure?" "Positive." "Would you like some breakfast?" Go away! For G.o.d's sake, her mind screamed. "No thanks," she chimed merrily. With relief, she heard his tread as he walked away. She'd turned off the shower and stepped out when she realized she'd left her towel in the great room. The door k.n.o.b wiggled. "I've got you a towel." How thoughtful of the predatory b.a.s.t.a.r.d! "Uh. Just leave it on the k.n.o.b, please." She listened, s.h.i.+vering as she stood dripping on the bathroom carpet. Finally, she heard him leave again.

Tiptoeing to the door, she listened for a moment and finally s.n.a.t.c.hed it open, grabbed the towel and closed it again.

She'd left her purse in the great room, too.

f.u.c.k it! She was too d.a.m.ned jittery to apply makeup anyway. Her hands were shaking as if she had

palsy. Her skin was still damp, but she struggled into her clothes anyway. Tossing the T-s.h.i.+rt aside, she finger combed a little order to her hair while she did some quick relaxation breaths. Finally, knowing she was as composed as she was going to get, she opened the door and strode purposefully toward the great room. To her relief, she discovered Greywolf was no where in sight. Slipping her feet into her heels, she grabbed her purse and hit for the door. She was so busy trying to dig her keys out of her purse while she walked that he caught her completely by surprise. When his arm snaked out of no where, grasping her around the waist, he literally swept her off her feet. With a squeak of alarm, she fell against him, clutching at him in an effort to regain her balance.

He cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. "You're not OK, are you?" She tried to brush the silly question aside with a smile, but even she could tell it looked fake. "I have to go," she said in a brittle voice. He frowned. "What's wrong?" She gaped at him disbelievingly. "Hey, it was ... uh ... nice, but I really have to go now." Anger flickered in his eyes. Slowly, he released her. "So, was it all you thought it'd be?" he asked coolly. "What?" "Banging an injun." She felt like slapping him. "I'm surprised you can walk with that chip you're carrying around," she said tightly. His gaze flickered over her face. "If it's not that, then what the h.e.l.l is it?" Charlie felt her chin wobble alarmingly. She sucked in a calming breath. "Hey, I know it was just another scalp for your teepee, but I don't do ... that! OK? I don't know why ... but it's OK, you know, because I'm a big girl. I take responsibility---But I'm just this close to hysteria," she added, holding up two fingers pinched together, "so just leave me the h.e.l.l alone."

She stalked out then. To her relief, he didn't follow her to her car or try to stop her, but as she turned the car around, she saw that he was lounging against the frame of the front door, watching her. She'd regained enough self-control by the time she reached the clinic to refrain from going ballistic when Dr. Bob met her with the 'oh I'm so sorry it slipped my mind and the body's already been taken' story she'd been expecting. She had her specimens, of course, but his smirk infuriated her all the same.

After staring at him for a full minute, she finally nodded, turned on her heel and left.

She didn't so much as glance toward Greywolf's ranch as she headed out of town although it took a supreme effort to refrain from cranking her neck to see if his truck was still parked out front. By the time she reached the city, she'd managed to pretty well put everything from her mind beyond the case. Handing the samples over to the forensics lab, she shut herself in her office and concentrated on her case load. The lab tech had promised to have the results back on the tests by the end of the week. She'd felt like gnas.h.i.+ng her teeth, but it wasn't a high priority case. She was lucky they weren't too busy. Otherwise it might have taken weeks to hear anything.

Two days later, as she was finis.h.i.+ng up for the day, the phone rang. She picked the receiver up a little absently. "Agent Boyer."

"Hi."

It was Greywolf. She would've known that velvet drawl anywhere. Charlie dropped the phone from suddenly nerveless fingers. She had to scramble to catch the receiver before it slid off the desk and hit the floor. "Sorry," she said, chuckling a little nervously, when she finally managed to get it to her ear again. "I dropped the receiver. Can I help you?" He was silent for a moment. "I wondered if you'd heard anything back about the specimens you collected."

"Greywolf?"

"Yeah," he said dryly.

"Actually, I haven't, but you know I couldn't discuss it with you even if I had."

He was silent for several moments. "I'm in town."

Charlie almost dropped the phone again. "Here?" she asked, trying to keep the alarm out of her voice.

"I thought you might like to have dinner."

To Charlie's surprise, she realized she wanted to go almost as much as she wanted to avoid him. She was still p.i.s.sed off about the way he'd taken advantage of her, even though she had to admit that the end result was completely her fault. She'd known he had to be a player even before she got the chance to see him in action with the ladies at the tavern. And she'd still agreed to go home with him. That had sent mixed messages, she knew-not no, but maybe-and then she hadn't stopped when she'd had the chance. She didn't believe for a moment that he would have continued if she'd said no. It didn't matter that he'd teased her until she'd lost the will to say no. She'd still had the option of leaving.

"I'd like to start over."

She hadn't realized she hadn't responded. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?"

"You know why."

"I don't think I do. I'm a dumb injun. Why don't you explain it?"

"Don't think for one minute you're going to lay a guilt trip on me, Greywolf."

He sighed gustily. "Why don't I meet you at your office? You've got to eat, right?"

"Uh ... Actually, I'm not at my office. I ... uh ... I had my calls transferred to my cell. Tonight's just not a good time for me. Why don't you give me a call the next time you're in town?"

He was silent for several moments. Finally, he said, "Sure. I'll do that."

Relief flooded her as she hung up. She stared at the phone for several moments, fighting the depression that followed the relief. He was, without a doubt, the best looking man who'd ever shown interest in her, and the s.e.xiest .. . but he was a player. As tempting as it was to allow herself to get swept up into a fantasy world, she knew she'd end up regretting it.

Shrugging it off finally, she straightened her desk and left her office. Her car was in the parking garage and she took the elevator down. She'd just shoved her key into her door lock when an arm snaked around her waist, making her knees go weak with pure terror.

Chapter Eight.

"Hi, baby. Miss me?"

"Jesus Christ, Greywolf! You scared the s.h.i.+t out of me!" Charlie snapped angrily, turning to glare at him. "What are you doing here?"

His lips tightened. "I was about to ask you that."

Charlie gaped at him guilty, feeling her face turn bright red. She quickly realized, however, that lying probably wasn't an option. "I ... uh ...I just didn't feel comfortable about seeing you again ... after ...."

"Well now that we've gotten that out of the way....." Catching her upper arms, he pulled her against him, leaning down and capturing her mouth in a scalding kiss that made her toes curl. In an instant, all the fight drained out of her, the fright from a moment before trans.m.u.ting into heated desire. She found herself leaning weakly against him, his hands moving over her restlessly.

He kissed her slowly, thoroughly, exploring every inch of her mouth with his tongue before finally setting her away from him. She stared up at him dizzily, trying to set her jumbled thoughts in order.

Taking her keys from her limp fingers, he placed one dinner plate sized hand in the middle of her back, walked her around the car, opened the door and helped her in, then moved around to the driver's side. She stared at him with a mixture of irritation and surprise when he got in and started the car. "How did you get here?"

"I was at the pay phone across the street."

She looked away uncomfortably. "I mean here. How did you get past security?"

He slid a glanced at her. "Shadow walking."