Chapter 7: Blood

I burst onto the patio and ran through the cool, damp grass. The soft glow of the pool lights guided me to the garden. I plucked the blue fabric from the fence and held it up in front of my face to examine it.

It was Grey’s shirt, the same one he wore to our dinner, the same one he was wearing when he kissed me. But it now had a reddish stain on the hem.

Turning, I walked toward the cottage and stumbled over something soft lying in a heap on the path. It was a pair of jeans. I picked them up.

The ragged hole in the left knee and the cell phone in a back pocket told me the jeans were Grey’s too. Where was he, and why were his clothes strewn around the property? The red stain on the shirt looked like blood.

Oh, no! Did something out here hurt him?

He must have gone looking for the things I heard howling. Grey would be brave like that.

I hurried to the cottage door and called his name.

“Grey! Where are you?” I shouted into the dark interior as I clutched his clothes to my chest. “Are you okay?”

He had to be okay. Please let him be okay.

But there was only silence inside the cottage. I stepped through the doorway and fumbled for a light switch. Unable to find it, I called Grey’s name again before following the wall to the east window and opening a shutter.

But the moon was disappearing behind the tree line and wasn't much help lighting the interior of the cottage. I could barely see my hand when I held it in front of my face.

My heart stuttered and I froze when another howl burst from the nearby woods. This time, as it wound down to silence, it seemed lonely and mournful.

I began moving closer to the door. Lonely or not, I didn’t need whatever it was to come inside the cottage with me.

As I crept through the darkness to close the door, I heard movement outside. It sounded like something running along the outside wall of the cottage.

Realizing I was still holding Grey’s shirt and jeans, I dropped them to the floor and hurried to close the door. But I ran into a kitchen chair, causing both the chair and me to crash to the floor.

With my knees and my palms stinging from the impact with the floor, I rolled onto my back and tried to catch my breath. Holding back tears of frustration and terror, I was positive I was going to be eaten by the howling thing.

Then the sound of running stopped, and all I could hear was breathing. The breathing wasn’t my own. Something else was nearby. Something that was now moving silently toward me.

Spotting a large silhouette in the doorway, I screamed. Someone with an extremely masculine form stood at the cottage entrance.

It had to be Grey. Nobody else near Denhurst had shoulders that wide. In the fading moonlight, I could see the outline of Grey’s shoulder-length hair, his muscular arms, his broad torso, and his sturdy legs.

He reached for the wall on the other side of the doorway from where I had searched, and the lights came on.

I gasped when I saw Grey was naked. Even though he looked even better than in my imagination, I cringed as my face flamed with embarrassment. I knew I should look away. He had a right to be in his home without being gawked at by me.

But I couldn’t stop looking at him. An involuntary moan escaped my lips as my body responded to the sight of his virile naked form with intense pangs of lust that I’d never felt before.

Starting between my legs, a hot, tingling craving for something I didn’t totally understand spread throughout my body. My breath grew ragged, and I ached with need.

My earlier attraction to Grey was nothing compared to what I was feeling now. I never knew a man could look so sensual. Naked, Grey was masculine perfection.

“What are you doing here, Emma?” Grey asked, not bothering to cover his nakedness.

“I … I heard a noise … outside. And I found your clothes,” I stammered. “I thought you were hurt, or an animal had gotten you and ...”

His eyebrow lifted. “And you thought you’d save me from what was in the woods?”

I sat up and nodded. “That was the idea.” I noticed Grey’s eyes looked strange. Their usual pewter color now seemed darker, and they seemed to shine from within. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He saw his jeans on the floor and scooped them up. Lifting one perfectly muscled leg and then the other, he stepped into the jeans before pulling them up his thighs and over his chiseled hips.

Pangs of disappointment washed over me as he covered himself. But I still couldn’t pull my eyes away from him even after he zipped his jeans, leaving the top button unbuttoned. I heard him clear his throat, and I blushed when I realized I was staring at him again.

“I’m sorry,” I said. But my apology was hollow. I couldn’t stop looking at Grey’s incredible face and body. It was a mortifying situation. I should get out of the cabin and back to my safe bedroom.

Grey saw my embarrassment. He chuckled and pulled me to my feet. His eyes found mine, and our gazes locked.

“You shouldn’t be here, Emma. I told you the woods can be dangerous at night.”

His tone was firm, but he softly caressed my cheek.

“I can’t let anything happen to you. Before he died, I promised your father I’d take care of you. I vowed I’d protect you.”

“Why … why did my father think I’d need protection?”

I had so many questions running through my head. What was I in danger from? Did I have an enemy?

Perhaps someone who wanted Denhurst and my father’s money for themselves? And was the howling thing in the woods part of it?

“What was out there … in the woods?” I asked, enjoying his touch as he continued to caress my cheek. “Won’t it hurt you?”

“In a way, it hurts me all the time,” Grey replied and pulled me into his arms.

Our lips met and his tongue touched mine, making a jolt of white-hot pleasure race through my body.

Beneath his usual light manly scent, he smelled of the woods and something musky and primal. It wasn’t unpleasant, and instinctively I slipped my arms around his strong shoulders and pressed my breasts against his hard chest.

He responded by first holding me tighter and then letting his hands roam my body. I hissed at the intense pleasure his touch evoked when his hands found the bottom of the short nightgown I wore and pulled it up so he could caress my bare skin.

I started to object to his hands roaming to my most private places. Was I ready for such intimacy? Despite the pull I felt toward him, I barely knew him. I should stop this before it went any further.

But then his mouth left mine, and he began leaving a trail of kisses down my neck to my shoulders, my collarbone, and my chest, making any thoughts of stopping him fade from my mind.

His mouth was magic. I’d never imagined such pleasure existed as he alternately kissed and licked my skin. Moaning with delight, I allowed him to pull my nightgown off and toss it aside. My cheeks flushed again when I realized I was standing before him in only my skimpy panties.

Yet, watching Grey’s eyes study my nearly naked body followed by his groan of lust thrilled me to my core. Eagerly I returned his kisses when his mouth came down on mine once more.

After a few minutes of intense kissing and his hands roaming my body, Grey scooped me into his arms and carried me to his bedroom. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen between us, but I couldn’t stop now. I wanted to be with him, to be loved by him.

After placing me on his bed, he froze and began sniffing the air.

“What’s wrong?” I asked and tried to pull him into my arms.

“Are you hurt somewhere?” he asked.

“Just my knee,” I said, grabbing his hand and pulling him to me. “It’s nothing.”

“No.” he said and stayed on his feet. “I can’t be near you. You’re bleeding,” he said stiffly.

“It’s okay,” I assured him and held out my arms. “Please, don’t stop. I don’t care about my knee. I don’t care about anything but you.”

Grey sniffed the air deeply and shuddered. “Let me clean it off.” He went to his tiny bathroom and returned with a wet washcloth.

But when he got close to the trickle of drying blood, he tossed aside the cloth and kissed the torn, bleeding skin. His tongue moved over my knee, and he groaned louder.

Suddenly, he stood and turned away.

His voice sounded strange, and he was breathing hard. “You need to go back inside the house.” He tossed my nightgown onto my stomach.

“No,” I whispered and then silently shook my head as a single tear rolled down my face. What was wrong? I wanted to scream at him, to make him tell me why he stopped. My face burned with embarrassment.

He pulled me from the bed. “I’ll walk you back to the house. Stay there, Emma. At night, always, stay there.”

The sound of small branches breaking and leaves rustling in the woods reached my ears as he hurried me from the cottage to the back door of the house.

At the door, I refused to go inside. I faced him and put my hands on his chest. “Grey, please, tell me what’s going on. What was in the woods?”

“You need to stay away from me,” he snapped and pushed me into the kitchen. “For your own good, stay inside after dark, keep the doors locked at night, and never … ever … look for me or go near the woods again.”

He closed the door behind me and tapped on the glass for me to lock it. Then, without a backward glance, he disappeared into the darkness.