Free Kodiak's Claim by Eve Langlais Page B

out. I have nothing to hide. I am exactly what you see.” A thirty-something, plump, flannel-wearing woman who’d hit an innocent man in the face with a frying pan. Was it any wonder he seemed annoyed with her?
    “I know what you show on the outside, yes, but I’m curious about other things.”
    “Like?” she asked in a bare whisper as he closed the gap between them.
    “Such as how you taste.”
    He didn’t give her any more warning than that before his hands spanned her waist and he hoisted her high enough to slant his lips across hers. Any other time, she might have wondered how he hefted her with such ease, but with just a touch, she lost all ability to think. A tingle swept her at the first press of their mouths, an expert embrace where he caressed her lips with his own, explored and teased.
    Finally she understood the phrase, ‘electrifying kiss’. With every nibble and suck from Reid’s mouth, her body sizzled, her blood boiled, and her heart pounded. Her mouth opened at the insistent probe of his tongue, begging for entry and then sinuously twining with her own, drawing a rumble from him, a sexy vibrating sound that caused her to shiver.
    So intent was she on the pleasurable sensation his embraced evoke that her whole body loosened, including her grip on the frying pan, which hit the floor with a clang.
    Startled, Tammy’s eyes opened, and they both paused, lips touching, eyes meeting, her brown gaze caught by his ardent one.
    What am I doing?
    The spell was broken, and she didn’t have to say a word or struggle for him to set her on her feet and step away.
    “I think you should go back to bed,” he said in a raspy voice.
    She simply nodded as she spun on her heel. As if chased by a wild animal—also known as her lust—she raced out of the garage for the house. She didn’t check the shadows for bears, but she did glance once over her shoulder before entering the warm haven of the kitchen. Silhouetted in the garage door, Reid stared after her, big and intimidating—and oh so tempting.
    The man was dangerous on so many levels. She couldn’t help but shudder, not in trepidation. Oh no, she didn’t fear Reid, even if logic said she should. Nope, it seemed Tammy still hadn’t learned her lesson about men because, damn it all, despite all the reasons to stay away, she desired him.

Chapter Ten
    A good thing Reid’s beta, Brody, followed him home the previous night. An even better thing Brody had lagged behind as they went to enter the house. The last thing Reid expected was to be met by a pan-wielding human, one who took his nudity as evidence of nefarious deeds.
    If she only knew.
    At least Brody was a quick thinker. He’d quickly summed up the situation and taken care of the ‘evidence’. Reid wasn’t sure what to expect when he entered the garage. He knew someone had taken his garments and sled back to the house while he investigated the scene of the shooting. Dousing them with gas proved a stroke of genius on Brody’s part.
    But poor Tammy. A part of him hated lying, especially since he could see in her eyes she didn’t quite believe his fabricated answers. With good reason. Reid had secrets. Lots of them, just not of the type she suspected.
    Oh, by the way, I’m a Kodiak bear.
    And speaking of suspected, while he’d anticipated enjoying a kiss with the woman, he’d definitely not expected the fire that erupted in every one of his nerve endings. One touch. One taste. He was lost, lost in pleasure and need.
    If not for the timely interruption, he would have taken her, right there, in the garage, to hell with the consequences. But of even more concern was the ridiculous urge he had to mark her.
    Make her ours.
    Even now his bear still insisted on it. It wanted him to march into that house, sling her over a shoulder, throw her on a bed, and strip those ridiculously cute pajamas from her curvy frame. It wanted to lick every inch of her body, bathing her in his scent before chomping on her