Free Clawed: Wild Things, Book 3 by Beverly Rae

human female. But the question remained. Why had he made love to her?
    Love? Shit, where were all these crazy thoughts coming from? He’d taken her; not made love to her. Right? Right. Sure, she was hot enough to make his balls ache, but he could’ve taken care of that problem by himself. Done anything, in fact, other than what he’d done. He’d lost control, that’s all. Plain and simple.
    Billy grabbed his arm, but he yanked away from the were-coyote, keeping his hurried pace. “Back off, Billy.”
    “What the hell happened with you two, huh? I mean, I know what happened first, but then what caused the blow-up? Argh!”
    Conan clutched his friend’s shirt, lifting him off the ground to let the smaller man’s feet dangle in the air. “I told you to back off.”
    “No.”
    The word came out as a squeak, but he could see the determination in Billy’s face. Placing his face an inch from Billy’s, he let out a low growl. “I’m warning you.”
    “Sorry, but I’m not giving up.”
    Conan narrowed his eyes, all while knowing it was useless to threaten him. Billy knew he’d never hurt him. Tossing the man aside like a rag doll, Conan barreled his way through a group of bushes, although he knew Billy wouldn’t be far behind. Tenacious little animals, these were-coyotes. Sometimes too tenacious for their own good. “Fine. It’s up to you. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
    “Conan, come on, man. Tell me what’s going on. Anyone can see how much you like her.”
    Conan slammed to a stop and felt Billy bounce off his back before he swiveled to confront his friend. “She was good in the sack. Nothing more.”
    “I’m sure she was.”
    “Watch your mouth, dog man.” The fury took root in less than a second, surprising him as much as it did Billy.
    But Billy still wouldn’t let up. “See what I mean? You’ve taken a lot of females to bed, but you’ve never acted like this afterward.” His friend peered closer as though searching for something. “Oh, hell. She got under your skin, didn’t she?”
    Conan had to look away then, the truth of Billy’s accusation striking him in the gut. Hadn’t he sensed it all along? From the first moment he’d caught her watching him at the lake, from the first second he’d laid eyes on her, he’d felt a pull, a longing for her that had nothing to do with sex. Almost as though he’d known her before actually meeting her. Then once they’d met… What did people say? They’d just clicked. Damn. More like exploded.
    “Wow. Conan, this is huge.”
    The awe in Billy’s voice matched the awe Conan was experiencing. He couldn’t, however, let himself feel anything for her, no matter how many times he’d thought about her. Hell, dreamed about her. She was human and he didn’t want anything to do with her. His life didn’t need the complication. “No, it’s not. It’s nothing. She’s nothing.”
    “I don’t think so. I think—”
    Conan, fists clenched, growled at his friend. “I don’t give a shit what you think. Now I’m going back to the cave, and if you’re going to stay there with me, you’d better not mention her again. Understand?”
    Billy backed away, taking the threat seriously now. “Okay, okay. Relax, big guy.”
    “Good.”
    The argument was over with Billy, but as Conan stalked through the forest toward the cave, his mind lost the battle to keep Chloe out of his thoughts.
     
     
    “Color me confused. So I have to ask one more time. What happened between you and Conan? Why did he storm off?”
    Chloe kept her back to Nina, trying to ignore not only her friend’s persistent questions about Conan, but her own thoughts of him. Not that she was succeeding. Why couldn’t she stop thinking about him?
    He was a big, oafish lout who had taken advantage of her at a weak moment. She muttered a curse, then chastised herself for letting him intrude on her life. But her mind wouldn’t stop playing tricks with her, tormenting her with images of