celiabreslin

“Medium rare.” Gee set a steaming hamburger buried beneath heaps of fries and onion rings in front of Sela.

Everything on the plate looked delicious. “Thank you. I thought I ordered this to go?”

“Stay awhile. Enjoy your food.” Gee gave Rio a sickly sweet little grin. “L.A. stood up to you. I like her.”

The crease between his brows deepened. “Gee, no one asked your opinion.”

She gingerly picked up a fistful of scorching hot fries and ferried them over to Rio’s plate.

He appeared puzzled. “Why?”

“Peace offering.” She wondered what he looked like when he smiled. “I’m sure yours are cold by now.”

* * *

Rio picked up one of the token offerings, lifting the hot french fry to his lips. He didn’t even care he was about to get burned big time. In fact, he wanted the pain. Better to take the punishment now than suffer a shitload of hurt after he did something stupid like make a play for Sela López, which absolutely, positively could not happen. To his eyes, she was knockout gorgeous with killer curves. She had plenty of sass, too. She hadn’t backed down a bit from his most withering I-just-put-you-in-your-place look.

Something else caught him off-guard — her scent. One whiff of her subtle female aroma had brought his blood to a boil.

Holy crap, what had he gotten himself into? By the tone of her e-mail inquiries about the cabin, he’d come to the false conclusion Miss López was a dried-up academic collecting data about the Los Lobos wolf population. Instead, a Latina temptress with an ass that made him want to bite his fist and whimper had shown up.

A high-pitched howl reached through the barrier of sleep and tugged Kate Matthews into semi-consciousness. Rolling onto her side, she groaned and smothered her head beneath her pillow. Another bay penetrated the memory-foam fabric jammed over her ears. Throwing the cushion on the other side of the bed, she flopped on her back and stared at the ceiling fan as yet another howl shattered the last vestige of sleep.

Damn it, Stephen.

Kate flung the covers off her legs, jumped from the bed, and stomped across the chilly hardwood floor to her bedroom window. Squinting in the darkness, she spotted one of her tennis shoes beside her foot and grabbed it. Armed, she jerked the window open and hurled her makeshift missile at the large, gray wolf loitering on her back lawn. The beast swerved clear of the canvas bomb at the last second.

An iridescent pop of light gave way to the human form of Stephen Dorsett. As moonlight illuminated his nude body, he gazed up at her, wearing an amused expression that pissed her off and turned her on at the same time.

“And a good morning to you, Sunshine.” His voice oozed with syrupy sweetness, infuriating her more.