Keri Arthur - Circle of Desire

He took a business card from his wallet, scrawled the cabin's address on the back, then slipped his arms under her and carefully picked her up.

"Tell me if you sense it," he said.

She nodded and closed her eyes, leaning her head against his shoulder. Coarse blonde hair scratched at his nose.

The wig didn't suit her. It made her look brassy, cheap, and she was neither of those. But at least it might prevent her from being recognized by anyone later. He wasn't going to be so lucky.

And Benton was going to be furious.

He carried her out of the restroom and stopped near the security guard. "Call the sheriff, then call this number."

He handed the man the card and pointed to the department's phone number. "Get hold of Detective Johnson and tell him Detective Morgan has found another suspect." The sheriff and Benton weren't going to be happy about his interference, but right now, Ethan didn't care.

"Is the lady all right?"

"Yeah. If they want to talk to me, I'm staying at the address on the back."

The guard flicked it over and nodded. "And the lady?"

"Will be with me."

He headed for the door. The night outside was cool, unfettered by the odours of sweat and lust and curiosity.

He took a deep breath, clearing his head as he walked toward the car. Kat's sweet scent surrounded him, stirring his blood once more. Even bloody and bruised, she still smelled good. Still felt good.

He unlocked the car and placed her upright on the back seat. She stirred, blinking rapidly. Her breathing had evened out, but her mouth was still pinched with pain.

He squatted down next to her and opened up the small first aid kit. Inside there was antiseptic, swabs, bandages and a small pouch of dried herbs. Obviously, they were a cure-all for all manner of wounds. But they'd worked almost miraculously on the wound in her arm, and he wasn't about to gainsay the benefits when she was bleeding all over the seat.

He touched a hand to her cheek, and she opened her eyes.

He hated the contact lenses. On her, plain green was far prettier. "I'm going to have to take off your shirt to clean the wound properly." The collar was brushing the thin line around her neck, irritating the wound and making it bleed again.

"Don't need excuses." Her voice was little more than a husky whisper. "Just ask."

A mischievous smile played about her mouth, and heat shot to his groin. "I'm afraid even the thought of asking is out of the question tonight." It was just as well he'd sated the worst of his desires last night, otherwise restraint would not be so easily offered.

"Tomorrow," she said, closing her eyes again.

"Maybe."

"Definitely."

He eased the jacket off then undid her shirt buttons and peeled that away. Her creamy breasts were smeared with blood and showed signs of heavy-handed bruising. Anger rose inside him, swift and sharp. He swallowed it. The berserker was dead, and as much as he wanted to go back and kick the bastard's body, it wouldn't achieve anything.

After soaking a swab in antiseptic, he carefully cleaned her wounds then applied the herbs and bandaged them.

She bore it all without comment, even though he saw her wince. She was undoubtedly braver than he was — straight antiseptic would have had him screaming. He puthis jacket back on her and zipped it up as far as he could to keep her warm.

"Home, James," she murmured as he did up her seat belt.

He smiled and brushed a kiss across her lips, then rose before he gave in to the desire to taste her more fully.

Once they were on the road, he called Gwen to let her know everything was okay. Even so, she was waiting outside when they got back to the cabins.

She hobbled across to the car and flung open the door.

"Nice job of bandaging," she said after a few seconds.

"And you used the herbs."

"Why wouldn't I? I've seen them work, remember."

"That you did." She patted his arm. "Put her in my bed for the time being, Detective, because your boss isn't that far behind you."

He raised an eyebrow as he lifted Kat. "How?"

"I called him after you left. I thought you might have needed some backup."

Then they must have just missed each other, and for that he was grateful. Benton would have insisted on sending Kat to a hospital. She was far better here, under her grandmother's care, though only a day ago he wouldn't have admitted that.

He carried her into the cabin and placed her into bed, stripping off her shoes but leaving on his jacket. She was asleep, and he didn't want to disturb her any more than necessary. He ran his fingers down her cheek to her lips, then bent and kissed them. Lightly, gently.

She stirred, murmuring something he couldn't quite catch. "Sleep," he murmured against her lips. "I'll be here if you want me."

She didn't respond, and he spun, leaving the room before he could give into the urge to do anything more.

"I'll wait for Benton in the other cabin," he said to Gwen.

And hide any evidence that Kat and he had shared a bed.

Mark might know the truth, but there was no need for Benton or anyone else to know what was going on between them.

Gwen nodded. "I'll be in after he arrives. Then you can fill us all in on what happened."

He snorted softly. "Benton is not going to believe anything you or I say."

"Wouldn't he have seen the werewolf?"

"Yeah, but Kat caught him early in the change. He looked more like a deformed and hairy man, rather than a wolf." And that was a good thing — he had no real wish for Benton to start believing in werewolves.

"A man whose teeth measurements will probably fit the marks left on the last victim's bones."

"Which will make him think the wolf killed the kid, and Kat says that's not true."

"And it isn't, as you know." Gwen patted his hand again.

"Go clean up and rest while you can. It's going to be a long night once your boss gets here."

A long and noisy night, Ethan thought sourly, and headed into the other cabin.

"Goddamn it, Morgan, I distinctly remember telling you to keep away from this case."

"Keep your voice down." Ethan crossed his arms and leaned a shoulder against the wall. "Katherine's asleep in the other cabin."

Benton threw a hand out as he continued to pace. "I don't care who's asleep. I want to know what's going on."

"You won't believe what's going on." Nor did he want the captain to believe. But he had a suspicion Gwen planned otherwise.

"What was that thing we found in the restaurant's restroom?" Unlike Benton, Mark kept his voice low. He was sitting on the sofa and looked as tired as Ethan felt.

"It sure as hell didn't look entirely human."

He shrugged. "I think maybe he was some kind of mutant."

"So how is a mutant connected to the case?" Benton stopped his pacing and glared at Ethan for a moment.

"And why did it attack Miss Tanner?"

"He was apparently working with the woman behind all the kidnappings and murders." He paused, then added, "I think if you check the bite marks on the last victim, you'll find they match the mutant's."

They both stared at him for several seconds, then Benton swore and resumed his pacing. "So Tanner was tracking it?"

He nodded. "It must have spotted her, because it attacked her in the restroom."

"And she killed it." The captain shook his head. "I should have her head on the block. We needed that man for questioning."

Ethan only realized he was clenching his fists when he saw Mark studying him. He flexed his fingers and tried to relax. "You almost did have her neck on a block," he reminded Benton shortly. "And it's hard to be precise with a knife when someone is strangling you from behind."

The captain sniffed. "You know we found a second body at the restaurant."

Ethan glanced at Mark. "Where?"