soft parted lips, the temptation almost was enough for him to ignore the possible outcome— almost .
Instead he found his hand reaching out to trail softly down the side of her supple cheek. He smirked as she frowned before she brushed his hand away in her sleep. Softly chuckling, he rose carefully from the mattress. Moving without making a sound, he closed the door behind him with a soft click.
His intention was to wake her for breakfast before heading into town, but letting her sleep a while longer seemed to be the best option. Deciding a breakfast out in town was more reasonable, he moved to the kitchen to put away the food he’d set out. After placing the bounty of eggs and honey ham back into the fridge, he was just closing the door as his bear sat up from his reclined position with alertness. The sound of a soft crunching of snow reached his ears as it swiftly turned to the sound of boots on the porch. Someone was here.
Striding into the living room, his hand was nearly grasping the door handle when a sharp knock echoed from the other side. Gripping the door knob, he took a deep inhale as he took in all scents from the other side of the door. Ignoring the scents of fresh snow and earth, he zeroed in on the person knocking more forceful the second time. It was a male, at first he would have guessed the scent was human, but it smelled off. Instead of the vanilla scent of a human it smelled rotten and mixed with a sweet scent.
Jerking the door open, he glared at the man before him. The man was of average height, no more than six feet if he had to guess. He wore a dark navy suit with dark sunglasses shielding his eyes. His black hair was short in a typical military style. Everything from first glance told Doyle that this man was accustomed to getting what he wanted.
“Can I help you?” he asked as the other man seemed to be sizing him up as well. Nodding his head silently, the man reached into his jacket pocket, withdrawing a badge.
“I’m with the U.S. Marshal’s office; I needed to ask you a few questions about an escapee that you may have seen about.” Slowly he held out his badge for Doyle’s eyes, though it looked authentic he still wasn’t buying it.
“I don’t see why you’d be looking here. With all the snow storms we’ve had up this way, it would be rather difficult for someone to run through it.”
“Can I come in? It may be more comfortable if we discuss this inside.” He asked, doing his best to pear through the gap behind Doyle as he held the door open. His eyes calculating took in everything that they touched.
“No.” He bit out, the muscles in his jaw tightened.
Something was wrong with the man before him. He seemed too…everything. He was too edgy and too eager to get inside his home. He was searching for something and it wasn’t an escaped convict. If this was the person after his mate, he wasn’t about to let him within an inch of her.
Nodding his head understanding, the man put his badge away only to pull out a photo from his pocket. Thrusting it at Doyle he asked, “Have you seen this woman?”
Keeping his face a blank, Doyle gripped the photo in his hand. Looking at it, to his observer—he had no recollection of the person in the photo; inside he was startled at what he saw. The black and white photo was an image of Aria. The focus of the image was from a high angle, more than likely the photo came from a security camera. It showed her in the thin clothes he’d found her in, crouching next to a body. The look in her eyes haunted him. They were filled with so much fear, as though she were longing for someone to help her even though deep down that she was on her own.
Masking his astonishment, Doyle frowned while shaking his head in denial. “No. Should I?” He inquired, handing the photo back to the calculating character before him.
Tucking the photo back, the man glared back at Doyle. “She escaped from a high level containment facility a few days ago. And despite
Instead he found his hand reaching out to trail softly down the side of her supple cheek. He smirked as she frowned before she brushed his hand away in her sleep. Softly chuckling, he rose carefully from the mattress. Moving without making a sound, he closed the door behind him with a soft click.
His intention was to wake her for breakfast before heading into town, but letting her sleep a while longer seemed to be the best option. Deciding a breakfast out in town was more reasonable, he moved to the kitchen to put away the food he’d set out. After placing the bounty of eggs and honey ham back into the fridge, he was just closing the door as his bear sat up from his reclined position with alertness. The sound of a soft crunching of snow reached his ears as it swiftly turned to the sound of boots on the porch. Someone was here.
Striding into the living room, his hand was nearly grasping the door handle when a sharp knock echoed from the other side. Gripping the door knob, he took a deep inhale as he took in all scents from the other side of the door. Ignoring the scents of fresh snow and earth, he zeroed in on the person knocking more forceful the second time. It was a male, at first he would have guessed the scent was human, but it smelled off. Instead of the vanilla scent of a human it smelled rotten and mixed with a sweet scent.
Jerking the door open, he glared at the man before him. The man was of average height, no more than six feet if he had to guess. He wore a dark navy suit with dark sunglasses shielding his eyes. His black hair was short in a typical military style. Everything from first glance told Doyle that this man was accustomed to getting what he wanted.
“Can I help you?” he asked as the other man seemed to be sizing him up as well. Nodding his head silently, the man reached into his jacket pocket, withdrawing a badge.
“I’m with the U.S. Marshal’s office; I needed to ask you a few questions about an escapee that you may have seen about.” Slowly he held out his badge for Doyle’s eyes, though it looked authentic he still wasn’t buying it.
“I don’t see why you’d be looking here. With all the snow storms we’ve had up this way, it would be rather difficult for someone to run through it.”
“Can I come in? It may be more comfortable if we discuss this inside.” He asked, doing his best to pear through the gap behind Doyle as he held the door open. His eyes calculating took in everything that they touched.
“No.” He bit out, the muscles in his jaw tightened.
Something was wrong with the man before him. He seemed too…everything. He was too edgy and too eager to get inside his home. He was searching for something and it wasn’t an escaped convict. If this was the person after his mate, he wasn’t about to let him within an inch of her.
Nodding his head understanding, the man put his badge away only to pull out a photo from his pocket. Thrusting it at Doyle he asked, “Have you seen this woman?”
Keeping his face a blank, Doyle gripped the photo in his hand. Looking at it, to his observer—he had no recollection of the person in the photo; inside he was startled at what he saw. The black and white photo was an image of Aria. The focus of the image was from a high angle, more than likely the photo came from a security camera. It showed her in the thin clothes he’d found her in, crouching next to a body. The look in her eyes haunted him. They were filled with so much fear, as though she were longing for someone to help her even though deep down that she was on her own.
Masking his astonishment, Doyle frowned while shaking his head in denial. “No. Should I?” He inquired, handing the photo back to the calculating character before him.
Tucking the photo back, the man glared back at Doyle. “She escaped from a high level containment facility a few days ago. And despite
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