Burning Ice: 6 (Werewolf Sentinels) by Marisa Chenery Page B

scrambled off him. “I’m sorry.” She stood and held out her hand. “Let me help you up.”
    He stared at her for a few seconds before he dropped his hands from his nose and pushed himself upright, then stood in one smooth movement without her assistance. He gave her a smile that had her mind blanking out again.
    “Thanks for the offer, but I figured it might be safer for me to get up on my own,” he said with a chuckle.
    Riya dropped her arm to her side. The poor guy’s long hair dripped with creek water as did his jacket and jeans. He’d saved her from a bear attack—which she’d caused—and she made a mess of him in return.
    She then remembered the hot kiss he’d given her and Riya felt her cheeks heat. She had to wonder if he regretted doing it after what she’d put him through. To be honest, it wouldn’t surprise her at all if he decided to beat a hasty retreat and wish he’d never had anything to do with her. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d scared off a man with her klutzy ways. A guy could only take so many bruises before he said enough was enough.
    “Are you okay?”
    His voice brought Riya back to the present. She gave him a sheepish look. “Sorry. Yeah. I’m just wondering how long it will take you to politely, or not so politely, get rid of me.”
    He chuckled again. “You sound as if you have quite a bit of experience in having people do that to you.”
    She shrugged. “More than I would have liked.”
    He reached out and ran the back of his hand along her cheek, sending little jolts of awareness through Riya. “You don’t have to worry about me doing that. It takes more than a head-butt to the nose and a dunk in a creek to scare me off. I’m Capac.”
    She gave Capac a small smile. “Riya. My name is Riya. If you change your mind, I’ll understand.”
    Catching her off guard once more, Capac cupped the side of her face and brought his mouth down onto hers. This time his tongue pushed between her lips and stroked along hers. Riya returned his kiss with a moan, her hands coming up to rest against his well-muscled chest. She soon lost touch with the world around her. All that mattered was Capac’s kiss.
    They were both breathing a little faster once he pulled away. She opened her eyes to find his were still shut. After a few seconds, his eyelids lifted. Riya met his gaze, wanting more than a kiss from him.
    “Does that prove to you that I won’t change my mind?” Capac asked in a gruff voice.
    Riya nodded. “Yes.”
    “Good. I don’t want to leave you yet, but I really do need a dry set of clothes. How about we meet up later? You probably want to take your catch home before it spoils as well.”
    It took a few seconds for Riya to understand what he was referring to. She then looked down at herself and silently groaned. Didn’t she just look sexy in dark-green waders that came up to her chest? The wicker basket didn’t help either. And of course they smelled like fish and the creek since she did a lot of fishing there.
    “Ah, sure,” she said. “I need to clean up too.” Riya self-consciously tugged one of the shoulder straps of her waders.
    Capac smiled. “I don’t know. You look pretty good in those.”
    “Then you’d better go get your eyes checked. Me wearing rubber isn’t exactly a turn-on for anyone.”
    He gave her a closer look. “It depends on what kind of rubber you’re talking about. The thin, close-fitting stuff is pretty hot. Granted your waders are on the baggy side, but after a few alternations they’d do.”
    Riya couldn’t hold back a laugh. “You must be pretty hard up, if that’s the case.” A split second later, she realized what she’d said and clapped a hand over her mouth. Now she’d insulted him. Wasn’t she on a roll?
    Capac didn’t seem to be bothered by her asinine comment. “Or maybe it’s just you who turns me on,” he said with a chuckle.
    She felt her face heat once more, then slowly lowered her hand. “Are you sure you