Down & Dirty (Bundle) by Moira Rogers Page B

her before she could draw another breath.
    Which was all rational and reasonable, and
didn’t explain what made her release her hold on the blanket and
let it slide to the floor at her feet. “Thank you.”
    “ On second thought…” His
eyes darkened as he looked over at her. “If you can start the fire,
I’ll head out to the barn.”
    The fact that he wasn’t physically running
didn’t help the urge to chase him. Hazel drew on the stubborn
strength that had gotten her through the last few uncomfortable
months and managed a short nod. “I can light the fire.”
    “ Good.” He turned and
walked out the front door again, still bared to the
waist.
    When he was gone she let out the breath
she’d been holding and picked up his discarded shirt. It smelled of
him, which soothed the wolf as she pulled it over her head. The hem
hung past her knees and the shoulders were impossibly wide, but at
least she wasn’t naked anymore.
    Of course, she wasn’t exactly in the mood to
be playing with the fire, either. She built up her own fire every
night during the winter, but it took four tries just to get a
simple feeble flame to stay lit. Her mind kept skittering away from
mundane details to linger on the curve of Oliver’s shoulder or his
lean waist or the impressive girth of his cock, which had felt so
damn good…
    The piece of wood she’d
been clutching slipped from her suddenly limp fingers and landed
directly on top of her tiny fire, which promptly went out. Hazel
swore and started over, struggling this time to fight the images
that taunted her as the urge to mate grew inside her. You held out for months, she told herself sternly as she coaxed the fire back to
life. Ten minutes won’t kill
you.
    But when he came back less than ten minutes
later, the waiting had become almost unbearable. He took one look
at her and cursed. “Is it rising again? The fever?”
    Hazel closed her eyes and pressed her face
against the side of the worn down couch she’d curled up against. “I
tried to stop it.”
    “ You need to eat
something.” Even as he spoke, he moved to the couch and knelt
beside her. “Look at me, Hazel.”
    His voice sent heat dancing up her spine,
and she shivered as she turned to meet his gaze. “I tried.”
    “ Come on.” He gathered her
into his arms, gentle and strong. “We can go to the bedroom, and
eat later.”
    “ I’m sorry.” Even as she
said the words she couldn’t keep herself from pressing her lips to
his bare shoulder.
    He shivered under her lips, and his hand
stroked over her hair. “For what?”
    “ For not being able to
control it like I should.”
    “ And who said you should be
able to control it?”
    It had never occurred to
her that she shouldn’t be able to. “I’m supposed to be strong.”
    His voice dropped to a
husky whisper. “Sometimes, that makes it worse. The need .”
    She couldn’t help herself. She bit his
shoulder and groaned as that very need became too much to contain.
The wolf wasn’t interested in control, unless it was a prelude to
losing it. Oliver had a power and strength in him that matched her
own, and that was all that mattered now.
    He nudged open a door to reveal a sparely
furnished bedroom dominated by a large bed covered with a dark
quilt. “We might be here a while, Hazel.”
    She barely heard him. She
wanted to be on that bed, naked. She wanted him behind her or above
her, whichever way would get him in her. Her breathing was too fast as she forced
herself to look up at Oliver’s face. “I need you.”
    There was something gentle in his eyes as he
laid her down and started undressing. “I know. You will for a
while. Then you’ll feel better.”
    Then I’ll feel
worse. But she didn’t say it out-loud.
Admitting the truth now might make him stop, and her body felt too
warm and too needy for that. She rose to her knees and tugged at
his shirt. “Just tell me you want me for now.”
    He moved her hands and freed the buttons. “I
want you.” He