Tempting the Fire by Sydney Croft

that?”
    “I don’t know. But the thing is, Marlena has already been with Chance. If he was going to hurt her, he could have done it earlier.”
    Finally, Logan nodded, and Sela called for Marlena. They walked to the medical tent, and although Marlena’s hand shook, she opened the wood-framed door and entered without hesitation. Almost instantly, Chance’s entire body seemed to relax, and when he saw Marlena, he simply closed his eyes, as though now that she was here, they were both safe.
    “Marlena,” Sela whispered, catching her by the arm. “I need you to keep track of how he’s feeling. We need to know if his fever breaks, or if anything else 61

    unusual happens, okay?”
    Marlena nodded.
    “Also,” Sela added, “keep in mind that in most animal relationships, especially in bond-mate relationships, the female holds the power.”
    Marlena gave her a startled, confused look, but then shrugged and said,
    “You’ll leave us alone?”
    “No,” Logan said. “There will be guards right outside, and I’m going to have Wes come in hourly to examine Chance.”
    Sela cleared her throat. “I want some tests run. I want to know if he can transmit any kind of virus through a bite while he’s, ah, in human form.”
    Logan nodded. “You got it. Chance, will you let us do some tests?”
    “Yeah,” he croaked.
    Sela and Logan headed back to his tent. “You sure she’ll be okay?” Logan asked, and Sela wished she could say yes.
    “I’m a little surprised at your concern,” Sela said, as they ducked inside.
    He rounded on her. “My order put her inside with him in the first place. He attacked her, forced himself on her and could have done much worse. Now I’ve left her in that situation again. So yeah, go figure, I’m a little concerned.”
    She held up her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. Sorry. Didn’t mean to offend you.”
    Cursing, he reached for his bottle of Scotch. “Ah, hell. Can’t blame you for wondering. We did take you captive.” He held up a cup. “Want one?”
    “Damn straight.”
    He smiled, the one that took away her breath. He splashed a couple of fingers of Scotch into two cups, handed her one, and then held up his own in toast.
    “To you and Marlena, the most dedicated cryptozoologists I’ve ever met.”
    “The only ones you’ve ever met,” she muttered wryly, and tapped her cup against his.
    “Good point.”
    They downed their shots, and silence fell in the tent. “Well, what now?” she asked.
    “I think,” he murmured, “it’s time for bed. We have to get an early start.”
    Her mouth went dry, and all she could do was nod.
    “Good. It’s settled.” He climbed onto the cot and rolled toward the tent wall. “You get the floor.”
    CHANCE WAS LYING ON THE COT, HOOKED UP TO AN IV, AND
    HE looked … pale. Sick. But infinitely more relaxed the closer Marlena got to him.
    She was vaguely aware of the door closing, of Sela and Logan and everyone else leaving her alone in the tent.
    Suddenly, her heart beat faster. The air changed, her body warmed, her 62

    nipples hardened. She was completely and utterly turned on by Chance, despite the fact that he’d morphed into a chupacabra in front of her mere hours ago.
    But now he was all man. A gorgeous, albeit tired-looking, man—one she was both frightened of and drawn to, judging by the fact that she was now kneeling next to his cot, taking his hand. Staring down at the tanned fingers twined with hers.
    But there was still none of the overwhelming, head-over-heels-in-love feeling she normally got after sleeping with a man. No, this was pure and simple lust.
    Apparently, this was normal.
    Listen to yourself, Marlena. There’s nothing normal about any of this.
    “You’re afraid of me,” Chance said, his voice gruff. She turned her gaze from their joined hands toward his face. His eyes were bright and he appeared to have suffered no ill effects from the massive doses of tranquilizers they’d pumped into him … or from