Page 4 of Savaged By the Beast

But I can’t wipe the look on Austin’s face out of my mind. He knew something. And I want to know what.

My eyes shift to him in the car and his golden eyes spark in the shadows of the car. I shiver and feel my body clench and bend toward him. I want to go to him and I don’t know why the hell I’m having these damn feelings but it’s fucking inconvenient as hell. Like hot flashes zipping through me at the most inconvenient times.

I turn away and we start working the scene but half of my mind stays locked on Austin’s strange ways and the look that he gave me. Heat. Lust and desire. All swirling with a secret that I want to know. It has something to do with this case and I’m not sure why or how but I know he’s involved somehow.

And that’s enough to bring my focus back under control.

Because if Austin’s involved somehow he could be dangerous to more than just my mind. He might be deadly to my body as well.

Chapter Three: Austin

∞∞∞

I watch her through the windshield, enjoying just being near her. She’s so serious when she’s working. I have a feeling she’s serious most of the time but her focus when she’s working a case is something to see.

Her clear brown eyes are crinkled in the corners while she studies the area and she talks to the other men working alongside her. I can see their eyes follow her while she stalks the perimeter. A growl tears out of my chest and I rub it absently. The pull to her is so damn strong it physically feels like it’s tearing me apart. Strands of connection that drag at me and tug me to her. Like gossamer wings on a butterfly but strong like spiderwebs.

She’s glowing in her environment. She’s comfortable around death. Way more than I’ve ever been. I fight it with every fiber of my being, knowing that if I can’t find the other part of me, my death is all but assured.

Her on the other hand she studies the scene like it’s a puzzle that she needs to unravel. A part of her sinks down into her and thisother side comes out, the side that is cold and calculating. That knows the work is important and she can’t half-ass it.

It’s intoxicating. But it also pisses me off royally. I can’t think of anything but her. But she’s all business right now. Nothing sways her focus. Not even me.

I huff and sink down into the seat, trying not to pout like a two-year old. I’m a grown man and I should be able to handle a woman who takes her job seriously.

If only I wasn’t involved. Because that man out there? He’s our foreman. And he was killed by a shifter. I can smell it on him. Thank god none of these people are shifters or I would be in a world of hurt. Because the scent I smell on him is me. If I didn’t know better, I’d say I killed him.

But that’s not possible. I would remember that, wouldn’t I? I know I’ve had times where there’s missing parts when my bear has taken over. But I can’t believe that I could kill a man and not remember it. I just don’t believe it.

But I need to know why I smell myself all around him. There’s something very wrong here. And he’s torn to bits, really. If I didn’t recognize the belt buckle that he always wore I wouldn’t have recognized him.

I sigh and scrub my face then run my hands through my hair, tugging at it hard. He was a good man. Had a wife and kids that he lost years ago that he mourned every day since. Refused to even look at another woman. Said his Eileen was the only woman he ever wanted. It took a long time for him to get straightened out, to move on. But he always said that when he went, he was going to be a happy motherfucker because he’d be back with the love of his life and that he hoped nobody mournedhim. Because he intended to die with a smile on his face knowing she was waiting for him on the other side.

It shook me badly when I saw him. Because out of everything I saw? Everything that was so hard to see as him, so damaged as the body was. I could still see a slight smile on his lips.

“I hope you found your Eileen, my friend. I hope you’re with her,” I whisper softly. I’m not a very religious man. But I like to think that we all have friends and family waiting on the other side to welcome us into the afterlife.

I see her brown eyes slew towards me again as the big, burly sheriff says something to her again. I clench my fists in my lap. I don’t like him being near her. Hell, I don’t like any of them being near her but especially him. He’s big. And bossy. And that’s my job.

I see her push at her ponytail and then stroll to the car. She opens the door and I smile grimly. Now she’s mine. And that other man can fuck off.

She slides into the car and I can smell that scent that is uniquely hers. Sweet and spicy. Addicting, intoxicating. I can feel my claws stretch and a growl rumble up out of my chest.

Her eyes whip to mine and I wipe the lust off my face. Her cinnamon eyes narrow and the little lines alongside them make me smile.

She’s no baby. She’s a full-grown woman and I fucking love it!

She starts the car and her eyes never leave mine. “I know you know something about this. I’m going to get the answers I want and I sure as hell hope you aren’t involved somehow because you seem like a nice-enough guy and I’d hate to have to arrest you.”

We pull away and I lean back into the seat and sigh, crossing my arms on my chest. “You can ask all the questions you want but I’m not sure if you’ll like my answers.”

“Tell me the truth and I won’t have any problems. Just don’t lie to me. I hate that.”

She drives away and I can’t help but watch her hands on the steering wheel. Her fingers are long, slender and tanned. She holds the wheel firmly but not strangling it. It seems like everything she does is controlled and timed for maximum effect. She turns the wheel carefully when we reach the main road. She drives towards my ranch and I smile.

“How do you know where I live?” I ask.

“Everybody in town knows where you boys live.” She barely glances at me and I want to yank her over the seat and pull her on my lap. Make her notice me. Make her see me. Grind her soft curves into my rock-hard dick until she gasps and comes all over me.