Moon Shifter 02 - Primal Possession

fine.

Chapter 6
    I t was close to midnight by the time Liam and December got back to her place. He’d been very quiet on the drive back and she wasn’t sure why that unnerved her. After checking her house for potential intruders, he finally came back downstairs to meet her in the foyer.
    She wished she could think it was crazy or overboard for him to do a full-service sweep of her house after a simple night out, but she knew it wasn’t. The different scenarios of what could have happened to her last night had been running through her head over and over. It was like the scenes were stuck on auto replay. On the way back to her house tonight, she’d had a flashback of that maniac trying to stab her with the needle and she’d actually jerked away in response. She’d been helpless to stop her physical reaction and she hated that. If Liam hadn’t been with her in the truck, she was afraid she’d have completely freaked out. She’d never tell him but she was so thankful he’d been driving. Her reaction had taken her completely by surprise.
    “What are you thinking about?” Liam asked as he reached the bottom stair.
    Yeah, like she was going to admit to him she was afraid she was on the verge of a minibreakdown. “Uh, nothing. Is the house free of bad guys?”
    He nodded, his expression slightly concerned.
    Her hand shook when she tucked her hair behind her ear. “I was thinking maybe getting a security system isn’t such a bad idea. Didn’t you say you had a friend who could help me out with that?”
    “I already made the call. He’ll be by Monday. I tried to get him here earlier, but he couldn’t swing it.”
    Even though she was grateful, she was still annoyed he’d made plans behind her back. She held on to that annoyance. Anything was better than the fear that had latched on to her insides and was threatening to suffocate her. “You
already
called?”
    Liam shrugged, then took off his coat and hooked it on the rack. Looked like he planned to stay another night. Her heart rate increased at the thought.
    She wanted to tell him to leave and that she’d be fine, but she knew having Liam under the same roof was the only way she’d get a decent night’s sleep. The thought of depending on anyone for peace of mind made her want to scream. She hated the feeling of powerlessness she’d experienced the past few weeks. Even though she’d defended herself against Mike—if that was even his real name—she’d nearly gotten the crap beaten out of her before by that other asshole who’d Tased her. The thought of being in her own home by herself shouldn’t make her scared.
    “You’ve got to stop doing stuff like that.” She couldn’t even inject any anger into the comment as she stripped off her coat. Not this time. She wanted that security system in her home so when she closed her eyes at night, she wasn’t terrified and imagining masked men breaking into her bedroom.
    Liam’s dark eyes flared to life as he looked her over from head to toe. For the hundredth time that night. “And you’ve got to stop dressing like this.” His voice was soft, sensual, hungry.
    “Don’t change the subject.” Despite her desire to stay annoyed at him, a tingling warmth spread through her all the way to her toes as he looked at her. No one had ever made her feel that way. Treasured and desired as if she were perfect. When he looked at her like that, like she was the only thing in the world that existed, she melted.
    He didn’t respond. Just continued staring. Her heartbeat quickened. It was as if he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her. As if he’d never leave her. It was hard to think straight.
    His breathing turned uneven, mirroring her own. He took a step closer to her, crowding her in, mowing down all her much-needed personal space. She moved back until she was flat against the front door, but he didn’t stop his advance.
    Caging her in with his hands on either side of her face, he bent his head toward her until they were mere inches apart. For a brief moment, his eyes flicked a shade darker and she knew it wasn’t the light playing tricks on her. Apparently they could change when he was turned on too.
    Putting a hand up against his chest, she meant to push him back. She really did. Instead, she fisted his shirt and tugged him closer.
    In the instant before their mouths fused, she saw something in his expression she didn’t recognize. Almost like triumph, but it was gone so fast, and then his mouth was