Wild Invitation

attraction.
    “Thrillers, some nonfiction.” He looked around her open-plan kitchen and living room. “It’s a small place.”
    “For you, maybe.” He was so big, so unashamedly male, he took over the space…threatened to take her over, too.
    He glanced at her, expression shifting to something darker and infinitely more dangerous. “Hmm, you’re right. You’re a bit smaller than me.”
    She tried to control her erratic breathing as she finished putting on the coffee. He just sat there and watched her with a feline patience that had her nerves sparking in reaction.
    “How long have you lived here?”
    “Last five years. I moved in after I got the teaching job.”
    “Did you live at home before that?”
    She laughed through the thudding beat of her pulse. “Lord, no. I was outta there at eighteen.”
    “You ever get lonely, Annie?” he asked, his tone liquid heat over her skin.
    “I like living alone. I intend to keep it that way.” She thought she’d surprised him with that, but instead of replying, he lifted up the bag and raised an eyebrow. It was a dare. Annie had never considered herself particularly courageous, but she walked around the counter. He nodded at her to take the stool beside his.
    Knowing it would be silly to refuse, she sat, rubbing her thigh with one hand. He noticed. “It hurt today?”
    “What?” She looked down. “Oh, no, not really. It’s habit.” It was always a little achy in the mornings. “So, breakfast?”
    His eyes went cat on her between one instant and the next. She sucked in a breath at the intensity of that green-gold gaze. “Wow.”
    He smiled. “Let’s play a game.”
    She had a feeling that playing with this big kitty cat was a very bad idea, but since she’d already given in to her insanity, she said, “What’re the rules?”
    “Close your eyes. Eat what I give you, and tell me what it is.”
    The notion of having him feed her had her heart racing at the speed of light. “What do I get if I guess correctly?”
    “Mystery prize.” His lashes lowered, and she thought she caught a glimpse of something edgy, something that blazedwith raw male heat, but when he looked back up, there was nothing but amusement in those leopard eyes. “Yes?”
    “Yes.” She watched mesmerized as he opened the paper bag with those hands she wanted to have all over her.
    “Close your eyes, sweetheart.”
    She swallowed hunger of a far different sort and let her lashes flutter down. It made her even more aware of the scent of him, the warmth of him, the sheer presence of him. When he shifted position to put one of his feet on the outside of her stool, effectively trapping her, she opened her mouth to tell him…something.
    But his finger brushed over her lips. “Taste.”
    He was all around her, in her blood, in her breath. Losing her train of thought, she closed her teeth over the pastry he put to her lips. The flaky stuff just about melted in her mouth, and she licked her lips without thinking about it.
    Zach seemed to go very still, but when he spoke, his words were light. “Guess?”
    “Danish.”
    “Wrong.” She went to open her eyes, but he said, “No, keep them shut.”
    “Why?”
    “I’m going to give you another shot. Right now, you owe a single forfeit. Let’s see if we can even the decks.”
    “Forfeit?” She wondered why the thought sent excitement arcing through her. “You never said anything about a forfeit.”
    “You never asked.”
    As she’d thought—playing with this cat was an invitation to trouble. “Now I am.”
    “Later. First, taste this.” He put something else to her mouth, and she bit down, determined to get it this time—he sounded far too delighted by the idea of having her owe him a forfeit.
    She smiled. “Blueberry muffin.”
    A finger brushed over her lips, making her eyes snap open. “A crumb,” he said.
    “Oh.”
    He didn’t smile this time, watching her with an intensity that reminded her that for all his playfulness, he was a DarkRiver soldier. And DarkRiver controlled the greater San Francisco area. More than that, they were allied with the bloodthirsty SnowDancer wolves.
    “What’re you thinking?” he asked her.
    “That you’re dangerous.”
    “Not to you,” he said. “I wouldn’t bite unless you asked very nicely.”
    Heat flooded her cheeks at the teasing promise, and she was more than glad to hear the coffeemaker ping. “Coffee’s done, I’ll grab it.”
    He let her go, but she had a feeling