I wake to intense heat. It's such a familiar hard warmth that I know at once what must've happened.
Despite Kier's gentle firmness in moving me to one side of the bed when I feigned sleeping across the middle of it, during the night we've found each other, as we always do whenever I've stayed over at his cabin.
He has his thigh wedged between my legs, and my face is tucked in the hollow of his shoulder and neck as I lie half-pinned beneath him. But the best thing is the feel of his arm wrapped around my waist, crushing my body against his, so no part of me isn't touching his.
It's glorious.
Or it was, because, in the next second, I'm on my back as Kier rises from the bed, revealing a tanned, strong back and ass. "Time to get up."
As he disappears into the bathroom, slamming the door shut harder than necessary behind him, it doesn't take me long to work out what he was so desperate to hide.
"It's too late," I call out, as I sit up. "I felt it."
I'm almost positive I hear him mutter something about me being impossible, which makes me grin because it's just another sign that my plan is working.
When there's a knock at the cabin door, I wrap the comforter I didn't need last night around my body and head for the door.
"Don't open-"
I swing the door open and find Frank standing at the top step. "Oh, hi, Frankie."
Behind me, an enraged snarl tells me that Kier isn't happy I ignored him. "I told you not to open it."
I lean my head against the door and meet Frank's eyes. "He's very possessive. Doesn't want any guy to see my naked-"
In the next second, I'm standing behind a muscled and very naked back with the briefest memory of hands on my hips.
"What do you want?" Kier growls, nudging me back with one hand when I step forward so I can peek around him.
"The alpha would appreciate your attendance at breakfast this morning."
"Unless this breakfast comes with a challenge, you can tell him I'm not interested." He starts to close the door.
"It comes with something even better," Frank says, his voice as mild as always, completely unaffected by a naked alpha growling at him. "It comes with the promise of safe passage for your lady love."
Kier slams the door shut and swings around to face me. His eyes dip to the comforter that's starting to slip because of him pushing me back. I don't lift it. "I told you not to open the door," he repeats in a low snarl.
"That's no excuse for shoving me back like that. First you rip my top and then you drag me through this poor excuse for a pack home, and now you shove me. You're making me not want to sleep with you. Maybe find someone a little less volatile."
Kier's eyes darken as he takes a step toward me.
I take a quick peek down, and guess he can't be that mad if he's still hard.
"Someone less volatile?"
When he edges forward another step, instinctively I back up. "Mmm-hmm."
He keeps on coming, and I keep on going until my back hits the wall of the cabin. It doesn't take long because, as I said, this cabin is tiny. Cozy was just me being kind.
Kier lifts a hand to stroke my throat with the tips of his fingers. "Someone like Nathan?" His voice is low, controlled, as his touch awakens my body's need for him.
I shrug. "He isn't so handsy."
He lifts his gaze from my throat, his face expressionless and his eyes unreadable. "I thought you liked handsy."
My grip on the comforter slips a little more. Again, I do nothing to stop it from revealing more of my nakedness. "Handsy in the bedroom. Outside is just-" I stop talking when his fingers brush the hair back from my face in a surprisingly tender gesture.
"Just what?"
I swallow at the intense attention he's paying my lips. "Pushy. And I don't like pushy men."
"No. You like to be the one doing the pushing." He leans close enough for the hard length of him to nudge my belly, making me suck in a breath.
When his lips brush across mine, I release my breath. "Don't you?" he murmurs.
"Maybe."
He kisses me lightly as his hand glides along my jaw. "Now. How about we talk about us stopping at a nice expensive hotel somewhere that isn't Dexter?"
I return his kiss before leaning back a little. "Sure. We can do that after we've dealt with what brought you here. Together."
"Hallee…" He growls my name just the way I like it.
I fight back my arousal because I know exactly the game that he's trying to play with me and it's not going to work. "I'm not leaving. Now, if we were talking about a quick round of sex before break-"
Kier rips his body away with a snarl. "You have to leave. You cannot stay here, Hallee. I can't keep you safe from so many threats."
I swallow my quip because I know at the heart of his frustrations and his rage lies fear for me. Instead, I step closer and put a hand on his tense back. "Kier," I say softly. "I know you've been alone a long time, but you're not anymore. You have friends, and you have people that care. Whether or not you want to accept that help, it's not going anywhere, and neither am I."
Without a word, he stalks into the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind him.
Sighing, I grab my phone, trying not to be too concerned about how low my battery is getting.