Tempting the Jaguar Read Free Page A

middle of nowhere. She
    definitely hadn’t gone far.
    Seconds later the back door
    opened. The woman’s dark eyes
    widened and she took a step back.
    She seemed almost frozen to the
    spot as her gaze raked over him. He
    was turned on his side, still covered
    in blood and aching, but the way
    she stared at him made another part
    of his body react. When her eyes
    landed on his groin area, her olive-
    hued cheeks tinged bright pink and
    she quickly averted her gaze.
    Looking at a spot over his
    shoulder, she cleared her throat.
    “Do you need help getting out?”
    No. “Yes.” Yeah, he definitely
    wasn’t above playing the sympathy
    card if it got her to touch him.
    Rainer sat up and winced when he
    saw the blood he’d left behind.
    “Sorry about your quilt,” he
    muttered.
    “It’s fine. We need to get you
    cleaned off.” Still keeping her gaze
    not quite on his face, she slid an
    arm under his shoulder and helped
    him slide out. Her body was stiff
    and tense as she held on to him,
    making it clear she didn’t like
    touching him.
    He inhaled deeply, memorizing
    her jasmine scent. It was so pure
    and classic he wanted to bury his
    face against her neck and just
    breathe her in. “My name’s Rainer,”
    he said as his feet touched the
    paved driveway that led to a cottage
    style one-story home in the middle
    of the woods. Perfect for privacy,
    but not for a single female shifter
    who clearly had no pack for
    protection. He frowned at the
    thought of her out here all alone.
    His inner wolf flexed its claws,
    wanting to protect her.
    She paused for a moment. “I’m
    Estrella. Now come on. I want to
    get you inside before those... things
    come back.”
    He let her name roll around in his
    head as he savored it. But the
    uncertain way she said “things”
    made him curious. “You’ve never
    seen a vampire before?”
    Her grip around him tightened as
    she hissed in a breath. “Those men
    really were vampires? I’d thought
    so but I still wasn’t sure if I was
    right or if they were even real...”
    She trailed off and put a key in the
    front door.
    The second they stepped inside
    she let her arm drop, leaving him
    standing naked and dripping blood
    in her foyer. He started to call out
    but she returned a moment later
    carrying a towel covered in old
    paint splatters. Keeping her dark
    brown eyes on his she held the
    towel out, effectively blocking his
    lower body from her line of vision.
    “This is so you can cover yourself.”
    Her cheeks had turned that
    delicious shade of pink again.
    Despite the residual pain pulsing
    through him, Rainer wondered
    what it would be like to nip and
    kiss her very full lips. “Does my
    nudity bother you?” Most shifters
    were immune to nudity, but he still
    wrapped the towel around his
    waist.
    “Uh, yeah. ” She said it as if he
    was stupid. Her gaze trailed to his
    shoulder and to his surprise she
    took a step closer and ran a gentle
    finger over his almost healed
    wounds. “You’re almost healed so
    if you want to take a shower and
    clean off the blood I think I can
    find a clean set of clothes that fit.
    Then I’ll take you back to your
    truck.”
    And get him the hell out of her
    house, was her unspoken message.
    That wasn’t happening anytime
    soon. Not until he got his answers
    and not until he was certain she
    wasn’t under threat from those
    vamps. Eyeing her, he let his gaze
    trail down her lithe, lean body for
    the second time that night. Even
    though she wasn’t wearing that tight
    dress, her top and shorts showed
    enough that he could fantasize
    about running his hands and mouth
    over all her smooth, olive skin. Her
    body practically glowed.
    She’d had her hair pulled back at
    the art studio but after her shift to
    animal then back to human it was
    free and her tight corkscrew curls
    framed her face, giving her an
    almost innocent quality. He couldn’t
    be sure but he guessed she had
    some Mediterranean and possibly
    Hispanic heritage. Wherever