Delilah walked into her dimly lit motel room and tossed her bag on the floor. The bedside clock read just after two am. Dear Jesus, tonight had been hellacious. She went straight for the mini-fridge and grabbed a water, downing half of it at once. She’d prefer something stronger but there wasn’t anything open at this time of night. The police had taken two hours and now her nerves were fried.
Jake walked in behind her, his boots clopping over the thin carpet, and she handed him the bottle of water, still uncapped. “Thanks,” he said, tipping it back.
Despite the long night, she could still appreciate the arch of his neck and the curve of his jaw as he leaned back and drained the water bottle. And the way his lips had felt on hers earlier. Amazing. Just watching him gave her nerve endings a strange sort of recharge. Suddenly, she was wide awake and nervous as hell. She wiped her palms on her jeans and paced toward the wall, needing some distance.
“You all right?” Jake asked, dropping the empty bottle in the trash can and coming to stand in front of her. “You look pale.”
“I’m good,” she said but her voice shook. Damn. Almost getting killed and then spending two hours standing over a dead body and she was good. Two minutes alone with a sexy polar bear shifter and she was putty. Something had changed between them tonight. She didn’t know what it was, but she felt it the moment Jake had saved her from their would-be attacker. Like he wasn’t working so hard to fight this attraction between them. And his kiss had been proof. The fact that she’d kissed him right back was proof she was going soft. Or maybe Jake River was special.
Jake studied her face, his sharp brown eyes searching for something. “You’re lying,” he said quietly. “I can tell.”
She scoffed and then her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Seriously?”
“Animal senses. I can always tell.”
“I’ll have to remember that,” she muttered, unsure whether it was a blessing or a curse to have a lie detector built in like that.
Jake ran a hand lightly over her bared shoulder leaving behind a trail of goose bumps. Delilah shuddered.
“Are you cold?” he asked. His voice had dipped low. Gravelly and rough and sexy as hell. Somewhere between dangerous and exhausted, she realized.
“No,” she said. “Just tired.”
Jake nodded and let his hand fall away. “Yeah, tonight was long. I’ll let you get some rest.” He turned away and she grabbed his arm even before she’d thought it through fully.
“Jake, will you stay with me until I fall asleep? I don’t want to be alone,” she admitted.
His expression softened and she could swear he looked happy about her admission. He nodded. “I’ll stay.”
She bit her lip, looking down at her jeans and then back up at him.
“Go get changed,” he told her. “I’ll be here.”