He pulled back and looked at me, then leaned in again and brushed his lips against mine once, twice. His breath touched my lips, and I tipped my head up to him. He kissed me slowly, tracing a fine line along my lower lip with the tip of his tongue. I opened my mouth, and he deepened the kiss gently until our tongues were stroking together. His hand slid down to my lower back and pressed my body into his. I could feel the hardness in his groin, and felt a warm tightening deep in my belly in response.

It had been a long time.

It would have to be a little longer.

My hormones shouted and waved angry placards, but I pulled back anyway. Getting together with Graham right now just wasn’t a good idea. He leaned his forehead against mine and gave me a little smile. Instead of pressing things, he looked pleased I’d let him kiss me at all. That was a nice ego boost. Made me want to kiss him again, actually.

I needed a cold-shower line of thought.

“Do you think Williams will come back?” I asked.

“Not a chance,” Graham said firmly, giving me a little hug and then letting me go. “They know I’m onto them.”

He looked completely confident on this point, so I accepted what he said. Still, I wish I’d managed to tame a wolf instead of a mouse.

He gave me a warm smile, then said he’d come by that night at about dinner time, if that was okay. I said it was, then immediately thought, Why did I say that? I was going to get myself in trouble.

I stepped inside and leaned against the door for a few minutes, gathering my wits.

Chapter 8

From the silence, Ghosteater watched the male and female humans kiss. He could smell their arousal. It brought back ancient memories from the time before his difference truly emerged, the time when he still ran with his pack, hunting the great lost beasts of that age, the time when he still hungered to breed and make young. But no she-wolf would have him, even then. They feared him.

He didn’t realize, at first, that he was different from the others — bigger and stronger, perhaps, but not truly different.

At some point, though, the hunts began to bore him. Leaping from the tall grass upon a bison or sloth — such creatures presented no challenge. They smelled of rank terror and tasted of it too. When his kin would not follow him against other, more equal creatures, he left them and wandered alone, hunting the great cats and bears. When he returned at last, his kin ran from him, as terrified of him as any other animal would be.