Guardian (Wolf Shifter Romance): Reckless Desires (Alpha Protectors Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

the floor. I tried to ignore the delicious hard ridges of muscle that were digging into me.
    Raising up onto his elbows, he winced, his lips turning down sheepishly. “Sorry. I thought…” His voice trailed off.
    Shoving him off me, I scrambled to my feet. “Thought what? That it was a bomb? Do you really think—”
    Strong hands grabbed my shoulders, stopping me from stalking off in a huff. “Why wouldn’t someone send you a bomb? Somebody is trying to kill you, remember?” His words were harsh. A metaphorical slap.
    “They wouldn’t.”
    “You wouldn’t have asked for me if you really thought that.”
    I shoved his hands away, his touch burning me through the thin wool of my cardigan. “I didn’t ask for you .”
    “But you need me.”
    “What I need is a drink.” I strode into the kitchen, heading for the freezer. Tugging open the door, I pulled out an ice cold bottle.
    “Vodka?” I could hear his eyebrows raising from here.
    “Yes. Why, do you want some?” I grabbed a second glass from the cupboard, slamming them both down on the counter.
    Dammit! My hands were shaking. That little trip through the air with Cole had rattled me more than I’d thought.
    “Natasha, are you—”
    I cut him off with a glare.
    “Okay then.” His voice had that ring to it, the kind that implied that I was crazy and he was treading carefully. “How about some tea, instead?” Sliding past me, he flicked the burner on, setting the kettle on top of the glowing flame. “Lemon?” His lips were twitching, one corner threatening to lift as he stared at me.
    Tea just wasn’t going to cut it. “Lemon vodka,” I said, shaking the bottle at him. “Sure you won’t join me?” I cracked the bottle open, sloshing a generous measure into a tumbler with ice.
    “No. I…” his voice trailed off.
    “Hey! What are you doing?” He’d plucked the glass out of my hand. “If you wanted one, you should have just asked!”
    He sniffed the glass, then set it down gingerly in the sink, his face grim. “Cyanide.”
    What? I let him drag me across the room, away from the offending drink.
    “Enough to kill you in minutes.” He didn’t give an excuse as to how he knew this, he just stated it as a fact.
    I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to push away the sick feeling in my stomach. “How do you know that?”
    He tapped his nose. “Good sense of smell.”
    I nearly laughed out loud. Did his clients usually fall for his bullshit excuses? They must think him a regular superhero.
    The ice cubes clinked together as they melted, the sound mocking me.
    The kettle shrieked, drowning out his voice.
    He froze, eyeing it warily from across the room.
    Nothing happened.
    “Cole—”
    Taking one last look at the kettle, he grabbed my hand and pushed me toward the doorway. “We have to get out of here.”
    “But—”
    “Now!” he growled, urging me to move faster.
    I dug my heels, realizing he was aiming for the front door.
    Whirling around, I pinned him with my best don’t-mess-with-me look. “You need to explain why.”
    “If the cyanide is decomposing and releasing a gas, it could blow—”
    The world exploded around us, my ears ringing in protest. He shoved me down, his body spasming above mine in a macabre dance. I sucked in a breath, soft cotton filling my mouth, blocking my nose. I couldn’t breathe! He was heavy, so heavy, and I couldn’t— I pushed, my fingers digging into his chest, my legs kicking.
    He rolled off me with a grunt.
    Fire burned in my chest as I sucked in a big lungful of air. Specks of dust floated and danced in front of my eyes. I blinked, the tile cool beneath me, the ceiling raining charred powder. “What...what happened?” My voice was tinny, sounding distant and distorted. I turned my head.
    Cole blinked back at me, his jaw tight, his face a funny gray color under his tan. “Someone definitely tried to kill you.” He tried to sit, wincing at the movement.
    Tried to… My mind blanked, and the room