The Protector's Heart (Wilde Creek Three) Read Online Free

nasty
voice mails, always threatening to get her back someday ,
calling her his property, issuing thinly veiled threats toward
Jack. She was in a vicious cycle with a dangerous male, and she
didn’t know what to do.
    Changing into pajamas, she settled onto the
couch and listened to Jack settling down to sleep in his crib. The
cul-de-sac was quiet at night. Her neighbors were older and there
were no young kids on the street. Behind the house lay woods that
separated her development from another one. She’d seen Damien in
the woods before, him and his buddies. Watching. Waiting.
    She forced herself to stop thinking of her ex
and get to sleep, but she couldn’t settle her thoughts, until she
started thinking of Malachi. She was actually jealous of Brynn. Her
mate didn’t treat her like shit. He cared about her. Made sure she
was well protected with personal guards when he wasn’t around.
    Closing her eyes, she shoved those thoughts
away, too. Thinking about the sexy blue-eyed wolf wasn’t helping
her rest, it was amping her up. She wanted to call Brynn and ask
for Malachi’s phone number. Then she wanted to call him and…well,
she didn’t know what exactly, but the fantasy that streaked
through her mind as she wiggled on the couch to get comfortable was
of Malachi and her in the storeroom at work. But this time she
wouldn’t freak out about him being a wolf; she’d settle into his
arms and inhale that gorgeous spicy scent and give him the kissing
of a lifetime.
    Groaning, Nila threw her arm over her eyes
and thought about bunnies, and rainbows, and paying the bills.
She’d never get to sleep if she thought about Malachi. Like all
wolves, he was a dead end, and she needed to remember that. He was
nice now, but Damien had been that way in the beginning, too.
    Bunnies. She was going to think about
bunnies.
     
     

Chapter 3

    Malachi couldn’t stop his body from reacting
to Nila as she sat in the second row of his SUV with Brynn on the
way to lunch on Tuesday. He was glad that his coat was long enough
to cover his waist when he stood up, or everyone in the restaurant
was going to get an eyeful of the erection that was pressing
painfully against the front of his jeans.
    Brynn said something that made Nila laugh,
and Malachi stifled a growl. He wanted to make her laugh and be on
the receiving end of one of her killer smiles. Right now, Nila was
treating him more like furniture than a person. The day before when
he’d talked to her in the breakroom, it had been the first
conversation they’d had since the day he found her in the storage
room. She’d warmed up to him, and then just as quickly, she turned
to ice and rebuffed him. He could admit to himself that it hurt his
pride. He wanted her to want to be with him, to like being around
him.
    He pulled into the parking lot of Luna’s and
turned off the engine. Jumping out, he opened Brynn’s door and held
out his hand for her.
    “You’re such a gentleman, Mal,” Brynn said
with a chuckle.
    “Are you kidding me? The parking lot is icy
and Acksel would have my head if you slipped and got hurt.”
    Nila stared at him from where she sat,
fiddling with the seatbelt. He held out his hand for her. “I won’t
bite, Nila.”
    He bit back the mildly sarcastic comment
floating around in his head, unless you ask me to , and
waited, trying to make himself appear harmless. Well, he knew he
looked anything but harmless. He was too tall and muscular for
that. But he could look genial, maybe. Friendly, even.
    She really seemed to be wrestling with
herself, and then Brynn said, “Nila, I’m freezing my butt off.
Would you let him help you out of the SUV so we can eat? I’m
feeling like hamburgers.”
    Nila seemed to startle slightly, and then she
scooted toward him, giving him a wary look that reminded him of a
doe about to bolt. Her gloved hand grasped his and he wished there
wasn’t any fabric separating their skin. Lending her his strength,
he made sure she didn’t fall as