Predator's Kiss Read Online Free Page B

throat. Now wasn’t the time for brawling, but he didn’t appreciate the way his brother gawked. His cool eye, appraising, as if he’d never seen anything like her before.
    “You were checking her out too,” Soren replied.
    “No, I wasn’t. I’m not interested in this … person,” Ryland retorted. As he uttered the words, he bit his tongue hard by mistake, as if confirming the words were a lie. “Damn,” he whispered, tasting blood.
    “Do you think someone was chasing her?” Soren asked in a pensive tone, picking up one of his drumsticks and stroking it as if it were a lover’s finger.
    “I don’t know.” Ryland sat on the other side of her small body and looked her up and down as she lay under the covers. Despite his mistrust of humans, he couldn’t help wondering who would frighten such a tiny, delicate thing. Had someone tried to hurt her? The very idea made him want to bash his head against the wall. Or better yet, bash any lowlife who dared to touch her.
    No one touches her but me , his heart declared.
    What?
    As another stress headache shot through his brain, he wondered at the ferocity and lunacy of the feeling.
    Okay, he’d clearly been working way too hard. Sure, the Ursa Fishing Lodge wasn’t exactly the Ritz, and Gemini Island was nothing like the big metropolitan cities his brother breezed through. Still, it was home. Yes, most of its inhabitants liked their fish raw and writhing, but they were good people. So why did he suddenly feel self-conscious with his superstar, golden-boy brother in the room?
    Maybe he just needed a little vacation. Yes. Once Soren disappeared, as he always did, he would book a nice, long holiday of his own. Yeah, a secluded beach. Lots of beer. No Soren. He could see it now. Maybe a pretty Hawaiian girl to give him a long back rub.
    His gaze flew back to the woman in the bed, and he realized the Hawaiian girl in his vision had the woman’s face.
    Man, I don’t need this right now .
    He shouldn’t want the stranger lying before them. He only wanted two things in his life. To devote himself to life at his lodge and to stay out of Soren’s troubles as much as humanly possible.
    So why did he have the distinct feeling this woman was about to put a wrench in both of those plans?
    She needed to leave. Pronto.
    Soren’s voice interrupted his strange reverie. “You know someone is after her. She was terrified even before she saw us. What if he comes looking for her, Ry?”
    Ryland started at the nickname he hadn’t heard his brother utter in years, but pretended not to notice. Instead he gazed back down at the strange woman as unfamiliar emotions cut through his core. “I’ll get to the bottom of that. And she can stay here … until it’s safe for her to leave.”
    Come again? Surely he wasn’t the one who’d uttered those insane words? He hadn’t welcomed a nonshifter to Gemini Island in ages. There was a reason for it. Ryland wasn’t a religious man, but the rule was as close to a commandment as he got. Why the closest they got to nonshifters in the place were people like Marci, who were the product of a shifter/human relationship, and who became shifters by default. Everyone in the lodge understood the need for discretion among their people.
    Soren nodded, his eyes lit with amusement. “I agree. She can be my roomie here in Cabin 12.”
    Ryland smirked as a snarl of possessiveness built up in his throat. “Funny, I haven’t seen any icicles in hell lately. No way. Not while the flowery dude is gunning for your ass. She comes to the lodge.”
    I’ll take care of her .
    She mumbled and opened her eyes. Ryland felt his heart jump upon seeing their amber beauty. He struggled to swallow, struggled to find words. He’d never been quite so … flummoxed by the sight of a nonshifter female. He wanted to say something to demonstrate his sense of empathy and natural sophistication. All he could think of was, “Um. You okay?”
    *
    Lia stared at the two seminude