She did believe Anthony about two things without question. He wouldn’t hurt her, and he would never have forced this on her. Even if she didn’t understand all of what was going on, there was never any doubt about how protective he was with her. He’d already risked his life twice to keep her safe.
She turned on the shower and, standing under the hot spray, let the steam numb her brain. She stayed under the water until her skin started to prune before shutting the tap off. She stepped out and wrapped a huge, fluffy towel around her that fell to her knees and scrunched her hair up in a smaller one. Her clothes were ruined and she had nothing else to wear. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing because even wearing a towel was probably better than having to put that hooker getup back on. She took a few deep breaths, opened the door, and was surprised to see a duffel bag sitting on the bed that upon closer inspection, was full of her clothes. She didn’t want to know when or how he had gotten them, but she was glad she had them nonetheless. She pulled out a T-shirt and sweatpants and rummaged through a big dresser by the door until she found of pair of Anthony’s thick socks. They were too big, but they were very warm. She brushed out her still-damp hair and decided to follow the smell of cooking food to its source.
Anthony’s house was absolutely gorgeous. Cathedral ceilings were in every room, and skylights lined the ceiling of the living room. One whole wall of the living room was also glass and overlooked a dense, snow-covered forest. It was breathtaking, and she could envision living here instead of the city. The house had an open floor plan and the kitchen was no less spectacular. Black granite, speckled with tiny flecks of gold, countertops lay over handcrafted dark wood cabinets. The stainless steel appliances would make any cook envious. Over the matching island, stainless cookware dangled from a pot rack hanging from the ceiling by long chains.
Karen sucked in a breath when she saw Anthony standing at the stove cooking. The only thing he wore was a pair of black jeans, and when he turned toward her and gave her a hesitant smile, she noticed he hadn’t bothered to button the top button, which allowed the denim to ride low on his lean hips. The trail of black hair that ran from the bottom of his navel and disappeared into those low riders nearly made her mouth water. The man was beautiful.
“Have a seat. The food’s almost done.” He turned back to the stove and grabbed the toast when it popped out of the toaster.
She sat on a stool in front of the island. Within a few moments, he slid a plate of eggs, bacon, pancakes, hash browns, and toast in front of her. He set another plate with the same beside her, poured two cups of coffee and brought them over before sitting next to her. It smelled heavenly, and her belly rumbled.
“I was beginning to wonder if you were going to stay locked in the bathroom all day.” He nodded at her plate. “Dig in.”
“Thanks.” She took a big bite of eggs. “Mmm. This is really good. A man who knows how to cook”
One corner of his mouth turned up as he chewed on a piece of bacon. “You’d be surprised by what I know how to do.”
Somehow, she didn’t doubt that. She had so many questions to ask him about the werewolf thing, but she didn’t want to discuss it over this wonderful meal. She crunched on some toast and found even it was done to perfection. “This is a beautiful house, Anthony. But, don’t you get lonely up here all by yourself?” He frowned. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you that.”
“Why not? You can ask me anything you want. And the answer to your question is, yes, I get very lonely up here sometimes. But, most of the time, I’m very happy here.”
“It just seems so secluded.”
“Yes, but I have a need for seclusion.”
“Oh.” Yeah, she guessed being a werewolf would require a certain amount of privacy. Good God! The word werewolf sent shivers down her spine. Suddenly, she wanted to know everything about the man sitting next to her. She felt a need for some kind of normalcy. “Where did you grow up?”
He chuckled. “In a cave with the rest of my pack.”
“Oookay.” Maybe that wasn’t such a good question. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Red.”
“Favorite movie?”
He laughed again. “American Werewolf In London.”
She laughed too. “Yeah, I like that one, too. Favorite holiday?”
“Hmmm. I never really celebrated them much, but I guess since it’s coming up and you’re here, I’d have to say Halloween.”
“And here I thought Christmas was everyone’s favorite holiday.”
He shrugged. “Don’t know too much about Christmas. I’ve never celebrated it.”
She nearly choked on her food. “What! Why not?”
“Well, I guess because I’ve never really had anyone to celebrate it with.”
“But what about your family, your friends?”
He shrugged again. “Karen, my family is not like a traditional family. One like you are probably used to. We don’t really keep in touch. I know this may sound cavemanlike to you, but the men in my family are, um, let’s just say very territorial, especially the ones who have mates. We don’t hang out too much. Don’t get me wrong. If something happened or we needed something, the pack would come together and be there in a moment.”
“Oh. Well, I can’t pretend to understand all of that, but I can’t really say that I have a traditional family myself. I mean, I don’t really talk to my sister all that much, and she lives on a different continent. And my mother, well, she’s not completely there mentally any more and has decided that she no longer needs me in her life.”
Anthony reached over and squeezed her hand briefly to comfort her. “What about your father?”
“He died.”
“Oh. I’m sorry, Karen.”
“It’s okay. It happens, you know? Anyway, this year you should celebrate Christmas.” She couldn’t believe he didn’t celebrate the holiday. She was sad that he’d never experienced it. She’d make sure to remedy that this year. She’d buy him presents and make him help her put up a tree and bake cookies and . . . She sighed. Would she be with Anthony at Christmas? A part of her doubted everything he’d told her and another part knew their meeting was more than just a coincidence. That part of her knew that she and Anthony would be together for a long, long time.
Thoughtful, she chewed while they ate the rest of the meal in silence. When she was finished, she picked up her plate and took it to the sink. She took a couple more sips of her coffee, put it in the sink also, and made her way to the windows overlooking the snow-capped trees. She glanced at Anthony, and knew it was time to clear the air.
Anthony came up behind her and pulled her back against his chest. She resisted at first, then gave up and relaxed. He smelled her damp hair and sighed. He loved her, even though he knew that she might never love him. He had no choice, and even if he did, he knew deep in his heart that he’d still choose to love her. He’d give his life for this woman without hesitation. He hoped she could come to care for him because there was absolutely no way on earth he would let her go. He couldn’t. It was that simple and that complicated.
“You were telling me the truth, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Your eyes were glowing last night in the alley, and you ha-had claws and fangs, didn’t you?”
“Yes.” She shivered, and he pulled her tighter against him.