occasional periods of sleep she did manage had been plagued with erotic and frightening dreams. Her natural defenses were wearing thin.
It was impossible to be around someone as innately powerful and masculine as Matt and remain wholly unaffected, especially after last week’s bizarre encounter. She’d been feeling sexually frustrated all week, as if the vampire had started something and her body was still looking for completion.
Matt’s innate animal magnetism was strong enough to realign her poles on the best of days, but now, in her weakened state, she had to be especially vigilant. She knew it had more to do with nature in general than her specifically; the Alpha would, of course, be the most attractive to the females in his pack, but Ana wasn’t a wolf, and should have some measure of immunity to such things.
Matt remained still as she scooted around the tiny kitchen, but his eyes never left her. She could feel them burning into her back, and lower, before settling somewhere around the base of her skull.
“What’s going on, Ana?” Was it her imagination, or had his voice deepened?
Being alone with a very large, very strong alpha male in such close proximity was an experience, especially when authority and power radiated from him. Matt and his entire pack had been nothing but wonderful since she’d found Dani broken and bleeding along the highway and tended to her, but she would be a fool not to respect that much power.
They had since become rather protective of her and seemed to like hanging out in the open, airy spaces of the Sanctuary and helping with the animals. Dani said it was because Ana always stocked their favorite snacks and spoiled them rotten, but Ana knew it was as much because of her gift as anything else. Subconsciously, they were drawn to her without knowing why.
Just being around her made them feel good, and she liked having them around. Enjoyed their banter, their teasing. But this week, she had been especially glad for their presence. Every passing moment, she feared Vlane Masterson would show up at her door. Each night, she expected to wake up and find him looming over her like something out of an old Bela Lugosi movie.
Subconsciously, her hand went to the side of her neck. The marks had long since healed, nothing but small discolorations by the time she made it back that night, but the area still tingled whenever she thought about what Vlane had done.
“Something wrong with your neck?” Matt asked, too perceptive for his own good. Clearly, Ana had zoned out again for a few moments. Matt was far closer than she thought he was only a minute before. He stood behind her, his large, looming form completely shadowing her, the heat from his body warming her back.
“I’m fine,” she said, and it was technically true. Outside of two small puncture wounds and the loss of a bit of blood, she had suffered no ill effects. Not physical ones, anyway. Erotic dreams involving a certain dark vampire and the awakening of various and sundry female body parts didn’t really count as injuries, she rationalized.
She made a move to step away from him, but he stepped forward, positioning his body at an angle so one of his large, muscular legs blocked any further progress. “Let me take a look.”
“It’s nothing, really,” she said rather breathlessly. She hadn’t realized exactly how big Matt was until they were only inches apart. Even at a foot and a half away — the accepted standard limit of personal space — he hadn’t seemed quite so large. All he had to do was put his arms around her and she felt like she would literally disappear.
But he didn’t put his arms around her. More gently than she would have believed possible, Matt pushed the hair away from her neck and tugged her hand away. Ana remained perfectly still, afraid to move, twitch...breathe.
“I won’t hurt you,” Matt growled softly in that husky voice of his.
“I know,” she whispered. But when Matt lowered his face,