His Untamed Desire by Katie Reus Page A

okay? Is anything broken?”
    Pushing herself up so that she was sitting, she stretched her arms out in front of her and moved her legs. “I’m good.” Glancing up and down the sidewalk, she frowned. There weren’t any humans walking by and no one in traffic had stopped for them. “Pissed, though. What was that jerk thinking?”
    Hector wasn’t sure it had been an accident. Before he could voice that thought, Daphne looked at him with concern etched on her face. She gently cupped his cheek. “Are you okay?” She ran her hands down his shoulders and arms, as if inspecting him for injuries.
    He’d been in worse situations, but he liked the concern she was showing. “I’m fine.” Unable to stop himself, he gathered her in his arms, hugging her close. Inhaling her jasmine scent soothed his raging inner jaguar. Someone had tried to hurt Daphne and that wouldn’t go unpunished.
    After a few long moments, she pushed at his chest. “You’re going to suffocate me.” Her voice came out garbled.
    Though he didn’t want to let her go, he wanted to get her the hell out of there. “Let’s get you home.”
    As they both stood, his gaze on Daphne, she winced at the bike. It was on its side, scratched up, and the front light was busted. When her dark gaze met his, he could read what she was going to say before she did. “You don’t think Troy was behind this, do you?”
    The thought had definitely crossed Hector’s mind. He hadn’t scented the vampire while they’d been out today, but they’d also been in the heart of New Orleans where it was sometimes difficult to decipher everything. The perfect place to blend in if you were a supernatural being. “What does he drive?”
    â€œI have no idea.” She shook her head as she wrapped her arms around herself. Her sweater sleeves were torn and he could see traces of blood, but no injuries because she would have already healed.
    â€œWe’re going to see Angus at the crack of dawn tomorrow.” He wanted to take her tonight, but Daphne looked shaken up and so vulnerable. He wouldn’t add to any of her stress.
    She nodded once. “Okay.”
    â€œAnd I’m staying over again.” He’d been hoping she’d ask him to anyway, but after this, he wasn’t letting her out of his sight.
    Daphne let out a sigh of relief and he knew in that moment he wouldn’t attempt anything sexual tonight. She’d just had a scare and the last thing he ever wanted to do was take advantage of her. He just wanted to be there for her tonight. The need to protect and soothe her was almost overwhelming.
    He righted the fallen bike and started it. He was thankful it didn’t give him any problems, but he was definitely going to have it looked at. Luckily they only had a few blocks to go. “I’ll drive.”
    When she didn’t attempt to argue, he slid on the front and savored the feel of her wrapping herself around him. Yeah, if the vamp was behind this, that fucker was going to pay.
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    â€œYou weren’t kidding about the crack of dawn.” Daphne glanced at Hector as they strode up the walk toward her pack’s mansion. The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon and it was colder than normal. The ride over had been nice since no one had been on the road, but her lungs burned from the chilly air.
    â€œWe’re taking care of this now and this isn’t the type of thing you tell your Alpha over the phone.” There was no room for argument in his voice.
    She was starting to learn that while Hector seemed incredibly laid-back, he had an underlying dominant streak. From the very limited experience she’d had with him in the bedroom, she had a feeling this was who he was at his core.
    â€œYou’re so bossy,” she muttered.
    â€œYou like it,” he shot back.
    She could feel her