Beauty and the Werewolf (Entangled Covet) (San Francisco Wolf Pack) by Kristin Miller

hours?
    Is that how long she’d be in his bed?
    Shivers danced over her skin at the thought.
    No, she shouldn’t be feeling lust and craving his seduction. She should be concerned about his health…shouldn’t she?
    “Sir, this is urgent,” Branson pressed as stress lines formed at his eyes. “The painting you…have planned to purchase from the Grady brothers is here, but they’re… Sir, if you would come out and meet them, you could—”
    “Spit it out,” Jack growled.
    “They’ve changed the price, sir. They want more money for their…efforts.”
    Why did it seem as if he was talking in code? Tiptoeing around what he really wanted to say?
    “They’re in your office,” he went on, “and refuse to leave until you pay them what they ask.”
    Sighing, Jack scrubbed his hands through his hair. “Couldn’t have come at a worse time.”
    “What’s going on?” Isabelle asked.
    “It’s nothing for you to worry about. It’s only a snag.” He brushed her arms as if he’d done it a hundred times before. His hands felt oddly natural on her body. They felt right. “Branson, tell them I’ll be right there.”
    Branson nodded, leaving them alone. Moments ago, when their bodies were pressed together, she was in tune with every beat of Jack’s heart, every breath of air escaping his lungs, every desire in his body. But now, it was gone, leaving her cold.
    His chilling words haunted her mind.
    I’m dying.
    “Listen,” Jack said, comforting her with the intensity of his gaze. “There’s nothing I’d like more than to continue this with you, but the Grady brothers won’t wait, and this is important.”
    More important than living in this moment and taking me to bed? She scratched the thought from her head.
    “How long will you be?” she asked, unable to ignore the desperation flooding through her. She wanted his lips over hers again, his tongue sweeping against her cheek, and that delicious warmth blooming through her.
    “Why?” His eyebrows pinched together. “Do you have to be somewhere?”
    Your bed.
    No, that wasn’t right. She shouldn’t be thinking such things.
    But even if she did have plans to head back to Ireland, she’d be so damned distracted by the memory of his mouth, she wouldn’t be able to function. There was something in his kiss she couldn’t put behind her. Heat and power, and…the promise of more. She couldn’t deny it, and wanted— needed —to figure out what was happening.
    Two seconds ago, she hadn’t particularly liked him.
    Now, though…
    Licking her bottom lip, she tried to savor the tantalizing taste of him. It stirred something inside her chest, warming her through.
    There was only one way she was going to shake him. They had to go out. Explore the connection sparking between them. Then, when she tired of him, when she learned everything horrible thing about his past, she could leave San Francisco and never look back. Never think about Jack MacGrath again.
    “I don’t have plans.” Anxiety rippled through her like a cold wave. “But since we didn’t get to finish our date last night, I thought maybe you might like the chance to do something. If you’re feeling up to it, that is.”
    The corners of his lips curled into a heart-stopping smile. “So it was a date.”
    She fought the urge to leap into his arms and plant her mouth on his again. Kiss that smile right off. Shock him and thrill her at the same time.
    What the hell was happening to her?
    One taste of Jack’s mouth and her system had gone haywire.
    “Do you feel good enough to go out or not?” she blurted.
    “Nothing could keep me from taking you out.” His hands found her waist, and he gripped softly. “Name the place. Anywhere in the world.”
    But she liked right where she was…
    “Okay.” She gazed up into his smoky-brown eyes and tingled all over. “Go take care of business with the Grady brothers, and we’ll finish what we started.”
    And then she’d know, once and for all, if