Read Online Winter (Rise of the Pride, Book 2) by Theresa Hissong - Free Book Online Page B

if you need
anything.”
    “Will do,” Winter said, not taking his eyes
off the beautiful woman inside.
    “And Winter?” Dane continued.
    “Yeah?” Winter asked, finally looking away
from Nova.
    “I don’t want your woman.” Dane paused when
Winter went to deny Nova was his. “She is special and I will
protect her with my life, but you need to claim her. You almost
lost her once.”
    “Go home, Dane,” Winter grumbled, looking at
his black combat boots.
    He didn’t want to remember what she looked
like when they first saw her in that hospital room. Her beautiful
long, brown hair had been a matted, bloody mess. Her face was so
swollen and bruised, if he’d been the one to find her, Winter
wasn’t sure if he would’ve even recognized her. Her arm had been
broken and she’d been drug across loose gravel, leaving a bit of a
bloody rash on her arm. That son of a bitch had strangled her! Her
concussion was bad, but not bad enough to damage her brain.
    “Winter?” Nova spoke softly. When he looked
up, she was standing in the doorway. Her swollen eye still marred
her lovely face, but she gave a small smile as he leaned against
the frame of the door. The fading sunlight highlighted her hair,
giving a soft, reddish hue to the locks that framed her face. He’d
never noticed that before.
    “Yeah?” he answered, taking a deep breath.
His panther immediately relaxed, settling back where he belonged at
the back of Winter’s mind. As much as he wanted to let his cat free
to find Perry, Winter knew he needed to stay with her.
    “Would you like something to eat?” she
asked, leaning against the doorframe. She crossed her arms loosely
and smiled. At that moment, his heart swelled, his need for her
increased, and all he wanted to do was touch her lips to see if
they were as soft as they looked.
    “I’m hungry,” he replied, his voice deep and
gravely. God, he wanted to touch her, console her, but he couldn’t
bring himself to do it. Winter longed to brush the long, brown hair
off her shoulder so he could place a reassuring kiss to the skin
beneath her ear, but he just…couldn’t.
    “Come inside?” she offered, stepping back
into the kitchen, leaving enough room for him to enter without
touching her. “I was going to go to the bar, but I’m tired. So, I
think I’ll head up to my room. I can make you something else if a
sandwich isn’t what you’d like.”
    “No,” he said, shaking his head. Jesus, she
was willing to cook for him after the complete jackass he’d been
earlier. Plus, she was hurt. “You rest. I can take care of a
sandwich.”
    “Okay,” she nodded, covering her mouth to
stifle a yawn. “Good night, Winter.”
    “Good night, Nova,” he replied, watching her
from the corner of his eye as she left the kitchen and made her way
upstairs.
    After securing the house, Winter ate in the
kitchen, cleaning up after himself. With his enhanced hearing, he
listened to Nova settling in for the night. His mind wandered to
sliding into the bed next to her, holding her small body close to
his…protecting her…loving her.
    A contented purr rumbled out of his chest,
his panther prowling around inside his head. There was no doubt
that he wanted her. After he’d walked in and saw the moment Dane
had accidently touched Nova, Winter’s panther had gone crazy,
demanding he be set free. The fact that he’d wanted to draw first
blood with his brother was a sure indicator that he was losing his
mind over her. He suddenly realized he was more animal than human
and he was denying the inevitable.
    He was going to have to touch her.
    But when?
    Winter froze as his enhanced hearing picked
up a faint sound coming from the backyard. He closed his eyes and
let his senses take over.
    Crack!
    Something was moving around behind the
house. His eyes flickered to the stairway, knowing Nova was
upstairs unprotected. Keeping as quiet as possible, he reached into
his pocket, sliding his phone free. He ducked into the