Excessive Force (Force of Nature Series) by Kathi S. Barton Read Free Book Online Page A

don’t need, don’t want , nor do I particular care for, your kind of help. I’ve been on my own, fending for myself long enough to know that the only person I trust is me.” CJ sat down in the chair next to him but didn’t move. “Now you’re going to sit here like a good alpha until I get out of this bedlam. And then you’re going to leave me the fuck alone. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
    “That’s enough.” Phil’s mom materialized in the room just as Jodie turned to leave. “Sit down right now.”
    Jodie was in pain, he could see that from where he was, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it at the moment. Trying to ignore a compulsion as strong as Hope Campbell could use had to hurt her. Hope was an old and powerful vampire. But Jodie did fight her until Hope staggered back.
    “Oh my.” Jodie moved toward the door and out. She wasn’t steady on her feet , but she did make it. When he heard the bike start up and move down the drive, he felt his body relax by degrees. He looked at Hope when she said his name.
    “She’s not a just a shifter …you know that, right?” Reid nodded, not fully understanding what was going on, but knew she was right. “She’s not going to be easy to get to love you, but when she does, it’s going to be the forever kind of love. You understand what I mean?”
    “No. I’m not entirely sure , but she did just knock you on your ass and was able to brush off CJ.” Hope grinned at him as he continued. “Why on earth do you find that funny?”
    “Because , my dear boy, you’ve met a woman who can kick my ass. Not many, only a handful at best, can do that.” Hope stood up and touched his cheek. “Claim her soon, son; if you don’t, then she’ll leave and you’ll never find her. She’ll make sure you don’t.”

Chapter 5
     
    Jodie sat on the bed and took deep breaths. It was supposed to calm her , but all it did was bring the scent of the wolf into her nose. She finally gave up and stripped down. A shower was what she needed. She turned the tap as hot as it would go before stepping under the spray.
    He was simply too much for her. Washing her hair, she thought about the way he’d pressed her against him and wondered about doing more with the big man. Reid was entirely too much for any one woman to want to handle, and she was sure others would agree with her. And she was not going to see if she could. Not now, and not ever.
    Scrubbing her body until it burned , she let the water spray over her until she felt she could get out without tensing up again. The vampire had scared her, not because she’d had to work so hard to ignore the compulsion, but because she was pretty sure she’d figured out what she was.
    Jodie wrapped the towel around her body and moved into the bedroom. She wasn’t really frightened by the man standing there , but she didn’t turn her back on him either. When he said her name, she turned and glared.
    “You said we were finished. You said if I left this time, you would wash your hands of me and I’d be free. I held up my end of the bargain, so you should too.” He sat down on nothing that was in this room and asked her to do the same. “No. You should leave before they know you’re here.”
    “They won’t find me. I missed you.” She rolled her eyes at him and moved around the room to find something to wear that didn’t smell of Reid. “I’ve some news for you. If you come back for a few days, I’ll give it to you. And you have to finish your training. You’ve only one more thing to complete.”
    “ It’s no longer important to me, and I don’t want it bad enough to go back.” She watched him as she pulled her panties up under the towel, then her pants. Tugging a shirt over her and the towel, she pulled it from under the shirt and stood there.
    He’d never been interested in her sexually. And even though he was a vampire , he’d never bitten her either. They’d been…friends, she supposed, for a while until