In Heat (In Heat Shapeshifter Romance Series #1) (16 page)

Running into her bedroom, she grabbed everything that smelt like him, everything she'd cherished yesterday and last night. She crumpled the towel in the bathroom and the bed sheets up in her arms, and ran with them into the kitchen. Tears streaked her face as she shoved them into the washing machine and turned it on. She stepped back as it began the cycle, staring at it and still trying to come to terms with what was happening.

Falling to her knees, her mind emptied and she watched the sheets going around in the machine.

So much for things looking up.

So much for being beautiful, and feeling loved.

She pressed her hand to the side of her head when she felt a little dizzy. She went to stand but the world spun around her and she swore she'd seen a flash of the building. It was followed by a flash of the hallway, and then her door.

There was a knock.

Her head shot around to face the kitchen door and the corridor beyond.

Her heart thundered.

Getting to her feet, she moved cautiously to the door. Her hands were shaking as she stood staring at it, instinctively knowing who was on the other side. She was too confused to even attempt to make sense of what had just happened, not when she couldn't even understand everything before it.

“Who is it?” she said, her voice trembling.

“You know who it is,” his voice came through loud and clear.

He was right. She had known it was him before she'd even asked. She couldn't deny it. She'd felt him. Shaking herself out of it, she told herself that it didn't matter what she'd felt.

She looked through the peephole at Erik. “Go away.”

He looked flustered, anger shining in his eyes but mixed with disappointment and anxiety.

What was he doing here? Did he know that she'd heard about him and Laura?

He knocked again, making her heart jump with each harsh thump of his fist against the wood. Instinct told her to open it, but she firmly shut it out, keeping control and telling herself that she wasn't going to give into him. It didn't matter that he looked so hot when angry. He'd kissed Laura.

“I know what he told you, Kim, but that isn't what happened.” He sounded as though he was ready to break down the door if she didn't open it soon.

She didn't budge. Instead, she slid the safety bolts into place. They probably wouldn't stop the door from giving if he put his full strength behind it. It was more for her sake than his. She had to stop herself from letting him in like she wanted to.

“You mean you weren't kissing Laura?” she said, not holding back her anger and hoping he heard it in her voice. He deserved to hear the pain he'd caused her.

“Laura was kissing me!”

She stepped back from the door when it rattled with the force of his blow. A thrill ran through her over how he was acting. She shook it off. Now wasn't the time for fantasies about Erik. She hated him. He'd played her for a fool and she hated him.

“I don't believe you,” she said, her voice lacking the conviction she'd hoped for. A part of her did believe him.

And it was a big part.

“You've got to believe me. I have no interest in Laura. I was only in her office this morning to get you off the case.”

Her whole body slumped and her heart sunk on hearing those words. Annoyance quickly replaced any hurt she was feeling. He'd wanted her off the case? Wasn't she good enough to work for him?

“I know what you're thinking,” he said through the door. She said nothing. “Don't hate me. I wanted you to feel like you could be with me...if I'm not your client—”

“I still don't believe you,” she interjected, this time with more venom. She was impressed with herself. After he'd said that he'd only wanted her off the case so they could be together, she'd almost moved to the door to open it.

There was a noise that sounded distinctly like growling and the hairs on the back of her neck rose. Her stomach tightened, her body tensing with it. Something inside her said to back away from the door a little more. She knew Erik had made that noise. He'd growled. It wasn't a typical annoyed male sound of frustration either. It was a feral growl that had made her recoil in fear and made her fight or flight instincts kick in.

By the feel of things, her sense was saying flight.

But she wasn't frightened of Erik. Her heart said that he'd never hurt her, and it was because she was refusing to believe him that he was upset. If she went out into the hall, he wouldn't harm her.

“How did you know I was here and that I knew?”

“It was Simon who saw Laura trying to stick her tongue down my throat,” he said, a little less annoyed sounding now.

“And?” She frowned, confused.

“Men with the hots for a woman can smell their own kind.” His voice was grittier again now but she got the impression he wasn't angry with her.

“I don't understand.” The voice at the back of her head called her a liar.

“Simon is mad about you...” A pause. “But not as crazy as I am.”

She stared at the door, feeling a little stunned. Damn him to Hell. He was confusing her and making her not want to be angry with him. She hated him.

“Come away with me,” he said and her heart leaped into her mouth.

The words were said with such tenderness and calm that she stepped back up to the door and looked at him through the peephole. He was leaning against the banisters, his hands firmly gripping them as he stared at the door.

“Give me a chance to show you that you're wrong about me.”

She pressed her palms against the door, wishing she had the courage to open it and open her heart to him again.

“Go away with you? Where, when?” she said quietly, but he clearly heard her because he pushed off from the banisters and came to the door.

“Today...to the country. I know a little place there.” He pressed his hands against the door and she swore she could feel them against hers. “Please, Kim?”

She told herself to stay mad at him. She wasn't going to let him tempt her into agreeing. He'd kissed Laura. He'd smashed everything they'd had together.

“I'll think about it,” she said and cursed her heart for winning over her head.

He smiled and it relaxed her a little to see it.

“Will you let me in while you think about it?” he said, his look hopeful.

She took a deep breath and held her nerve. “No.”

“Let me just say something then.” There was a note of desperation in his voice so she stayed near the door a moment longer, wanting to hear what he had to say. He stared into the peephole and she waited. Nothing could have prepared her for what he said. “All I want is you, Kim. You're the only one for me. I've waited my whole life for you. I know you feel the same.”

She sighed and nodded, having to acknowledge that he was right, even though he couldn't see her. She watched him move away from the door and lean against the banister again. Everything he'd said was exactly how she felt. When she was with him this weekend, even before that, she'd been so connected to him, as though she'd found the missing part of herself and the search was over. Here was a man that could love her, and she might love him too.

She reasoned with herself that neither of them had hidden the attraction, and that Laura had been coming on to Erik from the moment he'd walked through the door. When she thought about it, it wasn't surprising that Laura had tried to get him. Heck, she'd do anything to have him as hers too.

He raised his chin and loosened his tie, and then ran his fingers through his hair and heaved a sigh. It was probably sweltering in the hall.

Her mind took her back to that day when they'd first met and were out on the balcony. He'd asked her if she liked the heat. The heat she felt with him was intense, a passion she'd never felt before. It was consuming and frightening. It made her feel so weak but strong at the same time.

She sighed and thought about what she was going to do.

She was about to walk away from the door when he spoke again.

“If you come with me, I'll tell you anything you want to know. Anything...everything about me. No lies. Nothing held back.”

She wondered just what there was he needed to tell her and remembered that when he'd first kissed her, he tried to tell her something and she'd stopped him. What was it about him that he felt she needed to know? Now she thought about it, she wanted to know and wished she hadn't stopped him, but she'd been so desperate to feel his lips against hers that she hadn't cared.

Maybe he'd tell her about the paragraph in the contract too.

She had a decision to make. Give him a chance to prove he really was only interested in her, or turn her back on him forever.

E
rik sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the banisters, and not caring that he was probably ruining his suit. He toyed with his car keys. He hadn't even put them away before he'd been running into the building. Thank God someone had been coming out just as he'd been going in.

Laura had detained him, slowing him down. All he'd wanted to do was find Kim and straighten everything out, but by the time he'd finished arguing with Laura about client relationships and threatening to tell her superiors about her actions if she didn't let him go, Kim had been gone twenty minutes.

He'd run two red lights to get here and broken the speed limit. He probably had a slew of tickets coming his way, but he didn't care. He'd run a hundred red lights and drive a thousand miles if it meant he got to see Kim.

He hadn't planned on laying his heart out on a silver platter for her, but when she'd said she wouldn't let him in while she thought things over, he'd had to let her know how he felt. If she knew, then maybe she'd come with him. He looked at his watch. It was just gone ten in the morning.

Heaving a sigh, he leaned his head back against one of the poles of the banisters and closed his eyes. She was going to say no. He could feel it. He hadn't done enough to convince her that it had been Laura kissing him and not the other way around.

He was losing her.

He frowned and tried to push those thoughts away, focusing instead on emptying his mind and passing the time until she made her decision.

The world drifted away, disappearing into the blackness and he lost track of time.

The sound of a door opening made him look around, his heart thundering as his mind said that it was Kim. He smiled at the elderly woman as she passed, giving him a reprimanding look for blocking the hall. When she'd disappeared down the stairs, muttering something to herself, he stretched his legs out and looked at his watch again.

Almost two in the afternoon.

Had he fallen asleep? It was hard to tell. He'd just been empty, surrounded by darkness as he waited for his sentence to be pronounced. It was either death or a reprieve. He hoped to God it was the latter. He wasn't going to accept the other.

A beam of light shone on his legs when the door in front of him opened. His heart was in his mouth as he slowly raised his eyes, struggling to find the courage to see what the verdict was.

She didn't look too angry.

He got to his feet the second she dumped a bag down beside her and turned to close the door. He couldn't believe it. He wanted to smile but she looked at him with eyes that said he hadn't got himself off the hook yet.

Picking her bag up, he frowned at the weight of it. How long did she think they were going away for? It felt as though she'd packed her whole life into this small suitcase.

She locked the door and turned to face him.

“I'll go with you,” she said, her voice showing a firmness he hadn't been expecting. “But only so you'll explain some things to me.”

He nodded and waited for her to walk past him before following obediently. He'd barely known her a few days and she'd managed to become the alpha in the relationship, leading the way and being in charge of him. It was better this way though. She was in the strongest position after all, especially now Laura had kissed him and she knew. He didn't mind being the submissive one if it meant she stayed with him. There was too much to lose, and he had been hiding too much from her to be able to dominate her.

He couldn't lose her.

It had taken him twenty-seven years to find her after all.

The warm summer air did nothing to lift his mood as they walked down the steps of the building. She stopped, looking back at him. He realised that she didn't know which car was his. He gave her a little smile, wishing she would say something to alleviate the tension between them and reassure him that there was hope for them, and pointed the way. She walked beside him now and he shifted the bag so it was in his other hand, away from her. She was close enough that he could almost feel her hand brushing against his as they swung past each other. He wanted to reach out and take it, to feel it held firmly in his, to feel it holding his tightly. He wanted anything, just a tiny sign that would reassure him and settle his anxiety.

His eyes traced her profile as they walked. He hadn't been able to park close to her building. He'd driven into the first spot he'd seen, not risking there being one closer. It had been a short run to her apartment.

The sun shone beautifully off her hair and her delicate perfume scented the warm air, making his heart ache as he looked at her.

Just one small sign. It was all he asked.

She looked out of the corner of her eye at him, giving him a sorrowful look, and the corner of her lips tugged into the briefest of smiles. He silently thanked God as a weight lifted off his chest and then pressed the alarm button on his key fob.

Her brows rose when she looked at his car. He wondered what she was thinking as she stared at it, an amused twinkle in her eyes.

It was just a car. A black, convertible, Aston Martin. Nothing fancy.

Opening the door for her, he closed it again once she'd got in. He put her luggage in the boot and then went around and slid into the driver's side. Starting the engine, he revved it a little and put the roof down. It was too hot for being stuck in a car for hours. He was thankful that she hadn't asked how far away the place was that he was taking her to.