Pursued by a Werewolf (Mystic Isle, Book 4) (13 page)

Frustrated, she tossed the magazine onto the small side table and stared out at the ocean. It wasn't like her to be restless. But she couldn’t get Hunter’s words out of her mind. Even now they played in her head like a broken record.

Another we’re just friends breaking the rules kiss.

If that was the case, why had he walked her home, pecked her on the cheek and left? She couldn’t figure out his hot then cold demeanor. Especially since she’d made her feelings clear. She wanted him…naked, hard, ready to throw her on the bed and drive her wild with pleasure.

But here she was, alone, fully clothed, aching with unfulfilled desire. So frustrated that she felt a headache coming on.

She’d just go for a long run. Problem solved.

She blew out a sigh and leapt to her feet.

Avery'd just passed the main hotel when she heard someone call her name. Turning around, she jogged backwards. Not a good idea in the squishy sand. She slowed to a walk and scanned the two dozen people on the beach.

Hunter trotted out of the shadows. “Didn't you already put in a workout yesterday evening?” he asked, those sexy lips pulled upward on one side.

“I did.”

“And you're still going for a run?”

So much for getting away from her demons. But gracious, what a handsome
demon
he was.

She was still walking backwards and he was still following her. Could she hope he’d come to his senses? That he was ready to get naked?

“Jogging isn't exercise. At least not to me.” Knowing if she stopped or continued the conversation she'd want to stop and get lost in it, in him, she turned and took off again. But this time, she had a partner.

He was silent as they turned the far end of the island. The ocean crashed at their feet but they stayed just out of reach. It'd been a long time since she'd had a running partner. Hearing his steady footfalls next to her in the sand made her miss it. There was something nice about sharing the experience, the wind in your hair, the agony of training.

“You're in good shape,” she said when they were on the back beach. Not that she'd expected anything less. But not many people could keep pace with her. Coco enjoyed more violent forms of exercise, thanks to years as a warrior. Kick boxing didn't do it for Avery, but she'd dutifully taken a few of Coco's self-defense classes. Ceara hardly exercised at all. Izzy did yoga upon occasion. Valencia was a pacer. If that was ever put in as an Olympic sport, she would win gold.

“You sound surprised.”

His deep voice washed through and over her. Would there ever come a time when she didn't have such a physical reaction to the sound? Since she'd been turned thirty plus years ago, she'd had her share of one night stands. And she'd never met a man who affected her as much as the one running along beside her now.

She slowed to a walk. “You’ve surprised me pretty much nonstop since I met you.”

“You tired? I figured you’d go the whole way.”

“No.”

She stopped and turned back to him. “Why are you really taking yoga?” More importantly, why did she feel like her life hinged upon his answer? Would he admit to wanting to be near her? Would he admit it was all part of a strategy to woo her?

He gave a short laugh and glanced out at the ocean. “I should think it’s obvious.”

“Hunter—”

“Women in tight shorts and sports bras…” He crossed his arms over his chest, drawing her attention to the bulging muscles beneath perfectly tanned skin. The smirk on his lips almost brought her to her knees. “What’s not to love?”

“So you’d be in the class even if I weren’t teaching?”

“I like yoga, Avery. It clears my head and keeps me strong. But if you don’t want me to come to the next class, I won’t.”

Did he have to be so damn perfect? A man who willingly participated in a “girly” sport and admitted it freely? Plus he’d hit her reasons for liking yoga like a hammer to a nail. Well, not the women in tight shorts and sports bras…

But now she was more confused than ever. And still as desperate for him as before.

She licked her lips, staring up at him. That was ultimately her problem with him. The fact that he’d offered to drop the class to make her more comfortable. Perfection like that didn’t last. Nothing lasted.

Except, evidently, the desire he caused. There was a delicious quiver in her stomach that she recognized as anticipation. Indeed her body was softening, preparing for him. She swayed forward slightly and caught herself. She’d laid it all on the line. Heck, she’d kissed him. She wasn’t going to make the first move again only to be shot down or side stepped. Lifting her chin, she tried to rein herself back. But it was a losing battle.

He was so handsome, standing there watching her, waiting for her. Could he smell her arousal? Did he have any idea how wet she was? How much she needed to feel his hands on her skin?

Summoning a strength she didn’t know she possessed, she turned away and her abdomen clenched.

“Why do you keep denying what’s between us?” he asked, his voice rough.

She closed her eyes, pain shooting through her. The quiet agony in his voice tore through her.

Tell him
, Valencia’s voice echoed through her mind.

She felt, rather than heard, him step closer. It was a sixth sense. She always seemed to know when he was near, when he was watching her.

“Why do you keep playing hot and cold?” she asked.

“Avery—”

The pleading broke her. Hunter was not a man who begged for anything and he shouldn’t have to humble himself for her.

“His name was Robert,” she whispered, knowing he could hear her perfectly. She licked her lips and tried to figure out how to tell him about the man who’d stolen everything from her.

Fifty yards up the beach was a grouping of lounge chairs. Suddenly she felt like she needed the support if she was going to get through this.

Glancing back, she held out her hand to him and he took it quickly. As if he knew exactly what she wanted, he led her to the chairs. With his back to the sea, he straddled the extra long seat. She sat cross legged, facing him, trying to figure out how to begin.

Her hesitation gave him a chance to speak his mind.

“Are you still in love with him?” he asked softly. He seemed braced for her answer.

“Not if he was the last man on earth.” She ground her jaws together and looked over his broad shoulder to the waves beyond. “But I did love him once. We were engaged, planning our wedding. I was a happy bride, looking forward to all our plans, our future.”

“Did he cheat on you?”

Avery met Hunter’s unwavering gaze. The curiosity and concern in his eyes was unmistakable.

“It probably wouldn’t have hurt so much if he had been cheating on me.” She gave a rueful little laugh. It was a question, a thought she’d posed herself many times. Infidelity wasn’t to be taken lightly but somehow she thought she would have felt less…shattered if he’d simply been sleeping with someone else.

She took a deep breath and pressed on with the story. “I wasn’t feeling well so I went to the doctor and during the pre-” She blew out a sigh, collecting herself before she continued. Emotions she hadn’t felt in ages came roaring back and her eyes watered.

“Preliminary tests showed that I was pregnant. God…” She looked up at the star filled sky, blinking back tears as that day rushed back to her. The smallest details, what she’d been wearing, the Doctor’s surprised expression, the overwhelming sense of happiness, they were all as fresh as they’d been three decades before.

“I was so happy. I wanted a family. I was ready for a family. Back then, thirty seemed late to have kids. Our wedding was two weeks away and the whole way home I kept thinking about how lucky I was. How I had everything I’d ever wanted.”

It’d been such a lie. A lie she’d told herself, a lie she’d lived. She blinked back the tears pooling in her eyes.

“That night, I couldn’t wait to tell him. In my excitement I couldn’t think of any fun way of sharing the news so I just sat him down on the couch. When I told him, he pulled away—”

Hunter covered her hands with his. She closed her eyes, soaking in the warm reassurance. Where Robert had pulled away from her, Hunter reached out. The gesture cemented what she already knew deep down; Hunter was head and shoulders above the rest, above the Roberts of the world.

She didn’t try to stop the tears from falling. Not this time. As she cried, his touch soothed her, reminded her that many years had passed. She wasn’t the same person and she didn’t need to feel the pain the way she had all those years ago. She was stronger than that.

“He asked whose baby it was. As if
I’d
cheated on him. As if
I’d
slept with someone else. He was serious and I couldn’t do anything but stare at him, jaw dropped. When I didn’t say anything, couldn’t find my voice to correct him, he got up and started pacing. I just watched him mutter and curse to himself and it was like I was seeing him for the first time. Finally I pulled myself together and told him the baby was his. I’ll never forget the way he looked at me, disbelieving and then walked out the door. I was…devastated.”

She sounded bitter and she knew it. She didn’t care. She was pretty sure she’d earned her right to be bitter. Hunter squeezed her hands and she met his gaze again.

“He came back three days later telling me how much he loved me and how sorry he was. I believed him when he was ready to get married and start our life together. He told me he knew the baby was his and he’d just been shocked. I forgave him. I trusted him. But two days before the wedding the doctor called me with the results of the rest of my tests.”

She worried her lower lip and stared out at the ocean again, her mind replaying the conversation as if it were yesterday. “She told me -- I had --cancer. That she was sorry. She fit us in for an early morning appointment the next day, the day before my wedding. I had cancer and the outlook was grim. I remember being so shattered I just couldn’t cry. Between Robert’s accusations and the cancer…I was completely numb the whole way home. We decided not to tell anyone else. Not until after the wedding.”

She stared into Hunter’s eyes, amazed at how unwavering he was, how he didn’t pity her or interrupt her or even curse Robert’s name. But she could tell by the way he pursed his lips and held her hands tight that he was full of emotion right now. Just like she was. After another steadying breath, because this was actually the hardest part of her story, she continued.

“Robert never showed up.” Two tears dribbled down her cheeks. “I waited in that church, a fresh piece of me dying every minute until— until there were no pieces left. When I made it back to our apartment there was a note on the table. He said he couldn’t go through with it. That he could lose me then or six months from then. And he was choosing then. In that one moment he stole everything I’d believed in. Forever. Romance. Happily ever after. Even human decency. I mean, he couldn’t even tell me to my face. It never occurred to me that he wouldn’t be there until the end. But he was a coward and wrote me a letter. He let me stand in front of a church full of our friends and family and be publicly humiliated. What kind of a man does that?”

“He doesn’t sound like a man.” Hunter swiped one of her tears with the pad of his thumb and something inside her swelled at the tender gesture. “He sounds like a silly little boy who wouldn’t know a good thing if it came up and slapped him in the face. A coward, just like you said. But also a self-centered little shit who didn’t deserve you then and doesn’t deserve your tears now.”

She closed her eyes at his words, feeling the depth of emotion behind them and then he squeezed her hands. In that moment, she felt like a piece of her soul returned.

Hunter was right. One hundred percent right.

After a long silence, he spoke again. “Who turned you?”

“A doctor, actually. Two weeks after my wedding-that-wasn’t, I lost the baby. Because, you know, having my fiancé accuse me of being a whore, finding out I had cancer and would likely die within six months and then, oh yeah, that same fiancé left me at the alter…that just wasn’t enough of a shit storm. My body which had always been my temple betrayed me one more time. The doctor knew the whole story. He turned me and sent me to Valencia. I’ve been with her ever since.”

He leaned forward and cupped her cheeks, then gave her the most beautiful, gentle kiss of her life. When he pulled back, the look in his eyes spoke louder than words. While there was sadness in the ways his brows wrinkled and drew together, there was also admiration and a hint of relief.

“Thank you for telling me.”

Hunter shifted so that he was lying next to her, then he pulled her down into his arms. She snuggled against his chest, her fingertips cool against his skin.

Along with rage over what she’d been forced to endure he felt a calmness seeping into him. He’d discovered her darkest shadows and they were all out there in the open, ready to be dealt with head on. Thank the gods she’d finally trusted him enough to tell him.

“You’re the most courageous person I know.”

He’d known that something tremendous had happened to her in the past, something that made her commitment shy. But her story…it just kept hitting him in the heart over and over like a battering ram. And though she told it like a story that had happened to someone else, he could hear the bitter emotion lurking there.

“How do you figure that? I’m terrified of forever, of what it really means. I’m scared of love and commitment and putting myself out there to be shattered again.”

“You had a choice. The doctor didn’t pounce on you, did he? You chose to become a vampire and take a second chance at life.”

“Yeah…when you put it like that.”

She obviously tried so hard not to let her past matter, to live as if it didn’t affect her, and yet it did. Completely. Because of Robert and her illness she was afraid to fall in love, to trust another man, to believe in her own future.

He bit back his anger; the destructive emotion wouldn’t help either of them. Her past was history, unchangeable. He needed to be on an even keel if he was going to help her overcome that past and believe that they stood a chance. And that’s exactly what he had to do because anything less than forever wasn’t acceptable.