The Beholder (9 page)

He looked over at her, cringing against the door, still determined not to look at him. He found himself contemplating what her body actually looked like under
all those layers of fabric. Too puny and probably not worth the trouble of undressing her. He reached in the backseat and grabbed his spare coat, the one he kept for dirty jobs at the vineyard. There was also a pair of thermal gloves in the pocket.

He tossed them over to her and enjoyed watching her jump. “Put those on,” he said.

“If you’re ordering hostages around, you should at least use a civil tone. But I guess that’s asking too much. I should have known,” she said, her words prim with annoyance. She straightened in the seat, the coat slipping off onto the floorboard and pooling near her feet.

“Forgive me for not making your journey a pleasure, ma’am.” His words dripped with the sarcasm of an overworked flight attendant.

She turned and gave him her full attention. “I didn’t ask to come along, as you recall. And you may have forgotten this, but there’s not much I
can
do with these on.” She pulled at the ropes on her wrists and glowered at him.

Her face glowed with a blue spectral radiance from the dash lights. She had the brightest blue eyes he’d ever seen, the pure blue of a wind-tossed sea, and when they held him as they were doing now, he saw the center of a star blazing within them. Their frank clarity could strip a man down to his bare soul. The only thing that softened their stark veracity was her long lashes, as black as her hair and just as thick. Even when she was angry, they hooded her eyes in a sexy, modest way that seemed artlessly coy, as if she had no inkling of the impression they made. Nina Rainwater was an enigma. Either she
was a great actress and knew of her bewitchery, or she had no idea her eyes could be used as feminine weapons. He had to admit, they were her best feature.

“I can’t untie you.” He leaned over and snatched up the fallen coat.

She gasped and stiffened and tried to scramble away.

She didn’t get far before he held her legs down with his chest. She continued to squirm and he began to enjoy her struggles. He wasn’t certain if she was afraid of him or repulsed by his touch. Either way, it caused a burning desire in him to toy with her, to dominate her. Where their bodies touched, a strange congealing sensation radiated through him, spreading warm honey over all his nerve endings.

“Hold still, I won’t hurt you,” he grumbled, his lips brushing her pant leg. He realized his face was between her knees, a truly dangerous place to be.

“I told you not to touch me,” she said, panting like she was running a race, her body shaking uncontrollably.

He grabbed the coat and sat up. He noticed she seemed calmer when he wasn’t near her. She stopped shivering and looked relieved. She scooted over until she squashed her hip against the door, getting as far away from him as possible. This dread of hers brought out his perverse side, and he wanted to rub his hands all over her. No, he wouldn’t give in to that urge. Had to be her magic driving him crazy.

“Don’t worry, it won’t happen again,” he said, voicing a direct order to himself. He felt the beast warring to take control. It wanted Nina Rainwater in the worst way.
It was all he could do to fight the desire to shimmer. It took all of his willpower as he leaned back in the seat, eyes closed, teeth clenched, his chest heaving.

She sensed something was wrong, then turned to look at him. “Are you okay?”

“Give me a minute.” No, he wasn’t okay with her in the seat beside him. She had no idea how much danger she was in at the moment.

“You’re not okay?” She looked at his shoulder and arm. She reached out to touch his forearm, but pulled back as if she were reaching for a rattler.

“I am,” he snapped. Why did she keep pulling away? Was she that afraid? Perhaps it was a good thing. She shouldn’t get too comfortable around him for her own good.

“I don’t believe you. You’re bleeding,” she said. “It’s coming through your shirt.”

He wished it was only loss of blood, but it was much worse, everything he’d struggled with for years, denying himself a normal life, trying to control that part of himself that he hated. What was it about her that incited him in every way, made him feel powerless against his desires, evidence of it pressing against his jeans. He’d never ached with an arousal like he ached now, nor had he been forced to struggle not to shift.

“I’m fine.” He heard the beast’s deep rumble coming through his own voice.

She frowned over at him. “You’re not. Untie me. I can help you.”

“Of course you will.” He shot her a sideways
annoyed glance. He wasn’t falling for her compassionate routine.

“Why can’t you believe someone might care enough to not want you to bleed to death?”

“Why should you give a tinker’s damn about me?” he asked out of wry amusement.

“Beats me, other than you could have let the gleaner kill me. I guess I owe you.”

“I didn’t do it for you.”

“Why didn’t you just let the gleaner finish me off, then?” Her tone sharpened and stiffened again, and he knew she was in a high pique. She shifted in the seat, leaning on her right shoulder again, giving her back to him. “It would have saved us both a lot of aggravation,” she said, speaking to the window.

“You’re right about that.”

She huffed under her breath and lapsed into blessed silence.

He realized the coat had fallen down to her waist again. He wasn’t about to touch it this time, now that he had a handle on his lust. Instead, he turned the heater up and shifted into first gear. He was already burning up, and he was certain it wasn’t from the added heat.

A
fter an hour’s treacherous drive, during which Nina had to yell at him at least six times so he wouldn’t lose consciousness and slip off the mountain road, they finally reached a cabin. Considering his injuries and the dangerous driving conditions, it was a miracle they’d made it here alive.

Beyond the headlights and the blowing snow, she could barely make out the image of a small log home. The surrounding forest encompassed it, and the snow all but made it disappear in places. She made out a small porch, a stone fireplace and could tell it was one-story. The place had a sinister, deserted atmosphere, and Nina wished she knew where she was. The snow had ruined the visibility, and she hadn’t been able to see beyond the headlights. If Kane Van Cleave died of blood loss, she’d
die with him because she’d never find her way back in this blizzard.

She glanced over at him. He was barely conscious. He didn’t have control over his shifting, and his head shimmered in and out of lion form. His hands, too. But his body remained human. He was leaning on the steering wheel, a blur of man, then beast, then man again. It was like watching a broken horror flick.

“If you value your life, you’ll stay away from me when I change and do exactly as I say,” the man spoke, his voice tortured. He continued to rest his head on the steering wheel.

She didn’t regret one bit the fib she’d told about Fala and her grandmother coming to rescue her. At least he’d think twice about killing her right away—though at the moment he didn’t look at all up to it. “Untie me so I can help you,” she said. When he didn’t respond, she added more firmly, “We’ll both die if you don’t.”

He raised his head, his shoulder-length wavy hair transforming into a heavy mane right before her eyes. Then a feline untrusting face appeared. “You’ll run away,” his deep voice rumbled.

“If it’s any consolation, I don’t trust you, either. But I’m all you’ve got at the moment.”

The human face appeared. “Come closer,” he said, his voice low, almost seductive.

It made her breath catch in her throat. Shadows hid his expression, and an air of danger pulsed around him. She couldn’t tell if he’d shift again. One misplaced word or quick movement could have disastrous consequences while he was in beast form.

Every nerve in her body humming, she inched closer. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing herself for whatever he might dish out. She turned and raised her bound arms as high as she could. When she felt him tugging on the ropes, carefully so as not to touch her, she let out the breath she’d been holding.

As soon as she was free, she stretched through the sharp pains in each shoulder socket and her wrists. It felt wonderful to be able to move again. Then she saw him slump back into the headrest, struggling to keep his eyes open and focused on the interior light.

Now was the time to escape, but how far would she get before she got lost or, worse, froze to death? She had a hunch that if he hadn’t discovered her identity and that her sister was the Guardian, he might have made a meal of her a long time ago. She was convinced that the perfect lie she’d told him about her family coming for her had been the only reason she was still breathing. If only that were true.

And, too, she couldn’t leave until she discovered why Kane Van Cleave was protecting a gleaner. She could try mentally prying the information out of him, but his free will was a prevailing factor. If he didn’t want to fully communicate with her, she couldn’t access his memories. She’d only be able to feel his emotions, and that wouldn’t be much help.

And there was that whole thing of leaving him to bleed to death in the middle of nowhere. No matter how rotten he’d been to her, she couldn’t in good conscience leave him here alone.

A chill went through her, and she looked longingly
at the jacket crumpled around her feet. She didn’t want to wear anything that belonged to Kane Van Cleave, including his old coat, but in this case comfort went before pride.

Reluctantly, she slid her arms into the sleeves. The wool was still warm from the heater, and it smelled like the outdoors, earthy, musky, braided with his spicy aftershave. She inhaled the scent and decided the combination wasn’t half bad. The coat hung on her and fell down to her knees. She was forced to roll up the sleeves. She found the gloves and donned them, too. They were so large they felt like oven mitts on her hands. She wondered ruefully if he’d burned her Max gloves as well as her pocketbook and wallet. Nothing was safe around him—including her life.

Her face scrunched up in a glower as she got out of the Jeep. Snowflakes pelted her. Snow immediately drowned her ankle-length hiking boots. She shivered and slogged through the shin-high snow to the diver’s side. She opened the door. The interior light glared on, and she grabbed the keys and pocketed them, then reached down and cupped a handful of snow.

He reclined in the seat, revolving between human and lion. She waited for the man to appear and stuck the snow on the back of his neck with an angry plop, making sure a thick layer of ice kept her palm from touching his skin. The part of her that resented being held against her will enjoyed this way too much.

It brought him around with a jerk. He raised his head and shook it, all man for a moment. His wavy golden hair was in ringlets around his face and shoulders, and
for a second she couldn’t look away from his beautiful jade-green eyes. His five o’clock shadow darkened his square chin and the dimple there. He was gorgeous and tempting, and she was certain he was no stranger to lust. Most alpha shifter males attracted the opposite sex—unfortunately, human and supernatural females were not immune. Alpha males were formed by nature for the express purposes of breeding. Just look at Brad Pitt and George Clooney. Prime examples of alpha shifters. Kane Van Cleave was right up there with them. Sperm banks magnifique.

“Okay, look, I can’t carry you,” Nina said, annoyed. “You’re going to have to help yourself.”

“Help myself,” he repeated, his words slurred and barely audible.

“Yes, I can’t help you.” She raised her voice as if she were speaking to an elderly invalid. Her kindness did have its limits, and one of those was touching Kane Van Cleave. She stood back a safe distance.

“I’ll do it.” He pulled his long legs out of the Jeep, knocking his knees against the steering wheel. When he stood, he fell forward but caught himself by hanging on to the door.

Nina saw him teetering, struggling to stand, and knew if she didn’t intervene he’d stay out here and not only bleed to death but freeze. With distressing clarity, she recalled the last time he’d touched her in the Jeep. She’d been overcome by the beast struggling to emerge, its anger and insatiable desires more than frightening. She’d also been hit by Kane Van Cleave’s own desire. It wasn’t a warm and fuzzy feeling, but a brutal yearning, much
like the beast’s. She knew that animals and supernatural beings were drawn to her because they felt the mental connection she had to them, but it was a warm and fuzzy kind of attraction, bordering on mutual respect, trust and goodwill. It wasn’t suppose to be sexual at all, nothing like what she’d just felt.

She’d also stewed over it for an hour—in between wondering if her life might end at any moment when the Jeep ran off the road. She didn’t know how to categorize his attentions. Stick them in the flattered column or the out-of-his-mind-from-blood-loss category. She tended toward the latter. Handsome guys always zipped past their initial attraction to her and went straight for her bodacious beautiful sisters. Long ago Nina had decided she didn’t need a man to be happy. She had her destiny of helping others, Koda and her Quiet Place. All of that had filled her life completely. The awareness hit her that her chosen lifestyle must have been part of what Koda had meant, that she had used the Quiet Place to escape living. But she was happy, wasn’t she?

Totally, she told herself—until she’d crossed paths with this gorgeous brute. Now she couldn’t stop the nagging miffed feeling that he wasn’t the least bit attracted to her. It was her gift that drew him, and his own alpha libido. Anyway, she didn’t want his advances. He was the enemy, for goodness’ sake!

“Here, lean on me.” She heard the sharpness in her own voice. She prepared herself to feel the deluge of emotions, but his weakness made his thoughts snarly, and thankfully all she comprehended was his light-headedness and a few animal impulses stirring.