Insatiable: Moon Tide Book 6

by Rice, Rachel E.

  What did he want to accomplish by running from home and from Samsaville?

  He had to lose himself. Rid himself of the burning passion he felt. Then maybe he could love again. He turned away from his home, and his family to find solace, and clear his mind of Katie and his brother Devin.

  But now everything is left on hold because of Haley. A home he would buy, his business he had planned on starting. He had his money wired to Wells Fargo Banks and it was setting there waiting for him to buy a company, and hire employees but all he could do was worry about Haley and search for her. He didn’t know how long he could go without contacting the man who had promised to sell his tech business to him.

  A well-known businessman in the area had offered to sell one of his starter tech companies for a small sum of sixty million dollars. The company never made any money, but for some reason there was a bidding war for that Tech Company and Hunter knew he could make it prosperous in a few years. He needed to concentrate and he couldn’t.

  Now all that was on hold until he could find Haley. His food had been delivered and he was getting ready to sit and eat his usual steak. He wished he had fresh venison. He threw down his fork and knife, grabbed his leather jacket in his hand and left.

  Climbing into the elevator, it stopped on the floor under him. He became impatient. Hitting the buttons didn’t stop the elevator door from opening. The very shifter he didn’t want to see was standing before him. This time the shifter with the amber eyes appeared more relaxed and affable.

  “Good day young man,” he said his voice as arrogant as ever. Hunter glanced up distrustful of him from the last meeting. He had learned in Alaska that you can’t always trust a smile when it came to shifters. And especially a shifter of his kind. Hunter nodded but never took his eyes off of him and stayed close to the door.

  “I understand that you and I are trying to buy the same company.”

  “I wasn’t aware of that,” Hunter said surprised. The name of the person making the bid hadn’t been divulged.

  “Well, I have spies,” Brian whispered his voice hard like a rock. “I hope when I get the company we can still be friends.” His voice deceptive.

  The arrogance of him to think that he can outbid me, Hunter thought. Although Hunter’s assets were limited, he had substantial more to use if he had to. He could even borrow some of Haley’s money as an investment and pay her back when she graduates from college. He was pretty sure his company would be profitable by then.

  “By the way, my name is Brian Anderson. I’m sure you’ve heard of me.”

  “I’m new in San Francisco. My name is Hunter Samsa. I’m sure you have heard of me. My family established Samsaville.” Hunter didn’t know what to make of the change of expression on Brian’s face except that Haley wasn’t a runaway, not in the sense Brian thought.

  They stepped out of the elevator and Brian’s phone rang. He stood in one spot. Watched at Hunter as he walked to the area where his motorcycle was stored and handed the attendant a ticket. Passing the attendant a tip, he climbed on and zoomed out and away from the hotel.

  By this time Brian had discovered that Haley was missing. He rushed to his limo and his driver pulled out into the main street.

  Hunter zoomed down the highway in and out of traffic. He had a sudden unsettling feeling that she was somewhere near water. He kept hearing water break against rocks. He heard moaning and then the silence.

  He hadn’t searched all over San Francisco because he couldn’t. Then he decided to go to the house one of the real estate agents had taken him to. He wanted the property because it was on a cliff that led to the Pacific Ocean, and surrounding it was miles of lush vegetation. To Hunter it was perfect, but he had to find Haley before he could discuss the closing on the property.

  It took an hour before he arrived at the house on the cliff. It was beautiful and serene. He could be at peace and there wasn’t anyone around for miles. He parked the motorcycle at the front door. He looked in, and one light had been left on. The for sale sign had been taken down.

  She must be confident she made this sale, Hunter thought. The agent knew when she showed Hunter the house, by the way his face lit up, that she had made the sale. It was perfect for what he wanted now. Hunter tucked his hands into his pocket and realized that he still had the key to the house. He wondered if he could remember the code. He didn’t want police, security, and Swat surrounding him. He had to keep a low profile.

  Reaching into his jacket and pulling out his smartphone, he could try texting the agent for the code. It was already eleven o’clock. She must be in bed, he thought. But he would try contacting her anyway.

  “Sydney. This is Hunter Samsa.” Sydney sounded as if she had been awaken from a deep sleep.”

  “Yes?”

  “Who is it?” A man’s voice asked, which sound as if he was near her.

  “One of my clients.”

  “Don’t they have some—? Sydney interrupted him.

  “He’s the one who wants to buy the Cliffside estate,” she said.

  “Oh. Ooh.” And all was quiet.

  “What is it, Mr. Samsa? How can I help you?”

  “I want the house and land. I’m there now, but I can’t get in without the code.”

  “Do you have the key?” She asked.

  “Yes, I have it here.” And she gave him the code. Hunter opened the door after putting in the code, then another code to disarm the alarm. He glanced around. He would leave the furniture as it is for now. The way it’s sparsely decorated, he could move in tonight without a problem. Standing at the back and looking out the panoramic windows, a notion came into his mind to walk the grounds. Closing the door behind him, he came to stairs leading down to the beach below and the ocean.

  Hunter stood and looked around and down at the ocean. He listened and he heard the moan and groan and water breaking against the rocks. He walked slowly, then he rushed down two steps at a time. He ran to the water and saw nothing. He raised his nose in the air and smelled only the aroma of fish. He stood listening and all he heard was the flapping of sea gulls.

  A flock were heading in the same direction and he decided to follow. A first he strolled through the sand, then as he spotted a small object lying among the sea weed. He started running to catch up with the noisy birds circling overhead. In the dark he could see a small body. He rushed to it and with a whipping of his hands he beat off the gulls.

  Lying face down in the sand was a small woman. Hunter was never afraid of anything. But he was afraid to turn her over. But he did and the body was Haley.

  He stared at her face for a second praying she wasn’t dead. He checked her jugular and it was beating. There was life in her. He reached for her mouth clearing it of sea weed, and placed his mouth over hers, and for a half an hour he blew the breath of life into her lifeless body. He wouldn’t give up, and he wouldn’t stop breathing air into her lungs.

  He would never give up, and finally with a large heave of breath, her body responded and she began breathing on her own. He scooped her up and ran with her down the beach, up the stairs, and into the house. He pulled off all her wet clothes and wrapped her in the nearest blanket. Then he lit a fire in the fireplace. He thought about calling a doctor, but he couldn’t trust anyone.

  She appeared to be fine. Maybe she needed a little rest, he thought. But her eyes remained closed. Her body wasn’t pale anymore. Hunter wiped her tangled hair, and her small face with his hand.

  He lowered his lips down and kissed her. At first her lips were cold, but then they warmed. He was grateful to have her back. He never knew how much he liked her. Of course she’s a nuisance, but she’s my nuisance and she makes me feel good even if I could strangle her for causing me so much worry, he thought.

  Surveying her body, and by the way she looked she had eaten well. He felt strange looking on her body. Admiring her perky breasts and nipples. He never thought of her in a sexual way. His eyes traveled the length of her body. She was indeed a woman. He h
ad thought of her as a little girl. Where did he get that notion? She tried over and over telling him that she was older than she appeared. It was her father who gave him that idea.

  Maybe he wanted to protect her from me, Hunter thought. It was the month of the moon tide that he traveled with her. Her father knew she wasn’t ready for a matured werewolf such as Hunter. He also knew that Haley was infatuated with Hunter. All these thoughts came into Hunter’s mind.

  Maybe Dr. Redmond wanted to give his human daughter a chance to decide on a husband whether he’s human or shifter. However, Haley had decided from the day she met Hunter that he was the one, even if he had his mind on someone else. She would wait for as long as it takes.

  Hunter’s mind focused.

  Why was Haley in the water? Hunter questioned. He knew why. Something had happened to her. She had been taken by someone. A young woman traveling alone on a highway had to be a recipe for disaster.

  Hunter had decided that he was her protector and therefore he would hunt them down and punish them by man’s law. Lying beside Haley he took her in his arms to keep her warm. She began moving and clinging on to him, but still she didn’t open her eyes or speak.

  Chapter 24

  The sun burst in the open room and Hunter woke holding Haley in his arms. Her eyes crept open and she slowly looked up as Hunter. He kept watch on her all night.

  “What are you doing here, Hunter?” He smiled.

  “Do you know where you are?”

  “I know I’m in your arms and that’s all I need to know.” She gave out a comfortable satisfied sigh.

  “This is serious, Haley. I need you to remember what happened.” She tried to sit up but her muscles hurt and she was tired and couldn’t. It was as if she was a newborn trying to walk. “I need to pee,” she said glancing up at Hunter. Hunter rolled his eyes embarrassed.

  “Pick me up and take me to the restroom, and set me on the toilet. You don’t have to stay and watch me, I’ll call you when I’m finished. I have to pee.” He shook his head with a closed smile.

  “Why are you looking at me like that? You’re the one that undressed me, and besides I’m yours and there won’t be any more secrets between us when we’re married.”

  Hunter took a naked Haley into his arms. “I undressed you because it was an emergency. I’m not yours and you’re not mine, and we aren’t getting married.” Hunter walked trying to remember where the restrooms were in the spacious house. In his bedroom he opened the door and it was a gigantic closet.

  After a few tries he found the room where there were two showers, one large tub, and two toilets. One toilet had its own little room, and that’s the one he sat Haley on, and closed the door, and stood waiting outside.

  “What are you doing here? But it’s a good thing you were. Were you looking for me?” Hunter didn’t reply. He was too relieved that he had found her that he didn’t want her fresh mouth to spoil his feelings.

  “Did you break in this house before or after you found me on the beach? How did you find me anyway? See. That’s an omen. You can come get me.”

  “I didn’t break in the house. I bought it. And it’s not a sign of anything.”

  “I knew you would find me. Now take off the blanket and set me down on the chair.” Hunter took off the shawl off her body and turned away.

  “I need a bath, so run me some water. While you give me a bath, I will tell you what happened to me.”

  “Can’t you give yourself a bath?” He said to her.

  “My hands barely work. I’ve been through a lot.” He knew that, but he didn’t want to bond with her any more than he had. He didn’t want to love anyone. He didn’t want to feel anything for another woman. It was too painful.

  She heard the faucet in the large round tub running. “Come get me Hunter.” He came in and picked her up. “What is wrong with you? You act like you’ve never seen a naked woman, and you and I both know that you have seen quite a few.” Her words were meant to be snarky.

  “I just haven’t seen a naked girl before.”

  “I keep telling you that I’m a woman now.”

  “You will have to prove that to me?”

  “I can do that now.”

  “I mean your birth certificate.”

  “Suppose I don’t have one?”

  “Then I will continue to keep you at a distance.”

  “Suppose I don’t want to be at a distance?” She said holding Hunter around the neck with him trying to lower her into the warm water.

  “Try to stand, Haley.”

  “I can’t.” He lowered her down and she sat on her bottom. “I can hardly move my arms to wash myself.”

  “You were doing all right a minute ago.”

  “Get me the soap or bath jell. Over there.” Haley pointed to the shelf. He walked over and retrieved it for her and sat near the tub.

  “I’m not doing any more until you tell me where you were and what happened,” and then he saw tears well in Haley’s eyes.

  “Don’t cry. You know I can’t stand for you to cry.”

  “Some werewolf you are,” she said through her tears.

  He raised his hands not knowing what to do. Never had he been around a human as much as he had been around his mother and Haley. This was another aspect of their nature that he was learning about. They are demonstrative, talkative, and the females cry a lot.

  He sat near the tub and Haley told how she had run out of gas and a stranger picked her up on the highway.

  Hunter wanted to scold her for doing something that stupid. But it was too late now. She said how she forgot her phone in his jacket that Katie had given her, which was left in his mother’s jeep, but she forgot to tell him that she had borrowed the jeep.

  He raised an eyebrow at the sound of Katie’s name, and how she had so easily given his leather jacket to Haley, which had been a present to Katie from Hunter. He realized now that it was over. That was the one thing he thought would bind him to her. But she passed it on to Haley as if she was passing him over to her.

  Haley sat and told Hunter about what happened when she was taken to the house. “Do you know who took you?”

  “He said his name was Brian Anderson.” Hunter stood. His eyes flashing.

  “Do you know him?”

  “Of course I know him. He’s bidding against me for a company I want to buy. He’s a shifter.”

  “I know. A lion shifter. He said he wanted me as a bride. There were other females.”

  “And possibly another male we don’t know about. If they come looking for you, and I think they will, they will hunt me. When you feel better I have to take you back to Samsaville and leave you in the protection of my father and uncles. You can’t remain here. You will make me vulnerable and you will never be safe.”

  “I want to be with you, Hunter.”

  “You can’t. Don’t you understand that if you remain here with me they will find you and kill me to get to you? There are more important and bigger things to consider than you or I.” Haley glanced up at him.

  “But you are stronger and smarter than they are, and what could be more important than me loving you or you loving me?”

  “I’m no match for a lion shifter his age. He’s older and seasoned. You do not love me and I don’t love you.”

  “But you are a match for him. You just don’t know it yet. I have confidence in you, Hunter. There is no one as powerful as you except maybe your father. I do love you and one day you will love me.” Haley was answering his statements and including it in her conversation about the lion shifter.

  And then he thought about Devin. Maybe if Devin was with him, he could defeat the lion shifter. But for now he had to stay clear of the shifter until Haley felt better.

  He had meetings tomorrow and he thought about a face to face on Skype. He could have a video conference with the owner and put in his bid for the company.

  The company he sought to buy was his chance to do something for shifters. Buy a company and train them a
nd use their expertise. There are many out there hiding in the shadows. They are engineers, teachers, and scientist. They want more autonomy and to be around creatures like themselves without discrimination.

  He thought about what Devin was trying to do. Bring them into Samsaville and give them jobs. That’s what Hunter wants. A company to bring jobs to them. When the word gets out they would know that he had created a company and a place where they could work and feel safe among their own kind.

  “I have to go. I have things to take care of. I have a company to buy.”

  “I can’t walk just yet, remember.” She held out her hands for him to pick her up. Hunter looked around and found a large towel and wrapped her wet body in it. She grabbed him around his neck, her wet body melding into him soaking him.

  The feeling of her next to him shocked him. He felt a tension course through him. Never had he felt that way before. He thought the feeling coming from Katie a few years ago was all he needed in life. He had finally let go of that because as much as he held on to that desire, it couldn’t last forever.

  It took Haley’s warm body and the coming of the moon tide to wash away a feeling for Katie. A feeling that held him captive. But that feeling was slowly dying but not soon enough. The arousal he felt for Haley happened all of a sudden, and for a moment he was free again. Free to love and feel something. It was a hunger that couldn’t be denied. It had to be fulfilled.

  He lay Haley on the soft bed. His first thought was to walk away. He was taken advantage of this young innocent woman. She loved him and he wasn’t sure he loved her. Was it need that drove him to stand over her admiring her body? Was it need that caused him to look into her eyes and unbutton his shirt, and slip out of his pants?

  Was it convenience that made him lay over Haley, her anticipating eyes waiting for him to take something she couldn’t give to no other than him?

  When his body touched hers, the excitement was overwhelming. He hesitated. He had been with women and shifters who had sexual experiences before. They didn’t expect more from him. He could walk away and they understood.