by Tara Rose
“No.”
“Did you bring any books? It’s really boring around here all day. I have nothing to do.”
“I’ll find some for you.”
“Thank you.”
Five entire minutes of silence ensued which Saffron counted off in her head. She actually ticked off three hundred seconds, and then she put down her fork. “I can’t do this. It’s bad enough you two are holding me prisoner, but I can’t sit here and watch you be angry with each other over something I don’t even understand. Please talk to each other. Or at least talk to me.”
Landon’s gaze was softer now. “What would you like to talk about?”
“I don’t know. I don’t care. Just something. Anything. Tell me what you do for Notus.”
He narrowed his eyes again. “How do you know I work for Notus?”
She smiled. “You’re kidding, right? When I saw you earlier, you were dressed as a line technician and your tool belt had their logo on it. You think there are no wind turbines up north? Where do you think we get our electricity living in the woods like this?”
The corners of his mouth turned up. “Of course. I see.”
“So tell me about your job.”
“There not much to tell. I go up inside the wind turbines and make sure everything is running smoothly.”
“Do you ever have to go out on the blades?”
“Not actually on them, but sometimes I’m out on the mechanism that runs them.”
“Is that scary?”
Landon smiled, and Saffron’s heart skipped a beat. He was such a gorgeous man. They both were. It suddenly struck her that she was alone with two beautiful men, in an isolated cabin in the woods. The possibilities were endless, not that either of them would let anything happen between them, nor would she, of course. But then her mind went back to her earlier conversation with Nevada, and suddenly she couldn’t get the question of what it would be like to fuck both of them out of her mind.
“Not at all. I love it up there.” Landon’s answer to her question snapped her back to the present. “The turbines are approximately three hundred feet tall, which means I can see over the top of the forest into Passion Peak below. And the view of the mountains from up there is spectacular.”
She rested her chin in her hands. “I can actually picture what you’re saying. But isn’t it cold up that high?”
“Sometimes, but mostly it’s just very windy.”
Saffron turned her gaze toward Nevada, who was watching Landon closely. “What about you, Nevada? You mentioned your family’s business, and said you help make merchandise. What specifically do you make?”
“Some of it we order online, like the shirts and coffee travel mugs. My grandfather has a post office box in town where we have it shipped. But my mother and I make the wind chimes and dream catchers. Plus we have an entire line of bowls and cups carved out of wood that we make whenever we’re home.”
“What do you mean whenever you’re home? Do you travel a lot?”
Landon gave him a sharp glance. What was that about?
“Every once in a while.”
“Where do you go?”
“Research.”
“On what?” She knew she should just let it go, but he was so obviously trying not to answer her, and all that did was pique her curiosity. He’d sworn an oath to protect Landon, but he and his mother left their village from time to time? Why? And was that why his grandfather had sworn the same oath? He’d said it had something to do with their customs, but was it really because Nevada and Mancie were gone so much? Where they did go?
“I can’t tell you that, Saffron.” Nevada rose and began to gather their plates, which she found so amusing she had to bite back a laugh. None of the males she’d ever known would do such a thing unless there were no women around, and even then they’d leave them unless it was only the men out hunting together. Her questions must have really rattled him.
“Let me do that.” He handed her the plates and she proceeded to clean up. “Thank you again for dinner. This beats stale bread any day.”
“We’ll bring over more food in the morning so you can make your own meals when we aren’t here.”
The mention of him coming over in the morning with Landon reminded her that she’d be alone in the cabin all night, and a sudden feeling of loneliness descended on her mind like a shroud. “Are you sending someone to watch the cabin all night, or should I assume I’ll be alone out here?”
When he didn’t answer right away, she glanced over her shoulder to find them eyeing each other. That was bad enough, but it was the way they almost seemed to be communicating without words that sent a shiver down her spine. Were they facing off as they had earlier, or trying to figure out how to protect her all night? She hoped it was the latter.
She was about to speak again when a sound outdoors stopped her. Both men turned toward the kitchen window, in the direction from which it had come. “What was that?”
Nevada held up a hand, as if he were telling her not to speak further. The hair on the back of her neck prickled, the same way it did when she was in leopard form and sensed another animal. That’s probably all it was. An animal in the woods had smelled their food. The guys had cooked it outside, after all. But when they heard the sound again, she knew it wasn’t an animal. Not unless it was wearing boots and crunching dead leaves underneath them as it walked.
Landon turned off the lights and took Saffron’s arm, pulling her into the main room. He motioned her under the table, and then turned off the rest of the lights inside the cabin. Saffron’s heart was pounding by the time she heard the front door unlocking. She knew what Nevada intended to do, and dug her nails into her palms to keep quiet because she wanted to beg him not to go outside. If her uncle or the Rosens were here, he’d expose his identity to them. She heard the locks click home and then no further sounds.
Landon scooted under the table with her and placed an arm around her shoulder. He smelled so warm and musky, and it was impossible not to simply lean into his embrace. She felt secure with him, which made no sense since he couldn’t do much to protect her. He had no weapons on him and he couldn’t shift, even outside. But regardless, she felt safer with him next to her than she’d had since leaving her uncle’s house early this morning, and the emotions that evoked were so unexpected that tears spilled over her lids.
“It’s all right,” he whispered. How had he known she was crying? There was very little light inside the cabin. He must have heard her. “Nevada knows what he’s doing. He won’t be hurt.”
He thought she was worried about Nevada, whom Saffron was certain had gone outside so that he could shift. She was concerned for him, but that wasn’t why she was crying. “Thank you for staying inside with me, Landon. It means a lot to me that you did.”
She could feel him looking at her, but she couldn’t see his eyes. The gentlest brush of his lips grazed her neck, and his warm breath tickled her skin. Saffron couldn’t stop her soft moan. When he kissed her cheek, she turned her face so that their lips touched.
Saffron had never been kissed, but she’d fantasized about it often enough. The reality was nothing like her fantasies. It was heady, made her dizzy, and sent her mind racing with erotic fantasies that she could hardly process, since she’d never done any of them in real life.
Landon had obviously kissed a woman before, or at least it felt that way. How would she know the difference? When his tongue teased her lips, she parted them, unsure what to do, and was rewarded with the most delicious sensation as his tongue moved over hers. He groaned in the back of his throat and tangled his fingers in her hair, pulling her mouth closer to his.
Saffron couldn’t even think. It was as if she melted into him, and she loved every spine-tingling, electric spark sensation coursing through her. She shifted her body to face him and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, pushing closer to his warmth. She wouldn’t say no to anything he asked her right now. She couldn’t.
She now knew w
hy she’d been so drawn to Landon as she’d watched him from underneath the fronds, and she knew why she’d sensed something different about him, even while acknowledging that he was human. Her dream had told her the truth of her strange attraction to him.
Landon was her mate. She was certain of it.
Chapter Nine
Saffron heard the lock on the front door clicking again and pulled away from Landon’s kiss just as the door opened, bringing with it fresh, cool air, the scent of a cougar, and faint light from a lantern. Landon scooted away from her and was standing before the light swung around and illuminated him, but she stayed where she was so that she could watch Nevada’s face.
“There were two of them,” said Nevada. “A male and a female. They weren’t shifters. They probably wandered off the trails in the park system. I scared the shit out of them and they took off in the direction of the park. They carried flashlights and a blanket. I think they were simply looking for a place to be alone in the woods.”
“This late in the day?” asked Landon. “We’re two miles from the nearest marked trail.”
“They were older teens. I think they wandered off the trails on purpose. But it hardly matters. They never would have found the cabin, regardless.”
“Why did they sound so close then?” asked Saffron, finally rising to her feet. “I thought they were right outside.”
“Haven’t you ever heard something that clearly from miles away?”
She thought about Nevada’s question for a moment, but not because she needed to. As soon as she’d asked it, she’d understood what he was saying. More than likely, they both had hearing that was as sharp as an animal’s, even while in human form.
But she hesitated before she answered him so that she could get a handle on her emotions and her hormones. It was difficult to keep from staring at Landon, but she didn’t want Nevada to catch her doing it. “Yes. You’re right, of course, I guess I’m just a bit jumpy.”
“They’re gone now. They won’t be back.”
“But if someone does come back, I’ll be alone in here, and I have no way to defend myself.”
“She’s right,” said Landon. “We can’t leave her here alone. What if someone else wanders off the trail and sees the smoke from our fire, or smells the food? We shouldn’t have cooked it here.”
“It was a fluke,” said Nevada. “We heard them because the night is cool and clear. No one can find this cabin, and we’re too far off the marked trails to attract attention. We’ll douse the fire before we leave. There’s enough of a breeze that the smell will soon dissipate.”
Saffron held her breath. Nevada was going to leave her alone in here all night. She was certain of it. He glanced from Landon to her and back again, and she watched him carefully. Did he sense that something had happened between her and Landon in the short time he’d been outside? Would doing so change his mind, or make him more likely to make sure that Landon wasn’t here all night with her?
“No, you’re right,” he finally said, stunning her into silence. “We can’t leave her alone. Can you stay, too? Do you need to get anything from home first?”
Saffron’s jaw dropped open. It couldn’t be that easy.
“Um… yeah, I do. But I can be back in less than an hour.”
Nevada nodded. “Then I’ll stay with her until you return. After you do, I’ll go and get what I need for a few days. You should do that as well. Bring along anything you might need to stay here for a while. We have two weeks until the moon is full.”
Landon narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly. Was he wondering the same thing she had—whether Nevada sensed something had happened? Or was something else going on? “All right. That’ll work. I’ll be back as quickly as possible.”
He took the lantern from Nevada and unlocked the door again, and then he gave her a quick glance that nearly took her breath away. It was filled with lust and light, and it sent her heart soaring.
As soon as he left, Nevada headed for the kitchen. “I’m going outside to clean up and douse the fire.”
She didn’t answer him. Instead, she filled a large pot with water and placed it on the stove to boil so that she could bathe with it once it was hot. She saw no reason not to stick to her usual evening routine, and especially if she was going to be cooped up in this cabin with Landon and Nevada for two weeks.
As she waited for the water to boil and listened to Nevada outside, her thoughts returned to Landon and the stolen kiss. Was he truly her mate, or had she merely been reacting to her first kiss? And what was she going to do about it if he was? Could she even be sure of such a thing after one kiss?
Topaz had always told her that she’d recognize him right away. But had she actually done that? Saffron watched Nevada through the window, moving around in the backyard near the fire pit he’d built, and suddenly what had seemed so crystal clear ten minutes ago no longer did. In fact, the idea now seemed outlandish. How could a human be her mate?
But Landon wasn’t entirely human. Nevada had told her that his parents were both shifters. Surely he hadn’t lied to her about such a thing. It had been clear from the first time she’d spotted Landon that there was something unique and ethereal about him. But did that make him her mate? Just because he’d kissed her?
She moved her hand to her mouth. She could still feel his lips there, and she could still sense his tongue inside. She shivered as fresh arousal raced through her body. Was she never to know love or the joys of sex? Was there actually a mate out there for her? And even if there was, how the hell would she find him if she was hiding in a cabin in the woods?
Nevada was walking toward the back door. Saffron blinked back tears because she didn’t want him to see her crying. She tested the water. It was warm enough. As she picked up the pot, Nevada crossed the threshold and locked the back door. He glanced at her with a confused frown on his face. “Where are you going with that?”
“I’m taking a bath. I do it every night.”
The look that came over his face both confused and aroused her. It was filled first with surprise, then lust, and then he reined in both and the neutral look she’d already grown used to came over him again. “I’ll wait here for Landon to come back.” His voice was rough, as if he had to clear his throat.
Saffron had a sudden urge to ask him to join her, and because she wasn’t sure where it had come from, she turned around before he could see it on her face or in her eyes. There was no lock on the bathroom door, but surely Nevada would honor her privacy. As a small voice in the back of her mind wondered what would happen if he didn’t, she shook her head. “Get a grip on yourself,” she whispered.
After she poured the water into the bathtub, she retrieved her backpack from the main room. She removed her night clothes and placed them on the chair in the bathroom. Then she took out the soap and shampoo she’d brought along. She had assumed she might have to bathe in a creek while on the run, but that was no reason not to feel comfortable. She hated having dirty hair and feeling unwashed. Since she had a bathtub available, she might as well take advantage of it.
She added enough cold from the tap to make the temperature comfortable, and then she lowered herself in. It wasn’t deep enough to luxuriate in, but it was better than nothing. When she finished cleaning her body, she wrapped herself in a towel and knelt over the tub to wash her hair. Topaz had always taught her to wash her hair last in a bathtub so that she wasn’t sitting in dirty water too long. Saffron would have preferred having a shower to do this, but since she’d chosen to run, she’d just have to put up with a few inconveniences for a while.
She smelled Nevada before she whirled around to find he’d stepped inside the room. Her hair was full of shampoo and she had on nothing but a towel. She stared into his dark eyes, unsure what to say. Her pulse raced and her mouth had gone bone dry, but not from fear. Why was he in here?
“I thought you could use some more warm water.” He glanced at her hair. “I guess you didn’t hear me knock.”
&n
bsp; “I didn’t.” Had he actually done so? She wasn’t entirely sure of that.
He picked up the pot she’d placed on the floor, and Saffron didn’t miss the way his gaze roamed slowly over her body. “I’ll warm up more water for you and then help you rinse your hair if you like. It’s difficult to do over a tub.”
How would he know that? “Thank you.” Did she want him rinsing her hair? If she refused, she’d sound rude. Should she put on her night clothes before he returned? But then they might get wet and she’d have nothing to wear to bed. Not that pajama bottoms and a tank top were much to wear, but they were all she had, and she couldn’t very well sleep nude with both of them in the room.
She bit back the moan that rose in her throat at that thought, and tried to ignore the way her pussy had grown wet and her clit throbbed. To keep her mind busy with other thoughts, she decided to try and rinse some of the shampoo off herself so that when he returned, there wouldn’t be much left to help her with. That at least would cut down on the amount of time she’d be that close to him in nothing but a towel. Although, the idea of being in that situation made her nipples tingle, just as Landon’s kiss had done.
What was she going to do here? She was sexually attracted to both her captors, and she didn’t even know what that truly meant. Was she completely losing her mind? Who got aroused while being held prisoner? This was a huge, huge mess, and she had no idea how to get out of it. It’s not like they’d let her simply walk away now. She was stuck here for a minimum of two weeks.
When Nevada returned, she still hadn’t managed to rinse the shampoo completely out, and to make matters worse, she now had some in her eyes. They stung and burn, and she was trying to splash cold water into them as he came in.
“Here, let me help you with that.” His voice was soft and gentle, and the warm tones sent a shiver down her spine. She stood up and tried to keep from shaking as he dabbed cold water at just the right spot near the corner of her eye, causing the stinging to cease almost immediately.