“We?”
“You’re going nowhere without me, Andrea.”
That was a problem. “There are a few places.” Including her cave behind the waterfall. But she didn’t think taking the Harvester there was really in her best interest.
“Somewhere protected?”
“Yes.” The cave definitely qualified.
He sat up, braced himself on one hand beside her shoulder. “How long will it take to get there from here?”
“Hiking?” She considered for a moment. If she took him the roundabout way, she could wear him out and lose him. Maybe. “A day.”
He inhaled deeply, and she imagined him pondering the idea. When he exhaled, he touched her temple, just brushing the edge of the sleep mask. “Are you safe now?”
She nodded, wishing just for a second that it wasn’t true.
His strong fingers eased the mask up and off, and she rubbed her eyes, blinking against the bright morning light. He helped her to an upright position. “We need supplies if this location will take us a day to hike to.”
Andi gave him a long stare, panic making her pulse race. What if she couldn’t lose him in the woods? “I have some things in the basement,” she said at last. “Water and food.” Also true.
He nodded, gaze fixed on hers, and she realized she must be a mess. Self-consciously, she lifted one hand to smooth down her hair. A hint of a smile touched one corner of his mouth, making her blush. “Why don’t you shower, and I’ll start a list. We should head out tomorrow at first light.”
Andi looked away and eased out of bed. She gathered clean clothes from her dresser and headed for the bathroom. Behind her, the Harvester still sat in bed, his bare chest visible over blankets that had fallen to his waist. She wondered if he was naked under her covers.
She shouldn’t care.
The bathroom had been straightened up again, she realized as she stripped off her sweats. Her vibrator was nowhere in sight, clean towels hung on the bar, and her hot water bottle lay empty on the sink.
How very thoughtful.
Her mouth twisted and she climbed into the shower, then slid the door shut harder than she needed to. When the water came on, she made it hotter than it needed to be too, to distract herself from how nice he was being. “Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly,” she muttered, soaping up her hands before sliding them along her arms, her torso.
The Harvester could be as nice as he wanted, as sexy as he wanted. But she wouldn’t forget why he was here.
She lifted her face into the spray, then turned so her head was soaked next.
Either she would escape him in her woods, or die trying.
Not much as far as plans went, but it was all she had at the moment.
After her shower, she didn’t protest the cuff he put on her to keep her in the bedroom while he got his own shower, which was considerably quicker than hers had been. And he’d left her his list to look at while she waited.
Water. Check.
Food. Check.
Camping supplies. She chewed on her lower lip for a few seconds. In the cave she had more than enough, but she didn’t really intend for him to get there with her. Perhaps he had some of his own in the backpack downstairs. But the pack wasn’t that big. No, he didn’t have those supplies.
“What are you thinking?” He stepped into the room, his inky hair gleaming blue-black and wet as he dragged his fingers through it.
She forced her gaze away from his hair and back to the pad on her knees. “I’m thinking it’s going to be a long trek.”
“You’re up to it, right?” Concern darkened his green eyes.
“I’ll be fine.” She’d get to her cave if she had to crawl there.
He touched the handcuff and it fell away from her wrist. “You’re going to need groceries soon.”
As if he thought she’d be around for much longer. Or, more likely, she told herself, as if he were trying to lull her into believing it—he still had to figure out a way to get the amulet, which meant he needed her alive. She shrugged. “There’s food in the freezer.” Which he wouldn’t be eating much more of.
She wouldn’t be able to come back to her house if she didn’t kill him, concern or no concern. He hadn’t needed to take such good care of her, though, in order to keep her alive. She frowned. He could have handcuffed her in the basement and tossed down bread and water. She pushed aside the brewing confusion—she had bigger problems right now than trying to figure out the Harvester’s motivation.
He steered her downstairs to the kitchen, and she didn’t argue when he pointed to one of the chairs at the table and went to work on breakfast.
Even if she did kill him, it sounded like his cousin was well on his way to finding her, which meant she still couldn’t come back to her house.
The thought made her a bit sad. She loved this house—alone in the woods, with the beautiful forest in summer, and a fantastic view of the valley below in the fall and winter. Even if she was lonely sometimes.
His laptop beeped from its spot on the counter, and he turned away from the stove to look at it. His expression hardened in a flash. “Damn.”
Andi didn’t like that look. “What?”
“Stavros.”
A shiver snaked its way up her spine, and she folded her arms over her chest. “Not so happy with you?”
“He’s already on his way back. He’ll be here by tonight.”
She shot to her feet. Dealing with one Harvester at a time was a challenge, but she couldn’t possibly handle two. Not now. Thalia’s words rang in her head. Danger is coming from more than one direction. Well, hell.
Kallan caught her gaze. “We can’t wait until tomorrow, Andrea.”
She shook her head, panic freezing her lungs, then swelling and rising into her throat so it nearly choked her.
“All right. Breakfast, and then we need to go.” He stirred something in the pot and then shut off the burner.
Andi didn’t want breakfast. She just wanted to move. Her stomach churned uneasily, and her head started to thump in time with her heart.
He put a bowl on the table in front of her and touched her shoulder. “You need to eat.”
She glanced down at the bowl, filled with steaming oatmeal, sprinkled with cinnamon and raisins, and felt a lump in her throat. “I’m not hungry.”
“You’ll need it later.” He pushed her shoulder gently, and she sank back onto the chair.
He sat beside her, tucking into his own breakfast.
After a moment, she picked up her spoon and stuck it into the oatmeal. He was right, damn him.
“Andrea.”
She looked up at his gentle tone.
“Will you trust me not to let him get you?”
How could she trust a man destined to kill her?
As if he read the question on her face, his jaw clenched. “I promise, agaph, he won’t kill you. I won’t let him.”
His vow rang out in the still room, and for some reason, it made her panic subside just a little. She let out a shaky breath and lifted some oatmeal to her mouth.
Kallan finished his own breakfast quickly, then set about rinsing dishes. When she’d finally finished hers, he pulled her to her feet and set his hands on her shoulders. Her face was pale and set, her blue gaze shuttered. “Can you start bringing up supplies from downstairs? No more than we can carry.”
She nodded, and he released her. Her silence worried him. As had the question plain in her eyes earlier.
She didn’t trust him. She couldn’t trust him.
Of course she couldn’t. He existed just to kill her, as had his ancestors existed to kill hers.
That was before his heart had let her in.
He knew he couldn’t tell her how he felt. Not yet. She’d never believe him if he blurted it out now. It was far too soon.
But after they’d gotten through this…
He frowned at the bowl he was rinsing. How would they get through this?
He shut off the water
and put the dirty dishes into her dishwasher, then turned in time to see her drop an armload of water bottles onto the table. He went down to the basement with her for the second trip, gathering more water while she picked through some food boxes. Dehydrated pouches of stuff. MREs meant for serious hikers. Or survivalists.
He caught her gaze over the water, and a ghost of a smile touched her mouth. “Just in case?” He’d assumed the boxes were just being used for storing other things as many people tended to keep in their basements.
She nodded. “You never know when you might need to disappear into the woods.” She grabbed a sturdy-looking backpack too, and tossed it at him.
He just caught it, watching her pick up another.
Upstairs, they sorted through the supplies spread over the table, dividing them between the two packs. “We need First Aid supplies, dry clothes.”
She nodded. “I have a kit upstairs. Bug spray, sunscreen.”
He watched the sway of her hips as she went up the steps, too distracted by their planning to fully enjoy the view. This was how one had to live when one was hunted.
It sucked.
He unpacked his own small backpack, then repacked it inside the bigger pack. When she dropped more things onto the table, he caught her wrist. “I’m sorry, Andrea.”
She blinked up at him, her expression somber. “It’s the way it’s always been between our families.” She lifted one shoulder in a half shrug.
He couldn’t argue. “I’m sorry I brought Stavros to your door.”
Her gaze dropped to the table. “Sounds like he would have found his way here eventually anyway.”
The stubborn woman wouldn’t let him apologize. He tugged her closer, startling her, and planted a hard kiss on her mouth. When he set her back, her wide eyes had darkened slightly. He wanted to kiss her again but resisted the urge. “We need to move.”
She nodded, still staring up at him for a second, before she turned to the small mound of clothing she’d dropped onto the table. She methodically rolled socks and shirts before stuffing them into the pack, did the same with a pair of jeans and a jacket. There wasn’t much room left in her backpack.
Nor in his, he noted.
“If I promise not to use it on you, can I have my dagger back?”
He gave her a measuring look, marking the stress lines around her eyes, the rigid set of her shoulders.
She met his gaze full-on. “I promise.”
He nodded slowly. “You may need it.”
A frown line appeared between her dark brows.
His cousin was persistent, after all, and Stavros wouldn’t let Kallan stand in his way. He’d let no one stand in his way when he set his sights on something.
Perhaps he should have let his cousin come yesterday when she could have turned him to stone, solving one part of their problem. It wouldn’t have solved the issues between them, but it would have gotten Stavros out of their way.
Andrea looked around the room, then into the living room. “I need one more thing.”
He turned to watch her go up the stairs before he moved to the chest she kept along the living room wall. He touched the latch so the lock gave, then pulled out her dagger, as well as his own weapons. And her silverware. He grinned at the look on her face when she got to the foot of the steps again.
“Well.” She stared while he put her knife block back on the counter and dropped the forks and knives back into the drawer.
“The lack of silverware would look odd if anyone came in.”
Her mouth flattened. “You think he’ll search the house?”
“I would, if it were me.” He saw no sense in lying to her. Not now. Especially since Stavros was the most dangerous of his cousins.
She swallowed, then nodded briskly. “I suppose so.”
He dropped his gaze to her hand, where a small box peeked out between her thumb and finger. “What’s that?”
“My grandmother’s necklace. I wouldn’t want to lose it. If I can’t come back.”
Kallan felt his chest squeeze as she tucked the box into her backpack along with her cell phone and its charger. He knew he wasn’t personally responsible for the war their families waged. It had been going on for centuries and centuries. But he felt responsible for leading his cousin here. Perhaps his digging into the myths and lore had alerted Stavros to her whereabouts. He had no way of knowing.
She stuck her wallet into the pack too, then zipped it up. “I think that’s it.”
“You’ll need to put on boots, I think.” He cleared his throat.
She toed off her sneakers and bent to grab the hiking boots beside the back door where he’d put them after that first night. His gaze caught on the curve of her behind, and his breath snagged in his chest.
Now is not the time. Still, he watched the play of her muscles in the close-fitting denim as she put her boots on.
“Can you think of anything else you want to take along?” He needed a distraction.
Andrea shook her head. “I think we’re set.” Her jaw was tight, and her eyes were clear. Resolute.
He took a quick breath and held out her dagger.
Their fingers brushed when she took it from him, sending heat rushing up his arm. And hers, judging by the way her eyes darkened and widened. She turned away, sticking the dagger into the sheath he knew was inside her right boot, then straightened.
“Ready?”
She nodded. “Let’s go.”
Kallan helped her get her backpack onto her shoulders, then hoisted his own before letting them out of the house. “Which way?”
She lifted her chin toward the far corner of the house, away from the trail they’d taken once already.
And he followed her, noting her purposeful stride as they headed into the shadows of the towering trees. He hoped this turned out better than all the other encounters between Harvesters and Medusas over the last generations.
But he couldn’t say for sure, which made him nervous. Edgy.
Andi kept up her steady pace as they trekked farther into the forest. The sounds of the birds and chattering squirrels kept them company, as they had for the past two hours. He didn’t try to carry on a conversation with her while they walked. He was clearly accustomed to physical activity.
Which meant she’d have a harder time than she’d anticipated in ditching him.
Not that she’d imagined it would be easy.
Nothing could possibly be easy about this. Her luck clearly didn’t run in that direction.
She paused to take a sip of water from the bottle she’d tucked into the side of her backpack, and he stopped beside her. Warmth spread up her spine, and she frowned into the bottle she held. Stop it. He was not potential mate material, no matter how happy her hormones were when he was near.
“All right?” He took a quick drink from his own water, his arm brushing hers as he did so.
She shifted her weight onto her other foot, away from him. “Fine.”
He met her gaze.
Her pulse skipped.
“I know you don’t want to trust me, but you can. On this, you can.”
It sounded like a vow, she thought, panic making her heart beat faster. She didn’t want to believe him.
But on this one thing, she realized she did. Of course she did. Even though she hadn’t wanted to, she’d trusted him not to kill her after they’d made their bargain for the scissors. He’d earned it.
She swallowed, her mouth dry, and lifted her water bottle to her lips again, giving herself a distraction from the intensity in his green eyes.
He sighed, then took another drink.
Andi closed her eyes briefly, girding herself, and capped her bottle. The next stretch would be more of a challenge. Maybe this would be where her luck changed.
Or not.
Two hours later, she panted softly, her heart pounding hard as she put one hand on the nearest tree trunk and dropped her head to pour the rest of her lukewarm water over the back of her neck.
St
raight up the side of the mountain, and he was still not doing more than breathing hard, the bastard.
She felt her backpack shift, and glanced to the side.
“Getting you another drink.” He tugged a bottle out and then rezipped her pack.
She mumbled her thanks and chugged down half the bottle in one go. Then turned in time to see his throat working as he swallowed the last of his bottle. His skin glistened with sweat, muscles beneath shifting and making her want to touch. With her fingers, her tongue.
She inhaled slowly and looked away again. It seemed she was stuck with him. At least for now.
He touched her arm, and she lifted her gaze. “Do you want a break?”
She shook her head. “Not if we want to get there before dark.”
He frowned. “What if I think you need a break?”
Andi felt a little surge of annoyance. “You’re not my father.”
“Thank Goddess,” he muttered, brushing away a drop of perspiration from her temple.
She blushed.
“Andrea, I’m just trying to point out, and obviously badly, you had a really rough day yesterday, and maybe you should take it a little easier than you have so far today.”
“I’m sorry.” She took a drink from the fresh bottle. “I haven’t had to run for my life before, and I’m not used to requiring help, and apparently, neither is sitting well.”
Kallan smiled a little, and his fingers slid down to the corner of her mouth. “Apology accepted.” He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose lightly, startling her.
She resisted the urge to shift her head so their mouths would meet. Instead, she put her bottles away and adjusted her pack on her shoulders. “The next leg should be easier.”
He gave her a knowing smile, but kept his mouth shut.
And she found herself smiling back.
Stupid.
But her smile didn’t fade as quickly this time.
As she walked, more slowly now, she let her mind drift to what it would be like to actually have a real relationship again. If she could ignore the fact he’d come to kill her, there were other aspects of the past few days she could get used to. Like having someone to talk to who didn’t think she was a complete nutcase. Like having someone who not only believed in the myths that shaped her life, but had also been influenced by them. Like the smoking-hot sex.
Hunting Medusa Page 10