Hunting Medusa

by Elizabeth Andrews

  Andi saw the worry shadowing his eyes over the next few days as they crisscrossed the island, visiting burial chambers and prehistoric villages and just sitting along the shore watching the roiling gray of the ocean. Every time he touched her, she felt the underlying concern.

  Even now as they settled into the hotel room for the night, his shoulders were bunched with tension. He stood looking out the window facing the street in front of the hotel. Full dark hadn’t fallen with the longer summer days, so dim light still shone.

  She sighed silently, rubbing her forehead with one hand. All the tension—his and hers—was making her crazy. “Get naked, Harvester.”

  His head turned in her direction, and his focus sharpened on her. “What?”

  She smiled. “I said get naked.” She gestured to his clothing. “I have plans for you.”

  He pushed off the window frame and unfolded his arms, one hand going to his hip. “Really?”

  She crossed the room to him and yanked his shirt free of the waist of his pants, then tugged it up until he had to help her get it off over his head. When he emerged, his eyes had darkened to a lovely forest green. “That’s a start,” she muttered, sliding her hands up from his flat belly to his shoulders. She pressed a kiss into the middle of his chest, then tugged at the belt around his waist.

  “What sort of plans did you have in mind?” he asked conversationally, his hands resting lightly on her shoulders.

  “Naked, sweaty plans.” She finally wrestled the belt into submission, then wrenched the button open and pulled down his zipper. Inside the cargo pants, his body was swiftly reacting to her actions, hardening.

  “I see.” He didn’t argue as she knelt to untie his boots and cooperated when she indicated he should step out of them and his pants, leaving him naked in front of her.

  She paused there for a moment, letting her gaze slide up the length of his strong legs, to the erection jutting out in invitation. She responded to the invitation by lightly stroking up from root to tip, teasing him. Then she pushed to her feet and continued her exploration, fingertips gliding over his skin, along his belly, to the small, dark nipples among crisp black hair.

  His cheeks were flushed with desire when she finally stretched up to kiss him.

  Kallan’s hands came to rest on her shoulders. “Do these plans involve you getting naked at some point too?” he asked, his tone strained.

  “Eventually,” she agreed, dragging her open mouth along his cheek to his earlobe.

  A startled groan passed his lips.

  She smiled and leaned closer so his erection rubbed against her belly. She could feel his heat even through her clothing. Or maybe that was her own body warming up in response.

  In any case, she enjoyed it immensely, and curled her fingers around him, squeezing gently. He made a soft sound of pleasure, so she repeated the movement, a little harder this time.

  His hips shifted toward her.

  She bit his earlobe, feeling the way his breath caught in his chest, then slid her tongue over the spot to soothe him.

  Then she stepped back, releasing him. “You need to be flat on the bed so I can reach you.” She moved away and tugged down the blankets. “Come here.” She gestured to the crisp white sheet covering the mattress.

  He took a shuddering breath before he obeyed her. She was pleased to see his erection had thickened even more, the tip glistening. The sight had heat and wetness rushing to dampen her panties.

  While he stretched out on his back, she toed off her boots and socks, then clambered onto the bed to straddle his calves. She stroked her hands up his legs, feeling his muscles tense and relax beneath her fingers, tensing once more when she reached mid-thigh. Then she slid her fingers back down to his calves.

  A shaky breath rushed out of his mouth, and he laughed. “Tease.”

  “Don’t worry, Harvester,” she said with a smile. “You’ll get what you want. Eventually.”

  “It’s the ‘eventually’ that concerns me.” Still he stretched his hands up to rest them behind his head. “I’m supposing I can’t touch you yet. Since you’re still dressed.”

  She considered, then nodded. “Not yet.” She ignored the tingling in her breasts and the tight nipples pressing against her shirt. She could wait. A little while.

  She dragged that little while out as long as she could, teasing him and herself for an eon before she finally took him inside her aching body, desperate for release.

  Each thrust was quicker, shorter than the one before it, neither of them fully in control now. When the pleasure bloomed, exploded, she stifled her scream in his shoulder, while his hands settled at her hips, jerking her closer, closer, as if he’d pull her right inside himself if he could.

  And some small, still-functioning part of her brain rejoiced in that. Rejoiced in the knowledge that she would let him do it and stay there forever, happily.

  Her eyes popped open, and she jerked her head up in alarm.

  Kallan turned his face to catch her mouth.

  Holy Gods, she was falling in love with him. Andi shut her eyes again and let him kiss her. Her body shook, and not from the force of her release this time, but from the new knowledge rushing around her head.

  He folded her into his arms, rolling to his side, bodies still intimately connected. He was shaking, too, she realized, sliding one hand up his wet back. His whole body. Maybe he wouldn’t notice she was also trembling all over.

  Yeah, right.

  He lifted his head an inch or so, and she opened her eyes reluctantly. “I love you, meli,” he said softly.

  She smiled up at him, feeling the now-familiar sting in her eyes, and her lower lip wobbled.

  She couldn’t tell him what she was feeling. Not yet. It was too new. Too scary.

  Too dangerous.

  Chapter Eleven

  Kallan kept his eyes shut in the morning, listening to Andrea’s even breathing. Feeling it puff warmly against his chest where she slept. Dim light showed around the edge of the curtains when he peeked, so he knew it was time to get up.

  But he wanted to stay right where he was.

  The emotion shining in her eyes last night had made his heart jump right up into his throat. He didn’t know if she realized yet or not. He hoped it wasn’t his own emotion that made him think it. Made him desperate to believe it.

  It couldn’t be.

  He inhaled her scent, the spice and sweetness. His Medusa.

  He smiled into her hair.

  The way she’d looked at him had made him feel like he could do anything, including keep her safe for the rest of their lives. Preferably very long lives.

  Except she kept insisting they had to go back. Sure, he knew when they left that they couldn’t run forever. But with every day that passed, he knew he had to seriously consider returning soon. There was no other option, really, for either of them. He didn’t like it, wasn’t ready to admit it to her. To fight his family to save her. He’d been trained all his life to fight—to kill. He just hadn’t known he was being trained to kill the woman he would love, not the monster his great-uncle claimed.

  She stirred against him, one of her legs sliding over his knee.

  He ignored the way his body came to life at her sleepy caress.

  “You’re very alert already,” she mumbled against his skin.

  He smiled, sliding his hand over her skin. “Just thinking we should check out today.”

  She lifted her head, her blue eyes focusing on his face. “We have company?”

  He shook his head. “Just feels like it’s time.”

  She propped her chin on his chest, considering his words. “Okay.” She stretched up to kiss him lightly.

  He caught the back of her head when she would have moved away, his mouth open over hers to take another kiss, deeper.

  When he released her lips, she opened her eyes, dazed.

  “Well.” She cleared her throat and inhaled unsteadily.

  He grinned, pleased with himself.

&n
bsp; She rolled out of bed, and he followed her with his eyes. Then sat up, his heart pounding painfully inside his chest. “Andrea.”

  She turned around, her discarded clothing dangling from one hand.

  “The cup isn’t silver anymore.” He motioned for her to turn around again.

  It definitely wasn’t silver, at least not most of it. The edges that had been tinged with gold were silvery, but the body of the cup was now pink—very pale pink.

  He shoved the blankets aside and got to his feet, moving to stand behind her. Turned on the nearest light so he could look more closely.

  “What color is it now?” She twisted to look at him over her shoulder.

  “Pink.”

  “Pink?” She frowned. “What does it mean?”

  He shook his head. Maybe he’d been wrong about the cause of the color change. Maybe it really didn’t have anything to do with her emotions. Maybe it was something else.

  Maybe she wasn’t really in love with him.

  His heart pounded still harder, trying to escape its prison. That wasn’t it. He knew she felt something for him. Something strong.

  But that didn’t explain the amulet’s color change, apparently.

  He touched it, lightly. Heat still flared at his touch, making her flinch.

  He wished he understood how the original Medusa had created it. Then he’d know exactly what was going on now. Maybe.

  Andrea turned to face him, her wrinkled clothing a shield, concern furrowing her forehead. “What now?”

  He shook his head, his brain spinning too fast to catch a rational thought. “We should get moving,” he said at last, touching the crease between her brows. “We’ll figure it out.”

  That was another of those promises he knew he shouldn’t make, but couldn’t help making anyway.

  Like that he’d keep her safe from his family.

  He took a deep breath and followed her into the bathroom to shower. They could decipher whatever was causing the goblet to change colors. It just might take some time.

  After all, two weeks ago, he hadn’t even known the amulet was embedded in the Medusa’s skin.

  He also hadn’t known he’d fall head over heels in love with her.

  He smiled when she glanced over at him from the sink. “Good morning, meli,” he said lightly.

  She snorted. “Yeah.” Shaking her head, she stepped into the shower.

  Goddess help him, he thought as he stepped in too.

  Andi enjoyed the ferry ride back to the mainland much better than their trip to Orkney. She stood with Kallan at the rail to watch the island shrinking behind them, then moved to the front to see the mainland come into view.

  “We can come back.” He slid one hand around her waist.

  Assuming his cousin didn’t kill her first. She bit her lip to keep the words in. He didn’t appreciate her reminding him of the danger following them. She let him pull her into his side, turning her mind to the color change of the amulet.

  The first change had been startling enough. But to find it had changed again…well, that was pretty incredible.

  She thought of Aunt Lydia’s email. Danger was a reasonable guess. Except the immediate danger had passed, at least for now.

  Extreme stress was a fair guess, but if that were the case, it should have changed color before she and Kallan had even left her house. Which ruled out stress.

  It couldn’t have been the time she’d had it in her possession, certainly not if it had never changed before and now had changed twice in a matter of days.

  She tapped her fingers on the smooth rail, pondering the water far below them.

  Which really only left the emotional angle.

  And she didn’t want to ponder that one right now.

  But to be fair, she took a deep breath of the salty air and went ahead anyway.

  She knew her emotions were a tangled mess where Kallan was concerned. It was hard to know even where to start. She knew there was that whole captive syndrome where the person being held by someone else came to believe the captor was the most important in their life.

  That didn’t fit here, she admitted. There had been attraction even before she’d discovered his real identity, and being in close quarters only enhanced it, despite the brutal reality of their positions and situation.

  She clutched the railing tighter and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to delve too deeply into the emotions swirling so close to the surface—not now. But she could admit to the emotional upheaval being the most likely cause of the amulet’s color change.

  But what did it mean?

  She’d never heard of anyone falling in love after becoming the Medusa and the curse moving on to its next victim, though the curse never fell on anyone who had already fallen in love.

  And she just wasn’t ready to admit to actually being in love with him. Not yet. Not without being sure. And how in the hell could she be sure when she’d never been in love before?

  Frustrated, she sighed and pushed off the railing.

  “Penny for them.”

  She smiled reluctantly up at Kallan. “They’re not worth that much.” She turned to face him, sliding her hands up to his shoulders. “Where are we going?”

  “I was thinking Edinburgh.” He put his other arm around her too, holding her closer.

  She felt safe in that circle, she realized.

  There was no Harvester, no Medusa. Just she and Kallan. The man who’d already saved her life rather than taking it as was his duty.

  Andi’s heart swelled. She ignored that for now. “Have you been there?”

  “Briefly. But there’s much more to see than I did when I was there years ago.” His gaze was somber on her face, as if he knew she was withholding something vital.

  She lifted onto tiptoe and kissed him lightly. “I’ve been thinking about the color changing,” she admitted.

  He nodded. “I knew it was something important. And?”

  She hesitated. “I’m pretty sure I’ve ruled out some of Aunt Lydia’s possibilities.”

  He waited.

  Her pulse beat too quickly in her head. “I’m leaning toward the emotional angle.” Panic welled in her middle, setting loose a herd of giant butterflies.

  He wisely kept his mouth shut.

  She swallowed, uncertain just what to say next. But she knew it was important she say something. It had to be the right something. While she thought, she rubbed her thumb in a small circle at his collarbone. Under her hand, she felt the steady beat of his heart. She swallowed again, aware of the silence growing.

  “I don’t want to mess this up,” she whispered, blinking against a sudden burn.

  His fingers tightened at her waist, and his bright eyes darkened slightly.

  She studied him for a long moment, then cleared her throat. “You’re not what I expected a Harvester to be—any more, I guess, than I’m what you were expecting.” She bit her lip. “I do trust you, Kallan. I…I think I might be falling in love with you.” Her voice dropped off to a whisper.

  He yanked her against him, resting his face on top of her head when she hid her face in his throat. Against her breast, his heart thundered under his ribs now, too.

  She realized she was shaking, and held on tighter to him, shutting her eyes. Honestly, she’d never had so many urges to cry in all her life as in the last two weeks with this man. And they weren’t all bad.

  Andi kissed his neck, feeling his pulse jump beneath her lips.

  He caught her chin and forced her face up.

  Heat washed up her cheeks, matching the stinging heat in her eyes.

  He smiled at her, his intense gaze shiny. “Come kiss me, agaph.”

  She obliged him, lifting to his mouth.

  This was a new sort of kiss, she mused while her brain still functioned. Oh, there was plenty of heat and need in the mix, but so much emotion… She shivered nearer to him under the onslaught.

  The relief coursing along her veins made her feel so much better, she realized
as he drove off the boat and onto dry land. She’d admitted to the feelings inside and nothing bad had happened. Besides, Kallan had already seen her at her worst. If they could get through that, they could get through anything.

  Except for cousins.

  Her smile faded at that thought.

  Because even if she was in love with Kallan and he with her, his family still wanted her dead, and she would face them eventually.

  That might be a bigger problem than they could overcome.

  They found a tiny inn heading south, about a mile from a castle he promised they could visit. Later.

  Excitement still rushed along his veins from her revelation on the boat. Kallan couldn’t believe she’d really admitted to her feelings.

  Perhaps not a huge declaration, but this was a really big step for her. It was only a matter of time.

  He hoped.

  He led the way through the inn to their room for the night, nearly dragging her which made her giggle.

  He loved that sound.

  He loved everything about her. And he planned to show her in just a few minutes.

  He wrestled with the key for a moment, muttering curses under his breath when it didn’t turn at first. Her giggling changed to full-on laughter by the time he turned the knob and dragged her inside the room.

  Up against the wall behind the closed door.

  Her laughter cut off suddenly, the air knocked out of her when he wedged one knee between her thighs.

  “Oh Gods,” she choked out, her hips lifting toward his.

  He caught her mouth with his roughly, his hands dragging her shirt up, and out of his way.

  This was no gentle thing as he’d planned, but a maelstrom of emotion and desire.

  They fumbled with each other’s clothing, barely out of them before he lifted her again and thrust deep. Her cry was muffled against his mouth, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  The whirlwind rushed through them in only minutes, leaving them panting and sweaty along the wall.

  Andrea started giggling again.