Bending Steele

by Sadie Hart

  “You know an awful lot about this.”

  If he’d thought she’d been cold before, he’d been wrong. Steele went utterly still in front of him. Anger left her eyes white hot and her smile turned into a snarl. Her knife trembled slightly in her hand.

  “One killed my mother.” The soft admission came as a whisper, nearly lost to the empty air she spoke it so low. “I made it my mission to know.”

  Shit. He hadn’t… Hexe winced. “I’m sorry.”

  Steele jerked her head in a sharp nod.

  “And your father?”

  Her breath hissed out, a low snarl rippling from her. Hands locked at her side, she leaned into him until Hexe felt her breath wash over his lips. “He was a bastard who ran for the hills. Just like that girl.”

  She slashed out with her knife in the direction of his house.

  “He didn’t even look back while that man butchered my mother.”

  Raw pain stared out of her eyes and Hexe wanted to tug her against his chest, hold her. But Steele didn’t look like she wanted to be held. She slashed at the air again. “He left her.”

  Silver was fatal. A clean kill shot would kill them instantly. A skilled hunter meant her mother never would have had a chance. Hexe didn’t say it though; he wouldn’t take her father’s side. Besides, if she’d been wounded, if there’d been any hope of her being alive, then her mate should have stayed. He would have stayed. Hexe reached out, tentative, and Steele shrunk back, lips curled in a snarl.

  “And where were you, Steele?” he whispered. There was no accusation in his voice, just understanding. He knew. By the haunted look that crossed her eyes, he knew.

  Steele swallowed, her body tensing as she gulped down a breath of air, as if fighting back a scream. Hexe reached for her again and this time she didn’t jerk away. His fingertips found her jaw and they slid higher to find the wet streak along her cheek made by her tears.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I was right there. I hid in a goddamned tree.”

  Hexe made a sound low in his throat, gentle, soothing, and he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. Steele closed her eyes, but she refused to lean into him. “I just watched her die. I didn’t run like my father, but I just sat there and let that bastard kill her.”

  “There was nothing you could do for her.”

  “I could have slashed open his throat before he butchered her. I could have killed him before he skinned her.”

  A sharp gasp sounded from her and she leaned into him, a tremble running straight through her. “I could have...”

  “Steele.” He breathed her name out, one hand slipping behind her head to hold her to him. “How old were you? The woman I’m holding now, she’d have done everything you said. But a little girl?”

  He dipped his head to brush a kiss over her temple. Along her jaw.

  “I was eight, but I’ve known how to use a knife since I was six. My mother always taught me—”

  “You were eight. That’s still a child.” He pressed his face against hers, felt the cool touch of her tears against his cheek. “There was nothing you could have done. Not against a grown man. An armed man.”

  He curved his hand around the back of her neck, his thumb traced along the edge of her jaw before he pulled away, tilting her face up to meet his. Her gray eyes were wet with the sheen of tears. Hexe wanted to kiss them all away, but this wasn’t a pain he could ease.

  “And you’re nothing like the bastard that left her to die. Your father...” He shook his head, a growl trailed up his throat but he held it back. “He could have done everything you want to do now. He should have stayed and protected his daughter. You were a kid, Steele. You couldn’t save your mom, but he damn well should have been there to save you.”

  Hexe leaned into her, his forehead touching hers before she could protest.

  “And you have never let her down. I promise you that. She wanted you safe, not dead. She’d be damn proud of the woman you are now.” His thumb traced the edge of her lips. “A woman who’s going to a hunt a man just like the bastard that killed your mother. That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

  There was a heartbeat where she did nothing but stare up at him, a small tear trailing down her right cheek. He didn’t know what to say or do that would make her believe him. Wounds that old wouldn’t heal just because some man wrapped his arms around her and told her what he thought she needed to hear.

  Then she stretched up onto her tip toes and pressed her lips to his. They were wet with her tears and it took everything Hexe had not to deepen the kiss. His hand tightened around her neck, holding her close, but he let her go the moment she pulled back.

  “Thank you.”

  And everything in her metal colored eyes told him she meant it.

  Chapter Six

  Exhausted, Jacks hauled himself over the top of the ledge, his gloves scrabbling for purchase in the snow as he hurried away from the edge. He knelt, head upturned to the sky, watching as his heavy breathing came out in white puffs that faded into the darkness. It was dangerous to keep hunting this late, but it finally looked as if he’d found flat ground for awhile.

  And so had his prey.

  The wind ran ragged up here, violent gusts tossing up snow, but he could still see the faint outline of her tracks. Distant thunder called, a rolling sound that shook through the air, revitalizing him. “You can run, sweetheart...”

  Jacks staggered to his feet, his legs shaky. Breathless and exhausted from the climb and the thinning mountain air, he stood there breathing deep into the dark. Snow buffeted around his legs and he shifted his rifle to his other shoulder, eyes scanning the shadows around him. This would all be worth it in the end. Enough money to make his family happy for forever. All he had to do was haul ass for a little bit longer, nab his cat, and then buckle down for one more night in this winter hellhole.

  The furs from these shifters were damn near unheard of. Even the best poachers didn’t normally try and nab a shifter, let alone trek through mountains like these to get an elusive snow leopard. Too many people considered them still human. Hell, back home they had laws and their own personalized police force. Everything to make shifters sound human. But at heart, they were animals.

  As far as Jacks was concerned, they were animals too. And no one gave a rat’s ass if you shot a rabbit. These just paid better than the average hunt. Jacks could only remember two of these furs hitting the market in the past thirty years. And one of them had been his.

  Another pair back then too, but the male had gotten away.

  A shame. The males had the bigger pelts and therefore the bigger price tags. Not that he could whine over the score he’d made from the female. He’d traveled the world on that paycheck. Set himself up nicely. Met his wife. About time everything came full circle now. A grin slashed his face as he hiked through the calf-deep snow, the cold slowly nibbling down to his bones.

  Back aching, Jacks studied the prints and labored after them. She’d run in long, leaping bounds as she’d come up over the edge of the cliff, but a good fifty feet in and she’d shifted, her strides shortening to the booted foot tracks of a woman on the run. She wove through the forest and he could see where she’d stumbled, thrashing through snow banks and over ferns bent heavy with ice.

  Slipping on his snowshoes, he plowed after her. Careful to keep quiet, Jacks strained to hear over the wind rattling through the old pines. Cold needles scraped at his face as he did his best to angle his way through the darkness without snaring himself on various branches. A voice sounded in the darkness and he paused, head tilted.

  “Steele, you good?”

  “Fine.”

  Jacks sank low, crouching, instantly swinging his rifle around until it fit comfortably in place. Ready.

  Snow crunched, followed by a rustle of fabric and then more sharply, “I’m fine.”

  The woman drew in a shaky breath, belying her words, and Jacks scanned the shadows for the source of movement and sound. Ther
e. Just a shade darker than the trees. The pair of them stood close together, male and female. Jacks licked his ice chapped lips. This high into the mountains he couldn’t think of a reason for anyone else to be up here… Anyone except the leopard shifters.

  A thrill darted down his spine. He’d thought he’d hit the jackpot before. Eyeing them through the scope, there was a large chance he wouldn’t be able to kill both... Not without the other fleeing. And he’d waste a pelt if he shot them now. Human skin didn’t sell at all.

  And Jacks hated to waste shit worth more than the average house.

  Besides, there was no guarantee they were shifters. He’d never heard of so many of these cats in one spot. The only shifter family he’d ever heard of doing mass gatherings were certain packs of werewolves on a full moon, but their pelts were fairly common. These cats though? He’d hunted for years to find his first, going off myths and legends. Even this time, Jacks had scouted terrain and maps for months before choosing this place. He’d studied the habits of wild snow leopards, looked at the type of area he’d found his first one in...and used up a whole lot of luck.

  The chances of finding four cats in one night? More than astronomical.

  A frustrated sigh sounded in the dark. Then, “Let’s just find this bastard.”

  But if they were...

  No. There was no way. There had to be another explanation. Jacks shouldered his rifle and waited for them to pass. They didn’t so much as glance his way in the swirling wind. A leopard would have caught his scent, surely even as distracted as they were.

  With a huff into the now silent dark, Jacks continued after his prey. One predator after another.

  ***

  Steele pulled away, angling herself so her back was to Hexe. Damn him. How had he managed to get that confession out of her? She blew out a shaky breath and stepped away from him, moving around a shadowy pine tree. She needed space. Time.

  A chance to figure out why the hell she’d kissed him.

  That was the true stumper. Except she knew the answer. After months of trying to get her to let him in, of trying to befriend her, after four days of sharing his home with her…he was finally beginning to win. She was beginning to care. Steele closed her eyes briefly against the knowledge. This was a dangerous slope, one that could so easily lead to hurt.

  “Steele?”

  “I’m fine.”

  She curled the familiar hardness around her like a blanket and huddled into the wind-tossed snow, just breathing. Trying to get a hold of herself again. She had a poacher to catch and analyzing whatever she might have felt for Hexe when he’d been all comforting and shit, that just wasn’t on the menu.

  Steele scented the air, but the wind wasn’t in her favor. The temperature had dropped too, ice prickling her nose as she inhaled too much, trying to force it. Damn. “I’m going to check the trail.”

  Hexe caught her by her arm and held fast. She turned her head back only to find him stepping closer, his eyes fierce. He caught her under her chin and tilted her head back. Steele stiffened. “Now’s not a good time.”

  His lips flexed in a small smile. “It probably never will be.”

  Hexe dropped his head a notch and Steele thought about fighting him, but she didn’t want to. It had nothing to do with winning, or strength, or being a coward if she ran. It had everything to do with the fact that Hexe understood her. Had probably for months, but right now, she wanted to taste his kiss even if it was just once. She couldn’t let herself love him, but one kiss…she could give herself that.

  Steele leaned forward, stretching up on the balls of her feet. Her chest tightened, unsure, but the slow smile that finished curving Hexe’s lips staved off the fear. His lips brushed hers in a gentle touch, fleeting. As soft as a snowflake gracing her mouth, over and over again, before Hexe pulled her tighter. He released her chin, only to slide one hand behind her neck and hold her to him.

  Probably to keep her from running.

  He didn’t have to worry. On a shudder, Steele reached for him, her hands fisting in the thick padding of his parka. She dragged him flat against her, opened her mouth and swallowed him down. If she were only going to have one kiss, than damn it, she was going to kiss him with everything she had.

  She’d know the taste of him, so when she walked away, she’d know exactly what she was leaving behind.

  Except, Hexe wasn’t going to be that easy to forget. His kiss was ravenous, devouring, like a starved man finally getting what he’d wanted all along. His hands tightened around her, unyielding. The pressure of his mouth drew a soft groan from her, his lips and tongue demanding, dominant.

  There was nothing about him that would be denied and for the first time, Steele didn’t want to hold back. She crushed herself against him, her tongue running along the length of his. A groan rose in his throat, a feral, desperate sound. Hexe stepped into her, hard, and Steele stumbled back, slipping in the snow.

  He caught her before she hit the ground, but it was enough to break the kiss. He towered over her, breath ragged. Hanging above the ground, held by nothing but his hands, it made her feel vulnerable. Weak. Steele started to struggle and Hexe’s hands turned hard, holding her tighter. The erotic tinge to his gaze darkened with hunger.

  She remembered the rigid length of his erection pressed against her after their fight and swallowed. Hexe was a warrior. A fighter. Strength seemed to call to him, and a good fight no doubt turned him on. Steele went still. “I think we should get back to the hunt.”

  Silence stretched between them as he stared at her, his cat eyes unblinking. The flames in his gaze not at all banked by her words. Then, slowly, Hexe hauled her up to her feet and let her go. With one, stiff jerk of his head, he backed off. “Then let’s get to work.”

  Steele didn’t wait to see if he’d change his mind. She headed for the redhead’s path to Hexe’s house, hoping to pick up a scent, despite the rising winds and the angry roar as it blew through the trees. They didn’t have long. She’d moved through the forest, senses on high, as she headed diagonally in the direction of the path. She was less than ten feet from it when she scented it...him.

  Male, human. Gunpowder and silver thick on him. As was the blood. Definitely her poacher. Steele stifled the urge to hiss and sank down into the snow, staying low and hoping the twirling gusts of snow would hide her. Hexe crouched down beside her, head tilted slightly as his nostrils widened, inhaling. A growl rumbled low in his chest, a vibration that shook them both, but he silenced it.

  Steele leaned closer to the trail, sniffing harder, only to freeze as a realization curled like a fist in her gut. He’d been right here, just minutes ago. Close enough to have seen them, heard them. Shot them.

  “Fuck,” Hexe whispered, the curse sharp despite the hush to his voice.

  Steele’s shoulders stiffened as a second realization dawned on her.

  He hadn’t just been close enough to have seen them. He was still following that redhead’s trail. Straight for Hexe’s house.

  “We have to go, now.” Steele reached back to haul him up, but Hexe jerked her down, flattening her face first into the snow. The hard length of his body suddenly stretched over hers and she felt a growl rising out of her, dark and fierce. She would not be squished into the ground like an invalid. She was not a child this time.

  “He’s heading for your house!”

  “And we’re not running after that bastard without a care in the world. He’s packing silver, Steele. He’ll kill you with a shot. He’s already killed one of us tonight.”

  “I don’t need your protection.”

  Hexe’s hand flexed over the back of her neck. “No. But whether you like it or not, I’m your partner in this. We do this together or you don’t do this at all.”

  “That is not your call.” Steele struggled to flip him, but Hexe wedged a knee between her thighs, leaning more pressure onto her shoulders and neck.

  “I will knock your ass out and tie you to a tree, Steele. We work together or I d
o this on my own. You feel me?”

  She thought about arguing, but Hexe hadn’t backed down once when it came to a fight. He’d hold to his word, and since he already had her pinned... Steele huffed but went lax beneath him. She’d play it his way. “Fine.”

  “Then we stalk him. Slowly. I want to kill this bastard without a silver bullet in the chest.” His fingertips played along her hairline. “And I’m not so sure I can trust you not to get me shot.”

  She started to open her mouth and tell him she was every bit as good of a fighter as he was, when Hexe leaned down and laid a kiss against her shoulder. “It’d be a nice way to have death part us.”

  She winced a little at the memory. Oh yeah. That. She didn’t think she could watch him die, not anymore. Four days and Hexe suddenly seemed real. Someone the world—she—might miss when he was gone. She wasn’t going to let him get shot by a poacher.

  “There’s no fun in letting him kill you,” she said, trying to sound like she didn’t care.

  “I wish that were reassuring.”

  Steele heard his soft sigh, the sadness lingering in his voice. Hell. Fine. “I don’t think I want you dead.” She swallowed.

  Hexe knew more about her now than anyone else, at least since her mother’s death. She’d let him know things about her no one knew. He was going to be a hard man to walk away from.

  “I don’t want you dead,” she whispered.

  “Good. I don’t want you dead either.” He pressed another kiss against her shoulder and eased off, settling into a crouch beside her.

  Steele slowly got her feet up under her and scented the wind again. Ice scored down the back of her throat. The frigid scream of the storm was getting closer, and she couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead of them. Tracking would be easier on all fours, but she didn’t dare shift. “We’re no good to him dead as humans. But I guarantee you he’ll take a shot if one of us shifts.”