by Arlene Webb
Her dazzling warrior, minus paint and feathers, lounged on the bed. His hair pulled into a long braid slung over his shoulder, Damon’s smooth face and high cheekbones radiated predatory wariness, and his muscles flowed in a powerful lunge.
He strode to her, his growl low. “Who follows you?”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jaylynn closed the broken door and leaned against it. Butterflies of desire for the male in front of her regressed into caterpillars of fear. “Someone followed me?”
“Someone’s here.” Caream leapt off the bed to stand beside Damon, while the soft knock vibrated the door.
Fingers fluttering her panic, Jaylynn gestured toward the bathroom. Caream shrugged and vanished around the corner. Damon drilled his furious gaze into her, scooped up the smashed sunglasses, and scowled. His abrupt departure dimmed the room into shades of gray.
Jaylynn drew a deep breath. “Who’s there? What do you want?” Please, please let it be the hotel manager. But there was no answer, no grim voice saying, “Police. Open up.”
The knob turned. A strong shove forced the door open, and a large boot wedged inside the room. Jaylynn scrambled back and faced the thin, scruffy guy from the office lobby.
“What do you think you’re doing? Go away.” She flinched, blinking hard as if that’d make him disappear.
The man crossed the line from threat to felony—he entered the room. Dark eyes roved, resting on her bruised face. “I’m in the mood for company.”
“No. Absolutely not. He’ll hear you. Get out.”
The intruder closed the door behind him. His grin widened as he noticed the broken lock. He clicked the deadbolt into place, and her fear became a churning lump in her throat. “I don’t think there’s any ‘he’ to hear anything. Nice, isolated room you broke into.” The smirk on the predator’s unshaven face spread into a lazy gloat.
“You don’t understand. He’ll hurt you.” Should she even try to save him? “I’m calling the police.”
His prey cornered, the man snorted, and his eyes lit with a dangerous hunger. “Hand over your cell phone. Better yet, I’ll take my time finding it.” Another step closer and his husky voice dropped. “No screaming. You’ll soon forget whatever happened here.” His leer went from the smashed table to the bed, the gaping hole in the wall, then back to her. “I won’t hurt you—unless you’re into that. What’s your name? Not that it matters.”
Jesus, this creep was gonna die. “He’s hard to control. Please.”
“So am I. You’ve such a pretty face to smack around even more, but if that’s what you want.” The man reached.
Oh no, God—she backed into rock-hard flesh. Her protector had materialized out of thin air. Electric hands brushed her shoulders to balance her. Dressed in black, unnatural colored skin, eyes hidden, Damon stepped from behind her. The man gaped, revealing nicotine-stained teeth as a large hand snaked forward. Damon’s bone-crushing grip jerked from the man’s throat and fastened on his elbow.
“What does he want?” Damon’s snarl erupted in Jaylynn’s frightened face. “I know what I want. To pop his head off.”
“No, no, no. Don’t hurt him. Don’t say our names. Just make him leave.” Please, oh please, let him listen. “Not so tight. You’ll break his arm.”
Damon dropped the pervert’s arm, and stepped back. His hand came down on top of the TV. The monitor erupted. Pieces of glass and plastic rained down to join the shattered stand.
The creep rubbed his elbow, a dumbfounded expression on his face. He staggered back a step, his gaze glued on Damon. “What the fuck are you? I thought she was alone. You can have her. No problem. I’ll go.”
“Yes, problem. You’ll return with a gun?” Damon’s soft voice didn’t conceal his smoldering violence. “I don’t know what I am. I do know I don’t like fuck or you.” Damon’s boot rose and fell. Remnants of the flat screen ground under his heel. “You said you wouldn’t hurt her. You lied.” He glanced at Jaylynn. “Unless you want to be hurt? That doesn’t make sense.” More glass crunched. Damon shook his head at the would-be rapist like he was an imbecile. “She’s very breakable. Doesn’t like pain. What do you want from her?”
The man fumbled at the deadbolt, his frantic gaze on Jaylynn. “Really. I-I wouldn’t have done anything.”
“Answer.” Damon’s bark caused the man’s hands to spasm. “Do you have a weapon?”
“Let him go.” Jaylynn grasped Damon’s arm.
The man slid the latch. “No, honest, I don’t have a gun.” He lifted his chin and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “I told you…I was just seeing if she wanted to have a drink.”
“Another lie. You’re not thirsty. Open that damn door. Please. I’ll have fun. Finally.” Damon’s grin left Jaylynn speechless, and the creep looked like he’d lose bladder control any second.
Damon dropped Jaylynn’s arm, and folded his across his chest. His lips moved. Caream strode into the room. Her fist struck the man’s face. His jaw flapped with a sickening crunch. He hit the door and slid to the floor.
Jaylynn stared at the woman rubbing her hands together, unclean from demolishing a man’s face. “I can’t believe you did that. Is he dead?”
“No. Unconscious.” Caream’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me.”
“He followed so you wouldn’t hear.” Damon’s growl softened into his angry, his deadly serious voice. “He waited until you were inside.” The flash of bitterness across Damon’s face suggested he knew Jaylynn had forgotten how to breathe. He sighed. “Why be afraid? I won’t hurt you. He can’t hurt you. What did he want? How many times do I ask?”
Sparkling tears slipped down Caream’s cheeks. Damon grunted and stomped. He picked the man up like a broken doll, and tossed him on the bed. Demolished shades landed on the counter, Damon massaged his temple and turned on Caream.
“I said he was fragile. You broke his lying face. Stop wasting water. She’s done yelling at you.” Damon faced Jaylynn with grim anticipation.
“I saw your lips move. You told Caream not to let him leave.” Jaylynn wrung her hands. The guy hadn’t touched her, yet she felt dirty. “Even if he did lie about having a gun, he wouldn’t have come back.” A wave of nausea choked her. She slumped against the counter, head in her hands, and the sob slipped out. Her manic warrior and her jaw smashing enchantress had saved her from a man who may have left her dead after he’d finished.
“Thank-thank you both for stopping him.” Jaylynn straightened, continuing through her tears. “I can’t seem to help any of us. I can’t believe the creep came in here like that. What if he dies?”
Strong hands pulled her into an electric embrace. “If you’d stop this crying all the time,” Damon forced her head into his chest, “maybe you could figure things out.”
She stiffened and refused to look at him. His hand under her chin gave her no choice as she sniffed. “I don’t cry all the time.”
His eyebrows rose.
What? I’m a crybaby?
A smile tugged at Damon’s lips and he leaned—current brushed her forehead.
He’d copied her kiss she’d given him before life became more unreal, and she melted into the wonderful arms sheltering her. She had two protectors unlike any in history, and one of them had supernatural hands that stroked away all trace of fears. Her deep breath encouraged Damon to release her.
He strode to the man on the bed. “He’s not dead. He should be. I’ll put him with the ugly things.” Damon shared his glower with Caream. “Not enough closets in this strange world.”
“No. Leave him.” Jaylynn forced her legs to move. “We have to get out of here.”
Revulsion shivered through her, and she touched the pervert’s neck. The pulse seemed steady. She glanced at Caream. “He’ll be okay.” Jaylynn forced her hand into the man’s pocket and pulled out a ring of keys.
Damon’s face lit in a sharp smile. Finally pleasing her bloodthirsty defender, Jaylynn headed for the door. “Wait here and forge
t it, Damon. I’m driving.”
In the large parking lot, Jaylynn hit the remote alarm key, and her relief turned to anxiety. The deep blue, gas guzzling SUV had a five-speed stick shift. It’d been awhile since she drove a standard, and her arm ached, despite the pain relievers.
Jaylynn pulled herself into the driver’s seat and turned the key. Gears grinding, she found reverse and swallowed back yet another sob. The dark eyes of a predator had been so surprised. She needed to calm down. Her heroes listened. Mustn’t swear, grumble, or gasp with relief, but she’d never, ever, been threatened in that way before. She shifted into first and jerked across the pavement.
“You aren’t driving this right.” Caream scrambled in through the front passenger door. “I can help you.”
The driver’s door flung open. With that arrogant snap of fingers, Damon motioned Jaylynn over. He waited half a second. Her protest constricted in her throat, and ripples of heat surged through her arms. Damon lifted her over the gear console onto Caream. She held Jaylynn on her lap easily, despite her diminutive size, and snarled at Damon. “You’ll break it. Why are you so stupid?”
He smashed the door closed. “Shut up. She still wants to cry about Creep-man. Stop making the arm I broke hurt more.”
Caream sniffed and released Jaylynn from the crushing grip.
“Yell later.” Damon turned from Jaylynn and scanned the gear console. “Show me how to command this.”
Jaylynn sighed. “Very carefully, put your foot on the middle pedal. It’s being gentle that’s important.” She guided Damon’s hand on the stick. “Don’t force it.” Her hand over his, he eased out of neutral into first. “Now take your foot off the clutch and press down easy on the gas.”
Damon headed out of the parking lot, slow and in first. He reached the main road, “Albuquerque?”
“Turn east.” Jaylynn started to breathe. The Hummer purred, and Damon held it below the speed limit. Maybe there was yet hope.
They managed one block before he snorted and floored it.
Goddammit. Jaylynn grabbed his arm. “Stop. You’re still in first gear.”
Engine wailing, the car lurched, shuddered and slowed to a stall. Damon coasted into the parking lot of a bar, pumping the gas pedal crumbling under his foot. They rolled to the edge, hit the metal guardrail, and sputtered to silence under a tree. The scent of burnt oil filled the air.
Damon halted his hands from pounding the wheel. “What’s wrong? How do I fix it?” One hand flew to smack his forehead.
“I don’t think you can.” Jaylynn controlled her urge to scream.
“This makes how many?” Caream opened her door and slide out from under Jaylynn. “Six? Seven vehicles you’ve destroyed?” Caream ran around the car, yanked the driver’s door open, reached in and popped the hood. She disappeared behind it.
Damon rubbed his temple and avoided eye contact. “Sorry. Want to hit me some more?”
She sighed. “No, course not, and don’t hit yourself again. But you can’t seem to go five minutes without destroying something.”
“You think it’s easy? This terrible world is so fragile.” Damon’s harsh voice softened. Apparently, they couldn’t go five minutes without wanting to strangle each other. “I barely touch you, and your bones feel like they’ll snap.” He pressed into the door as far away from her as he could get. “Billions of angry, loud noises fight to hurt my head. I need your liking-me-voice, which I hardly ever hear, to tell me what to do.”
“If I’m that delicate, why am I still with you? I haven’t been able to find you any answers. You won’t listen…” Why bother? Damon rubbed his head and focused on something else.
“Caream’s yelling that I’m a mean man.” He sighed, knocked the door open with his elbow, and held his hand out to Jaylynn. “You gave me words, water, fire. I give you tears, broken arm, horrid Caream. I’m sorry.”
“Sure you won’t crush my fragile bones?” Jaylynn softened the sarcasm with a sad smile and headed out her door. Before she closed it, he’d hurtled himself over the car. Oh, please, please let him understand that she’d jumped from surprise. Hot fingers encircled her waist, and her prayer was answered with Damon’s smile.
Despair over her inadequacies, survivor shock, and irrational thought, it all oxidized into spontaneous delight. Currents jolted through Jaylynn, his hands the epicenter, while Damon lifted her over his head.
She soared, weightless, flying in the balmy night air. His grin up at her—staggering beautiful. Seized in the seductive grip of her warrior, photons of his released energy stimulated every combustible molecule of her body. And he knew that he played her. One touch, she forgave him anything.
“I’m sorry,” Damon whispered. “My brain lost count how many times I’ve said that. I try to learn so I never say it again.” He tossed her like a feather up and down. “The air’s happy the light’s gone. You’ll be like the air—my fragile Jaaaylynn.”
No longer bound to earth, polarized between fire and space, the thrill of power surged within her every time he caught her. Breathless, she giggled, “You’re making me dizzy.”
Damon sighed and set her on her feet. He lifted her, his twirl soft and flooded her lungs with his breath. “I’ll stop this dizziness, if you don’t yell at me for another long minute. And see? I’m not crushing you.” He drew a trail of current along her shoulder blades. “I wish I could drink you like water. Your eyes are too pretty to care about the death color around them anymore.”
Drink me like water? Vibrant strands escaped loose from his braid. A moth to the flame, she touched his face. “I can’t believe you let Caream comb out your hair. She braided it, not you, right?”
He continued to lead, while his velvet touch fed the fire. Amusement smoldered in his voice, “I didn’t play with my stupid hair. Caream said when you saw me you’d make your breathing different.”
“My breath different?” Did she dare remove his shades and dive into vermillion sparkle? A bar parking lot was a far cry from an intimate setting, but she couldn’t think straight. She wanted this waltz with unreality to never end.
“When you aren’t afraid or mad, so hardly ever, you look at me and your heart beats with wanting something. I’ll give you anything I can.” Damon groaned and set her on her feet. “You answer too slowly. We must wait until there’s forever to continue this.”
Her blush sizzled her cheeks as she absorbed the fact her mercurial warrior had returned.
Damon glanced at the hood of the car. “What’s taking so long?” He snapped his head around.
“Does it matter?” Caream yelled. “Won’t you just break it again?”
Jaylynn turned to follow his gaze. A line of motorcycles banked into the bar, and her toes left the ground again. Damon strode backward. He dropped her against the trunk and began to pace in front of her. Across the parking lot, eight men and two women got off bikes. A young woman, dressed in leather with a blue halter-top, shoved what looked like a pint into her hip pocket and strained to see in the low light.
“Get in the car.” Jaylynn grabbed Damon’s arm. He didn’t budge.
“Hot damn. A really red Injun?” The woman’s slurred voice called out, “Is this the tequila or the coke?”
The boisterous group stopped their movement toward the bar. The woman headed across the lot. Older by a decade, a large bearded man yelled, “Get back here.” The woman laughed at him, turned and ran. She halted, breathless, in front of them.
“What’s your name, Red?” The woman’s fascinated gaze raked over Damon.
He sniffed, grunted his displeasure, and glanced at Jaylynn. He cooperated by leaving the dialogue to her. What the hell should she say? Go find your own sexy hallucinations. This guy’s mine?
“Don’t be shy.” The woman’s lower lip pushed out. “Lose the lady for some real fun.”
Damon shook free of Jaylynn. He stepped in front of her as the rest of the noisy group closed in. The man in the lead grabbed the woman’s arm. “Stop messin�
�� with them.”
“Screw you, Rick the dick.” The woman giggled. She wrenched free and inched closer. “Forget him, Red. You as wild as you look?”
The bulky biker took in Damon’s apparent lack of weapon, and his angry gaze shifted to the woman reaching for Damon.
A large red hand captured the woman’s arm. Damon directed his growl at Jaylynn. “At the cabin. Afraid, angry, you wanted to screw me. Will she try to kill him?”
“Er…no. I’ll explain later.” Jaylynn hurried to Damon’s side. “Back off. I’ll call the cops.”
The woman ignored Jaylynn. Her eyes widened with surprise. “I won’t be rough, if you’re not into that. Let go. Maybe I’m coked, but you’re sendin’ sparks.”
Damon dropped her arm.
Her smile coy, the woman teased black lacquered nails over his chest. “Want ta play right now? You red under this shirt?”
“Play?” Damon snorted. “No. I don’t like you. You smell wrong.”
Jaylynn flung the woman’s hand from Damon’s chest. “Get lost.” Violence simmered next to her, but her own aggression shook her. She wanted to claw this woman’s face. “Like I said, we’ll press charges.”
The man, Rick, grabbed the slut trying to kill Jaylynn with her eyes. “Come on.”
The woman’s feet dragged on the pavement. She called out to Damon, “You gonna stand there like a loser? What do you mean I smell wrong?”
The large guy released the woman. They stood clustered less than thirty feet away. He glanced back, while a man laughed. “Lost your woman to a red freak, Ricky-boy?”
“I smell?” the woman screamed. “Fuck you. You’re a fag who wouldn’t know a good thing if it hit you.” She pulled the pint out of her pocket and flung it.
Damon’s arm shot out. The group stopped heckling Rick to watch the bottle shatter in Damon’s hand. Shards of glass fell to his feet. The sour scent of tequila surrounded them. “That’s what you smell of.” Damon shook with rage. “You ruined good water.”