by Reina Torres
“I can’t wait for Aaron to return,” he told her through clenched teeth, and a long groaning shudder of sound through the walls made it abundantly clear that they couldn’t afford to wait, “but I want you to know. No, I need you to know, that the last thing I want to do is hurt you.”
She didn’t have time to reconcile the gentle warmth she felt at his words. Xavier wasn’t the kind of man who seemed concerned with protecting her feelings, but she felt a bone deep comfort with the deep rumbling tone of his voice and the solid feel of his body against hers. “I know.”
Xavier closed his eyes and took a deep breath into his body. Again, the world around her shook and even the floor under her back shuddered with the power flooding into the room. The muscles in his arms flexed and bunched, making the veins pushing up against his skin pulse and throb with the beat of his heart.
Her eyes focused on a single bead of sweat that caught the soft light from the hall. It formed on his skin and grew, absorbing others as it moved over the broadening muscles over his shoulder.
She held her breath for no other reason than she wanted to hear every sound around her, wanted to hear the growl that was building deep in his throat. Or maybe it came from even deeper inside of him, she wanted to know.
His body leaned harder into hers, she gasped in a breath, prepared for anything and nothing as she waited to see what would happen.
The air around her thickened and pressure built in her ears until she felt like something was about to burst.
And then it did.
The very air around her was torn apart as the sound of a loud, booming crack resonated through the room and where Xavier had been was a panther the size of a car. At least it felt that way as the two halves of the beam slid from his back to the floor on either side of her.
She lay beneath him, breathless and stunned at the sleek beauty of the cat standing above her. His sides swelled with each breath, his broad head and powerful body left her staring in wide-eyed wonder. What else could she do when she felt like the very power unleashed from his shift had stunned her into silence?
True swore she could see something in the cat’s thoughts as he looked down at her, but words escaped her. She wished that she could somehow get through to the human part of him, just so she could ask the thousand and one questions that were suddenly in her head after witnessing the amazing power inherent in his transformation.
Before she could stop herself, she wiggled her arms back and sat up on bent elbows to get closer to him. Shifting up onto one arm, she lifted a hand toward his face. The panther didn’t move until her fingers came in contact with his whiskers.
The incredibly large cat dipped his head down and pushed his cheek against her palm. She smiled as she realized at least part of Xavier seemed to like her. It just wasn’t the part of him that she saw.
The panther pulled away and stepped back, using his dark head to look toward the doorway and then back at her.
Another turn of his head and she knew what he wanted her to do. They had to move and get out of the room. Getting to her feet, she followed him as he led her back into the restaurant to wait for Aaron and Celeste.
Six
Hide and Seek had always been a strong suit for True. When her Uncle and his family came over to the house, she always found just the right place to hide that the only thing that could bring her out into the open was her mother’s stern remonstration. So, it didn’t take much for her to realize that Xavier Salazar was also a master of the game. He had, or seemed to have, a kind of sixth sense about her, enough to avoid her at every turn.
The extra room was almost ready for the interior work to be done. The beams had to be stripped out carefully and replaced by Xavier and Locke, but every time she stopped by, even when it was unannounced, Xavier just happened to be somewhere else.
After what felt like the fiftieth time that she’d popped in to see him, she was fit to be tied.
And yes. The images that flooded her mind involved someone being tied up, and it wasn’t just her. A smug smile touched her lips as she let her mind wander. and the frustrated heat that had started in her cheeks had spread lower as blood pumped to other, more delicate parts of her body.
“Well, that’s a change.”
Shocked by the sound of Locke’s voice, she almost jumped out of her skin. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. What… what’s a change?”
Folding his arms over his chest, his biceps stretched the sleeves of his t-shirt as he sauntered over. “Generally, when you come in here you smell, disappointed or frustrated, but not today.”
It took her a moment to replay his words in her head. “I smell?”
He shrugged, and she knew she should have been a little faint at the sight of his muscles rising and falling, but just her luck she couldn’t escape thoughts of Xavier in her head.
“Well, humans and shifters all have smells. Skin, soap, and women have all kinds of scents that make life so much fun. All those lotions and junk.” True didn’t know how he managed a smile that was a combination of charm and feral hunger, but there it was. “And it changes depending on a woman’s mood.”
“Woman?” She cleared her throat. “Not men?”
“Maybe a little.” He cocked his head slightly to the side and nodded. “But mostly men either smell normal, pissed, or hungry.”
“And how am I different today?”
How she regretted asking that question!
“Never mind. Forget I asked.”
“Well, when you came in you were frustrated-”
“I said forget it,” her head was aching.
“But then it changed.”
She wasn’t going to ask him how. Nope. No way. No how.
Lucky for her, Locke just kept on talking.
“And I could swear you were-”
“Really,” she almost begged, “don’t.”
“Aroused.”
The images of Xavier tied to her bed came flooding back, and she knew her luck was truly bad when Locke perked up and snapped his fingers.
“Just like that.”
Her head was aching even more.
She was lucky she didn’t trip over her own feet as she went on with her day.
Everything cleared up when she left and met Celeste. Apparently, the hot springs that she’d read about in the brochure… well, it was nothing but amazing! The heat soaked into every muscle, and the steam felt like a world-class facial, but even that fantastic experience hadn’t taken the bee out of her bonnet. No, sir. It had not.
And by the time she’d gone back to her cottage, the first thing she did was change her clothes and then pour herself a shot of her current favorite spirit, an oaky reposado tequila that gave her just the right kick in the seat of her pants.
When that had burned its way down into her gut, and she’d blinked away the tears in her eyes, she squared her shoulders, marched out her door and headed up the mountain path to Xavier’s house.
Okay, so that had been her intent, but the march turned out to be a hike.
A hike like Texans took during the Runaway Scrape during the war with Mexico. By the time she saw anything remotely like a house she was hot, sweaty, and ready to turn right around and go back home.
And she would have done that if it hadn’t been for the smoke she saw coming up from around the next rock jutting out from the mountain. It didn’t smell like a brush fire. It didn’t smell like danger.
Instead of turning around and marching right back down the mountain, she kept going. A couple of steps here. A couple of steps there. And then, there it was.
An honest to goodness still. Okay, the building was there, and the doors were open, but it was a still. A finely crafted one too.
She’d seen her share of cobbled together stills in another town. It wasn’t the kind of trip she did normally, but while she was working for Chef Norton Hoyer he’d taken her on a purchasing trip. Instead of visiting vineyards, they’d taken a drive into a town that wasn’t just off the map,
it was out of the century. Those stills were a great example of upcycling, but she’d left her job soon after the chef had gotten shit-faced drunk and tried to push his way into her hotel room that night.
But, no matter how horrible that trip had been, it was amazing that those stills had held together, and for their primitive construction, the quality of the alcohol that they’d produced had been amazing!
Now, this still? As she peered into the building, she just marveled at it. She could tell at a glance that she could eat off the floors. Metal shone like it was new and all the parts… it was a classy facility. It was just-
“What the hell are you doing here?”
True froze like a statue, her nose scrunched up and her shoulders hitched high.
“I asked you a question.”
His voice was so close to her ear, she swore she felt his breath on her skin, lifting the loose wisps of hair that had escaped her clip on the long march up the mountain.
“True?”
God help her. The way he said her name. It was like a growl, but almost breathless with anger. It made her skin feel tight, her clothes tighter, and as she clutched the open door frame she wondered how she was going to get her voice to work when she was pretty damn sure she wasn’t going to be able to breathe.
“True,” he touched her shoulder and she jumped, stumbling back and away from the door and thankfully away from him.
It took her a moment to lift her head and meet his eyes.
He was furious.
There was no way for her to misunderstand the murderous gleam in his eyes.
Green. Goodness, his eyes were so green.
“I asked you a-”
“Question, yes.” True lifted a hand to touch her lips. She’d actually managed to speak. Will wonders never cease.
Yes, like those green eyes…
She shook herself trying to focus on the matter at hand. “I’m sorry, I’m a little scattered at the moment.”
Xavier folded his arms across his chest, and all she could do was stare.
The man was glaring at her, but the sun hit him at just the right angle and his forearms caught her eye. Muscle. His arms were muscled and the veins that traced across his skin reminded her of a marble statue in a fine art museum. What she wouldn’t give to trace her fingertips over those veins and-
“I’d like an answer.”
Yeah, an answer.
“I came up here to talk to you.”
He continued to stare.
And just maybe he was imagining tearing her into pieces and tossing her into a ravine.
“Look, I came to tell you that I’m not here to make your life difficult. I’m just here to work and help Celeste and Aaron open up the resort. So, I wanted to say that we don’t have to make things difficult.”
“We?”
She hoped he didn’t see the way her shoulders tightened up. The last thing she wanted him to think was that he intimidated her. “Well, it kind of takes two to tango, right? There can’t be a problem between two people if there’s just a problem on one side.”
She lifted her chin a little and gave him a look she hoped said that she was a confidant woman who wasn’t going to put up with his guff.
He took a step closer, to her and she swallowed.
Hard.
His scowl shifted and almost became a smile.
“What problem do you have with me?”
Oh, goodness. The way he spoke sounded almost like a purr. Disarming in a definitely alarming way.
“I’m sorry? What?”
He took another step closer and she blew out a breath. “You said that you have a problem with me.”
“No, I didn’t!” She stood a little bit taller, and she tried to hold it together. Why couldn’t he just be nice?
“You said that there couldn’t be a problem between two people if it’s only on one side. So, what’s your problem with me?”
She blinked, and he was suddenly close enough that she could feel the heat rolling off of his body. Had he really moved that fast?
“A problem?”
Goodness it was really hot this close to the still.
“Yes, True. You have a problem with me.”
“I do? Yes.” she straightened her spine and tilted her chin up so she could stare him right in the eyes.
Those beautiful green eyes.
Focus!
“Sure. Yes. Actually, I do.” She found her courage and it gave her a rush. “I want to tell you to stop growling at me. I’m not going to let you intimidate me. So, you can just get over this problem you have with me because I’m human.”
He laughed.
No, actually, he gave her a snort. It was only the hard-emerald glint in his eyes that told her he was laughing.
“See? I’m right.” She narrowed her eyes at him and barely kept herself from lifting a hand to poke him in the chest. “You don’t like me because I’m human.”
When he didn’t bite back at her she felt like she’d won a victory of sorts. Called him out on his bias. Cleared things up.
Then he spoke. “It’s not because you’re human.”
True felt like she’d hit a wall.
“It’s not?”
“No.”
“Then…” He unfolded his arms and dropped them to his sides, and just that simple movement made her realize that he was that much closer to her. “Then what is it?”
“You get under my skin.”
She felt the truth of his words under hers.
“And I don’t like it.”
True didn’t say a word. If Xavier was going to talk, she was going to let him. It certainly took long enough to get him to start, why would she make him stop?
He leaned in closer and his eyes closed, slowly. He drew in a breath, and his upper lip twitched, lifting high enough for her to see the very hint of fang. Xavier drew in another breath, an audible one that had her copying him, and the scent she drew into her lungs was his.
Sweat.
And cat.
It didn’t bother her. In fact, she took another breath and felt herself slipping into that odd fuzzy feeling again, as if everything that had been close around her was suddenly miles away.
She sagged forward and felt something clamp onto her arms, holding her steady and in place.
He had such strong hands-
“True?”
She shook her head, or at least she thought she did. “No, no,” she smiled when he touched a hand to her cheek to hold her head up, “don’t stop now.”
“Stop what?”
Did he really have to growl like that?
“I like the sound of your voice,” she wasn’t sure, but her voice sounded… slurred. “Tell me why you don’t like me.”
“Damn it, True. What’s wrong with you?”
“I wish I could say it was you, but I think… I think it’s this place.” She felt a little lightheaded. “It doesn’t help that you smell so good.”
“It’s not me.”
She could feel how tense he was through his hold on her arm, but he was still remarkably gentle where his hand was set against her cheek. It didn’t make any sense.
He didn’t make any sense. And the frustration that welled up snapped her out of the haze she’d been in.
“Why are trying to be a jerk?”
“It’s who I am, True. You need to know that. You need to know that you’re not safe here.”
Again, she struggled to understand. Beyond the way he looked at her like she’d stepped on his tail, and the way he snarled at her instead of just talking to her, Xavier Salazar was a jerk, but she just didn’t understand why.
Frustrated, she pushed him away and stumbled back, holding up a hand when he advanced on her. She wasn’t afraid of him, not the way he wanted her to be. She knew that even when he was angry and frustrated with her, his first instinct had been to protect her and had been each time.
Xavier might be a jerk, but he was trying to be one.
“Don’t.�
� She shook her head. “Don’t lie to me, Xavier.”
“Lie?” He fairly bellowed the word. “I don’t lie.”
She saw something in his eyes that seemed like hurt, but she couldn’t quite trust her mind to make sense of it, not when everything else was stirred up.
“Then why say that I’m not safe here? You’re not going to hurt me. I’m not afraid of-”
He had her up against the wall in a heartbeat, catching her breath in her lungs.
His hands held her in place as he slowly moved in toward her. Inch after inch, closer and closer, until only the thinnest sliver of air was left between their bodies.
Xavier leaned in closer, bringing his cheek close to hers as he spoke into her ear. “Be afraid, True. Don’t for an instant think that I’m not a danger to you.”
“You’re not going to kill me,” she almost laughed at the idea, but she thought that might hurt him even more. He was trying so hard to protect her even though he said he didn’t care for her. “You couldn’t.”
She couldn’t see it, but she swore she could feel the muscle in his jaw twitch.
“Why are you trying so hard to scare me away?”
“Why can’t you just listen?”
“I am,” her voice was barely a whisper, hoping to sneak past his defenses, “I just don’t agree with you.”
She tried to lift her hands to touch him, but he shifted his hands down toward her elbows, making it impossible.
“Damn it, True. You don’t know what you’re playing with here.”
She almost took pity on him, but it wasn’t just about him anymore.
If she was being honest with herself, completely honest, it hadn’t been just about him in the first place.
There was something about Xavier Salazar that got under her skin too. She just wasn’t going to let it go. Not when she could feel him all over her.
And wanted him inside of her.
That alone made her want to act.
When it came to sex, she’d never really seen what all the fuss was about, but being near him? Having his skin against hers? She got it. Or rather, she wanted it.
Wanted him.