by Anna Lowe
Jesus. She was so screwed.
“I’m fine anywhere,” Jake offered.
Mighty fine, her fox said dreamily.
“You’ll both stay at the plantation house,” Kai said in a that’s that tone. With Silas away, Kai was the ranking shifter at Koa Point. “It makes the most sense. Plus, we might need the guesthouse for that guy Silas was trying to negotiate with.”
Ella frowned. That guy, she’d heard, was a lion shifter. Or was it a tiger? She could never remember which. Some high-up in the feline shifter world that Silas was eager to establish a peace pact with after recent tensions involving a rogue lion-vampire mix. She wished Silas were around to clarify, but he and Cassandra were in New York, trying to track down the last of the Spirit Stones.
“Nothing’s a problem for Jake,” Boone said, smacking him on the back. “We can count on him.”
“Happy to help,” Jake said in that steady, boy-next-door way.
Ella was tempted to blurt out the whole sad story. I love Jake. I need Jake. But if we get too close, I won’t be able to resist him like before. He’s my destined mate.
But she couldn’t say any such thing. The guys would probably joke that she only loved her M16. The women would wink and tell her to enjoy the night. Jake, meanwhile, didn’t know about shifters or destined mates. Hell, if she told him, he’d probably run for the hills. Or worse, he’d declare himself tough enough to handle anything and get himself killed for honor’s sake.
So she kept her lips glued together and caved in. “Fine.”
But it wasn’t fine, and she knew it. Somehow, she had to find a way out of this mess.
Chapter Three
Jake pounded down the shoulder of the highway on what had become his regular evening run, not so much taking in the sunset as mulling over the past week — his first on Maui. The work was good. The people were good. But Ella — Christ, she still made his body rage with need.
Hence the running, which he hoped would sweat the desire out of him. Not that it worked. So maybe he had to rethink the get her off my mind plan and try something else — like get her out of my system by giving in to temptation instead. Surely, he and she would burn through each other within a couple of days. Chemistry that intense wouldn’t last forever, right?
A low, grumbly voice cackled in the back of his mind. Wanna bet?
A red Ferrari zipped by in the oncoming lane, and the driver waved out the open top. “Hey, man. Slow down.”
Jake shook his head. Only Boone would break the speed limit in his sports car and yell at a runner to slow down.
“Maybe you—” Jake started to retort, but he broke off when a police vehicle appeared in hot pursuit. The lights were flashing, and Officer Dawn Meli — Hunter’s partner — waved to Jake as she flew by.
Jake grinned. “Never mind.” From what he’d heard, Dawn ticketed Boone practically every week.
He ran on, and within three steps, his mind was back on Ella. She might be one of the guys to the rest of her unit, but to him… She was everything he’d ever want in an army buddy combined with everything he’d ever dreamed of in a woman, all wrapped into one.
So, obviously, his interest in Ella hadn’t faded — not over the past year and a half, when he hadn’t touched another woman, though not for lack of offers — and certainly not over the past week. What he couldn’t figure out was Ella’s side of things. Did her mind blur every time they came close, sending zaps of sensual energy through her body until it was hard to see straight? Did the thrill — the feeling of an addiction waiting to happen — tempt her the way it tempted him?
A truck rattled by in the southbound lane, and Jake picked up the pace for the last two miles of his run, pushing his body hard. Usually, he could tune out everything when he got in the zone, but Ella never left his mind.
For the past week, she’d avoided him — unusual behavior for a woman more likely to chew out a man’s ass if she caught him checking out her ass or slacking on the job. When he and she did occupy the same time and space, Ella was cool, distant, and strictly professional.
So maybe she wasn’t interested in him, after all.
But from time to time, he’d catch her eyes flash before they flicked away, and he knew. Eyes didn’t lie, as his mother used to say whenever she caught him or one of his brothers up to no good. And Ella’s eyes — while near-impossible to catch hold of these days — sparkled every time he managed to pin them down. So, yeah. Ella felt what he did and as intensely.
So why did she open her mouth as if to say Jake, I need to tell you something but then snap it shut and hurry away? Why did she look up from petting Keiki to share a wide, easy grin — then go grim as if she’d just remembered something terrible about him?
“Whoa! Watch it.” He darted toward the edge of the road as a car zipped by, too close for comfort. He turned for a second look as it sped on, weaving back to the center of its lane before disappearing around a bend.
Another tourist, he figured, too busy checking out the sunset to watch the road.
He pounded onward, pumping his arms, assuring himself that the couple of injuries he’d sustained over the years hadn’t left a permanent mark. He thought about the night ahead too, and his new job.
So far, it was working out well — at least, as far as work went. Kai had assigned him and Ella the night shift from 22:00 to 06:00, with him covering the plantation perimeter, while Ella patrolled the outer boundaries of the main estate. So, really, it was an ordinary patrol schedule like he’d worked countless times before. And, hell. It sure beat the Middle East, even if he did have to deal with the temptation of Ella every day. In some ways, there was a reassuring familiarity to the whole routine — striding soundlessly through the shadows and underbrush, keeping his senses piqued. Stopping to listen for sounds that didn’t fit. Pacing along the mile-long perimeter of the plantation, making sure everyone was safe and secure.
The unusual part of the job was the fact that the guys of Koa Point threw in their own, overlapping patrols on a schedule they refused to share. That and the fact that the others studied every detail as if they were in a war zone and the slightest oversight could mean life or death. They insisted on checking out the smallest irregularity, which is why Jake had pointed out the footprints he’d found the first night.
“How about these wolf tracks?” he’d asked.
Hunter had dismissed those after one quick look. “Just a big dog. See that nick between the toes? He’s around here all the time. Nothing to worry about.”
Jake squinted at the tracks. He would have sworn that was a wolf. There were two other sets of canine prints Hunter also okayed. “But any other dog prints, you tell us about right away. Roger?”
Jake had nodded. “Roger.”
A little weird, but what the heck. If Hunter wasn’t worried about big dogs, neither was he. Other than the pair of teens looking for a place to make out he’d sent packing the first night — sorry, kids — there’d been nothing out of the ordinary. In many ways, it was a comfortable echo of his structured military life, and that suited him fine. Hypervigilance was a plus in this job, so that fish-out-of-water feeling didn’t strike him as much as it had over the previous few weeks.
“Everything fine? How are you settling in?” Tessa had asked. “Anything we can get you?”
“Got everything I want,” he’d replied. If he didn’t count Ella, he really did have everything. But he was burning with the desire to talk to Ella — even just once — and figure things out.
Okay, and maybe burning with some other desires, too.
Ella aside, it was one of the more low-key assignments he’d ever had. Whatever downtime Jake didn’t spend catching up on sleep or running, he devoted to practicing sitting out in the open without constantly surveying the bushes for enemy outposts. He’d found a pile of dusty old puzzles in a corner of his room and started piecing them together out there on the porch. Puzzles kept his mind busy without letting it get too busy, so it was therapeutic in a way
. The design didn’t matter so much — just the satisfaction of all those pieces snapping neatly into place, forming a whole instead of a mess of parts. Which probably said a lot about his state of mind, though he decided not to dwell on that.
He checked his watch as he leaned into the last turn of his run, pushing harder. Totally in the zone now, hammering away, feeling good—
His smooth step faltered as he twisted to look over his shoulder at whatever his sixth sense alerted him to.
“What the…” he muttered as a car sped into view.
He’d been running in the shoulder of the oncoming lane to keep an eye on each car as it sped by, while the cars coming from behind him were all the way over on the other side. But that white sedan didn’t stay on its side. It accelerated across the road and came right at him.
“Hey!” he yelled, waving the driver away. “Watch it!” But the car kept coming as if intent on flattening him.
Then he realized that car was definitely coming for him. Engine roaring, tires spinning, front grate grinning at him like a hungry shark. He waited one more second then dove for the side of the road.
Beeeeep! The car whooshed past an inch from his heels.
Jake crashed through a roadside bush and rolled when as he hit the ground. A split second later, he scrambled to his feet and spun to face the road.
“What the hell?” he muttered as the car raced out of sight. He listened for a full minute, barely moving except for his heaving chest. Was that idiot coming back? All he’d really caught was the silhouette of a tall man with long, wispy hair. Was nearly killing someone that guy’s idea of a prank?
Slowly, Jake leaned over and dusted off his legs. He was scraped all over and bleeding from a couple of scratches, though it was nothing a shower couldn’t fix. But the sight of the car hurtling right toward him — that stuck in his mind.
“Asshole.”
He edged back to the road and started running again, watching and listening in case the idiot made another pass. He was fairly sure it was the same white sedan that had passed earlier — but then again, those rental cars all looked alike. Two minutes later, he stopped at the branch-off to the private road to Koa Point and the plantation grounds, watching the road like a hawk. Finally, he jogged down the lane to cool off. His heart still hammered in his chest, though, and his mind spun wildly. Why would anyone do such a thing?
He slowed to a walk when he approached the house, still absorbed in what had just happened. But out of nowhere, Ella’s voice stopped him in his tracks. All business, all military.
“McBride. Meeting tonight at 20:00.”
He looked up and found her standing on the porch of the once-grand plantation house. The homestead spread twice as wide as the big house on his family’s ranch, its length accentuated by a long, sprawling porch that took in a huge, seemingly endless ocean view. But the roof sagged in places, the floorboards were rotting, and most of the rooms were unused.
He nodded. “20:00 tonight. Any idea what it’s about?”
When Ella shook her head, her ponytail waved around, and the last rays of sunlight glinted in it. God, he loved that. A little hint of her feminine side in spite of everything she did to look tough.
“Silas and Cassandra are coming home. Everyone always gets together for that.”
That sounded like good news, but Ella’s mood was somber and her shoulders tense, giving him the distinct impression something had come up — something more than just the return of their commander and his fiancée.
Over the past days, it had gradually dawned on him how concerned everyone was about whatever business Silas was taking care of in New York. Like it wasn’t just business but something much more important than that. Something connected to the enemies they’d hinted at, perhaps, and the need to watch over the estate constantly. He’d come across Boone and Kai discussing Silas’s search — or had they said research? Either way, they’d shut up when he came near, and it hadn’t been his place to ask. But something was definitely up.
“Whoa.” Ella did a double take, staring at his scratched legs. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” he muttered, heading for his end of the house. Ella had assigned him the north wing when he’d moved in — as far from her quarters in the south wing as possible.
But now, she pulled him into the light and studied his bloodied elbows. “Nothing happened?”
“It’s all superficial.”
She crooked an eyebrow at him. “And it happened when…?”
When some maniac tried to run me off the road flew to the tip of his tongue, but all he said was, “I lost my footing somewhere along the line.”
She snorted. “Right. Jake McBride, losing his footing. Being clumsy. Is that what they gave you the Distinguished Service Cross for?”
He couldn’t help but swell with pride. So Ella knew he’d earned one. Not that he’d ever acted in the hope of collecting medals — just to get his unit to safety and to get a job done.
“Guess I wasn’t paying attention.”
She snorted even louder. “Right. Sure.” Then she pointed to one of the chairs on the porch. “Let me have a look.”
“It’s nothing. Just a few scratches.”
“Sit,” she ordered, giving him a little shove. “And tell me what really happened.”
He plonked down in the creaky porch chair, protesting the whole time. She kneeled, grabbed one of the napkins left under a rock on the porch table — one of Tessa’s attempts at civilizing the place — and dabbed at his bloody shin.
“I was running… Ow.” He grimaced as she plucked a thorn from an open cut. Of course, it was kind of nice to have her fuss over him. Really nice, if he were honest.
“Don’t be a baby. Now sit still.”
He did sit still, mainly because she was so close. The light of the setting sun glinted off her hair, giving it that coppery sheen he sometimes glimpsed. He inhaled deeply, savoring her faint, floral scent. A scent that reminded him of untouched plains and mile-high mountains. Home, in a word.
Ella put a hand on his knee and rose a little higher, checking his thigh. Blood rushed through his veins, and the minor aches and pains faded away, replaced by a warm, sweet heat.
And…damn. It was happening again. That invisible force, that black hole that sucked him in whenever he got too close to Ella.
“So tell me…” Ella looked up and trailed off, catching the way he looked at her. And hell, the pink in her cheeks gave her away too. Her lips shone, and her eyes seemed to glow. Which had to be a trick of the light, but wow. She leaned closer, and Jake heated in anticipation. A kiss. What he wouldn’t give for a kiss.
They both leaned closer, focused entirely on each other’s lips—
“Damn it,” Ella muttered, jerking to her feet.
Jake blinked a couple of times then stood without thinking, making the chair screech. “Ella. Wait.”
But she didn’t wait. She took two shaky steps away, muttering to herself.
“What is it?” he demanded, suddenly tired of messing around.
She looked at her feet. “There’s that meeting Kai called at eight.”
He shook his head. “What is it with us, I mean?”
A tic set in on her right cheek, and she scowled at a rotting floorboard. “What us?”
He took a step closer. “Us, us. That night. That one time we—”
Her cheeks went red, and her eyes darted all over the place — except toward him. “That didn’t happen.”
She might as well have stuck that big Bowie knife of hers in his gut and twisted a few times. “It didn’t happen?”
Ella whirled to walk away, but he followed, feeling his face heat.
“It didn’t happen?” His voice rose, but he couldn’t help it, and he grabbed her hand to stop her. “That night was one of the only good things that happened in that whole mess of a war. And you’re saying it didn’t happen?”
Ella’s eyes flashed as she backed toward the wall. “We said we’d kee
p it to just that one night.”
He followed, not wanting to cage her in but determined not to let her run this time.
“I’ve tried, Ella. You’ve tried. But it’s still there.” He waved in the few inches between their bodies. “It’s like something else is driving this, and I have no idea what it is.”
Her eyes flashed with emotions he couldn’t read, and a single word fell from her lips. “Destiny.”
It sounded strangely ominous, matching Ella’s stricken expression.
“Whatever it is, I’m sick of fighting it. Don’t you think we ought to give us another chance?”
The flash in her eyes said yes, so he kept pressing forward with careful steps until Ella was nearly backed against the outer wall of the house, leaving her enough space to slide away if she insisted. But she didn’t. She just glared at him. Or rather, glared through him as if to blame someone — or something — else for what had happened back then.
“Say something. Say anything,” he growled. “Just don’t say it never happened. Say you regret it if you have to—”
She shook her head immediately. “I never said I regretted it.”
He gulped, staring at her. “Then what? What is it that’s holding us back?”
Ella grimaced. “Things you can’t understand.”
“So, explain.”
She shook her head again. “I can’t.”
Jake tilted his head, studying her. He’d never seen Ella look so stuck or helpless. Ella didn’t do helpless. She didn’t know the meaning of I can’t.
He leaned closer until his lips were an inch away from hers. Less than an inch, maybe.
“Please tell me, Ella,” he whispered. “Tell me you’re not interested. Tell me you don’t want me.”
“I do want you.”
It was ridiculous what a few words could do to a man’s heart, no matter how hard he tried to keep it locked away.
“Then why do you keep pushing me away?”
She didn’t reply, but she didn’t move away. In fact, her hands clutched at his shirt, keeping him close. He nestled closer, sliding his arms over her shoulders, drawn by that body-to-body gravity that set in every time they got too close.