And just why the hell was she cataloguing his features like they mattered, or made any difference at all? What was relevant was how freakin’ big he was, and she swallowed hard as she took in his size again. He could easily overpower her, and shit, she hadn’t thought to put her heavy-duty stage makeup on, the stuff that was so damned expensive, that covered up her freckles. Freckles were a distinguishing feature, and hers were dark, making her stand out. That was the last thing she needed.
What was she thinking? He said her name, so he clearly already knew who she was. Concealing makeup was a nonissue right now. Fuck, he could overpower her easily. Resisting the urge to put a protective hand over her belly, just in case she managed to escape and Winston didn’t know, she stared at him and flicked her eyes to the door, judging the distance and his strength.
His size might make him a tad slower, but if he got ahold of her… she shuddered, taking in the way his t-shirt was clinging to his big chest, the way the sleeves were straining to contain his massive biceps. Fuck, she was so screwed.
But what choice did she have except to try? She couldn’t just meekly stand there and let him take her to Winston. Hell, she’d thought that if her past caught up to her again, it would be Winston himself standing in front of her. He was who she saw in Tulsa, after all. But this time, he’d sent one of his goons instead. Not that it mattered. She hadn’t even known anyone was moving around in the house, so Winston would have taken her by surprise, too. Blowing out a breath, she tensed to run, lifting her foot and freezing when he spoke again.
“Don’t move!’” he barked, taking a step toward her.
“D-don’t come any closer,” she said, cursing inside over how weak and wavering her voice came out. She’d meant to sound fierce and authoritative. Instead, she sounded like she imagined a newborn kitten would if it could speak.
Freezing, he lifted his hands slowly, soothingly, brow twitching as he studied her closely. “It’s okay. I’m not coming closer, and I won’t hurt you. I just didn’t want you stepping in the glass, is all. I’m Jameson, Tarun’s brother. She told you about me, yeah?”
Stilling, she studied him, noticing for the first time that he and Tarun had similar features. The cold in her veins slowly dissipated as heat washed over her body. Shit, what must he think of her? She’d basically panicked and gone a little nuts, although really, if he knew her reasons, he’d understand. Not that she’d ever, in a million years, tell him why she reacted the way she had.
She slowly let some of the tension ease from her shoulders, though she couldn’t release it all. Whether he knew Winston or not, he was still a man, and a huge one, at that. Men couldn’t ever be trusted, and they were all threats.
“Sorry. You just startled me, is all. I didn’t mean to freak out.”
His wide-set dark blue eyes narrowed, and she sensed that he somehow knew she was lying out of her ass with that. “It’s okay. You didn’t know. Don’t move yet, though. Let me clean up the glass. You’re barefoot, and I don’t want you to slice your foot open.”
She didn’t want that either because it meant she couldn’t run as well if a true threat showed up, but Lord. She didn’t know if she could stand there while he cleaned it up. He’d be far too close to her, closer than she was comfortable with, and she’d have trouble controlling her reaction. She never wanted any man to be that close to her again.
Glancing down, she looked closely and saw a path to her right that was relatively free of glass. Praying she didn’t step on anything, she quickly went that way before Jameson could stop her, coming to a stop by the kitchen table.
“See? I was fine. Let me grab my shoes and I’ll clean my mess up.”
He eyed her with his brow furrowed, and she thought for a moment that he was going to scold her for moving, but he just shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve already got my shoes on, and I can have this cleaned up before you can even get back downstairs.”
Cadence started to protest, but he disappeared through a door in the pantry, reemerging moments later with a broom and dustpan. As she watched him sweep up glass shards, she shook her head, feeling kind of bewildered. She’d never seen a man clean anything in real life, especially not when there was a woman around who could do it, so it was a little mind blowing to see him doing it. Winston certainly never lifted a finger to help around the house.
“So Tarun said something’s wrong with your car? That you have to keep putting liquid in it?”
She couldn’t help jumping as his deep voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “Oh, is Tarun awake?”
He shook his head, dashing her hopes of using his sister as a buffer. She wasn’t at all comfortable here in the kitchen with him. Not only was he a man, but he was a stranger, at that. Not that knowing him would have made a difference, not really. If a woman was smart, she was wary of all men, regardless of how well she knew them.
“No, I talked to her last night when I got home. She usually sleeps in a little on Sundays, but I’m sure she’ll be up soon.”
Relief flowed through her veins, weakening her knees as she took a seat at the table. Her buffer should be around soon. “Okay. And yeah, I was putting coolant in the engine. I think it has a leak. I had to stop and put more in a few times yesterday, closer and closer together each time.”
Dumping the glass in a paper bag, he glanced over at her. “If you get your keys for me, I’ll check it out. It’ll probably be an easy fix.”
“You don’t have to, really. If you point me to an auto shop, I can take it there and get out of y’all’s hair. I’ve already imposed enough.”
He chuckled as he shook his head. “For one, it’s Sunday. We only have one repair shop and it’s closed. For two, Carlisle owns it, and he’s eighty if he’s a day. Most don’t trust him with their vehicles, and bring them to me, anyway.”
“Is that what you do, then? A mechanic?”
“No, I have a different job. But Durga is small and most of us walk where we need to go. So there’s really not a whole lot of business in that field, which is likely why no one else bothered to open up another shop.”
Sighing, she nodded as she stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
Quickly heading to her room, she grabbed her car keys and went back downstairs. Jameson was waiting on her, still in the kitchen, the glass all cleaned up and the broom and dustpan put away. “Here you go. I’m sorry about this. Really. I don’t want to be an—”
“I have a feeling you’re going to say imposition, and you need to stop. You’re not, at all. Besides, I don’t do my usual job on Sundays, and I like to keep busy. This is no problem at all.”
She got just close enough to drop the keys into his palm and then backed up quickly, needing more space between them. Lord, his hands were huge, as big as the rest of him. “Okay, then. Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“I’ll go check it out now. Hopefully, you can be on the road shortly.”
Brow furrowing, she watched as he spun around and left the room. It felt like he wanted her gone as much as she wanted to leave, but it was at total odds with his warmth and general niceness since they met. But then, weren’t all men able to deceive, pretending one thing when they were something else entirely?
Tarun walked in, distracting her from her thoughts, and smiled sleepily at her. “Morning, Cady. I’m sorry I wasn’t up when you came down. I thought, as exhausted as you looked, that you’d sleep later than me. Want some breakfast?”
“Sure. What can I do to help?”
Getting the milk and eggs out of the fridge like Tarun directed, Cadence willed all thoughts of Jameson, and men in general, out of her mind. She enjoyed cooking, and it would be nice to do it without thoughts of men and the disaster that was her life intruding.
Jameson cursed as he stared under the hood of Cady’s car. There were so many issues that needed addressed, but her main problem at the moment was a cracked radiator. He added the rest of the coolant, along with some water, and tried to crank the engine, wincing a
t the resulting noise. It finally reluctantly caught, and the engine sounded sick, sputtering and coughing. Turning it back off, he got out, spotting a trail of coolant and water already running down the angled driveway.
There was no way she could drive it this way, clearly. The oil change and spark plugs it so obviously needed wouldn’t take long, but he was almost positive Carlisle wouldn’t have the radiator in stock that she needed. And getting parts into Durga took days.
So much for getting her out of here quickly. She’d have to stay longer, it couldn’t be avoided. He needed to call the War Cats soon to get the word spread that they had a human here. They wouldn’t like hiding their tigers or nature, but it was necessary. And they were for the most part still suspicious of outsiders, so Lord only knew how they’d treat her if they saw her. He didn’t like the thought of them hurting her feelings.
“How bad is it?”
Jumping, he cursed as his head hit the open hood of the car. Damn, she walked silently, especially for a human. Shifters had enhanced hearing, so he should have heard her coming. Rubbing his head, he turned to face her, frowning when she cringed back.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I thought you heard me.”
“It’s okay. I was deep in thought and wasn’t paying attention.” Frowning, he studied her as she huddled into herself. “Hey, it really is okay. I’ve got a hard head. It would take a lot more than that little tap to hurt it.”
She nodded, slowly raising her eyes and reluctantly looking at him. “If you’re sure.”
“I am,” he assured her. “As for your car, it’s not too bad, but it’s not a totally simple fix. Your radiator’s cracked, so you’ll need a new one. The good news is it’s easy to install. The bad news is it’ll take a few days to get a new one in. Carlisle doesn’t keep many spare parts on hand, and the odds of him having this one are slim.”
Full lips parting, she shook her head. “Oh, no. I need to get back on the road. I’m not far enough away yet.”
He frowned again. “Far enough away yet? From what?”
Her eyes widened for a split second. “Nothing, it’s not important. I’d just hoped to be leaving Denver this morning and on my way again. Can’t we just put some duct tape where it’s cracked and call it good for now?”
He threw his head back with a laugh. Was she serious with that? “No, that won’t work at all. It might, maybe, possibly, get you three miles down the road, but it’s doubtful. No, it needs replaced. It’s the only way to stop the problem. If the car overheats too much and for too long, you could blow the engine.”
Shoulders slumping more, she sighed. “Are radiators very expensive?”
“Not too much, but if you’re planning on driving much farther, you should really get the spark plugs and oil changed. They need it. If you don’t, you’ll just end up having more trouble down the road. And old oil can cause a whole host of issues I promise you don’t want to deal with down the road.”
She seemed to shrink in on herself again, posture defeated. He studied her, wondering if money was the problem. He could offer to help, but he wasn’t sure she’d accept. In the little time he’d known her, she seemed to have as much pride as a War Cat, and that was saying something.
But she clearly needed help. And he felt deeply uneasy over the way she flinched and cringed when he came close. She’d been expecting a harsh reaction when he hit his head on the hood, and that didn’t sit well with him. And his gift was blaring loud and clear—she definitely had a dark and troubled past.
He watched as she scuffed the toe of her sneaker against the driveway, shoulders still slumped. It probably made him a dick considering the situation and her reactions, but he couldn’t help noticing how beautiful she was. Her dark brown hair was loose, spilling over her shoulders and resting about midway down her biceps, the strands shiny and thick. Her eyes were almost the same shade, reminding him of melted chocolate, and her nose was pert, set above lips that were his fantasy. Or at least, he was certain they would be, if he’d ever stopped to think about what his perfect lips were. Her lower lip was full, but her top was bigger, plump, with a bee stung look.
But balancing out all that movie star gorgeousness, which was frankly a little intimidating, was a smattering of dark freckles, spread across her high cheekbones and nose. They were adorable, and made her look far more approachable.
She was probably average in height, coming up to his chin. He really couldn’t see much of the rest of her. She was wearing some sort of stretchy pants that flared a bit mid-calf, and her t-shirt was really baggy, hanging off of her. But even still, he could tell she had a pretty great rack. Even a huge shirt couldn’t hide that.
Yeah, he noticed. He was a guy, right?
But he still felt like an asshole douche for noticing. She wasn’t comfortable with men, that much was clear, and her reactions made him wonder how bad the men in her life had been. He actually felt violent at the thought of someone hurting her, and his brows twitched at the realization.
He was protective by nature, immensely so, which made growing up in a tribe like this one, where women were treated like shit for so long, hard to do. But this was even worse than his usual reaction. He thought he could kill whoever hurt her with zero remorse, and hell, he didn’t even know how bad it was, or what she’d gone through at all.
Oh, we’ll kill them, and we’ll take pleasure in it, his tiger growled.
This time, Jameson full on frowned. As protective as he was, that was the first time his tiger had advocated doing something about it. Usually, his cat was the one talking him down when he wanted to go overboard. His animal’s reaction to this was so different from how he normally was.
“I’m not sure I have the money to do all that,” she said softly, bringing him back to the moment. “It’s gotten me this far, though. Maybe it could make it to Montana, as long as I get the radiator fixed.”
“Is that where you’re headed? Montana?”
Uneasiness skated over her stunning features. “For now. But we’re close to Wyoming, and it isn’t a very long state. I could get there with it like it is.”
He shook his head, brow twitching. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. The way your car’s running makes it very iffy. I really don’t recommend you attempting it. And it’ll cost you more if you need to do it on the road, or even if you somehow made it there. My labor’s free, and the cost of what I need isn’t bad at all.”
“But I still need to pay for a place to stay while I’m here.” She paused, face paling and making her freckles stand out in stark relief. “Wait, Tarun said y’all don’t have a motel here. Shit.”
Despite the seriousness of the subject, and her distress, a smile still hovered on his lips. She had a soft southern accent, and it was adorable, especially when she cursed. “You’re welcome to continue staying here until your car’s fixed. We have a big house, and it’s not a big deal, seriously.”
It was obvious she wanted to argue, but she didn’t have any options, so she didn’t. Thankfully. He didn’t want to have to fight with her on it. “Okay,” she said reluctantly. “Thanks. But I’ll pay you for the room.”
“You don’t have—”
“I do. The equivalent of what I would to stay in a place like this if it was a hotel.” Glancing at the house, she bit down on her bottom lip, worry in her eyes.
Fix it. Take the worry away, his tiger pleaded.
I’m gonna do my best, he replied, surprised with his cat, but not about to let it distract him.
“What’s wrong, Cady?”
“It’s just—well…”
“You can tell me,” he said, taking a step forward and then freezing when she flinched, her nervous gaze shooting to meet his.
Her shoulders slumped as she exhaled. “It’s just that your house is beautiful. I’ve never been in anything as nice, and I’m a little worried about how much a place like this costs to stay in.”
Warmth filled his chest, and he loved that she liked his home, tho
ugh he couldn’t have said why it mattered so much that she did. He’d already guessed money was a problem, by the condition of her car and her reluctance to fix all of the pressing issues with it, but this just confirmed it. Mind racing, he tried to think of ways to put her at ease while making sure she kept her money. He was pretty sure if he flat out refused to let her pay, she’d throw some more water in the engine of her old car and take off.
“Can you cook?” he blurted.
Frowning, she looked at him in confusion. “Yeah. I’m no chef, but I can cook.”
“Then you can cook in exchange for staying here and labor on your car. Tarun starts a new job tomorrow, so she won’t have much time, and she doesn’t really like to cook anyway. It would be a huge help to us and give us time to find someone else who can do it on a more permanent basis.”
She searched his eyes but he’d mostly been telling the truth. He just hoped she could tell, since she couldn’t hear lies like his kind could. Tarun hated cooking, always had, and he couldn’t even stick an already prepared meal in the oven without forgetting about it and burning it all to hell. The only thing he fibbed on was looking for someone to cook for them, although now that he said it, it wasn’t a half bad idea.
“That doesn’t seem like an even trade. Cooking a few meals isn’t worth what the cost of staying in a place like this is, let alone labor.” She continued to worry her lower lip, and he nearly groaned, desire to take over for her and nibble on that delicate flesh washing over him.
And then he felt like a total ass, because she was obviously worried about much bigger things than that, and seemed so wary of him. He tried to rein in his thoughts and the reaction of his body, but it was difficult. He’d felt desire for a woman before, of course, but not like this.
“Believe me, the favor you’ll be doing us is huge.”
She sighed, finally letting go of her lip. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
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