Prey (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Mary Lou George

Finally he said, “Jade, nothing could wreck our friendship. I just want you to know I want you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

  How she kept the tears from falling, Jade would never know, but somehow she did. Dry eyed, she looked up at him with a tight smile. She took a step towards him, and he put his arms around her in a bear hug. Jade wanted to stay there forever. Tears threatening still, she gently pulled away. “I think I’ll leave early today, all things considered.”

  “Sure. That’s a good idea. You shouldn’t be out alone when it’s dark.” She started to walk away and he said, “Jade, we’ll stop this creature that’s after you. I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you, ever.”

  * * * *

  There was nothing for it. Christmas just kept on coming. Jade did all she could to immerse herself in holiday festivities, but it was hard to see Sam every day and at every function and know that she wouldn’t be going home with him. He was as good as his word. He was still her friend, sometimes so much so she wanted to brain him with one of Petra’s water buckets.

  When Reggie and Chase had their Christmas open house Jade prepared herself to see Sam and Michelle together. She heard his deep tones in the entrance hall and braced herself. She made her way to the Christmas tree and gently touched the aromatic evergreen branches. She rubbed the needles between her fingers then closed her eyes and inhaled the fragrance.

  Sam found her that way. Eyes closed smelling the Christmas tree.

  “Dreaming of Santa?” He bent and kissed her cheek in greeting.

  Jade wanted to sink into his embrace and stay there. She looked around and didn’t see Michelle. She couldn’t bring herself to ask him about her, so she made some pathetic excuse and walked away.

  In the kitchen, she rearranged a tray of food with great concentration. Gillian found her there.

  “You okay, Jade?”

  Snapping out of her self pity just for a moment, she looked at Gillian with a brave smile, “I’m fine, Gillian. I guess this time of year always puts a stain on people. There’s so much pressure to be jolly.”

  “What’s happened between you and Sam?” Gillian’s voice was steady as she asked the question.

  Jade looked away. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  Gillian scoffed, “Sure you do. You can’t hide it from me, Jade. I’m like a younger, more polite version of Aunt Ernestine when it comes to feelings.”

  Irritated Jade lashed out at her. “If you know so much, why don’t you tell me?” As soon as she said it, she regretted it and hurried to make amends. “I’m sorry, Gillian. You’re only trying to help, I know.”

  Gillian expressed her own brand of irritation. “If you think for one second that that man out there doesn’t care about you, you’re sadly mistaken.”

  Jade shook her head. “I know he cares about me. He’s been wonderful. It’s my problem not his.”

  “Michelle.”

  Jade froze. It took her a second to respond. “What about Michelle?”

  “Is Michelle standing between the two of you? Because if she is I think you’re crazy not to hip check her out of the way.”

  Jade giggled at the image. It gave her a guilty pleasure, and she tried to stamp it out, but Gillian’s own imagination fired up, and they both ended up laughing. It helped to clear the tension from between Jade’s shoulder blades, and she relaxed just enough to say, “I’m not being fair. Michelle has been nothing but nice to me. It goes against the grain. It’s the sisterhood, we’re supposed to support each other, not compete with each other.”

  “Normally I’d agree with you, but I don’t know if Michelle is as friendly as she appears.” Gillian was no longer laughing.

  “What makes you say that?” Jade was confused.

  Gillian leaned her hip against the counter and warmed to her subject. Hank rested at her feet. “Well, think about it. Why you? I mean, why befriend you? She’s barely spoken one word to me or Reggie, but she’s all over you. Why? I’ll tell you why, she’s threatened by you.”

  Jade shook her head, but Gillian continued, “No, seriously, think about it. It’s no secret that you are a person of great integrity, Jade. Make a friend of you and Michelle has extra insurance you won’t go near Sam.”

  Reggie swept into the room and saved Jade the response. “Hey, what are you guys doing in here without me? Come on, fess up. What ya’ll talkin’ bout?”

  Gillian and Jade smiled at Reggie’s mock southern accent.

  “Sam and Michelle,” Gillian said.

  Reggie narrowed her eyes and looked at Jade then Gillian with suspicion. “What about Sam and Michelle?”

  “The fact that I don’t think there is a Sam and Michelle.”

  Reggie raised her eyebrows. “Is that what’s happened to you two?”

  Jade said, “What, you too? sweet mother of God, does everyone know? Look, it doesn’t matter. Everything is fine. I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not. Sam looks miserable, and you’re not eating. You think I don’t notice these things because I’m so occupied eating everything in sight?”

  “Jade thinks that Michelle and Sam are a couple,” Gillian prodded.

  Reggie shook her head. “I wouldn’t bet on that. She’s too predatory for Sam. Are you in love with him?” Trust Reggie to get right to the point.

  Jade looked away. “Do we have to talk about it right now? There’s a party going on out there.”

  “Oh damn the party. It’s my house. Chase gave it to me so I can do what I want in it.” Reggie looked expectant and when Jade didn’t comply she said, “I’m all for it. I’m not sure how Chase will take it though, Jade. Sam’s experience far outweighs yours, and you are Chase’s little sister.”

  Gillian nodded. “Things could get messy.”

  “Of course things get messy, it’s a party.” Chase walked into the kitchen and cast a perplexed glance his wife’s way. “What are you doing in here? Don’t worry about the mess. I’ve arranged for a cleaning crew to come in and take care of all that.”

  Jade, Gillian and Reggie exchanged glances and started to laugh. Jade breathed a sigh of relief and linked her arm with her brother’s.

  “Well, aren’t you clever, big brother?” She walked back to the party on his steady arm.

  Chapter 25

  Jade spent the rest of the party avoiding Sam. She didn’t want to talk to him, but he seemed set on seeking her out.

  Ernestine’s keen gaze didn’t miss a thing and she took Jade aside. “Stop this foolishness right now, girl. You can’t avoid him forever, and if you do, I’m not sure you’ll stop this creature. Now, figure out a way to get past your differences with Sam, or I’ll do it for you.”

  Ernestine walked away before Jade could say anything. Shocked, she stood frozen in the library doorway when Sam sidled up beside her.

  “You’re under the mistletoe, you know.” He took her in his arms.

  It felt so good to feel his body against hers again, and for the moment she forgot all else and simply enjoyed herself. Sam’s brown eyes warmed as he looked in her eyes. He smiled crookedly and Jade was lost. He glanced up at the mistletoe and then kissed her. What started out as a polite kiss turned into something intensely erotic. She responded without thinking. Deliberately tuning out her treacherous thoughts, she kissed him back with everything she had. She could feel his body hard and strong against hers as he pressed her back against the door.

  She writhed, trying to get closer to him, she raised her knee. He took immediate advantage of the situation, grabbed her thigh and moved closer still.

  Somehow he managed to kick the library doors closed. There was nothing klutzy about him in that moment, and Jade was grateful. Time seemed to stand still. The sounds of the party faded and all Jade could hear was the pounding of her own heart.

  Sam whispered to her, “If you want me to stop, Jade, you’d better say so now.” Jade didn’t say a word. He groaned as if he was in pain. “I’m sorry, Jinx, but I don’t want to stay away from yo
u. I can’t. Please step away now if you don’t want this as much as I do.”

  Gillian and Reggie’s words echoed in her mind, drowning out the voice that warned her to protect herself at all costs. She decided to take the gamble. She knew Sam would never deliberately hurt her and decided to trust him.

  “I need to hear you say the words, Jade. Please.”

  In a husky voice she said, “Don’t stop. You couldn’t possibly want this more than I do.” With a flick of her wrist she locked the double doors. Chase and Reggie had decorated each room and lit every fireplace on the main floor. She took his hand and led him to the thick rug on the floor in front of the fireplace. She ran both her hands up his hard stomach and over his chest. He wore a wool cashmere jacket, and she slipped it off his shoulders. Next she applied herself to his shirt buttons. Her hands shook.

  He took both her hands in his and said, “Allow me.”

  Jade rejoiced when a couple of the offending buttons flew off. He looked down at her and cupped her chin in his palm. Her lips tasted his thumb as it stroked her full bottom lip. She sucked the teasing digit into her mouth, caressing it with her tongue and grazing it with her teeth.

  Within seconds, Sam had Jade’s soft sweater dress on the floor beside his shirt and jacket.

  With a self deprecating laugh he said, “Damn it, Jade, I wish I had time to appreciate what you’ve got on under that dress, but you’ll have to forgive me if this time I’m in a bit of a hurry.” He unhooked her bra with breathless ease. Lifting her up in his arms, Sam tenderly set her down on the rug before the fire. He joined her, naked and hard. Jade proved to him that she too was in a hurry by taking him inside her immediately. They made love to each other as the fire cast its orange glow over their entwined bodies.

  Spent but smiling, Sam pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her still trembling body. “You okay?”

  She laughed. “Can’t you tell?”

  “I just figured it was polite to ask.” His laughter joined hers.

  “Sam, there was nothing polite about what you just did to me.”

  He nodded. “You didn’t seem to mind.”

  She raised her upper body on an elbow and looked into his face. “I don’t mind at all. In fact, you can do that again.”

  “Don’t joke about it, Jinx. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility.”

  She looked down pointedly and said, “So I noticed.” With a crooked smile he grabbed her and rolled with her on the thick rug.

  * * * *

  Surreptitiously they slipped back to the party. Reggie and Gillian weren’t fooled by their casual behavior. They both raised their eyebrows at Jade and smiled knowingly. Jade blushed, but Sam handled the situation with aplomb.

  As he walked Jade past Gillian and Reggie and their raised eyebrows, he said, “Like you’ve never done that before.” He escorted her to the dining room where a huge spread was laid out. For the first time in weeks, she was hungry. She grabbed a plate and started piling food on it.

  He looked at her askance. “Are you sure you can eat all that?”

  She smiled at him brightly. “I’m channeling my inner Reggie.”

  “Good. I love to see you eat. You’re too skinny.” He bent and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

  Chase walked into the dining room just as Sam was straightening. He narrowed his eyes at his friend. He made note of Jade’s huge plate of food and broke into a huge smile, the one he always saved for Jade. Stealing from Sam’s plate, Chase bit into a brownie, broke out a chocolaty smile, and walked out of the room.

  Right then the holiday season took on a new excitement for Jade. She’d made her decision to trust Sam and her feelings for him. All seemed brighter in that moment. Remembering how good the brownies looked she turned to head back into the dining room.

  “Oooaff.” Tom Weatherby winced as if she’d hurt him.

  “Sorry, Tom.” She laughed. “I seem to be literally bumping into you a lot these days.”

  He nodded and smiled at her. “You really need to learn to watch where you’re going.”

  She put up a finger and wagged it at him. “Maybe you should stop sneaking up on me. Come with me, I’m in search of brownies.”

  He followed her, and Gridlock followed him. A little peeved, Gridlock reminded Jade that she’d promised to talk to Tom about resuming their daily run.

  Belatedly, Jade kept her word. “You know, Tom, you can run with Gridlock again. He’s in fine shape, and he misses it.”

  Surprised, Tom looked at her sharply. “I keep forgetting you can do that. Please tell him that we’ll get back to it tomorrow morning. We’ll start slowly.”

  “I don’t know that he’ll let you do that. He’s raring to go.” Jade patted the dog with enthusiasm. She smiled up at Tom. “I really enjoyed the Christmas pageant. You did a great job, even if you are a rather skinny Santa Claus.”

  Magically, Ernestine appeared at Tom’s side. She shook her head. “Santa Claus isn’t as fat as they depict him. Everyone’s watching their weight these days.” She looked Jade up and down. “You, my child, are too skinny. But you’re a good girl, and I love you.” She kissed Jade’s cheek and walked away.

  Jade and Tom exchanged amused glances.

  He said, “I think Ernestine got into the egg nog.”

  Just Finishing up his conversation with Travis’s father, Sam turned and looked at Tom. “Oh hey there, Tom.” They shook hands. “Ernestine tells me that you’ve offered to drive her home. That’s nice of you. She’s had a bit to drink.”

  Tom laughed. “Yeah, Jade and I were just commenting on that. I’m happy to drive her anywhere she wants to go. I like her very much. She’s been good to me.”

  “That’s the best recommendation you can get around here. One kind word from Ernestine, and you’re in.”

  Jade said, “And being an excellent principal and all around upstanding citizen isn’t enough?”

  Sam laughed. “Still, in New Crescent nothing beats Ernestine’s seal of approval.”

  “She just told me that I’m a good girl and she loves me. I feel honored.”

  Sam put his arm around her, “You’ve always belonged in this town, Jinx.”

  Tom excused himself to go get something to eat, and Sam escorted Jade to a chair in the living room. He pulled another chair close to hers and with that simple action he created a private world for the two of them.

  “I had it out with my parents.”

  She looked concerned, but he shook his head and reassured her that he was okay.

  “I put them on notice. I’m going to do all I can to clean up Daniels Pharmaceuticals. A company like that doesn’t have to be a plague on the world. It can do so much better. It can lead the way. Set the example. I want to use it to help people instead of exploit them.”

  Jade was overwhelmed. “What about the clinic? You’re doing good work there too.”

  “The clinic is where my heart is. I’ll always have that. But this thing with Daniels is a long term proposition. I found out from the evil geek I bought that my father has sanctioned some unimaginable experiments on animals.”

  Jade shook her head. “If you don’t mind, I don’t want to know the particulars.”

  “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on telling you. I wish I didn’t know myself. I won’t burden you with the knowledge as well. I warned Satan and Cruella that if they didn’t put a stop to that part of their activities, I’d destroy the company instead of saving it.”

  “Are you sure you’re prepared to do that?”

  Sam shook his head. “I don’t want to destroy anything, but I will if necessary. The Old Families will support me. Travis’s Dad just assured me of that. The Old Families will carry the board of Directors.”

  Jade frowned, puzzled. “But how could they? Your parents are both from Old Families. They’d be turning against one of their own. What did Ernestine say?”

  “She’s staying silent on this one, but she keeps on telling me that it is my responsibi
lity to stop this creature who’s stalking you. So I figure the two must be linked.” Sam took her hand, and he waited for her to speak.

  “Funny, Ernestine’s told me the same thing. I guess we’re in this together, huh?”

  “Do you have a problem with that?”

  “No, not really, but you have to stop trying to protect me.”

  He shook his head. “You can’t ask that of me. I’ll always protect you.”

  She grinned ruefully, shaking her head. “Okay, I can accept that, but you cannot keep anything from me. I can help. Maybe you’ll need my protection.”

  “I won’t keep anything from you.” He smiled crookedly. “Jinx, aren’t you a little small to be my protector?” He spilled his drink when he leaned over and kissed her.

  * * * *

  Much later that night, Jade walked up to bed. She didn’t stick around to help with the cleanup, but rather left it to Chase. She took him at his word when he said not to worry about it. She didn’t and neither did Reggie.

  It was still after 1am when Jade finally made her way to bed. Since she’d been staying with her brother, she didn’t feel right about inviting Sam to spend the night with her, no matter how much she wanted to. It looked like Chase was getting used to the idea of his friend and his sister together, but Jade didn’t want to press her luck. As she pulled the covers up and rested her head on the pillow, she spared a fleeting thought for Michelle, but with determination she forced the thought away. Sleep came almost immediately for the first time in too long.

  * * * *

  Its prey traveled in groups of three now, making the hunt more challenging. It watched as people left McCann House and got in their cars. Only dogs chased cars. It was far superior to the animals, their blood offended it. The other night, that stag had tainted the kill. A lowly animal wasn’t worth killing.

  Soon it would end. After mating, the creature would hunt only in the city where its prey was plentiful and easy to dispose of. New Crescent was becoming a little too dangerous, they were getting close and still it hadn’t taken the green eyed one. It had to mate before the New Year. Blood was no longer assuaging its hunger, but that didn’t stop it from biting down on its own gnarled hand. It drank, but was left unsatisfied. Silently the creature moved closer to the house. Could it take three?