by Bonnie Vanak
“I’m still alone. I’ll always be alone,” he whispered into the night.
He lay awake, the thought aching inside him for a long time.
Chapter 5
Over breakfast, they talked about the journey ahead. In a chambray blue work shirt, faded jeans and hiking boots, Guy looked rugged and earthy. He’d shaved and the clean look made his face appear more vulnerable. She glanced up from slicing her banana.
“You look a little pale. Rough night?”
“The bed takes a little getting used to,” he muttered.
She could only imagine. For a moment, he looked like a lost puppy. Then he flexed his shoulders. Her gaze drifted to his sculpted body carved from hard muscle. Guy was a powerful Draicon. Underestimating him could prove dangerous.
Afterward, they came downstairs as porters loaded their luggage into the waiting Toyota 4Runner. Inside the SUV, Kayla turned the key. But the engine didn’t start. She blew out a frustrated breath.
Guy held out his hand. “I’m driving. You’re shotgun.”
“The hell I am. You haven’t driven in thirty years!”
“I’m Draicon and can use magick to manipulate the vehicle and traffic. You no longer practice magick.” He pinned her with a severe look. “Give me the keys.”
Her fingers tightened on the wheel. “Compromise, wolf. I’ll drive so you can watch, and relearn, until we reach the highway leading to the country.”
Sinew and tendons corded on his neck as his body tensed. Those cool eyes turned into blue fire. After a long minute, he gave a low curse. The engine started with a smooth purr.
Once they were in the city, driving became complicated. Kayla navigated past a flock of schoolchildren in blue gingham uniforms, past women carrying straw baskets of mangoes atop their heads.
Guy cursed as an impatient BMW cut them off. He waved his hands and suddenly all the cars in front of them pulled over to the side, leaving an open path for her.
Kayla smiled, shook her head. “You sure are cocky.”
“Just want to make things easier on you, sunshine.”
“I can take care of myself, wolf.”
“No doubt,” he murmured. “Sixteen years old, and thrown out into the big, bad world.”
She chewed on her lower lip. “What about you? A demon prison is far from easy living.”
His expression grew stone cold. “It’s where they send Draicon like me.”
“I know, you killed your alpha. With good reason, I’m sure. So I doubt you’re as bad as everyone thinks you are. I sense that about you.”
Guy’s jaw tightened. “Sense this. If I don’t deliver that little girl to Dell, they’ll send me back to that hellhole. I’ll kill anyone who stands in my way. So how can you be so damn confident I’m not that bad?”
Kayla’s breath hitched. It made sense now why he was desperate to give Brianna to Dell.
She wouldn’t want to return to that prison. She glanced at his taut face. The demons had told her Guy was a savage. And yet she felt no fear.
Kayla settled for honesty. “Logically, I don’t know because I don’t know you. But, somehow, I feel that you’d gnaw your right arm off before letting an innocent get hurt.”
She darted a glance at his scowling face. “You want to think you’re only out for yourself, but deep down you know it’s not true. And that scares you, because caring gets you hurt. But I also know that when we get to Brianna, you’ll provide her the protection she needs and keep her safe. Because she’s the most important thing to you right now.”
He was silent a moment, then spoke. “So you think.”
“Yes.”
“I wouldn’t be so certain about that,” he said darkly.
Once they accessed the highway, Kayla pulled over and traded places with Guy. A blur of green sugarcane fields on their left contrasted to the tangy scent of brine from the ocean on their right. They passed several villages, and stopped twice to allow a donkey to cross the road.
“Donkeys have the right of way,” Guy noted.
“Most asses think they do.”
“Damn, sunshine, you are the queen of comebacks. Or are all women like you these days?”
Kayla considered. “Well, ever since we got the vote and decided that bra burning releases too many greenhouse gases, we had to do something else to entertain ourselves.”
He laughed. Guy hung an arm out the window, his body language relaxed, yet she sensed he was ready to react. Kayla wondered if that’s what prison did to you. Never made you able to drop your guard.
“So why did you kill your alpha?” she asked.
He gunned the engine as the donkey cleared the road. “I caught him plotting to kill a few in our pack to increase his power base. I was fool enough to tell a woman. She told him. Simon came after me. I killed him. Prison. End of story.”
Outrage filled her. “She ratted you out?”
Guy gave her a sideways glance. “Pack loyalty rules.”
“Not for me,” she muttered. “I’d rather be a lone wolf.”
“Me, too.”
They were quiet a few minutes as she ruminated over this startling fact.
She wondered what he’d been like before prison. Beneath the tough, edgy side was a soft spot he seemed determined not to expose.
A couple of hours later, he took a narrow dirt road flanked by ferns and towering pines. In a clearing by a narrow stream, he parked beneath a mahogany tree’s sprawling shade.
“Lunchtime,” he said briefly. “You could use a little food, since your breakfast couldn’t even keep an ant alive.”
“And you have a picnic basket packed?”
“Always come prepared.” From the backseat he pulled a small cooler, a thick blanket and plates.
Beneath the tree, Guy spread out the blanket, put the plates down and opened the cooler. The tangy scent of fried chicken assaulted her senses. He picked up a leg, and began to eat.
Salivating, Kayla stared at him as he finished it. Guy took out another, waved it before her like a baton.
“There’s this. And the rabbit food I asked Bernard to pack for you. If you really want it.”
His thoughtfulness touched her. But the veggies didn’t make her mouth water as much as the chicken did.
“Nice, crisp chicken. Come on, just a little taste?” Guy touched her lips with one finger. “You look so damn hungry, Kayla, could you please eat for me?”
She closed her eyes against the sensual feel of his finger tracing her mouth. Disappointment filled her as he withdrew it.
“I’m going to check out the stream. Help yourself.” He dropped the leg onto the plate.
Kayla watched Guy saunter off. Inside the cooler, she found a shaker of salt, chicken, tomatoes, celery, a loaf of bread and a jar of honeyed butter. She took a tomato, salted it and hesitated.
Oh, hell. Kayla attacked the chicken with ravenous hunger. Her stomach felt filled for the first time in years as she devoured piece after piece.
Dismayed, she stared at the bare bones littering her plate.
Feeling guilty, she spread honeyed butter on a slice of bread and ate it. The thought hit her that Guy wanted her to eat meat, restore her lost energy and turn wolf again.
But why?
Maybe it was time to find out.
It was safe. She couldn’t see him.
Guy removed his socks and hiking boots, rolled up his jeans. Sitting on a flat rock by the gurgling stream, he sighed with pleasure as he dipped his scarred feet into the water. Guy removed his shirt and carefully folded it on the rock. After thirty years of wearing rags, he valued good clothing.
The lash marks delivered by the demons still hurt. Rolling up his jeans, he waded into the gurgling stream. Guy bent over, splashed the cool water down his aching back.
A soft cry made him whirl around. Guy bunched his fists, his eyes narrowed.
Kayla stood on the mossy bank.
She’d seen. Humiliation dug in like twin knives. He wanted to turn away before
she started gawking like the damn tourists at the zoo had stared at his wolf.
Guy splashed to the bank, reached for his shirt.
Her hand stopped him. Kayla walked behind him. Guy closed his eyes, the agony of shame much greater than old pain from the lashes. He flinched beneath the gentle touch of her palm.
“What did they do to you?” she whispered.
The careless shrug hid his feelings. “The demons got bored.”
Her searching gaze probed his. Guy fisted his hands. “I charged the cage at my keeper. He was yelling at a little girl. I hate it when anyone is nasty to kids.”
Yeah, I’m just a stupid, soft wolf who should have known better.
She traced the cruel lines carved deep into his flesh. “I could whip them myself for doing this to you.”
He closed his eyes as she caressed his back. Too long he’d hidden the emotional pain that sank far deeper than any physical hurt. He’d been alone, no one to comfort him, huddling into the morass of his own dark thoughts until one time he’d taunted the demons into nearly killing him.
Guy had longed for death to finally end the agonized loneliness of his inner prison. But they hadn’t done it. Instead, they’d locked him in the “box” for thirteen months. Shrouded in darkness, he’d nearly gone mad.
“I’m so sorry for what they did to you.”
Her trembling voice shattered his hard-fought defenses. Guy turned. He cupped her chin, amazed at the translucent tears filling her eyes.
“Hey, sunshine, it’s okay,” he said softly. “It’s in the past.”
But she looked so distressed, he longed to comfort her. Guy bent his head and brushed his lips against hers.
She moaned, slid her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.
Guy’s groin ached with fiery need as he tunneled his hands through her thick curls. Relishing the taste of her, the honey mingling with spice. Beneath his ravaging mouth, she parted her lips.
Sweet female arousal scented the air. He fought the primitive male impulse to strip her naked, tumble her backward, spread her legs wide and push himself into her. She was innocent, and deserved better. Even a savage like him could be gentle.
Gooseflesh suddenly broke out on his arms. He knew the feeling from putting up with people staring into his cage. Guy pulled away, snatched up his shirt and shrugged into it.
“What’s wrong?”
Kayla was breathless, her mouth swollen by his kisses. Guy leaned close to whisper into her ear.
“We’re being watched.”
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Chapter 6
They searched the woods and found nothing. Still, Guy was insistent someone had been silently observing them. He’d felt no immediate danger. But something had been in those woods.
His grim look spooked her. Unlike Guy, she’d been away from the inherent dangers of the Draicon world for a long time. If she didn’t trust him, she put herself in jeopardy.
Kayla decided to trust him.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the Les Jardin hotel. The opulent, two-story hotel was practically deserted. Coconut palms flanked the terrace. Dining tables draped in orange and white linens were adorned with lavender orchids. The open-air room featured a resplendent view of turquoise water and jagged rocks lining the shore.
Henri St. Pierre greeted them with a beaming smile. His skin was tanned as a polished walnut, his head covered with a shock of thick brown hair. He barked orders to the porters to handle their luggage.
A tall, graceful woman joined him. Henri’s gaze softened as he looked at her.
“My wife, Danielle. She just arrived two days ago,” he told them.
Kayla stared. Her shining black hair pulled into an elegant French twist, Danielle wore a sleeveless red sheath that accented a breathtaking figure. She had the beauty of a polished supermodel. In her grungy jeans and dusty shirt, Kayla felt downright lumpy in comparison.
But Guy scarcely regarded Danielle. It was as if no other woman existed but Kayla, because his gaze always rested on her. She warmed at the thought.
Their waterfront suites had separate living rooms and bedrooms. Guy’s suite was connected to hers by a door in Kayla’s living room.
After Henri left them with an invitation to join them for dinner later, she stripped and showered. She blew her hair dry, wrapped herself in a towel and walked into the bedroom.
Guy stood at the sliding glass doors opened to the cool sea breeze. His duffel bag was in one corner, the cooler on the desk.
“We’re sharing,” he told her. “I’m not leaving you alone.”
The towel offered little covering. But she suddenly didn’t care. “I think you want to share a room because of what happened at the stream.”
Her tone was teasing, but his expression was grim. “I’m not taking chances. Something smells wrong here. Can’t you tell?”
Kayla was ashamed to admit she hadn’t.
His expression softened. “My senses have always been stronger than other Draicon’s, especially my sense of smell. You’ll get it back, Kayla. Eat more protein. You’ll be shifting before you know it.”
“I stopped being Draicon long ago.”
A frustrated sigh escaped him. “I need you sharp and ready for whatever can happen. Marching into this without your magick is like being blindfolded.”
“I can’t,” she protested. “Don’t ask me to try.”
“Why are you so damn afraid of being a wolf?”
Emotion closed her throat tight. It felt like a fist squeezing. “Because I never want to be one again. Just leave it, Guy.”
“No, I won’t.” In two strides he was before her, his hands gripping her shoulders. “Level with me, Kayla. What’s so wrong with being who you are that you’re running from it?”
“I’m not Draicon.”
“The hell you aren’t!” he shouted. “Stop denying yourself, damn it, your own mother—”
“My own mother betrayed me.”
The words were a hoarse shout. Guy’s face twisted in confusion as he released her.
She spoke in a hoarse whisper. “She told me that if she ever set eyes on me again, she’d kill me, the way I had her mate killed.”
Guy stared, his jaw tightening.
“I was betrayed by the woman I loved the most. I never wanted to have anything to do again with werewolves, because that’s what my mother was.”
Tears finally spilled over and splashed down her cheeks. The memories surged—her mother’s expressionless face, the way she’d removed the locket for the first time in years. As if she were physically removing her own daughter’s presence.
Warmth surrounded her as Guy pulled her into his arms. She buried her face against his chest and wept.
He rocked her against him as he stroked her hair. It felt so good to be held for the first time in years, held and comforted.
Sniffling, she lifted her head. “I got your shirt wet.”
“Hey, sunshine,” he said softly, wiping her eyes gently with the tail ends of his damp shirt. “Chin up. No reason to cry. I’ve got another.”
His cheeky grin coaxed from her a sputtering smile. His warmth felt wonderful. Kayla ran her fingers over his broad shoulders, testing the tensile muscles. Her palms drifted lower, skimming his chest. He was hard, not a spare ounce of flesh on him. She unfastened the buttons, pulled open his shirt and studied the dark gold hair sprinkled on his firm chest.
Guy made a low, strangled sound as she rubbed her palm against it. He cupped her face and captured her mouth. His kiss was gentle, as if he cherished tasting her lips. Then he coaxed her mouth open and began sensually stroking inside with his tongue. White-hot heat raced through her.
She moaned, clutching fistfuls of his shirt. Damn, the wolf knew how to kiss.
Never had she wanted a man more, to feel his hard body sliding over hers, surging inside her. No one had ever cared for her like this. She craved his closeness, yearned to intimately join with him.
When he pulled away, she made a sound of disappointment. Guy rested his forehead against hers. “Kayla,” he murmured. “I told you, when it’s time, to remember. Am I a heartless bastard?”
“No, you’re not,” she said breathlessly.
The smoldering intensity burning in his deep blue eyes made her shiver. When he pressed closer, letting her feel the steely length of his erection, she removed her towel.
“Touch me, Guy,” she begged.
A shiver of anticipation raced through her as he skimmed his hands down her naked body. Palming her breasts, he gently squeezed, his thumbs rubbing over her hardened nipples. His mouth enclosed one. Clutching him to her, she cried out as he suckled, his tongue rasping skillfully over the tight bud. The delicious scent of male arousal filled the air.
He paused only to remove his clothing. Somehow they made it to the bed, kissing and touching each other.
As she fell back onto the mattress, he slid her to the edge, knelt on the floor and spread her legs open wide.
He put his mouth on her. Kayla cried out in pleasured shock. His tongue delved between the wet folds of her cleft, licking slowly. He growled softly as she writhed at each fiery stroke.
Arching off the mattress she felt her entire body grow rigid as stone as the sensations built higher and higher. The sweet tension shattered as she screamed.
“Now,” he said, his hard, fierce gaze meeting hers.
Guy mounted her, his hips settling between her outstretched, trembling legs.
The shock of his thick penis pushing into her made her cry out. Kayla stared into his glittering gaze. He pushed forward, his penis like a hot, iron bar stretching her sensitive inner tissues. Then he thrust forward, and slid all the way inside.
They were sealed together now, melded from hip to breast. Kayla gulped down a trembling breath, feeling as if he stroked into her very soul. Bracing his weight on his hands, he lay still, as if accustoming her to the feel of him inside her.
Impatiently, she wriggled her hips in nameless acceptance. She hooked her legs around his hips, urged him to move.
He began to slowly thrust. Silky hairs on his chest rasped against her sensitive nipples. She wound her arms around his neck, urging him forward. The ever-present loneliness faded as she drank in each sensation of being intimately joined with Guy. Kayla reveled in the feel of this powerful Draicon’s body sliding over hers, filling her completely.