Damn him and Tony for waiting to stop Hall and his men! And damn Hall! By now, the police were probably arriving at his house, called by some concerned neighbor, no doubt. They’d find the place a wreck, blood everywhere. Hall would have had the body removed from the kitchen. A man with a jackal’s head would cause too many questions.
Brian could never go back to that house. Even years from now, if he bought it from the city, where it would default to, one of his neighbors would be sure to recognize him. No. He could never go back. He wouldn’t miss any of his things. They could all be replaced. But that kitchen. He’d surely miss it.
Chapter 22
Olivia huddled in the moonlight peeking through the entrance to their miniscule hiding place. The pinpoint of light she’d made from above shone between her and Brian. The dark was anathema to her. She was sure furniture moved in the lack of light. Miss Atwood had often comforted her as a child when she’d woken in the night, screaming about monsters in the closet or under the bed. The head of the orphanage had slept beside her until she drifted off to dreamland again. She’d told Olivia there were good things in the darkness, too, so she learned to tolerate it. But when she’d left the orphanage, Miss Atwood had never warned her that she might someday find herself in a black hole in the ground. Come to think of it, she’d never said a word about men who changed into animals either.
She and Brian sat in silence. More questions burned inside her, but fear of discovery kept her tongue mute. Though warming from their body heat, their cave was still frozen. It also held a measure of moisture. After some time, her fever, which had seemed to lower due to the ice bath provided by the stream, began to climb again. A spasm of shivers overtook her. The harder she tried to control the quakes, the worse they became.
“Take off your shoes and tuck your feet in your blanket,” Brian whispered in her ear. He again rearranged her blanket across her shoulders. Her shivers continued and deepened, setting her teeth into a continual chatter. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest, grunting in pain as she settled against his ribs. She tried to pull away, to keep from hurting him, but he held her firm, placing her head against his shoulder. Bundled close, she even tucked her feet under his thigh. She breathed in the nimbus cloud of his natural scent and relaxed against him. She listened to the strength of his heart and his deep, full breaths. She fit perfectly against his chest, and she wondered what he thought of that. If he even thought of it at all. She felt like a teenage girl with her first crush, waiting in anticipation of their next interaction. She wanted to know if he thought of her as that teenager, or if there was a possibility of more. Despite his part in her injuries, she still wanted him.
They waited in silence, listening for any bear scuffs, growls, or anything that spoke of imminent danger. Olivia warmed bit by bit. Because of the wolf part of him, she suspected he had hyperthermia, which was something she deeply appreciated at that moment.
Brian lifted his hand and, when he brought it back around her, it was smeared with blood. She sat up and looked at him. His eyes were closed and he had leaned his head against the back of their hiding hole. The gash on his brow was oozing and once again, his eye was completely covered in blood. His heightened metabolism would probably mend him quickly. This cut, though, looked deep. She dabbed the corner of her blanket against the injury until the blood abated and whispered, “This cut won’t stay closed. You’re going to need stitches.”
“Most likely.” He didn’t whisper, but his voice was soft and low. He raised his head from the dirt wall and watched her from inches away with his deep brown eyes while she cleaned the drying blood from his brow. Olivia felt a slow flush creep up her spine to her neck and cheeks. Their whispers were so low she doubted anyone more than two feet away would have heard them. He asked, “Did I scare you?”
“What? The wolf?” She shook her head and looked directly into his big dark eyes. For some reason, she felt it was important he knew this. “No, I wasn’t frightened.”
“I’m glad.” His smile was as gentle as his voice, and it sent shivers of a different kind through her body. He lifted his hand and ran his thumb down the side of her face. Olivia blushed even deeper, even though she was pretty sure he couldn’t see it. But then, he wasn’t only a man, and maybe he could. Maybe her attraction to him was a rescuer type thing. Or maybe it was the wolf. Or maybe she didn’t care. She liked the way it felt, the way she felt next to him, and the way her body reacted to his.
“Kiss me.” Brian’s soft husky voice sent thrills through her. He lifted her chin with his thumb. His lips found hers and held them. His tongue traced the inside of her lips and pushed against her teeth. She opened to him. As his tongue entered and stroked hers, he crushed her against him. She couldn’t get enough of him and sent her tongue twisting against his. This wasn’t a simple attraction. Oh no. This man turned her on and on and on. Her body heated from the inside out and an ache began deep in her belly, headed south. And, judging by the way his nostrils flared, he knew it. A moan escaped her throat, and his breathing deepened and quickened.
With one swift move, he turned her so that she leaned across the front of his body, laying in his arms. He kissed her again, slower this time. His tongue made explorations into the depths of her mouth, around the inside of her cheeks to the smooth ceiling and the backs of her teeth, always returning to tangle with the wetness of her tongue. While he held her in one arm, his hand stroked her back, her neck, her hair, and her face. Suddenly, she was burning hot, and all feelings of illness dissipated. She struggled to escape the heat of the blanket, but it had twisted with their movements and held her like a cocoon.
Brian stopped then and pulled away, his breath as ragged as hers. His gaze roamed across her face for what seemed like a long time. His eyes were dilated large with passion, yet his tender smile moved Olivia more than even his kiss had and she caught her breath. This was no high school crush. He traced her lips again with his thumb and gave her a warm, sweet kiss. Then he cocked his head toward the entrance of their hideaway. “Tony’s here.”
“How do you…” And then it hit her. He’d heard Tony like he’d heard the bears at his house. It was going to be rough being with a wolf. There would be no secrets between them.
Brian frowned at her unfinished question, but then Tony poked his dark head into the cave, and that ended all possibility for a conversation. He hesitated, frowning, but then smiled at them both and said, “I’m sorry to interrupt your moment of burgeoning intimacy, but those bears aren’t going to stay gone forever. We need to get out of here.”
“Damn,” Olivia said softly and reached for Tony’s extended hand. If she could have, she would have growled, herself. Talk about poor timing. And thanks to the creatures within the men, not only did Brian know how she felt, but she was sure Tony had picked up on it also. Curse Mother Nature and her pheromones! She let the tiger-man pull her out of the opening of the hiding place.
“Yep,” came Brian’s voice from behind her.
Outside, the air was crisp and clear, and dawn’s lemonade pink, purple, and orange streaked across the few clouds that darkened the deep blue sky above. It was going to be a beautiful day.
Chapter 23
Brian crawled out of hiding and straightened, still watching Olivia. She stood with her back to him in a patch of early morning sun, arms overhead, stretching as high as she could. The sun shone on and through her hair, making it look electric and otherworldly. Her scrubs shirt had lifted with her movement, raising high above her slim waist. At the same time, her pants had shifted lower, exposing the top of the cleft between her buttocks. He couldn’t drag his gaze away. What it would feel like, running his hands over that smooth skin?
She turned, lowering her arms, and their gazes snagged. She smiled, and he couldn’t help himself: he grinned back.
Beside him, Tony fidgeted, breaking the spell, and Brian glanced at his best friend, noting the crimson blush and how his attention now traveled through the tops of th
e trees. Tony had never before been embarrassed by affectionate displays. Or was it something more? Was he attracted to Olivia too? She wasn’t exactly his type.
Brian handed Olivia her shoes and returned his attention to his friend. He narrowed his eyes and asked in a tight voice, “What’s up?”
Tony glanced sideways at him and gave a tiny shake to his head. “I got a snoot full of pheromones when I shoved my head into your honey house.” He gestured to the hiding place. “Any woman would look good to me right now. Even one I’m not interested in.” As he turned toward the truck, he tapped Brian on the chest. “And you need to uninterest yourself too.”
Brian cursed and snatched his friend’s arm. “I don’t care if you approve. As if I need your permission to spend time with her. To do anything, for that matter. You need to back off. Right now. Or you and I are going to have trouble. Get me?”
Tony glanced at the hand cuffed around his arm. He jerked his eyes up to look at Brian. “You want to do this? Now? Here? Over a woman?”
Brian let go. “Not particularly, but you need to stop trying to run my life.”
Tony looked away, into the trees. He pressed his lips together tightly and gave one quick nod. Then he pushed into the wintery brush and headed for the stream.
Brian reached for Olivia’s hand to follow, but found her with only one shoe on. She held the other at arm’s length, staring at the icy water that dripped from the tip and shoelaces. Her bare toes were curled tightly as if in anticipation of the torture to come.
He laughed, a happy, healthy laugh. How long had it been since he’d done that? Tony had been wrong. This woman was good for him. “Do you need help?”
She sighed and shook her head. “No, I got it. Just working up my courage.” She dropped the shoe on the ground. It landed upside down, with the toe pointing back at her. Using her shod foot, she uprighted and straightened the offending shoe. With a sudden jerk, she jammed her toes in the sodden canvas and reached down to tuck the heel in place. Done, she straightened.
“You’re a rip-your-bandaid-off-fast kinda gal, huh?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.” She reached for his hand. Her voice sounded strong, but he was sure that strength was only a punch from the erotic energy they’d shared earlier. It would only be a matter of time before she went downhill again.
Together, they scrambled to catch up to Tony, but found him waiting on the other side of the stream, a few hundred feet into the forest. He was busy inspecting the cuts, scrapes and myriad of bruises along his arms. When he saw them, he grinned ruefully. He caught and held Brian’s gaze. “No dates for me for a while.”
Brian relaxed. His friend was letting him know that their skirmish was water under the bridge. He’d been worried. Tony could hold a grudge. Though, in truth, it was his own grudge to hold against Tony for his interference. Not that he would. Or could. He smiled in return.
The trees and bushes were denser on this side of the stream, as if wanting to keep intruders at bay. Thorned shrubs snagged at their clothes. Branches reached low, pulling at their hair. Ice and snow still managed to find their way through the bare web of tree limbs to coat the ground and rotting leaves. Formidable. Brian seldom came through here during his night forays.
They’d struggled for close to fifteen minutes while Tony, in the lead, regaled them of the skirmish with Hall’s men. Occasionally he glanced back at Brian and Olivia’s clasped hands.
During a pause in his monologue, Olivia asked, “Where are we going?”
Tony spoke. “Well, the cops are, no doubt, at Brian’s place. So I thought we should try for my cabin. It’s perfect. It’s secluded and deep in the woods. We can always take to the lake.”
Brian looked at Olivia dubiously. “Can you swim?” He could, though he didn’t like the water any deeper than he could see through.
“Better than a fish.”
A pleased smile on his face, Brian said to Tony, “Sounds perfect.” Of course she could. She was one tough cookie. Though he hadn’t missed the fact that her voice was softening. Her surge of amorous energy was rapidly wearing off and the fever showed on her face again. “We need to stop for supplies.”
Tony nodded at Olivia. “Medicine.”
“Clothes.” Olivia had worked hard to keep her condition hidden, but with all the efforts of earlier in the night, it was obvious to Brian that she’d reached the end. She moved as if drunken and near-blind.
Finally, she fell.
Brian scooped her into his arms like a small, soggy child, grunting when he felt a sharp lance of pain in his side. He carried her the rest of the way to the Escalade while Tony broke trail for them. Once trundled into the front seat of the vehicle between the two men, Olivia drifted off to sleep.
They stopped at a Chinese grocery. Brian carefully lifted Olivia’s head off his shoulder, reached into the dash of the truck, and removed a wad of cash. He ran into the tiny shop. The stench of burned grease assailed him. There wasn’t much in the way of groceries, just a few bulk bins of rice, noodles, and root vegetables. A single table sat beside a kitchen the size of a closet. The one redeeming value was the wall full of herbs and holistic potions. It didn’t take long for him to find what he needed. He added a box of cookies at the counter and paid, then dashed back out to the Escalade. While Tony drove, Brian mixed the medicine. Olivia’s fever was high. Too high. It worried him.
He held her close and poured the drink into her mouth in small doses. She refused any cookies. Her heart pressed to his, she drifted off to sleep again.
“While you were inside, I made a call to an old friend of mine,” Tony said softly. He turned onto Baseline Road and searched the store fronts they passed. At last, he drove behind a small boutique that had male and female mannequins in the window. They pulled behind a robin’s-egg blue Nissan. A red-headed woman with pert features and an oversized beige coat climbed out of the car and walked to Tony’s driver side window. Her lips were a bitter line.
“I should be angry with you, Tony, for the way you dumped me. Yet, out of the blue, you call with an emergency. And here I am, doing your bidding like a little mutt at your heels.”
Brian watched Tony turn on the charm. “Thanks, Theresa. You don’t know how much I…we…appreciate this.”
“Zip it. I don’t want to hear a word from you.” She scrutinized Brian and Olivia. “She’s a size six. But you’re a giant. I’m not even sure I have anything that will fit you.”
With that, she pivoted on her heel, walked to the back door of a shop with the name “Miss Tique” and twisted her keys in the lock. Then she disappeared within.
Tony fidgeted with the knob on the keychain, and Brian couldn’t help but ask, “She saw through you? Is that why you broke it off?”
“A little bit, yeah.”
Brian grinned and cracked down the window. Olivia didn’t budge from her deep sleep.
After just a few minutes, Theresa returned and dropped a pile of clothes on Tony’s lap. “These might be a bit short for you,” she said to Brian. Turning to Tony, she said, “Don’t call me again.” Without waiting for Tony to answer, she returned to the store.
This time, Brian laughed. “I like her.”
Tony stared at him with feigned indignation. “That hurts. It’s deserved, but it hurts.” Then he grinned and started the SUV. Pulling back onto Baseline, he turned toward the Flatirons. The road became Flagstaff Road and they climbed steadily, passing the flat wedges of rock that protruded from the steep sides of the mountains, giving that particular range its name. Twice during the trip, Olivia woke and each time, Brian gave her more medicine to drink.
Chapter 24
Olivia didn’t fully wake until the following day in the cabin. She opened her eyes from a dream about wolves, Bengal tigers, and bears. Rolling her head to the side, she found Brian sleeping beside her. He lay facing her on a bed, curled under a sheet and using his hands as a pillow.
His eyes snapped open.
This startled her so that she took
a moment before she spoke. “I suppose you heard my breathing change.” No, there would be absolutely no chance for any secrets with a wolf.
“Yep.” His voice was sleep-soft and raspy. Claw and bite marks crisscrossed his chest and a deep red and purple bruise bloomed across the left side of his rib cage. His brow cut was clean and had scabbed. She noticed a couple small stitches there. Another colorful bruise covered his right cheek. The scrapes around his neck from the fight in his house were fading to brown already.
It pleased her that he assumed they would share a bed. “How long have we been here?”
“A day already.”
“How long have you been asleep?”
“A couple hours.” He lifted his arm, draped it across Olivia and pulled her close. He closed his eyes again and murmured, “Sleep.”
She’d done nothing but sleep, and she seriously thought she couldn’t, but the deep easy breathing of the man beside her lulled her, and soon she drifted off with him.
The second time she woke, her bladder had an urgency that could not be ignored. Moving carefully, she slid off the bed and padded to the door. On a chair, she found a couple changes of clothes, one close to her size. Thank goodness. The scrubs she wore were covered in mud and they stank enough to wake the dead.
One of the two men had a good judge of female measurements. Olivia’s bet was Tony. Though, she still didn’t know Brian that well, and it could have been him just as easily. The other set of clothes looked big enough for Brian.
“Tony’s on guard. Don’t let him startle you,” Brian called from the bed as he stretched and rolled over to face the window. She noted that he’d pushed the sheet off his upper body and was naked down to his waist. She wondered about the rest of him. Was he naked all the way down? His long lean torso invited her to run her hands across it, and she regretted the circumstances that kept them physically exhausted and apart, though they were what had introduced the two of them.
The Last Griffin Page 8