Pushing aside his distaste, Ryu looked back at the ground. A second set of footprints caught his attention. Another man had approached, taking the first by surprise. They struggled, one man overcame the other and dragged him toward the road. Ryu sat back on his heels and checked the distance. Probably dumped him into a waiting car. The attacker then returned and stuffed the fire’s ignition source through the window. He’d waited a few moments to make sure it took, then run back to the car.
The question was, which man was Johnny? The winner or the loser of the fight. The one who set the fire? The one who watched? The smoke smell was too strong by the window to detect who’d stood there. The only place Ryu got any scent other than fire was by the hedge. He leaned closer to the ground. From the impressions it looked like both men had similar size feet. Ryu hissed out a frustrated breath between his teeth. Unless he could get a look at the soles of Johnny’s shoes it was impossible to tell who was who.
Resting his forearms on his knees, he thought through the evidence. Trying to break the information down rationally he realised there were several possibilities. Johnny could’ve been watching the house to protect Kait and been overpowered by the arsonist. Equally likely, if he wasn’t the one watching, he could have arrived at the worst moment and interrupted the arsonist who then had to dispose of a witness.
Ryu shook his head. Maybe he was being optimistic for Kait’s sake. Johnny could have set the fire. Either waiting by the hedge for the right moment, or working with a partner who waited until he arrived before they went to work. If that were the case, they must have disagreed and one removed the other from the equation.
Ryu rubbed his hands on his sweatpants and stood up. Without more information it was impossible to do more than speculate. He checked Kait was still sitting on the back of the ambulance. How could he tell her Johnny might be involved in setting her house alight and almost killing her?
Turning slowly, he walked back; then his pace increased, decision made. He’d hold off telling Kait about Johnny until she had a chance to pull herself together.
By the time he returned to the ambulance the paramedics were finished with Kait. He took her by the elbow and led her to his car, glad he’d parked in the road rather than the driveway, or on top of everything they may have been contending with exploding petrol.
“Where are we going?” Kait asked, as she collapsed into the car.
“A motel.” Ryu got behind the wheel and, wishing he had something comforting to say, pulled away from the curb.
They stopped on the way at an all night vet. Kait clung to Sookie for a moment before handing her over to the vet on duty. The woman promised the cat would have the best care until they were ready to pick her up. Ryu couldn’t help the cynical thought that they were paying for the privilege of leaving the perfectly healthy cat there until Kait had somewhere more permanent to keep her.
Sookie seemed more upset at him leaving than her mistress. Clearly saving the cat’s life had made him a lifelong friend.
As they walked back to the car, Kait kept looking over her shoulder. He knew she would rather keep Sookie with them. He wished the cat could stay too, Kait needed the comfort.
A short drive later, he stopped at the first place he found with a vacancy sign outside, they needed a shower more than they needed luxury. Despite that, the Love Nest Inn wasn’t as seedy as he expected. He paid for two emergency vanity packs as well as a twin share for the night. The little packs had a few necessities, such as a toothbrush, that Kait would appreciate. Picking up their key card, he checked the number then walked past several faded, red doors until he reached their room.
Kait had been silent since leaving her cat, but she breathed a sigh of relief when he closed the door behind them. He looked around the room curiously, hoping he hadn’t made a mistake bringing her here. Small and a little tired, yes, but it was clean and tidy, and the beds were two small doubles rather than singles.
Kait poked her nose around the bathroom door before turning to look at him. “You look worse than I do, take the bathroom first.”
“Thanks. I’ve got a spare t-shirt you can sleep in tonight,” Ryu said, pleased he’d grabbed his gym bag on the way out. He might not be a boy scout but experience taught him you could never be too prepared.
“I’ve got nothing.” The words were little more than a murmur. It was clear the full impact of the night’s events were starting to hit.
“I grabbed your handbag on my way out.” He pointed to the bed. “It’s not much but it’s a start.”
He walked over to where she was standing, her hands knotted in the fabric of the nightdress she’d worn to bed, never guessing when she woke it would be one of the few things she owned. He wiped away a tear with the pad of this thumb. He doubted she even noticed it falling.
Wishing he could take her in his arms and comfort her, but aware that might push her over the edge, he said, “I know it sounds trite but you’ve got your life, everything else is replaceable.”
She took a deep shuddering breath and straightened her spine. He could see her pulling the pieces of herself together by sheer indomitable will.
A shaky smile pushed its way onto her lips. “I’ll be fine. You go shower, I could use a few moments alone.”
He unzipped his bag and pulled out a shirt for her, laying it on the bed, then he took the rest of his stuff into the bathroom. Stepping into the shower, he wondered what life would throw at them next. Whatever it was, he thought with admiration, Kait would find the strength to cope. He’d never met a woman like her. When this mission was over he was going to find it difficult to say goodbye.
He closed his eyes as the water washed over him. He’d let her get too close. Somehow she’d snuck under his guard when he wasn’t looking and burrowed into his heart. His heart? He pressed his fist against his chest. Surely she hadn’t got so deep?
He was falling for a woman who didn’t know the truth about him. Despite the warm water, his skin pebbled. She’d been more accepting of his work than he expected, but his secrets extended past his job. What sane, modern woman would cope with dating a dragon? None that he could think of.
No matter how resilient Kait was, there were limits. Telling her about his dragon would shake the foundations of her world. He couldn’t do that to her. She’d been through enough.
Guilt winged through him, because the temptation to make her his didn’t vanish. He wanted to tell her, even if it broke her view of the world. He wanted to take the risk, and find out if he could make her his.
He opened his eyes and stared blankly at the wall. He couldn’t be that selfish, he needed to think beyond his desires to what was best for her.
His jaw tightened. If he stayed beyond this mission, he didn’t know if he would be able to resist temptation.
That led to only one conclusion.
He couldn’t stay.
It was a conclusion he hated.
Chapter 26
Kait ripped the wrapping off the toothbrush from the emergency vanity pack and globbed on some toothpaste. She brushed her teeth with excessive force, trying to get rid of the taste of smoke that refused to go away no matter how many times she spat and rinsed and repeated.
At last, gums close to bleeding, she gave up. Staring blankly at her blurry face in the steamy mirror, she wondered how on earth she had ended up here. A few days ago everything was normal. Business going well, her personal life going well, if a trifle dull. Then she hired Ryu, not only an outstanding performer, but a blast from her past, and everything changed.
Now, she was in a tiny motel room with some kind of secret agent. Not only that she’d seen Johnny, a man she trusted, doing something she still wasn’t sure she understood, except it was clearly illegal. She’d been involved in breaking into staff lockers, and secret meetings, her car had been trashed, and to top it all off her house was now a burnt crisp.
Leaning over, she rested her head on the edge of the basin, fingers gripping the rim beside her forehead. It was
like something out of a nightmare, so crazy she couldn’t have imagined it if she tried. Thank goodness Ryu was there when the fire broke out. If she had been alone, she would be dead.
Ryu not only woke her, he rescued Sookie—risking his own life—and he was a pillar of support. She didn’t understand why he’d gone back for her cat, she didn’t understand how he’d survived, but he was definitely Sookie’s new best friend.
Her new best friend, too.
She stood up and pushed her damp hair off her face. The mirror showed her a substantially calmer reflection. It also revealed exactly what she looked like in her impromptu attire. Glancing down, she grimaced. She felt awkward going back into the room without a bra under Ryu’s shirt. On the bright side, at least he was tall enough his shirt covered everything important.
Rolling her shoulders to relieve her tension, she put her hand on the doorknob. Ryu’s voice filtered through the thin door. She paused—listening.
“Yeah, Adrian, that’s what I said, deliberate. He shoved something through the kitchen window. I spoke to the fire department and told them their investigators would find for arson. I asked if they could let me know the accelerant used. It didn’t burn like gasoline, if it’s something specialized it might help track him down.”
There was a pause and she assumed the man on the other end of the phone was speaking. Her fist pressed against her stomach. The fire was deliberate? She’d been so overwhelmed that there was a fire at all, she hadn’t got as far as thinking about what started it. But deliberate?
“I’d say so,” Ryu spoke again, “if not Johnny, then the people he’s working for. I caught his scent at the scene but…” His voice trailed off, then started again. “Yeah, someone unquestionably tried to take her out tonight…No, I don’t think anyone followed us. I kept a sharp eye out, not difficult this time of night when the roads are clear…Yeah, I’ll stay here the night with her…Room sixteen…Okay, you track Johnny and leave that to me.”
Kait’s hand tightened on the handle before shoving the door open. “Were you ever planning on telling me?”
“Telling you what?” Ryu flicked his phone closed and dropped it onto the bedside table.
“That you didn’t think the fire was an accident. That someone tried to kill me.” The words hit the air like missiles.
“I don’t think the fire was an accident, I think someone tried to kill you,” he said evenly, his eyes following her as if she were a cute cat he brought home only to discover she was feral and about to rip up the furniture.
“You think telling me now makes it all better? How about telling me when we were in the car. We weren’t talking about anything else.” Hands on hips, she stared at him, her eyes narrow slits. She couldn’t believe how angry, how betrayed, she felt.
“You were shell-shocked. I didn’t think adding to your problems right then was going to help.”
“Someone tried to kill me and you didn’t think I should know!” She realised her voice was rising and brought it down with a conscious effort. “I think that’s something I should know.”
“I said you were at risk after the way your car was wrecked as a warning, that’s why I insisted on acting as your bodyguard.”
“If you really thought I was in danger you wouldn’t have let me go home at all!”
“You’re right, I should never have let you go home. Nothing I can say will change that.” He rubbed his forehead tiredly, as if trying to erase the lines.
“But you’re going to give me an excuse anyway aren’t you.” She crossed her arms and stared at him aggressively.
Ryu looked at her, his eyes harder than she had ever seen them, and she quailed. Maybe she shouldn’t be tweaking the dragon’s tail—but damn it, she was angry, and afraid, and she didn’t know where to turn.
Ryu stared at her silently for a moment. “We didn’t think this would escalate so fast.” Shoving his hands into his pockets, he began pacing. “So far this group has stuck to information theft, something which doesn’t involve direct contact with people. Usually there’s a reason perps choose a crime like that.
“In addition, I hoped Johnny would leave the flash drive with you, but when you wouldn’t give it to him…Who knows what kind of pressure he was under. I’m not saying this was him, but he was definitely there tonight. We can’t jump to the conclusion he set the fire, he could have been trying to protect you. ” He stopped and looked at her. “I’m sorry. I was wrong about the severity of how this might play out.”
She hadn’t expected him to apologise and it knocked the fight out of her. Exhaustion puddled in her knees and she sat on the bed with a thump. Johnny was there tonight. She couldn’t believe he set the fire, tried to kill her. But there were lots of things he’d done lately she would have sworn on a stack of bibles Johnny was innocent of. Her shoulders slumped, she thought she’d wept herself dry when Ryu ran into her burning house. She was wrong.
Fresh tears ran a silent trail down her cheeks and she dropped her head into her hands. Ryu had saved her, he wasn’t the person she should be shouting at. The mattress sank as he sat beside her. Wrapping strong arms around her, he pulled her against his chest. She turned her face into his body, her fists balling into the fabric of his t-shirt.
She could hear him whispering. Soothing words running in a meaningless stream over her. One long-fingered hand stroked calmly up and down her back as she cried, not the blind tears of earlier but the broken sobs of a small child. She felt his lips, soft as a butterfly’s wings, dust across her hair.
At last, when her body ached with emptiness, the tears began to dry. She realised at some point they’d toppled over to lie tangled together on the bed. She hadn’t even noticed, not consciously. Now, she lay curled up next to him, her head resting in the hollow of his shoulder. One hand was still knotted in his shirt and nothing short of a hot iron would get out the creases. She slowly relaxed her hand, the soft cotton adhering briefly to her fingers.
She thought about sitting up but changed her mind. If she didn’t move, she didn’t have to think. She felt safe right where she was, his arms around her, his hand on her back calmly working its hypnotic magic.
Minutes passed…
Reality nudged her. If she stayed ensconced where she was, she would never want to leave the haven of his arms. Slowly, she moved her head to look up at him and found herself staring into those unusual copper eyes.
“You feeling better?” His voice was rough, as if he felt her pain.
They were lying so close his warm breath fluttered across her face as he spoke, and she smelt a hint of mint from when he brushed his teeth earlier. It felt oddly intimate knowing that, but she didn’t know why. People brushed their teeth everyday and she never thought twice about it.
“Yes, much better. Thanks for being here.” She pushed herself up on her elbow so she could look down at him, bracing her other hand on his chest as she moved.
His arms dropped away as she rose but he didn’t try to get up, he just lay there watching her as if waiting to see what she would do next. Her eyes wandered unchecked over his face, pausing when they reached his lips. Unconsciously she slid the tip of her tongue across her own lips.
A wicked thought occurred to her.
She pushed it away.
Not only was it totally out of character, it wasn’t appropriate given everything that’d happened. Moments ago she was crying, now this. However, push as she might, the thought wouldn’t go. Maybe this was just what she needed, something to drown out everything that had happened. He’d stopped things last time, but right now everything seemed different. Was she brave enough—did she dare turn her fantasy into reality?
Leaning down, she touched her lips hesitantly to the soft curve of his.
Yes, she dared.
His chest, which moments before had been breathing smoothly under her hand, hitched in surprise and his muscles tensed. Her lips hovered against his, barely touching. Her heart beat heavily, once, twice. Why wasn’t he kissing her back?<
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Uncertainty fluttered through her. This wasn’t like their last kiss. Last time there had been so much energy and passion she couldn’t breathe. Her body had felt so alive. Now, tension turned her to marble.
What am I doing? The thought was a shout in her mind as her body flushed hot and cold. Embarrassment creeping over her like a rash, she started pulling away. His arm sprang up, wrapping around her and stopping her escape. With his fingers splayed wide across her back, he pulled her close again. This time his lips weren’t frozen but leading her to perdition.
Passion and energy rushed through her stronger than before. She savoured the sweetness of his kiss. This was really, truly happening. This wasn’t a dream.
Ryu’s other hand settled over hers, easing his shirt from her grasp, then trailing over her arm, goose bumps popping up in its wake. He shifted beneath her, changing the angle of contact.
His lips were wonderfully soft, wonderfully hard. How, she wondered, could they be both at once? Then she stopped thinking altogether as he deepened the kiss.
His fingers tangled in her hair as his tongue danced and tasted hers. Her fist tightened in his shirt. It wasn’t enough, she wanted to feel the flesh beneath. Roughly, she tugged at the fabric until she could get her fingers on his warm silky skin. His stomach tensed as she explored, the muscles turning granite hard. She shivered, unable to believe her power over such a powerful man.
He lifted the hem of her borrowed t-shirt, then she was the one trembling. Both his hands caressed her back, his fingers lingering, designing intricate patterns on her skin, before going back to her shirt and pulling it off completely. She hated separating her lips from his long enough for him pull it over her head. She heard the soft slap of the shirt hitting the floor at the same moment their lips reconnected. His hands, which she saw so often playing with fire, moulded her body against his, setting her senses aflame.
She couldn’t believe she was doing this. She’d always thought she was waiting for some suitably stable relationship to lose her virginity. But she hadn’t been, she’d been waiting for Ryu. Ryu alone. No one else.
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