Neither of them knew what to do now.
Part of her wanted to run, before she could get her heart broken, but the rest of her knew it was too late and running wouldn’t solve anything.
She would only end up breaking her own heart.
She closed her eyes and focused on Storm’s heartbeat.
On finding the answer to a question that seemed impossible.
Was there a path that wouldn’t lead to heartbreak?
CHAPTER 9
Storm stared at the ceiling, his ears filled with the soft sound of Gabi’s breathing as she slumbered in his arms and her heartbeat. It was steady now, but after they had made love, there had been a note of fear in the way it had raced, beating hard against his chest. That fear had laced her scent too and now it clouded his mind, played on it as he held her, unable to convince himself to release her and rise from the bed.
Why was she afraid?
He needed to know, because he needed to take away that fear for her, to do something that would alleviate it.
That need pounded in his blood, had him awake and holding her tucked close to him, both arms banded around her to pin her to his side.
If making love with her hadn’t made him aware of the gravity of what he had done, that need and the way he couldn’t let her go would have made it crystal clear. It was a weight that pressed down on him, felt as if it was crushing his lungs and squeezing his heart as he held her, listening to her breathing and savouring every damned one because they were calm.
She was calm.
Here in his arms.
Gods, what had he done?
The way he had reacted around her, the needs that had run through him every time he had been in her presence, and every time he had been away from her, should have made it blindingly clear that she was no normal human.
No regular female.
Not to him anyway.
His breath seized in his throat and he had to force himself to exhale, had to focus in order to relax again as his mind whirled, thoughts and feelings colliding in it to create a tangle that felt impossible to unravel and free himself from.
He wanted to roar out his anguish.
Wanted to roar out his victory.
He wanted to stay right here forever, holding her in his arms.
Wanted to run for the fucking hills before it was too late to save himself.
Storm groaned, reluctantly shifted his right hand from her shoulder and rubbed it over his face. What the fuck had he been thinking? All the warning signs had been there, but he had been in denial, hadn’t wanted to see them so had pretended they didn’t exist.
Denying them hadn’t solved anything.
It had only made the whole fucked up situation even worse.
He angled his head away from Gabi so he could look down at her. Her golden hair spilled across his chest, soft against his skin, and her sweet pink lips were parted, her warm breath skating across his heart, and her face lax in her sleep. She looked like a fucking angel, but then his judgement wasn’t to be trusted, not when he was so caught up in her, his instincts as her fated male messing him up.
She could be the Devil.
She was the half-sister of the man who had just tried to kill him and his damned brother, related by blood to the family who had taken his parents from him and murdered half the pride.
Possibly involved with the organisation that had more than once attempted to claim his head to mount on their walls with all the other poor shifters they butchered in the name of research and protecting humankind.
Peaceful shifters who happily co-existed with the humans and had no interest in harming any of them.
Fucking worked for them.
Or in his case, employed them.
How many of his company’s employees were humans who had discovered the existence of immortals, fae and shifters like him?
What would Gabi say if she knew he ran a business that offered security and protection services to both non-humans and humans alike?
He stared at her.
Would she be impressed, or would she pretend to be that way so she could get away from him and report her findings to Archangel?
Was she working for them?
He hadn’t detected any change in her heartbeat, or her scent, when she had told Ivy that she had nothing to do with Archangel and had discovered their existence by mistake. She had been telling Ivy the truth about everything.
Or she was seriously skilled in deception and could outwit his built-in lie detector.
He scrubbed a hand over his face and shoved his fingers through his hair, and wanted to growl as his thoughts tangled again, creating a web in his mind, one that threaded the things he knew were real with things that he feared, tormenting him.
Fuck, he shouldn’t have slept with her.
She had been a big enough complication without him making things worse. He should have kept his distance, treated her like the enemy she was.
But was she the enemy?
She hadn’t been lying to Ivy. She hadn’t.
It wasn’t his need to believe her, born of the fact she was his fated one, that had him convinced she had been telling the truth. His senses had confirmed it, and he had felt genuine fear in her when she had been talking of her brother and how she had discovered the existence of Archangel.
She wasn’t involved with them, had been dragged into things by her brother just because she had wanted to do something kind for him and had uncovered something she shouldn’t have.
But he still couldn’t shake the fact the same blood ran in her veins.
Storm forced himself to release her and rise from the bed, managed to make it to the door of his bedroom before he had to look back at her. Gods, she was beautiful as she snuggled into his pillow, her nose wrinkling as she tried to get comfortable without him.
He blew out his breath and paced away from her, took long strides back and forth across the full length of his living room, reaching the door of the cabin before he pivoted on his heel. Whenever he reached the bedroom door, he couldn’t stop himself from looking in on Gabi.
And every time he looked in on her, her beauty hit him hard, had him wanting to crawl back under the covers with her and just fucking hold her.
Gods, he wanted to hold her.
Wanted it more than making love with her again.
He just wanted to feel her in his arms, wanted to watch over her as she slept, keeping her safe.
He paced away from her again, working off some energy so he could think more clearly, piecing himself back together and slowly extinguishing his fears.
Gabi moaned and shifted in his bed, pushed at the covers and curled up again.
He resumed pacing, but barely made it a few steps.
She whimpered and let out a small cry that had him whipping to face her, and he was at the bedroom door before he was aware of what he was doing. She shoved at the covers, as if she was trying to push someone away from her.
Was fighting someone.
Storm took a step towards her and froze as she cried out.
“Alexander!”
Her fear flooded him like acid pouring through his veins as she lashed out with her arms and legs, her movements becoming violent as she grew distressed.
What was she dreaming?
She viciously twisted onto her left side and cried out again. “Storm!”
He was by her side in an instant, pulling her into his arms and holding her as she wrestled against him. He wasn’t sure what she was dreaming about and he didn’t care whether he was the villain or the hero. All that mattered was calming her again.
He smoothed his palm over her cheek, holding her tucked against his bare chest, and brushed his fingers through her hair.
“Shh, Little Bird,” he murmured softly. “I’m here.”
She let out a small whimper and nuzzled against him, burrowed into his arms in a way that stole his heart and had him moving into a more comfortable position so he could keep holding her, keep giving
her what she needed from him.
Because she needed it from him.
He petted her hair as she slowly settled, her pulse evening out and breathing steadying, and when she finally relaxed against him, the tension drained from his shoulders and he stared down at her, studying her face as she fell back into a deep, restful sleep.
He watched over her, would hold her all night long if it kept the nightmares at bay.
He wasn’t surprised she was having them. She had seen her half-brother killed, had spent the last gods only knew how long afraid for her life because of that bastard, and was now swept up in a crazy new world where people like him existed.
He stroked the backs of his knuckles down her cheek and eased her onto the bed, and stretched out beside her, facing her.
She had been so shaken after the fight that had happened, after seeing Alexander killed. It had taken her two days to come out of her stupor, and since then she had been up and down, full of fire one moment and distant the next.
He thought about everything that had happened—the arguments between them, and the fear she had revealed to Ivy. She had been through a lot, but not once had she given up and broken down. The most despondent he had seen her had been when she had been lamenting her poor baking skills.
No, she had kept her chin up, had stood tall and faced it all.
He admired the hell out of her for that, but she didn’t need to be strong.
Not all the time anyway.
Storm stroked her hair, threading his fingers through her golden waves, his eyes locked on her face as she slumbered.
“You can rely on me,” he whispered, lost in her beauty and the fierce needs beating inside him. “I can be strong for you. You can talk to me, Little Bird… without us coming to blows… like you talked with Ivy.”
It struck him that he wanted her to talk to him like that, that he ached for it and had been from the moment he had listened in on their conversation. He wanted Gabi to unburden her heart, to settle the weight of her past and her fears on his shoulders, because he could take it.
He shuffled closer and held her, lost track of time as he watched over her to make sure she got the restful sleep she needed.
When the light coming from his right grew brighter, and he felt the day breaking, he reluctantly left the bed.
He washed and slung his jeans on, and used some of his water supply to get the coffee machine brewing for Gabi. He paused at the kitchen sink and stared out of the window, watching the first light penetrating the forest and the deer that were wandering through the area, taking advantage of the stillness of morning to cross the clearing without encountering anyone.
When there was enough coffee in the jug, he poured himself a mug, tugged his black jumper on and headed for the door of the cabin. He opened it, breathed deep of the crisp morning air, laced with sweet dew, and sighed as he leaned against the door jamb.
He smiled as Ivy crossed the grass, startling the deer, and herself in the process as they panicked and rushed her. She squealed and Rath was by her side in an instant, his dark grey trousers riding low on his hips and chest bare as he protected his mate as if a damned bear had attacked her rather than a pack of startled deer.
Storm nursed his coffee and watched the couple as Rath checked Ivy over, thoroughly, from head to toe and back again, as she told him not to fuss and that she was fine. His smile faded as they embraced, and that conflict he had been able to subdue crept back into his heart as they kissed and smiled at each other, swept up in each other.
In love.
He wanted to turn and looked back at Gabi, but resisted the need, aware it would only cause the conflict to worsen, the doubts to fill his mind again, together with the fears. Not fear that she was working for Archangel, but fear that whatever they had, it wasn’t real, that she didn’t feel the same way about him as he was coming to feel about her.
That he was going to get his heart smashed to pieces again.
He pushed the woman who had busted it up close to two decades ago out of his mind and focused on his brother and Ivy, managing a smile as Rath trailed behind her, scrubbing a hand over his dark hair as he yawned. Ivy shooed him away, and he could sense his brother’s irritation over that. Rath wanted to stay close to her, but it wasn’t going to happen.
He wasn’t sure how his brother hadn’t figured that out yet.
Ivy had a strong sense of self and an independent streak, and that meant she wasn’t going to let Rath get between her and what she wanted—more photographs and time with the local black bears.
Storm tensed as Gabi’s eyes landed on his back, her gaze a hot caress that had him itching to look over his shoulder at her. Those shoulders went rigid as he waited for her to speak, unsure what to expect.
“Is that coffee in the pot?” she asked quietly, a slight tremble of nerves in her voice that betrayed her and said she was as uncertain as he was.
He gave in to the urge to look over his shoulder at her. “You’re welcome to it.”
He froze.
Pulse jacked up.
His gaze tracked her as she moved around his cabin wearing only his black t-shirt, her long slender legs on show and her bare feet shuffling on the wooden floor as she rounded the worn brown leather couch. Her breasts bounced with each step and he wanted to groan as he realised she hadn’t put on her bra, and his mind leaped to question whether she had bothered with her panties.
His cock stirred at that, images of spreading her out before him and feasting on her spiralling through his mind. He pushed them away and sipped his coffee, because he couldn’t afford to get caught up in her again, had to get his head on straight before anything else happened between them.
She poured a mug of coffee, brought it to her lips and tentatively sipped it.
His eyes raked over her, taking in how good she looked in his t-shirt. He wanted to growl, wanted to roar, the sight of her dressed in an item of his clothing stirring a fierce, undeniable desire to crow about it.
He ached with a need to push away from the door, to cross the narrow gap to her and pull her into his arms and kiss her, to show her just what she was doing to him, walking around in his damned t-shirt.
His scent all over her.
He did growl as he dragged his eyes away from her, because the little head wasn’t getting the message the big one was firing at it and it wasn’t going to as long as he was staring at her. His eyes landed on Rath as he did his best to keep his distance from Ivy where she lingered by the river, camera in hand, waiting for the bears.
Fuck, he needed to speak with his brother.
Maybe Rath could help him get his head straight, could help ease the conflict building inside him.
That conflict only grew worse when Gabi’s eyes landed on him again.
Only for a heartbeat this time.
He looked back at her, wanting to see what had stolen her attention from him, and frowned as he caught her gazing through the door at the outside world, her blue-grey eyes bright with interest, and a dash of hope.
How long had he kept her shut inside? A week? Longer?
Fuck, it was better she stayed inside, at least until he knew what the hell he was doing, and was sure she wasn’t a danger to his family, but he didn’t have the heart to force her to remain locked in his cabin, not when she looked as if she was desperate to get some fresh air.
“Put some clothes on.” It came out brusque, more of an order than a gentle request, and she frowned at him, but set her coffee down on the polished wooden counter and went and did as he had asked.
He wanted to growl at himself as he watched her tugging on her chocolate trekking trousers and swapping his t-shirt for her green one. When she was done, she shuffled back to him, and he handed her coffee to her. She took it without a smile and without looking at him.
Storm stared at her, needing to speak with her but unable to find his voice.
She toyed with her coffee, fascinated by it.
Avoiding him.
Did sh
e regret what they had done?
Fuck, he hoped not.
But his heart locked onto that question, grew fixated with it and the fact that she did, and something inside him whispered that maybe she was using him after all, because here he was, about to relax the rules for her.
“You can go on the deck,” he bit out, his mood souring as he thought about her out there, visible to all the cougars in the vicinity, and the way they had spoken about her. Taya in particular. If the damned bitch dared to go near Gabi, he would rip out her heart with his fangs. He tried to keep that urge, and the anger that was building inside him as he thought about males near Gabi and her being in danger, out of his voice but it seeped in as he said, “No further than the deck. It’s dangerous for you out there. Got it?”
She nodded slowly. “Where are you going?”
His eyes narrowed on her as the fear ricocheting around his mind, the thought she might be using him, latched onto that question and birthed suspicion he didn’t want to feel where she was concerned, but that he couldn’t shake.
“What gives you the impression I’m going anywhere?” he said.
She looked at him at last, innocence written in every perfect line of her pretty face, confusion crinkling her brow. “You mentioned it was dangerous out there for me, so I presumed you were going somewhere… because surely I wouldn’t be in danger on the deck with you around?”
Damn fucking straight she wouldn’t be. He would kill to protect her, would turn on his own people to ensure her safety.
And that had a cold feeling washing through him.
He was too caught up in her, too intoxicated by his Little Bird, dangerously so.
“Just do as I say,” he barked and pushed away from the door, set his mug down on the rickety table on his deck and strode towards his brother.
He needed to talk with Rath about everything.
Because he had the feeling he was falling for Gabi.
And he was falling hard.
CHAPTER 10
Gabi wasn’t sure what had gotten into Storm as she watched him striding away from her, long legs carrying him at speed towards his brother. The man looked around as Storm approached, said something and nodded, jerking his stubbled chin towards something. Storm went that way, but Rath lingered, throwing a glance in the opposite direction.
Captured by her Cougar (Cougar Creek Mates Shifter Romance Series Book 2) Page 8