Wild Keepers

by Dee Bridgnorth

  Actually, Leonie seemed to be gazing at someone in the crowd. Pointedly.

  Maya followed her gaze. It was a woman, with a bright red scarf wrapped around her head. Her face was lowered to the ground, but as if sensing eyes on her, she slowly lifted it up. She stared straight at Maya.

  Maya felt the world start to spin. A huge wave of nausea rose in her throat.

  It was the same creature that had hovered on the top of the ceiling, that awful night. The same leathery, grey skin. The same black eyes, as black as the pits of a coal mine. The scarf obscured her head, but Maya knew that if she removed it, she would see the same long wisps of hair.

  Maya lurched forward, gripping the table for support. How was it possible that this creature was standing here in this ordinary shopping mall and no one was noticing? Was she imagining it?

  The creature smiled, staring straight at her.

  The world was spinning too fast. Maya desperately pressed her nails into her hands, trying to revive herself. But it was too late. She could feel herself falling forward…

  Suddenly, arms were around her. Dazedly, she gazed up. It was Evan. She stared into his blue eyes, before she blessedly closed her own.

  Her last thought was she was safe. If she was in Evan’s arms, nothing could hurt her.

  ***

  Evan carried her through the shopping mall, out to the waiting limousine, ignoring the stares of the shoppers. He even ignored Freddie, the director, who looked like all his hopes and dreams had come crashing down around him. He didn’t care what the director was saying or feeling. All he could focus on was Maya, slumped like an injured bird in his arms.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, gazing up at him. Her big brown eyes were rolling a little, in her head, but at least she was lucid.

  He placed her gently in the back of the limousine, ignoring the driver’s startled face.

  “Maya,” he whispered, taking her hands. “What is your address? I need to get you home.”

  She managed to rattle off an address before she closed her eyes again. He barked it to the driver, and then they were pulling out into the traffic.

  Evan glanced down at her, anxiously. He had no idea what had happened. One minute, she had been sitting at the table. And the next, she was toppling forward, as if she were a tree that was slowly careering to the ground.

  He had rushed to her and picked her up, whisking her away. There would be time to ask questions later.

  The limousine pulled up outside a two-storey Victorian house, in a part of the city that Evan wasn’t overly familiar with. He gazed at it, noting the crumbling façade. A row of wrought iron lace adorned the veranda railing. It was an old house that had seen better days. A renovator’s dream project, if you had the money.

  “Maya,” he whispered. “Can you hear me?”

  She opened her eyes, sitting up slowly. “Yes. I am so sorry. Where am I?”

  “I’ve taken you home,” he whispered. “Where is your key? I’ll take you inside.”

  She shook her head, staring at him. “It’s alright, Evan. I can go in by myself.”

  He frowned. “Maya, I am not leaving you until I know you are alright—and what happened at that shopping mall.”

  She looked like she was about to argue, then thought better of it. She slowly took the key out of her bag and stared at him.

  “If you must,” she whispered back.

  He opened the car door and carried her inside. She could feel his heart beating where she laid her face against his chest.

  Chapter Seven

  Evan could feel her trembling in his arms. And he could smell her perfume, wafting up towards him, invading his senses. What was it? Lavender?

  He gazed around the house as he walked down the long hallway. Doorways to several rooms led off it, all closed. He had no idea which was hers, and besides, it might be a bit too intimate to walk into her bedroom. As much as he would like to see it, he admitted to himself.

  They reached the large living room. There was a sofa in the corner, the arms of which were draped with various pairs of pink tights. As he laid her down, his eyes were drawn to a large framed black and white photograph of a ballet dancer, standing en pointe, which hung above the heater.

  “Margot Fonteyn,” she said softly. He stared at her, puzzled.

  “The picture,” she said, pointing towards it. “It’s Margot Fonteyn. She was a great ballet dancer.”

  He smiled gently. “I take it a lot of ballet dancers live here.” He looked at the tights. “A lot of ballerinas?”

  She smiled back. “You are spot on,” she whispered. “There’s more rooms upstairs. It’s like a community of dancers here.” She paused, her voice trembling. “I’m so lucky to have found it. The girls here are like my sisters.”

  He nodded. “I’m glad for you, Maya.” He gazed at her. “Are you able to tell me what happened back there?”

  She sighed, attempting to sit up slightly. “Yes. I can’t believe that I collapsed again like that. I feel like some kind of Victorian maiden, swooning at everything.” She smiled. “Perhaps I should invest in some smelling salts.”

  “Something frightened you,” he said. “I take it you don’t have a history of randomly fainting…or do you?”

  She shook her head. “No. Before I moved back here, I’ve never fainted in my life.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I’m not fragile, Evan. I’m a professional dancer. We have to train like elite athletes.”

  He nodded again. “I’ve seen you rehearsing, remember? I know how strong you are.” He hesitated. “I’m not judging you, Maya. I’m sorry for what I said before, in the car. It was stupid of me. I get defensive sometimes.”

  She gazed at him softly with her big brown eyes. “I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to imply that you had never read a book in your life. I can see how it might have sounded.”

  He smiled. “I’ve read one or two, but I’m not a lover of literature like I made out. I just didn’t appreciate you assuming I wasn’t.” He stared at her, swallowing hard. “We seem to make a lot of assumptions about each other, don’t we?”

  She nodded, holding out her hand. “Truce?”

  “Truce.” He took her hand, shaking it. He had to fight the sudden desire to pull her into his arms. Instead, he dropped her hand, pulling away from her slightly. He could see the flash of disappointment in her eyes.

  “So,” he said, swallowing again. “What caused you to faint this time?”

  She turned her head to the side. “I saw it again,” she hesitantly said.

  Evan’s eyes widened. “You mean the creature you saw on the ceiling?”

  Maya nodded. “It was in the crowd,” she whispered. “It looked like a regular woman. It was wearing a red scarf over its head.”

  Evan cast his mind back. Yes, he had seen a woman wearing a red headscarf. She had kept her face to the ground and merged into the crowd.

  He frowned. Why on earth would a demon appear in a shopping mall crowd? Anyone would be able to see it. Demons usually tried to blend in and evade detection. They took on the appearance of regular people. The fact that a demon had brazenly revealed itself in a crowd was strange, to say the least.

  His frown deepened. This case was odd. He didn’t think that a demon was just out shopping and happened to think it fun to reveal itself. No, it had been deliberate, not random. The demon had wanted Maya to see it. But why?

  It had worn a scarf over its head, which meant it could choose its moment to reveal itself. But what had been its motivation? To scare Maya, so that she couldn’t do what she was there for?

  “Evan,” she said, slowly, her brown eyes so large in her face they seemed to swallow it entirely. “I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t anymore. This is not normal. Was it another hallucination? Should I go and talk to someone? I’m getting really scared.”

  He swore softly underneath his breath and, against his better judgement, pulled her into his arms. He just wanted to comfort her, but he was angry as well.
Why was this demon targeting Maya? If only he had seen it before she did. He could have dealt with it, somehow. As it was, the demon had probably slinked off, waiting for another moment to cause havoc.

  She yielded to him, folding herself into his chest like she belonged there. It felt so good, and so right, having her in his arms. And yet, it wasn’t possible. Apart from anything else, Thad had rules about involvement when the Wild Keepers were working. It was a distraction. And they needed to keep their senses alert, always.

  Evan had always managed to obey those rules. Well, he had never met any woman that had tempted him to not obey them. Until Maya Roberts, prima ballerina. A woman from an entirely different world to him. A woman who trembled in his arms and gazed up at him as if he were her saviour.

  Her eyes were so large. Those large, velvet brown eyes.

  He stared at the rest of her face. Heart shaped, with sweeping cheekbones. Her lips were full and soft. The full impact of her beauty hit him with the force of a sledgehammer, almost knocking him sideways.

  That dark hair, which today had been freed from its perpetual bun, flowed around her face like ribbons of silk. He had dreamed of freeing her hair from that bun and watching it fall down her back. He had dreamed of running his hands through it. They itched now to pick up a single strand and caress it.

  Could he? He gazed down into her face. Was she willing? He knew it was madness. That it was dangerous. But being so close to her was unstitching him.

  Her eyes stared back. He could see her desire in those dark pools.

  Slowly, he picked up a strand of her hair and gently caressed it, running it through his hands. He heard her sudden sharp intake of breath, as if she had been hit in the stomach. Her lips parted, and her head tilted back, allowing him to caress her further.

  He plunged both hands into her hair, pulling it gently. Her head tilted back further, so the line of her long neck was exposed. He had never noticed how beautiful her neck was; such pale skin, almost pearlescent. As if his lips had a mind of their own, he bent his face down, and placed a single, lingering kiss in the arch where her neck met her shoulder blades.

  Maya gasped and arched her back. Her arms wound around his own neck, pulling him closer towards her.

  He trailed kisses up her neck, each one deeper and slower. His lips grazed her chin and then settled on those lips. The kiss was slow and sweet. His mind suddenly stilled and froze in the moment. All he could feel was her lips beneath his. He didn’t want to be anywhere else but right here and right now.

  It was heaven.

  Maya pressed herself into his body, harder. He felt a sudden, sharp stab of intense desire. Stronger than he had ever felt in his life. He simply never wanted this kiss to end.

  “Ahem.”

  They both sprang apart, as if scalded.

  Leonie, one of the other dancers in the company, was standing there. She looked embarrassed, sliding her eyes sideways.

  “Sorry,” she said. “But I didn’t realise, and it wasn’t possible to creep back out.”

  Maya sat up hastily, her face flushed. “Don’t be silly, Leonie,” she said quickly. “You live here! I’m a bit embarrassed.”

  Evan stood up, gazing at the woman as if she were some kind of apparition. To have been thrust so suddenly out of the moment was disconcerting, and he simply couldn’t find any words. He stared down at Maya, but she steadfastly refused to look at him.

  “I should go,” he said, confused. “I just wanted to make sure that Maya got home safely.”

  Leonie smiled slowly, tilting her head. “Well, you certainly have, and then some,” she said drily. She turned to Maya. “I left the shopping mall as soon as I could. It was all downhill after you left, Maya. You probably did yourself a favour, swooning like that.” She studied her face. “I was worried about you.”

  “I’m fine,” said Maya in a small shaky voice. “I’m not sure what came over me. Maybe I’ve been working too hard.”

  Leonie stared at her. “You should rest.”

  Evan awkwardly moved towards the door. “I’ll leave her in your hands, then,” he said, gazing back at Maya.

  “See you,” said Maya slowly. Her eyes flickered past him. “Thanks for getting me home safely.”

  Evan nodded, hesitating for a moment. Then he simply walked down the long hallway and left the house.

  Once outside, he leaned heavily against a veranda post, trying to gather his thoughts.

  What had just happened? It was as if a spell had overtaken him. It was probably just as well that Leonie had interrupted, he thought darkly. Otherwise, he had no idea where it might have led. The desire between them had been so strong.

  He took a deep breath and walked out into the bright sunlight. The limousine was gone, of course. He would have to make his own way back to the theatre. Or should he just return to the warehouse? He looked down at his hands, surprised to see that they were shaking.

  As he walked down the pavement, deciding what to do, guilt started gnawing at him like a rat.

  He shouldn’t have done that. She was vulnerable; she had just suffered another fright. Of course she would cling to him, and seek assurance, in the guise of intimacy. It had probably meant nothing more to her than that.

  And yet…he could still feel her trembling with desire in his arms. The way that her lips had sprang to life as he put his own on hers. The arching of her back and the tilting of her head.

  He was in danger. And he had to somehow control himself, around her.

  It could lead nowhere. He was a marked man. He couldn’t offer her anything; no kind of future. Even if he didn’t have the curse swinging over his neck like an executioner’s axe, he was a wolf shifter. His life was as far removed from hers as possible.

  They might as well be living on different planets.

  ***

  Leonie sat down beside Maya on the sofa, smiling gently.

  “So,” she began. “What’s going on between you and your bodyguard?”

  Maya blushed. “Nothing,” she stammered. “I…don’t even know what happened just then. It was so sudden.” She stared down at her hands. “Completely out of the blue.”

  Her breath caught in her throat, remembering the feel of his hands in her hair, and his lips upon her throat. She shivered.

  Leonie frowned. “He didn’t take advantage of you, did he? Being alone with you in here?”

  “No, no,” said Maya quickly. “It wasn’t like that. I…wanted him to kiss me.”

  Leonie’s face softened. “Oh, Maya,” she said gently. “I know that he is attractive, but he’s not your type. Not at all.” She took a deep breath. “He’s a security guard, for heaven’s sake.”

  “So?” said Maya sharply. “What does that matter?”

  Leonie smiled. “I’m not being a snob, Maya,” she said. “I’m just saying he’s so very different from you. Could you imagine taking him to the ballet or out to a fine restaurant? He would be like a fish out of water.” She paused. “You guys have nothing in common. You must realise that.”

  Maya stared at her. Of course, everything that Leonie was saying was the truth. Evan wasn’t like any guy that she had ever been interested in before. But that was mostly because she never met anyone outside her own social circle. She usually dated fellow dancers; she had gone out with a guy from her private school, when she was younger. All men who knew her world and understood it.

  Evan was upfront about the fact that he had no interest in ballet, even though he had asked about Giselle. If they did date, where would they go together? She had no interest in sport, which she imagined he’d love. She liked art house movies, and she sensed that he was an action blockbuster kind of guy. She did usually eat at fine restaurants, whereas he probably liked burger joints.

  She frowned. What had he said to her, just now? About making assumptions about each other? She was doing it again. She didn’t know anything about what interested him and made him tick.

  All she knew was that he made her feel wonderf
ul. When she had realised that it was his arms that had caught her at the mall, she had felt safe. Protected. And then, those arms had made her feel very differently on this sofa…

  “Maybe you should just have a fling,” said Leonie, interrupting her reverie. “If you fancy him, that is. Get it out of your system and move on.”

  “A fling?” Maya stared at her. “I’ve never really had a fling. I’m not sure what the rules are with them.”

  Leonie’s smile broadened. “That’s the fun of them,” she drawled. “There are no rules. I’ve had a few. Usually with guys that I know I would never date seriously but are still damn attractive. Like your bodyguard.”

  Maya sighed. “I probably shouldn’t overthink it,” she said slowly. “That kiss just…happened. I really have no idea what Evan thinks, or wants. He’s probably embarrassed and kicking himself that he did it.”

  Leonie stood up. “Yeah, you could be right. He probably just saw the opportunity and went for it. Like most guys.” She smiled. “They can’t be trusted, you know. They say one thing and do another.”

  Maya gazed at Leonie. They had never really talked about men, or any relationships that they had. Leonie had always struck her as obsessed with dancing, and not overly interested in dating. But there seemed to be a thread of bitterness in her talk. What had happened to her? Had she had a bad relationship or break-up?

  “The Wilis might have it right,” continued Leonie, her face hard. “They all died from broken hearts. They were women who were deserted by men, some of them on their wedding days. But they banded together, to teach them all a lesson.”

  Maya smiled. “It’s just a story, Leonie. And the point of Giselle is that the main character forgives her lover, and that love and forgiveness are more powerful than hate and vengeance.”

  Leonie laughed. “Oh, don’t mind me, Maya,” she said. “I’m just thinking out loud. Maybe Freddie linking Giselle to that film on the poster has got me wondering, that’s all.” She took a deep breath. “What did you think of that, by the way? Nathaniel told me he thought it was stupid.”