Burned

by Kensie King

  He flashed a charming grin. “And my chance to help you escape.”

  When I heard voices from around the corner, I nodded. Suddenly, I wanted Gage’s help. A chance to get away to gather my thoughts. “Sounds good.”

  Gage gripped my elbow gently, though I could feel the strength here, and then guided me across the alleyway and a few doors down to a building standing alone on the corner. A medical cross graced the space above the door.

  Gage touched my back, leading me inside, then nodded at a man at a desk. “Hey Raul.”

  Raul nodded back. “What do we have here?”

  Gage’s eyes flashed to mine with amusement. “A felon.”

  I lifted my eyebrows even though he was accurate. I’d just fled the scene of a crime, though no one could prove I’d set a stack of books on fire—and almost caught the man next to me on fire as well. Besides, I was sure Dylan and the rude librarian had it all under control.

  But dammit, I kind of wanted those books.

  Gage gestured. “Mind if we used your first aid kit?”

  Raul nodded again. “Sure. It’s in the back.”

  I followed Gage to the rear of the building, curious despite the fact I had research to do. “Where are we?”

  “Coordination station—for search and rescue.”

  I gave him an impressed look. Not bad for a small town—but then there was a lot of tourism around here and I bet plenty of people got in over their heads on their adventures.

  “Sit,” Gage said, gesturing to a small cot in the corner.

  I chuckled. “Not necessary. I just need to wash my hands.”

  “Could get infected.”

  “I think I’ll survive.”

  He flashed me a smile, one that was half charming, half dangerous. “Better to be safe than sorry.”

  When he turned back to the first aid kit, I watched him move, as lithe as a tiger, muscles bunching in his shoulders. I sat, realizing there were worse things than watching a sexy man try to take care of me. In fact, though I prided myself on being independent, it was kind of nice being rescued.

  He snagged a rolling stool and pulled it over to sit in front of me. His knees bumped mine and the hitch in my breath was totally unplanned but came out anyway. God, it had been a long time since someone had been this close.

  And when he adjusted in his seat, placing his hand on my knee, tingles swirled across my skin.

  Fuck. Was I really that desperate?

  Or maybe…maybe I was really just that attracted to him. Dark hair, eyes, dangerous smile. Kind of my type. If I had the luxury of having a type.

  I cleared my throat. “Is this where you work?”

  “No. But I’m considering opening a business in town. During the summer, I give tours and offer hikes and do all those recreational things. You know, all the tourist stuff.” He looked up, eyes meeting mine briefly with a smile. “They like to hike up those big mountains back there, the ones that are over fourteen thousand feet, and I show them the easiest route or make sure they stay on the trails instead of bothering all the wildlife. Sometimes hikers go missing or skiers get caught in avalanches and I’ll come here to help.”

  “Not everyone has a good sense of self-preservation.”

  “You got that right.” He held up a bottle of antiseptic. “It’s going to sting a little.”

  I grinned at the easy way he had with me, clearly used to taking care of people. Then he sprayed it on my hands, and I gritted my teeth. All right, so it hurt a bit. Dammit. I could shoot flames from my fingertips, but a fucking scrape was painful?

  Gage leaned in, his eyes locking on mine. The fingers of his free hand touched my leg, moving in a slow circle and distracting me. He was just trying to get my mind off the pain. Until he spoke.

  “I’m having trouble not kissing you right now,” he breathed. “And hoping I’m not…barking up the wrong tree.”

  “Right tree,” I assured him. “And…I’m having trouble, too. Convincing myself you shouldn’t.”

  His hand moved slightly higher on my thigh, warm through my jeans. I exhaled, feeling almost light-headed, and tried to focus. I glanced toward the front of the building. Raul was on a phone call.

  “You convince yourself?” Gage asked, eyes dropping to my lips before they came back up.

  Words lodged in my throat. I wanted to give in, to let myself get swept away for a moment. Then my mind cleared, and I shook my head. What the fuck? I barely even knew him—and I had to remind myself, not for the first time, that I was here for a reason.

  “I don’t think so,” I told him, forcing the words out. I cleared my throat. “Not today.”

  He pulled back immediately, giving a good-natured smile. “Gotcha. You’re probably right. I think just one bandage.”

  I watched as he put a Band-Aid on the wound, not knowing what else to say. If I had more time or maybe…if I wasn’t here for a reason, I’d let myself see where this went. I kind of wanted to anyway, but it didn’t make sense.

  After a moment, he looked up again, keeping his hands to himself. “Shit. I’m sorry.”

  “Why?”

  “You’re here for work or research or whatever and I’m…” His smile was a little wicked. “Trying to distract you.”

  “Might as well have a little fun,” I said with a shrug, and then stood.

  I mean, that used to be my motto, and I kind of missed that old me. The one who’d take a night off to go out or even stay in and hang. Instead of working, researching, or worrying.

  And Gage was doing a pretty good job of making me remember the fun side of Lincoln. But that, I reminded myself, was not a good idea. Not only because of why I was here.

  But also because of my history. Particularly when I was intimate with someone.

  Still, he stepped in front of me, reaching out to touch my arms. He ran his hands all the way down to my wrists and then grabbed my hands, an almost sweet gesture.

  “I think,” he said, almost as though he was trying to negotiate a deal, “we should go out.”

  “Go out?” I blinked, surprised despite our flirting. “Where?”

  He smiled. “On a date. Wherever you want.”

  Without a pause, I said, “The Knob Creek Hotel.”

  It was amusing to see his eyebrows lift a brief moment before his lips relaxed into a grin. “Well, I’m definitely not going to say no to that.”

  “Ha.” I stepped back. “I meant for research.”

  Although now that he’d misunderstood the suggestion, I had visions of him and I in a dark room at the hotel, hands running over each other’s bodies. I didn’t have to work hard to picture what was beneath his tight shirt or the low-slung jeans.

  “Figured there might be a catch,” he answered good-naturedly. He returned the items to the first aid kit. “But I’m in.”

  “It might do for an article. And it’d be a good idea to check it out first. See what I can come up with.”

  “Sounds good. How about I pick you up at six?”

  I shrugged. “Sure.”

  “Enough time to look around, have some daylight before we get dinner at the restaurant in the hotel.”

  “Dinner?”

  He turned to me again, the charming grin still on his lips. “I want a date and you want to do research. Figured we could meet in the middle. Compromise. Besides, a meal and a drink or two won’t hurt. Get you relaxed and more open to…the spirits.”

  I angled my head. “Are you telling me the hotel is haunted?”

  “I’ll let you decide for yourself.”

  I considered this and then nodded. “All right. It’s a date. I’m staying at the motel on Blake.”

  “Sure. What room?”

  “205.”

  He walked with me to the door, an easy stroll that helped me relax some more. I’d said it wouldn’t hurt to talk to some of the locals. Fortunately, I’d found one who was open to talking. And it didn’t hurt either that he was sexy as hell.

  “So,” he asked, pee
ring out the door, “did you make a clean escape?”

  I tried to keep the conversation light. I followed his gaze. “Looks like.”

  He propped his hand on the wall next to me, close enough he was almost touching my shoulder. “Think you might tell me what that was all about?”

  “Maybe after that drink tonight.”

  “Fair enough.”

  He stayed where he was when I walked out the door, and I tried to get my hormones under control. Fuck. That was one thing I hadn’t been planning on when I got here.

  Who was I kidding? I wasn’t planning on anything that had happened so far.

  Gage was just an innocent distraction. I’d keep it that way and everything would be fine.

  Because last time I’d let myself get carried away with a guy, things had gone too far. No, he’d tried to take things too far and he’d ended up in the hospital with burns all over his body.

  I’d keep the distraction innocent, and everything would be fine. I couldn’t risk hurting someone again.

  But research. I still needed to do my research.

  Innocent date, innocent drinks, innocent research.

  No problem. I could do this.

  #

  The moment I stepped into my room back at the motel, I knew something was wrong. It wasn’t the door, which was still locked as I’d left it. Or the curtains, which were open exactly halfway as I’d left them as well.

  I gritted my teeth and turned to the table where I’d left the Book of Shadows.

  Where it had flipped through pages on its own last night.

  And it was gone.

  I walked over, my fingers brushing the empty spot where it had been almost as if there would be a clue where it had vanished to. But books didn’t vanish on their own.

  I’d seen some crazy things in my life but never an inanimate object disappear.

  Which meant someone had taken it.

  Fuck.

  Not just taken—stolen.

  I snagged my room key from the dresser and jogged outside. I moved down the stairs and around the metal rail to the front office. Inside, a man old enough to be my father was reading a magazine that looked familiar. There was a picture of Bigfoot on the front. I remembered writing an article for them once—one on UFOs.

  “Excuse me,” I said.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “Was someone in my room today?”

  He shifted on his stool. “Room…?”

  “205.”

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “The maid.”

  I gritted my teeth. I’d put up the sign saying I didn’t need service, but I highly doubted the maid had any interest in my book.

  “Anyone else?” I asked.

  He scratched his cheek, then set the magazine down. “Well, there was a crew on site—they’re doing some renovations for me. But that’s on the other side of the building. They wouldn’t have been anywhere near your room.”

  I took in a slow breath and then forced a smile. “That’s interesting. I was actually thinking about doing some renovations myself. You know who’s in charge of that crew?”

  “Uhh…” He eyed my face like he was deciding whether or not I was trustworthy. My smile widened and he turned to his desk to flip through a few files. He opened one, read something across the top, and then nodded. “That’d be Dylan James.”

  Dylan. That fucker.

  But I wasn’t surprised. He’d told me flat out things were going to get worse and I guess he hadn’t been bluffing.

  My smile froze in place. “Thanks,” I told the man.

  I turned like a robot to walk back to my room, already coming up with a way to confront Dylan. Or unleash the fire on him again.

  He deserved it.

  I found myself wishing I knew more about my history as a witch or had a Book of Shadows of my own. Then I’d find a perfect spell to get my book back—or turn him into a frog.

  But since I didn’t…I sighed and let myself back into my room.

  I guess a good old-fashioned break-in was going to have to do the trick.

  CHAPTER 4

  When Gage picked me up on time, looking relaxed and sexier than ever in dark jeans and a soft black sweater, I was tempted to tell him about Dylan breaking into my hotel room and how I wanted to return the favor.

  He already knew I was a felon, right?

  But then common sense hit me and I changed my mind. I barely knew Gage, and even though I wanted to spend more time with him, it didn’t seem wise to ask him to be an accomplice to more criminal activity.

  I dressed up a little as well, figuring ghost hunting with dinner required something a little more special than sneakers.

  When I stepped out the door, my gaze almost level with Gage’s nose, I breathed in deep. He smelled like the woods. Like cold nights in front of a fire. It was inviting, and definitely turning me on.

  It was a struggle not to lean in for more, especially because I’d bet a hundred dollars he’d not only go with it but he’d back me into the room and make good on the kiss he’d wanted earlier.

  Gage took my hand before I could move and then turned his head so his breath touched my ear. “Maybe we could rethink dinner,” he suggested, voice low and warm.

  “No can do,” I said, flashing a smile and pulling him to the stairs. “I’ve got work to do. I’m on assignment.”

  “Is that so?”

  I nodded.

  He pulled me to a stop. “Seriously, though? You’re actually writing something? That wasn’t just…”

  “A story? A joke?” I grinned, amused. “No. I told you I’m a writer. I do this for a living, and that’s why Knob Creek Hotel is so interesting to me.” I released his hand and started down the stairs. “That and I need to make a living.”

  He followed me. “Does that mean you’re planning on staying here a while?”

  I paused at the bottom of the stairs to smile at him again. “Long enough to get a story.”

  And hopefully find my mom.

  Besides that, I needed to get that Book of Shadows back. Dylan deserved a little revenge, too, but I was trying to convince myself that in spite of how intriguing that idea was, it wasn’t necessary.

  Gage caught up to me and opened the passenger, the smell of his cologne trailing me inside. I took a few slow and cautious breaths as he walked around to the other side and got in. My body went on high alert when he rested his hand on the console and his fingers grazed my leg.

  My throat dried, and still the fire stayed inside. Buried deep.

  Good. But I couldn’t say whether or not it was going to stay there, which was why I still had to be careful—especially when he looked at me like he wanted to take a bite.

  Gage backed the car smoothly out of its space. “By the way, you smell amazing.”

  “Thank you.”

  He let his gaze travel the length of my body and his smile widened. “And you look good, too.”

  I returned his smile. “I get more answers this way.”

  He exhaled and held up a hand. “I’ll tell you whatever you want right now.”

  That made me laugh. Dammit. Why did Gage have to come along when he did? He was making it hard to focus. Making it hard to do much more than flirt.

  “How about…” I tapped my fingers on my knee, reminding myself that I could flirt and get information at the same time. “Wolves. I want to know about wolves.”

  His reaction was immediate, his left hand clenching tight on the steering wheel—enough that his knuckles turned white. His jaw was tight, making me even more curious.

  But I still keep it light. “I guess I don’t smell or look that good.”

  He cleared his throat and glanced over at me, the cocky smile returning just slightly. “It’s not that. I just wasn’t sure how much you knew about…the local folklore.”

  “Are you saying that wolves are a legend around here? Part of the local folklore? Because if you are, I believe it.”

  “That so?”

  I
nodded.

  He reached out so swiftly, I was caught off guard. My body tensed, thinking he was going to touch me again, but he only pointed to the right. “There’s a great hike right over there if you’re interested in seeing the scenery. It’s been warm enough the path is dry.”

  He was buying time, I figured, so I played along by following his gaze. Bright leaves, canopies growing large at the tops. I could only see part of the path, but it rose up a low hill and was backed by one of those mega tall mountains Gage spoke of. The top was still covered in snow.

  “I think I saw one,” I told him, getting back to the conversation.

  “A path to hike on?”

  I glanced over with a smirk. “I see what you’re doing—and you’re pretty good at the distraction bit, but I still want to know if there are wolves around here. Is that what I saw?”

  “What do you think you saw?”

  “Like I said,” I told him. “A wolf.” I angled in his direction to stare at his profile, noting again what an attractive man he was. And how he was very controlled. “I saw teeth—sharp ones. Pointy ears, lots of brown fur. And I heard it growling.”

  “Scary.”

  “And?”

  He flashed me a grin. “And what?”

  “You’re not answering my questions.”

  He sighed and shrugged. “I believe Knob Creek has had a few wolf sightings. That’s probably what you saw.”

  But that didn’t explain how I’d seen the wolf inside a house.

  Gage pointed again. “There it is. Knob Creek Hotel.”

  It was like a mansion. Like an estate from some tragic love story. Or perhaps a ghost story. It was clearly old, stately, but it was also kind of dark. Foreboding. It backed up to the mountain and was surrounded by trees.

  “Not too far from the main building, there’s a cemetery.” Gage’s voice turned informative, like he was giving one of his tours. “The Knob family buried their own there, but there are dozens of unmarked graves as well. No one knows who else is buried there.”

  He turned into the parking lot and smiled at me again, back on his game. “Did I mention how good you smell?”

  I laughed, still trying to enjoy myself. “You might have already mentioned that once or twice.”

  After he parked, we both opened our doors to step out into the warm evening air. Gage came to my side before I could go far. He propped his hands on the roof of the car, on either side of me, so I was boxed in.