by Tara Rose
“Why are you being so nice to me now?”
“Saffron, I wasn’t being rotten to you before.” He had been, but that was because he thought she’d come here to find Landon and his mother. Now, he realized there was no way that was true. She knew practically nothing that she should know by now. But someone was after her, and if they found her, Landon and his mother would be in danger as well. What the hell was he going to do with her?
As she held up her left arm, the chain attached to the cuff rattled. “Really? And what do you call this? Foreplay?”
Oh stars. Why on earth had she said that? And why were those damn green eyes of hers suddenly alive with lust? Surely she was still a virgin. What could she know of kinky sex? What could she know of any kind of sex, for that matter? Had Topaz told her that but neglected to develop her powers? Nevada watched her drop her gaze to the bed and trace the leaf pattern on the comforter. He tried to stop it, but he couldn’t hold back a soft chuckle at her words.
“Is it your turn to find something funny now?”
She still hadn’t looked at him, and her face was now red. He longed to move closer to her, but she would misinterpret the gesture. Hell, he would misinterpret it, and he was the one who’d be doing it. “Your comment was funny.”
“I shouldn’t have said it.”
“Why not?” Nevada’s heart was pounding. He had to mentally shake away the sudden urge not only find out how much she knew about sex, but to offer to teach her as well.
Finally, she raised her eyes to his. “Because bondage isn’t foreplay. It’s kidnapping.”
“Bondage is foreplay for some people.”
She glanced at the wall this time, but he’d noticed her reaction. Who had told her all this? Her grandmother? Someone else? Had she read about it? “You can stop that right now. We’re not having this conversation.”
“Saffron, how do you know this?”
“I’m not a child, Nevada.”
“I know you’re not. You’re a grown woman.” She cut her gaze toward him, but then glanced away just as quickly. He hadn’t meant for his voice to come out so deep and rough, but what the hell was he supposed to do here? “But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious right now. You’re still a virgin, aren’t you?”
“That is none of your concern.”
She was. He could hear it in her voice. He breathed a sigh of relief that at least none of the males in her tribe had abused her. That would have been something he’d have had to avenge. “Did you read about it?”
“Maybe.”
Bingo. “You might have incorrect information.”
She finally looked at him. “Oh? And are you an expert? Are you going to teach me all the great mysteries of sex, Nevada? Is that why you’re keeping me here?”
This time, it was he who averted his gaze. Her powers might not be developed, but she’d just nailed him. “I told you why you’re here, Saffron.”
“I know what you told me, but you’re the one who started this conversation.”
“No, you did when you when you made the quip about bondage and foreplay.”
She shifted her entire body toward the wall and crossed her arms. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”
Nevada’s damn cock was throbbing now. This girl was so vulnerable and frightened, but at the same time he sensed a hunger to know things and experience life. Was he making the biggest mistake of his life by holding her prisoner? Had his mother been right, as she usually was? Should he simply let her go? “I’m enjoying your company, if that’s what you mean.”
“You’re enjoying teasing me. And besides, what would you know about sex any more than I do? You’re not mated, either.”
He had no answer for that one, and he certainly couldn’t tell her the truth. It would be ammunition she could use against him. He scooted off the bed and picked up the empty wine bottle, glasses, butter knife, and plate. As he walked into the kitchen he heard her behind him. Or rather, he heard the chain around her wrist rattling. It was a horrible sound. He didn’t have to keep her chained up, did he? She couldn’t get away.
“Let me help.” Her voice was soft and repentant, as though she felt she had to make amends for something. But she’d done nothing wrong.
He turned to face her. “Landon will be here in a few hours. We’ll have dinner together. Maybe then you can tell us more about your life.”
“Nevada, I’ve told you all I can. Just let me go. I’m no threat to you.”
His pulse raced as he stared into her eyes. It would be too easy to cross the room and take her into his arms. But it might also mean bringing danger to himself and his village. Not to mention what it would do to Landon. And that’s if she didn’t slap his face once he tried to kiss her. He had to get out of here before he made a damn fool of himself.
Nevada brushed past her and unlocked the door. He was about to close it behind him when she caught up to him and touched his arm. It was only a gentle touch, and totally without threat since she’d gone as far as the length of chain would allow her to, but he spun around sharply and moved away as though she’d struck him. The pain on her face at his reaction nearly broke his heart, and it was all he could do not to take her into his arms and beg her to make love to him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I wasn’t trying to get outside. I only wanted to ask you one more time to please take off this cuff. Please.”
“I can’t.” He looked away from those eyes. He had to. It wasn’t right to keep her chained up like this, but what explanation would he give Landon if he took off the cuff? “I’ll be back with Landon in a while.”
She glanced outside. “Where is that boy you sent earlier? I saw him outside the window before, but he’s gone now.”
Nevada sighed out loud. Who the hell knew where Will had gone? “I’ll send someone else to watch the cabin until I return.”
“How long will that be? I mean before you return?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Then please remove this. Please. I won’t be as afraid all alone here if I’m not chained up.”
He’d feel the same way as she did right now, if he were in her place. If he let her move about the cabin freely, she still couldn’t get outside. But what if she rushed at the door when he and Landon returned? “Swear it.”
“What?”
He crossed the room and went into the kitchen, retrieving the butter knife he’d left in the sink. It would have to do. “Swear you won’t try to get outside when I open the door now to leave, or when I return later with Landon.”
“Do you still have my pocketknife?”
He spun around at the tone of her voice. How had she known what he was looking for?
“You said swear. I assumed that meant in blood. You’re looking for a knife, right? That butter knife won’t cut our skin, but my pocketknife will.”
Her ability to sense his thoughts in that way reminded him so much of his mother, that he almost gave in and unchained her without the oath. Did he really need it? She had to be what she said she was. How else would she possess such a gift? Was she even aware of it? It didn’t seem as though she was. Or, did she simply take it for granted, and assumed everyone could sense thoughts that way?
He placed the butter knife back in the sink and pulled her knife out of his pocket. Then he took her outstretched hand in his. “I won’t make a deep cut.”
“Okay.”
There was no fear in her eyes or her voice. When he pricked her skin, she barely flinched. He did the same to his palm, and then he took her hand in his, trying not to let the warmth of her touch penetrate his mind. If he let this girl get to him, Landon and his mother might be captured by whoever was hunting her, and it would be on his head. “Swear that if I unchain you, you will not try and run away, even when I open the door now or later.”
“I swear it.” She didn’t even hesitate. If she knew what this was they were doing, and what she’d call down on her head if she violated the oath, she knew that she couldn�
��t lie her way out of it or pretend she’d never done it.
He unlocked the cuff from her left wrist, wincing as he saw the marks it had already left on her delicate skin. He began to rub her wrist, but she pulled away from him and walked to the sink to wash her hand. “Thank you, Nevada.”
“We should put something on that cut so it doesn’t get infected.”
“I have healing herbs in my backpack. I’ll go and get them, and then you can use them on your hand as well.”
“Did Topaz teach you that art?” He washed the blood from his palm and then followed her into the main room, where she pulled a dark brown bottle from her backpack.
“She had begun to, but like everything else we talked about, we ran out of time before she could teach me everything she knew.” He let her dab some of the pungent liquid on his palm with a cotton ball she pulled out of a small cloth bag. It stung a bit, but nothing he couldn’t handle. After she swiped some across her own hand, he asked to look at her neck wounds.
“I already put some of this on them earlier and redressed the wounds,” she said, looking slightly embarrassed.
“All right.” He didn’t want to leave, but he knew if he didn’t get away from her soft, sexy voice, so full of desire and fear right now, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself this time. He’d kiss her, and he was no longer sure she’d resist. “I’d better go. I’ll return later with Landon and we’ll bring something for dinner.”
She nodded, holding his gaze. He could see the struggle on her face, but he wasn’t sure if she was debating whether to ask him again to let her go, or if she was forcing back her own feelings toward him. He hoped it was the latter, but then realized that wish was pure foolishness.
Before he lost what little willpower he had left, Nevada walked outside, closed the door behind him, and locked it.
Chapter Eight
Saffron counted to ten after he left, because she had been about to run after him. Not to ask him again to let her go or to try and sneak outside, but because she didn’t want him to leave. What was wrong with her? This man was keeping her prisoner, nothing more. Then why had he teased her so much about sex and looked at her as if he wanted to gobble her up?
“He’s not your mate.” She picked up the deck of cards he’d left behind and shuffled them absentmindedly. Was she absolutely certain of that? How she wished she’d had more time to ask Topaz how she would know her mate when she met him. Topaz had only told her that she would recognize him, not how, or when, or how much time would have to pass between meeting him and having that revelation. It was as much of a mystery to her as too many other things in her life, and Saffron was just as frustrated by this one.
She laid the cards out in a Celtic spread, but of course they weren’t tarot cards, so it meant nothing. Her own tarot cards were safely tucked away in her backpack, but she wasn’t sure the energy in this cabin was conducive to getting a clear reading. Not that she knew how to do that well, either. Topaz had only begun to teach her how to read and interpret the tarot.
Nevada had said she couldn’t shift inside here, which meant he or someone else had sealed it with a powerful spell. Trying to get a true reading inside here would be difficult, and might even prove detrimental. There was nothing to do but wait, but Saffron had always hated sitting around with nothing purposeful to do.
She put the cards back into a pile and walked around the cabin again, grateful that at least now she could move without listening to the chain rattle. She absently rubbed her left wrist where the cuff had been, then glanced down as she remembered Nevada’s gentle touch. He’d started to massage her wrist before she’d pulled it away. She’d caught the distressed look on his face when he’d removed the cuff and realized how tight it had been. But what did that mean, other than that he wasn’t a total sadistic monster? He was still holding her prisoner.
She turned her right palm up and gingerly touched the small cut, but it no longer burned. It would be nearly healed by morning, as would his. The only reason she’d sworn a blood oath was so he would take off the cuff and chains. She did feel less afraid with them gone, but she still longed to be outdoors in the fresh air, running free. Would that ever happen again?
A noise out front drew her to the windows, where she spotted a young woman walking toward the cabin. Saffron watched her take a seat in front of the door as Will had done. When she pulled a book out from underneath her poncho and began to read, Saffron sighed out loud. She wished she had a book to read right now. Anything at all would do.
She especially wished she had the books she’d sneaked from her mother’s things that someone had placed in a trunk at the back of Topaz’s closet. Nevada had asked her how she’d known about sex and bondage, but she hadn’t wanted to tell him about the books she’d found among her mother’s things in that trunk. She hadn’t wanted to tell him that she’d read stories about erotic, kinky sex acts, or that they had stirred her passion to ridiculous heights. Did he feel the same way, or would he find it scandalous to know the things she’d fantasized about?
The girl shifted her weight outside as she settled into a reclined position and continued reading. Saffron considered striking up a conversation with her, but there was nothing to say. She crossed the room and lay back down on the bed, curled up on her side, and wished once again that she’d never stopped to watch Landon or the people in the village. Images from her strange dream came back to her, so she closed her eyes and willed herself to return to it.
* * * *
When she woke, it was to find the room lit by candles. A quick glance out the front windows told it was already dark outside. How long had she slept? Soft insect songs could be heard, which meant the windows were still open. Two voices came from the direction of the kitchen, but they were far enough away that they could easily be coming from outdoors. Was the back door open as well?
As the smell of roasting meat, vegetables, and potatoes wafted past her nose, she realized the voices belonged to Nevada and Landon. Had they actually cooked dinner for her? She got up and used the bathroom, and when she walked into the kitchen, both men came in from the wide open back door, carrying bowls and plates filled with food. Landon’s eyes went straight to her uncuffed left wrist, but he didn’t look the least bit surprised. Nevada must have told him everything that had happened earlier.
“We made dinner, like I promised,” said Nevada.
“It smells great. Let me help you.” Nevada closed and locked the back door again, and then she helped both men set out plates and silverware on the table in the main room. She waited until they’d both tasted their food before she began to eat, as she’d been taught to do at home whenever a man was present at the table. “This is delicious. Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank us,” said Landon, smiling. “We aren’t going to let you starve.”
“Prisoners usually get stale bread and water, not fresh meat and wine.” She meant it as a joke, but Nevada frowned.
Landon gave her a confused look. “Wine?”
“I brought over a bottle earlier,” said Nevada.
“Oh, well let’s open it.”
“We drank it.” Nevada was stuffing his face as though he hadn’t eaten in a week, and he still hadn’t made eye contact with Landon since Saffron had mentioned the wine.
“How cozy.”
Landon’s voice dripped with sarcasm, and Saffron was about to speak up and explain, but Nevada slammed down his fork. “It wasn’t like that. We talked. Nothing more.”
“And now she’s no longer chained up.”
“She swore a blood oath.” Nevada reached over and took Saffron’s right hand, turning it palm up, then he turned his own upward as well. “See? Okay? I told you all this. Why are you acting this way?”
“Because when I left this morning you didn’t believe a word she said. When I returned an hour ago, you told me you’d looked up the incantations in The Alpha Legend book, you knew her life history, and you’d removed her cuff and chains.”
“You found the book?” asked Saffron.
Nevada nodded. “My grandfather had hidden it last year when some suspicious men were poking around the village. Landon, I simply forgot to mention the wine.”
Saffron felt a compulsion to help Nevada smooth things over with his friend, though she didn’t understand why. “Landon, he doesn’t know my life history. I don’t have much to tell.”
“Well he certainly knows a lot more than he did a few short hours ago.”
Why was Landon acting like this? Both men looked as though they were about to come to blows, and Saffron was confused by their behavior. They weren’t acting this way earlier. “I thought you two were blood brothers? Nevada keeps you safe, right? What’s going on here?”
Landon narrowed his eyes, and now that Saffron knew his true nature, it was easy to see the resemblance to a cougar. Why hadn’t she noticed it before? “Nothing. Nothing is going on, Saffron.”
“It doesn’t look like nothing. We weren’t drunk together, if that’s what you’re picturing.” Saffron wished she didn’t feel the need to explain this to Landon. Clearly he was jealous, but why? What else had Nevada told him? Had he also mentioned their conversation about sex and bondage? Was that why he’d reacted this way at the mention of them sharing a bottle of wine?
“Thanks for clearing that up. Let’s eat.”
Saffron hated the fact that now the two were glancing furtively around the table, and that the only sounds were the not-so-gentle clanking of forks against plates. It reminded her too much of family dinners at home when her uncle would barely look at Topaz, let alone speak to her. She knew he’d hated the fact that she’d insisted on coming to live with them. When she died, Uncle Dennis hadn’t even gone to her funeral, making some lame excuse about having to deal with possible poachers in the northern woods.
Saffron struggled to find something that would ease the tension and get these two talking again. “Did you bring the book, Nevada? I’d love to read it.”
