His teasing always lifted her. Made her feel better. Warmth sheeted through Cat as she watched him unwind like a lithe cougar and stand. This was a side of Talon she’d never known existed. A man who cared for her. He had a wonderful bedside manner and he really was a medic. She swallowed hard. “You saved me out there today.”
“Cade Garner was pulling up just as I came around the corner to see what was happening to you, Cat. If I hadn’t been there, Cade would sure as hell have taken Magee down.”
He was humble. Cat watched as he gestured to her swollen jaw. He crouched down beside her and placed his hands near her left jawline, carefully examining the area. His touch was electric. Comforting. She sat very still, breath held for a moment as he skimmed the area where Magee had hit her.
“Any loose teeth?”
“Just one,” she managed, closing her eyes, hungrily absorbing his touch. Her lower body began to ache with just one brief touch. “It will tighten up in a few days,” she managed.
“An ice pack on the area will reduce the swelling,” he told her, rising. “What about your arms where he grabbed you?”
“Just bruises. No big deal.”
They were to Talon. He pulled off the gloves and dropped them in the wastebasket, turning toward her. There was more color in her cheeks now, more life in her eyes. Talon knew it was because he’d made her feel safe and cared for. He rested his hands on his hips, studying her. “Can I draw you a hot bath? You’ve got to be feeling pretty stiff from the fall by now.”
She managed a smile and shook her head. “I’m going to take a hot shower.”
“Okay. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”
“Are you staying?”
“Yes.” Because Talon knew Cat needed someone around right now. He could give her a sense of safety. He’d seen the panic in her eyes earlier. And the panic had dissolved as he’d tended to her injuries. “I want to stay around just in case you need anything.”
Cat felt her emotions wildly seesawing. So much of her wanted to be in Talon’s arms right now because she felt threatened. She’d thought she would die out there in that parking lot today. She knew Magee was in jail. Knew he wasn’t going to come over and stalk her like he had before. The grave look on Talon’s face and the concern burning in his eyes gave her the courage to whisper, “Y-yes. I’d like that. There’s a spare bedroom down the hall on the right you can have.” She knew Talon was giving up his time for her and it made her feel good, but guilty. He was supposed to see his mother this afternoon and Cat never wanted to stand in the way of Sandy seeing her son.
Talon leaned down, tucking errant strands of her hair behind her ear. “I’ll check it out later. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”
Her ear tingled wildly. Cat closed her eyes, starving for his attention. Trust. She trusted Talon. It was such a foreign emotion to her, and yet, he’d proved he was trustworthy over time and incidents. She looked up as he walked toward the entrance. “Talon?”
He turned. “Yes?”
“Th-thanks…for everything….” She frowned, her voice cracking. “You didn’t have to do this….”
He smiled lazily. “You’re worth it, Cat.” Talon turned and left, because if he didn’t, he was going to haul her into his arms, carry her off to her bed and hold her. This wasn’t about sex. It was about him knowing what she needed in order to stop the shock from tumbling through her, skewing her emotions and making her feel so terribly vulnerable. Talon almost hesitated. Almost turned around. But he forced himself to leave because he didn’t want to break that tenuous trust he’d just built with Cat.
Cat felt drugged after her long, hot shower, no doubt a reaction to the assault. Pulling on a lavender silk nightgown that fell to her knees, she crawled into bed, just wanting to rest. And as soon as her head hit the pillow, Cat spiraled into sleep because, for once, she felt safe. Talon was downstairs. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She didn’t have to worry about Magee banging on her door at odd hours, waking her. For once, she could honestly relax and allow sleep to heal her.
Talon checked up on Cat later. Her bedroom door was ajar and he saw her sleeping, the sheet bunched up around her waist. The lavender gown made him want to move closer, but to do so wouldn’t be right. He had no business going into her bedroom uninvited. Talon moved down the carpeted hall and quietly opened the door to his bedroom and checked it out.
It was two in the afternoon. He ached to go back to Cat’s bedroom, slide into bed next to her and hold her. That’s all he wanted to do. Talon laughed to himself, shaking his head ruefully as he looked around the large bedroom. Hell, in the past, if he held a woman it was to make love with her. Not to comfort her.
Rubbing his jaw in thought, he left the room and checked on Cat one more time. She was sleeping deeply and that was good. He then went downstairs. He wanted to call Cade Garner to get an update on Magee. And then he’d call his mother and Val to let them know how Cat was doing.
Everything in Cat’s condo reflected her. The kitchen was pristine, clean, and it was evident from the contents of her refrigerator, she obviously preferred healthy food. Talon searched for something to make for their dinner. Sooner or later, Cat would wake up, and she needed to eat.
The living room had an ivory couch and stuffed chair along with a large television on the wall. The carpet was beige. Colorful purple, red and gold pillows were thrown on the furniture. She had a number of photos on one wall and they were present-day, not any of her family. On one wall hung a photo of a brilliant rainbow in what look like the Hawaiian Islands. It was obvious that Cat liked color.
Talon had discovered a number of magazines she subscribed to. It was amazing to him how much a person revealed about themselves by something so seemingly innocuous. There were two magazines on travel. He wondered if she wanted to travel but never had. Another was on organic gardening and he remembered her dream house would have a garden. There was another on wildflowers. And a real estate magazine of houses for sale in Wyoming.
Talon made himself some coffee, called a few people and then leafed through those magazines trying to discover more about Cat. On some pages, the corners were turned down. On others, she’d underlined articles or made notes out in the margin. In the real estate magazine she had circled a couple of homes for sale. She had all kinds of notes in it and by the time he was finished going through it, Talon smiled a little. There was something poignant about Cat. She had such a strong, confident demeanor out in the world. A real warrior woman as a firefighter. Still, from looking inside these magazines, there lurked someone with unfulfilled but hopeful dreams. The feminine side of herself, Talon supposed. He liked getting to know her inner world of her secret self. Getting to discover Cat was like opening a treasure chest to Talon, and no woman had ever intrigued him like that before.
He set the magazine aside and noticed it was nearly five o’clock. Getting up, he went to the kitchen to make dinner. He was going to let Cat sleep until she woke up on her own. And if she slept right through the evening, that was fine with him, too. Talon knew the healing power of a deep, long and uninterrupted sleep.
As he made a salad on the counter, he couldn’t shake the look on Cat’s face when Magee had pinned her against the truck. In that instant, he’d seen a terrified child. It had torn his heart apart. He’d leaped off the wooden walkway and sprinted toward Magee, who had cocked his fist to strike Cat. He’d seen the helpless fright emerge in her expression. It was then that Talon realized the depths of the wounds her father had given her. How many times had Cat looked like that as a child growing up around her abuser? She’d lived in terror all the time.
And yet, she’d become a strong, independent warrior. He put the salad in the fridge and drew out two chicken breasts he found in the freezer. He cooked rice and mixed it with raisins and walnuts. He sprinkled Middle Eastern spices on the meat, placed foil over it and slid it into the oven to bake.
No matter what he did to busy himself, Talon could not wipe out that childlike terror
he’d seen in Cat’s eyes as she tried to fight back and free herself from Magee. His knuckles were skinned, bruised and swollen from striking the son of a bitch. He took private satisfaction that he’d purposely broken Magee’s nose. SEALs were trained to kill with their hands and Talon had come very close to doing just that with this bastard who had hurt Cat. Magee had made her life miserable.
How must she feel about the bastard stalking her? Like a hunted animal, most likely. Anger simmered in Talon as he found a chocolate-cake mix in another cabinet and located a can of white frosting. No wonder Cat didn’t trust men, with someone like Magee shadowing her every move. But how much was Magee tailing her? Talon didn’t know, but he was going to find out—he wanted to put that bastard into prison for a long, long time. He wanted Magee out of Cat’s life. Permanently. And every protective instinct in him was oriented toward guarding Cat, keeping her safe. Giving her a place where she no longer felt constantly threatened. And his heart was ripped up by what had happened to her as a child.
As he worked on the cake, Talon shook his head, confused. Hell, he wanted Cat in his bed, wanted to be in her, love her, take her to places of intense pleasure and satisfaction she probably hadn’t discovered yet. But he wanted more. It was unnamed, but a new hunger was making him crave her company, her smile, her laughter and the way she saw her world. He wanted to discover her facets and so much more.
As Talon worked quietly in her kitchen, he felt a new kind of peacefulness cloak him. A lot of the anxiety that was always with him dissolved. Cat’s condo was like a sanctuary, a place where she dreamed and made notes in the edges of magazines. Talon found himself wanting to share her dreams, to be a part of them. So what did that make him? Was he wanting, for the first time in life, a serious relationship with a woman? Yeah, for sure. Now he was in uncharted territory and it scared him, but it also called to him like a siren. And as uncomfortable as he was, Talon had learned as a SEAL to work through the fear and keep moving toward the objective. In this case, it was Cat.
Once Talon finished his dinner duties, he washed his hands one last time and dried them on a towel. His heart centered on Cat. He felt things for her he’d never felt for another woman. And he hadn’t even taken her to bed. That was the hell of it. Something about her, just as she was, fulfilled him. Expanded his heart, made him feel a happiness that had been foreign to him up until now. Talon had no explanation for it. He was grappling with his feelings and unsure of what would happen between them.
Dragging in a ragged breath, Talon moved to the dining room and set it for dinner, hoping Cat would awaken and join him later.
Cat made him feel complete. Talon stood, plate in hand as he considered the realization. He’d been so lost since Hayden had died, the guilt so heavy and grinding, shredding his heart. Depression was all Talon had known since Hayden’s death. And when Cat entered his life, Talon felt hope again. It had occurred quietly, over time. But with each moment spent near her, his feelings for her deepened and widened. And happiness was always a part of it, moving in the background beyond the grief he carried daily for his fallen brother. Cat was healing to him. Talon frowned, halting and closing his eyes, following that feeling. God, he’d been so deeply wounded by the torture and Hayden’s death. How was it possible a person could help him out of that pit of despair? Ease his grief? Erase his depression? Yet, as Talon stood there looking at himself, remembering where he was at six months ago compared to now, he felt so much better. He wanted to live again. Cat had infused him with hope. Talon doubted she knew the powerful effects she had upon him. He’d never realized it until just now, himself. It shook him to his foundation.
Rubbing his chest where his heart lay, Talon finished setting the table. Stunned by the weight of his relationship with Cat, which was pretty desultory at best, she was still deeply affecting him in so many good ways. And today, he’d been made aware of it as never before. The hunger he felt in wanting to love her was driving him over an edge of a symbolic cliff he’d never known existed. Until right now.
“Hey,” Cat called, her voice thick with sleep. The condo was filled with the odors of spices and chocolate. The fragrances had slowly awakened her from a deep sleep. She’d pulled on the lavender silk robe that fell to her ankles and slowly descended the carpeted stairs, barefoot. Feeling groggy, she saw Talon was busy in the kitchen. He wore a pair of oven mitts and was taking something that smelled very good out of the oven. When she halted at the granite island and caught his attention, a warmth flooded her. She wiped her eyes, barely awake. Talon straightened and saw her. His smile went straight to her heart and down to her lower body. How she wanted to be closer to him.
“Hey, yourself,” Talon greeted, setting the Pyrex dish on a trivet on the dining room table. “How do you feel?” God, Cat looked like dessert to him, the silk lavender robe clinging softly to her, outlining her tall, shapely body. Her hair was tousled, her eyes drowsy with sleep and her mouth, soft and slightly parted. Groaning inwardly, Talon took off the mitts and set them on the counter.
“I’m really sleepy,” Cat admitted. “But I smelled what you were cooking and realized I was a little bit hungry.” Cat watched him move with animal grace, the Levi’s accenting his narrow hips and his long, powerful thighs. He had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to just below his elbows, his forearms dusted with dark hair. Swallowing, Cat noticed his beard had grown enough to give him a dark look that made her body yearn even more.
“I figured you might wake up,” he murmured. Talon drew out a chair. “Have a seat? I’ll get the rest of our meal on the table.”
Cat sat down, gathering the folds of the robe across her legs. Outside, the sun was in the west, shafts coming in brightly through the front living room window. “What time is it?” she asked, picking up a glass of water.
Talon placed the bowl of salad on the table. “Six-thirty.” He’d given Cat the seat at the head of the table and sat down at her left elbow. “Dig in,” he invited. “Kind of a Middle Eastern banquet tonight.”
“I didn’t know you could cook,” she said, spooning the fragrant raisin and walnut rice onto her plate.
“And I didn’t know you were a firefighter. There are many facets we haven’t explored yet, but I like getting to know you, Cat.” Talon met her drowsy eyes, noticing they were less cloudy looking. Cat had slept off some of the shock, and that made him breathe a little easier. Talon watched her mouth curve over his comment. He placed a chicken breast on her plate.
“Thanks. Me, too,” she said. Pushing her fingers through her hair, she tamed it away from her face and across her shoulders. “You have lots of layers, Talon. Like a torte cake.”
“I’ve been called many things, but never a torte cake.”
She smiled tentatively. “You are a man of many skills, I think. This smells wonderful.”
“Hopefully, it will taste as good as it looks,” he teased lightly, placing salad into the bowl near her plate. “Been a long time since I’ve taken on making a serious dinner.” He saw a flush of pink come into her cheeks. Cat was incredibly open, her shields not present, and Talon tried not to be too assertive with her. Even picking up the fork and knife, her fingers long and tapered, there was grace in her movement. He wanted those hands exploring him. But he quelled his sexual appetite. The quiet and peace they shared right now was amazing and fed him.
“Mmm, this is really good,” Cat murmured between bites. She shared a look with him. Talon seemed bashful over her compliment. “Hey, you can say thank you.”
“Thank you,” he growled, finding he was starved. “How are you feeling?” He glanced up to see her reaction. She seemed more relaxed but not 100 percent.
“Still wrung out,” she slowly admitted. Everything tasted delicious. For once it was nice to have a real meal that she hadn’t had to make herself. She glanced at Talon. “Shock.”
“Yeah, it is. You need a good night’s sleep under your belt to get rid of the rest of it.”
She stared at him for a moment. “
There’s so much more to you.”
Talon smiled a little and held her gaze. “Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you.”
Cat managed a twitch of her mouth. “Why?”
“You’re an amazing person with hidden depths.”
Cat frowned. “I don’t see that.”
“You’re not supposed to. It’s part of discovering who you are through my eyes.” And my heart. And there was no longer any question that his heart wasn’t involved.
Talon’s voice was like rough velvet across her flesh. Cat held his genial gaze and felt her heart opening wider, with ribbons of happiness flowing through it. “I’m pretty simple and straightforward,” she groused.
Talon laughed and shook his head. “No, you’re highly complex. But that’s a good thing in my book.”
“I don’t see that, either.”
“It’s tough for anyone to see themselves, don’t you think?” Talon asked, picking up the salad dressing. Just getting to talk and explore Cat was another kind of dessert to him. She had no ability to play games. What you saw was what you got. And while Cat was open and maybe trusting toward him, she was far from simple.
“God knows I’m not good at seeing beneath a person’s mask. I wish I was….” She frowned.
“You think all people wear masks?”
“Yes. The mask as I see it is the face everyone else sees out in public.” She pointed toward the door. “But when a person goes home, the mask comes off and the real person appears.” She shared a wry look with him. “I don’t have the ability to see beneath a person’s mask and I wish I did. I think you see beneath mine.”
“So if you could ferret out who lived under that mask, you think it would stop you from making mistakes with men like Magee?”
“Yeah. Why didn’t I see under his mask? If I had, I’d never have gotten involved with him.”
He felt her frustration. “You’re too hard on yourself, Cat. Look at us. We have a good relationship, don’t we?”
“You’re one of the men in my life that has been good for me.”
Lindsay McKenna Page 19
