by D McEntire
A thought entered her mind. “Speaking of vampires, I thought you only ingested blood.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Wrong. We eat normal food just like everyone else, but prefer rare meat. Vane, one of my Cell-mates loves food so much we have to make several trips a week to the grocery store which sells in bulk just to keep the kitchen stocked.”
When he smiled, Suma almost melted. The man was gorgeous with a capital G, she told herself, and with a pretty good sense of humor to boot. She felt herself growing comfortable in his presence. She allowed herself to relax. He didn’t seem threatening at all. In fact, he was behaving just the opposite—considerate, polite, sexy.
Suma cleared her throat before her face betrayed where her thoughts were heading.
“By all means, proceed,” she said with a playful roll of her eyes, telling herself he wasn’t the only one who knew how to flirt.
As he hunted down a skillet and began to cook their sandwiches, Suma sat on a chair, unable to take her gaze away from the tall, slender, and oh so muscular man standing only feet away. She hadn’t been this close to a man since the day her people had run her—or rather the Skinwalker—off.
The scent of him wafted above the smell of the eggs and bologna. It was more than a clean and masculine scent. He smelled of the earth, kind of like patchouli, a familiar scent, which reminded her of home.
Home. Where was her home? She wandered wherever her people led, always staying in the shadows, always present to protect, but never acknowledged or welcomed.
“Do you want salt or pepper on yours?” Rayne asked, breaking into her thoughts.
“No, thank you.”
Suma walked to the kitchen and lifted two plates out of the drainer by the sink and brought them over to Rayne. She waited quietly as he scooped up the eggs and bologna and laid them out on each plate atop a piece of bread.
When she inhaled the wonderful smell of the sandwiches, her stomach let out a loud growl. Embarrassed, she ducked her head quickly and took the plates to the small table.
“When was the last time you’ve eaten?” Rayne asked, wiping his hands on a dishtowel.
Suma shrugged. “Oh, I guess it has been a while. Maybe sometime yesterday afternoon? I don’t remember.”
Weariness overshadowed Rayne’s eyes like clouds, and Suma remembered it was daytime—the time vampires normally slept. She watched him blink several times, then sway slightly in his chair. She was afraid he was going to collapse.
“Rayne, you look tired. I’m thankful you and Dana took care of me during the night. Why don’t you lie down?”
The look of uncertainty and concern that flashed across his face made her sigh and shake her head. He did not trust her. She had no plan to leave. At least not yet. She wanted to learn more about him as well as meet Dana, the woman she had befriended, though only in wolf form.
“I won’t leave. I promise. You lie down and rest. If I go out, it will only be to talk to Dana. We haven’t actually met in person, and I would like to thank her for all she has done for me.”
Rayne nodded, then reached for his plate. Suma shook her head. “I’ll take care of it.”
With a slight push, she steered him in the direction of the couch and almost laughed at the sight of him practically diving on the cushions. She raised his legs, forced his knees to bend and placed them on the couch.
After washing the dishes, Suma returned to his side and let her gaze take in every inch of him. His skin was smooth and tanned like her own. Long, silky black hair spread out around his shoulders. Thin fingers jutted out from large, strong hands.
A raised vein ran down one muscular arm to his hand, a display of strength and power, which made her breath quicken. She found herself wanting to run her fingers along the line to feel the pulse of his blood under her fingertips. Suma almost did, but snatched her hand back quickly.
Looking up, she saw Rayne watching her from under lowered lashes. She had thought he was deep in sleep. The coffee shop scene came to mind and her face heated with embarrassment. Once again, she had been caught ogling this man.
“Like what you see?”
His voice was velvet and a slight smile played at his lips.
“Go ahead, I don’t bite…well…not usually,” he added, the vampire humor not lost on her.
Scowling, she turned and walked away, ignoring his soft chuckle. Too embarrassed to be in the same room with him, she headed for the door. As soon as her hand landed on the doorknob, Rayne’s sudden shout gave her a start.
“Wait. The sun is up.”
“Oh. Right,” she muttered. She had forgotten about the sun and his vampire “condition”. With a feigned huff, she went to the bedroom and retrieved one of the blankets from the bed, then tossed it at him on her way back to the door. After waiting until he was fully covered, she eased open the door and slipped outside.
The sun was high and warm on her skin. She stood in front of the trailer, taking in the scenery. Dana’s place was beautiful, Suma thought as she began wandering the property. Animals were everywhere. Now, Suma understood her wolf’s quick acceptance of the woman.
A swimming pool caught her eye, and she made a beeline for it. With a dip of her hand over the side, she discovered the water was warm. Go ahead, her mind said as she glanced around to make sure she was truly alone.
Suma stripped off her clothes and laid them on a chair. Steps led from the deck into the water, but she didn’t bother to use them. Instead, she leapt off the deck with her legs tucked in.
“Cannonball.”
A huge splash of water sailed into the air as she went under.
Letting the water hold her up, she floated on her back and closed her eyes, reveling in the relaxation. It was only moments before Rayne’s face invaded her tranquility. His honey colored eyes had had a look of hunger in them after he tackled her to the floor. The way he had leaned in and smelled her neck had been almost primal.
Goosebumps spread across her skin, and if she wasn’t already floating in a swimming pool, she would be wet with arousal.
Suma wanted to turn back time and return to the moment where his body lay atop hers. She wanted the chance to touch him, slide her hands across his broad shoulders. She wanted him to run his tongue along her neck as he had inhaled her scent.
With a groan, Suma rolled over and submersed her body. The thoughts were getting her all worked up with no place to go.
Suma surfaced with a frown. What was it about this man that has her wound up inside? He wasn’t even a man. He was a vampire and someone she should despise. But, she didn’t. She couldn’t. He was nothing like those she had fought against all these years to protect her people.
Had her grandfather known such vampires existed? Had he known about the Watchers?
Suma recalled how unnerved the vampires in the park had become by the mention of the name. Rayne was telling the truth about Watchers hunting rogue vampires.
Vampire warrior. Yes, she could see the warrior part in him, and it was keeping her off balance. He was sexy, brave, skilled at battle and somewhat arrogant.
Suma smacked the surface of the water with her hand. She had to get her focus back. She had to return to the park and find out what the monsters were planning to make sure her people remained safe.
Rayne had been at the park, she reminded herself. Suma wondered if he knew what the creatures were up to. She closed her eyes, allowing herself a few more minutes to enjoy the pool before she got out and returned to the trailer. She was going to have Rayne take her to the park, and along the way she wanted to find out more about the Watchers, and about him.
Chapter Eleven
A loud crash rang through the kitchen as the chair Jed kicked hit the wall. His anger boiled over from last night’s events and the wolf—his wolf.
Placing his hands on his hips, he stared out the window. He had a strong feeling who was most likely behind this, but had no proof.
With a snarl, Jed turned and yanked open the door to his r
efrigerator, making the items inside rock and clink together. Pulling out a cold beer, he ripped off the cap before draining the bottle and tossing it in the trash. With a yank of the refrigerator door, he snatched up another beer.
Outside he could hear Justice letting his desire to have dinner be known. “Oh, hold your horses,” he yelled out the window and gulped down the second beer.
His meat supply was still low since he had spent his time at the state park hunting the wolf instead of bagging a few deer for his freezers. Another trip to the park was in order he told himself as he tossed the second empty beer bottle into the trash can.
With a shove to the screen door, Jed stomped outside and made his way to the barn, forming a plan in his head. He would feed the animals and then head to the park once it was dark.
Jed drove into the park and pulled his old truck into the hiding spot he had been using for the past several days. Reaching under the seat, he grabbed his rifle and attached the silencer. While he was here, he may as well check the other pits and traps again in case he had gotten lucky and bagged something, he told himself.
Jed tried to convince himself he had been wrong. Perhaps someone found a dog in the pit, and the wolf was still out there.
Grunting at his stupidity, knowing it had been the wolf that was taken, he slammed the door to his truck and walked into the woods.
“Damned meddlesome people.”
Jed fought the urge to jump into his truck and make his way around town to pay a visit to every person on his list of possible thieves who could have taken his wolf.
Bad idea.
He scowled at his inner voice, knowing it was right. He’d had a number of beers before finally leaving the house and driving around town could get him into big trouble if he was pulled over by the police.
Jed hefted his gun over his shoulder and kept walking, trying to ease some of the anger boiling under the surface, knowing if he was going to bag some deer this evening, he had better calm himself.
A snap of a twig made Jed pause. Sucking in a breath, he eased forward, then grinned. A young doe entered a small clearing not far from where he stood. Slowly, he brought the rifle to his shoulder and lined the animal in his sights.
Just as he was ready to pull the trigger, low grumbling voices made the doe bolt into the brush, eliciting a string of muttered curses from Jed’s lips.
From where he stood, Jed could make out the outline of at least three men walking among the trees. “What the hell are they doing here?” he growled.
Jed’s patience was hanging by a thread.
“Damn! Damn! Damn!”
Turning on his heels, he stomped back to his truck, threw the rifle on the seat and headed home empty handed and ready to kill someone.
Rayne opened his eyes and blinked away the effects of sleep, remembering how Suma had helped him to the couch and covered him like a child. He also remembered the way she had stared at him while thinking he was asleep—her hand hovering next to his arm as if she had wanted to touch him.
Hearing the growl of her stomach earlier while he was cooking had almost made him laugh, until he realized how loud it had been. She had said she hadn’t eaten in a while, and it had set off protective instincts in him which screamed his woman would never go hungry. He would see to it she was happy and wanted for nothing.
He had been plagued by the question as to why she was here and not with her people. His mind supplied the answer, one that had stolen his appetite. Unable to keep his curiosity at bay, he had asked.
“Suma, do you have family or someone waiting for you over at the waterfront? I mean…is there someone we need to contact to let them know you are okay?”
Suma had shaken her head and said her grandfather, who had passed away several years ago, had been her only family.
Relief Suma hadn’t mentioned a significant other had quickly turned to guilt at knowing the only family she’d had was her grandfather, and he was gone. His heart had ached for her at that moment.
Rayne knew how Suma felt since he had no family.
With a groan, he stood and stretched, then looked around for Suma, but found she was not in the trailer. Checking the clock on the microwave, he saw it was just after four in the afternoon, and he wondered where she had gone.
Carefully, he pulled back one of the dark curtains and scanned the area around Dana’s house. He noticed Dana’s door was closed and he wondered if the woman was home. Rayne found himself suddenly worried Dana and Suma had left for some reason. His concern for Suma’s safety churned in his stomach.
A splash of water from inside the pool caught his attention. As he waited to see if it had been his imagination, Suma’s head appeared as she stood and began climbing the stairs out of the pool. Water poured from her tanned skin, which glowed from the afternoon sun.
Seeing her naked was almost his undoing. Rayne’s hand shook as it held back the curtain. If the sun had been lower in the sky, he would have shot from the trailer like a bullet and swept her naked body into his arms. The same images which had plagued him at the waterfront were assaulting him once again, stirring his blood, and the fact he could not leave the trailer made him ache all the more.
Rayne moaned through gritted teeth. He pressed his painful erection against the wall under the window, trying to ease the ache, but it didn’t help. He wanted to be in the pool with her, pulling her to straddle his lap as he ran his hands over her wet, slick body and settling her on his shaft for a leisurely ride.
Pushing himself away from the window, Rayne thought a trip to the bathroom to take matters into his own hands may do the trick.
Dropping heavily onto the couch, his libido raging all the while, Rayne cursed the drawbacks of his kind. Sometimes, being a vampire really sucked.
The sun finally sank behind the trees and Rayne was free of the trailer, but to his disappointment, Suma opened the door. She had finished her swim and had allowed the sun to dry her skin, but her hair was still damp, looking very sexy to his eyes.
“Did you enjoy your swim?” he asked as she stepped into the trailer, unable to control the huskiness in his voice.
Suma’s eyes grew wide, but before she could get embarrassed, wondering if she had been seen skinny dipping, Rayne continued, pointing to her wet hair. “You’re wet. I assumed you went swimming.”
She relaxed, then sat on a chair and tucked her feet underneath her legs.
“So, what are your plans for this evening? I really need to get back to the park.”
Rayne stretched. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. I’m sure the pit you fell in wasn’t the only one out there. Someone has obviously set traps for the wolf. I’m afraid other animals, or even people for that matter, are going to get hurt. We need to fill them in and find out who is doing it.”
He absently rubbed his hand over his stomach and caught her watching the motion. Interested? He wondered if she was as interested in him as he was of her.
“But first, I need a shower. I’ve been sleeping in a cave at the park while tracking you.”
“Tracking me?” Her eyebrows rose in surprise.
Rayne nodded. “Tracking the wolf. I’ll explain more about it later. Right now, a hot shower is calling my name.”
Rayne felt Suma’s gaze on him as he walked to the bathroom and closed the door. He showered quickly, his anger growing with every thought of the traps, vowing to have himself a heart-to-heart with whoever set them.
Once he was finished, he pulled his jeans out of his bag and slid them on. The bathroom was steaming from the hot water he had used to scrub the cave dirt from his skin, turning the small room into a sauna.
Feeling as though he would suffocate if he stood there a moment longer, he opened the door and stepped into the hall.
Suma’s gaze was tracking him again. Never had he been under such intense scrutiny. He kept his back to her while he dried his hair. Being in this small trailer with such a beautiful woman was stirring something primal, something fierce inside. It was ma
king him edgy, taking all his control not to turn around and be all over her like a slip-n-slide.
Maybe he should have taken a cold shower, he thought as he laid the towel on the counter and ran his hands through his hair, smoothing it. Thankfully, they had a job to do and a reason to get out of the trailer. Rayne kept the thought foremost in his mind in an effort to soothe the inner turmoil of what his body wanted at the moment but couldn’t have.
“I’ll grab a shirt, then we’ll head out.”
Rayne walked toward the bedroom, not daring to look at Suma. If he saw in her eyes what he was feeling at that moment, they would never make it out the door.
Pulling a shirt over his head as he stepped back into the living room elicited a small sound from Suma, and he gritted his teeth, willing his ears and the lower half of his body to ignore it, though his mind was doing a happy dance. Yes. Definitely interested.
Closing the trailer door, Rayne took in a deep breath, glad to have a little distance between himself and Suma. He needed a distraction, badly.
He glanced at Dana’s house.
“She’s not home. Should we leave her a note?” Suma said, as if reading his thoughts.
“No, I’m sure she will know where we have gone,” Rayne answered, climbing into the Jeep and settling behind the wheel.
Suma climbed into the passenger seat and yanked several times on the seatbelt, trying to get it to release.
He eased down the driveway and headed to the state park.
Chapter Twelve
Suma made a quick inspection of her truck and camper, thankful it had not been towed as an abandoned vehicle.
“I need to change out of these clothes. It will only take a minute.”
Without waiting for an answer, Suma ducked into the camper and closed the door behind her. She had hoped the drive from Dana’s house would clear her mind and erase the image of Rayne’s body, but it hadn’t.
When Rayne had shut the bathroom door, and she had heard the shower turn on, her imagination had begun to run wild. Images of him standing underneath the spray of the water, soaping himself and letting the lather slide along his chest and his long legs had filled her mind.
