by Cait Miller
She smiled as she thought about the man who had done the ravishing. Cameron Murray wasn’t quite as aloof as he pretended and, in his hands, neither was she. For a moment in the garden, both of them had forgotten about keeping their distance and the result had been stunning. It had seemed that the very air around them had been electrified, sensitizing her skin to his touch. When he had kissed her, she had felt like she might come just from the feel of his lips and his tongue dancing with hers. It had been obvious from the hard feel of him pressing against her belly that he had felt the same. For those few seconds, something within her had reached toward him and she had wanted him to take it, more than she had ever wanted anything in her life.
Then he had stopped.
She frowned. He had thrust her away from him as though she had burned him. Why? Jayne shook her head. Whatever his reasons were, it wouldn’t really matter. If he was as reclusive as Megan had implied, then it was unlikely she would see much of him. The kiss had been a good wake-up call for her hormones and she was grateful to Cameron for that. She slipped her feet back into her shoes, fixed her hair and smiled at her reflection. She would never stroke his ego by telling him so though.
* * * * *
Cam finally caught up with the bride and groom as they headed from the dance floor toward the shadows at the back of the ballroom. It had taken him a long time to get his body back under control and even longer to convince it that he didn’t need to go after her. Even now, he could feel Jayne nearby and had to fight to ignore her. The couple stopped as they noticed his approach and Jack smiled at him. “Ah, busted! We were just about to sneak away…” His voice trailed off and he pulled Megan closer as he noticed Cam’s scowl. “What’s wrong?”
“Why didnae you tell me, Jack?”
Jack frowned at him. “Tell you what?”
“That she was one of the marked? You know how Ah feel about this and yet you brought me here without so much as a warnin’.”
Understanding dawned in his friend’s face and he shook his head. “I didn’t know, Cam. I’ve never even met most of these people.”
“Ah’m talking about Jayne!” he growled, his Scottish brogue becoming more pronounced.
Jack gaped at him, clearly astonished. “I had no idea, Cameron, I swear it. I was already linked to Megan when I met her for the first time. I knew she felt different, familiar…I just thought I was picking up Meg’s feelings. I wouldn’t recognize one of the marked now if they came up and shook me by the hand. You know that!”
He did know that. Once mated, the telepathy that helped his kind to recognize one of the marked existed only between the mated pair. Jack was telling the truth, he could feel the sincerity and surprise radiating from his friend. Megan, on the other hand… He speared Jack’s uncharacteristically silent mate with his eyes and she flushed guiltily. “It’s uh, how our mothers met.” She winced when Jack swore softly.
“We were on the beach and they noticed we had the same birthmark and started talking. Some coincidence, huh?” Cam glared at her and Megan reached out to lay her hand on his arm before continuing quietly, “I’m sorry, Cameron. I didn’t say anything because Jack wanted you to come and I didn’t think you would if you knew about Jayne. I knew you didn’t want a mate and since you were going to be the only shifter here besides Jack’s parents, I thought it, she, would be safe.”
“She is safe, dammit!” There was a beat of heavy silence. Cam drew a deep calming breath and looked at the somber faces of his friends. “Look, nae harm done, but Ah think it’s best if Ah leave now.” He stepped forward and kissed Megan’s cheek, then shook Jack’s hand and drew him into a back-slapping hug. Despite the worry in their eyes, he walked away from them and out of the ballroom, feeling all the while that he was leaving a part of himself behind.
Chapter Two
The feeling was still with him two days later as Cam paced restlessly in front of his second-floor office window. Ordinarily, the view helped bring him peace and today it was particularly spectacular. The sun was just rising over the hill and it lit the scene with a fresh, golden light, turning darkness into lengthening shadows. There had been a light fall of snow overnight and the thin layer on his wide lawn was pristine and undisturbed. It dusted the pine forest that surrounded his family home like a layer of confectioner’s sugar. Just beyond the trees at the base of the hill, he could see part of his small loch, as still and smooth as a mirror. There wasn’t another house in sight, though he knew that there was a small village just a couple of miles away, nestled in a sheltered valley. The undisturbed land around him usually gave him a sense of freedom and safety. Today it just felt isolated.
Since he had left the wedding reception and Jayne Davis behind, nothing had given him respite. The little sleep he had managed to grab had been filled with the kind of erotic dreams that would put a porn star to shame. When he woke, his cock was as hard as steel and not even an ice-cold shower or taking matters into his own hand had relieved it for long. He just needed to get her out of his mind. Unfortunately, with the information he had discovered this morning, it didn’t look as if that was going happen.
The computer hummed softly behind him, the database he had been studying covered by a screensaver. Its animated image of a man transforming into a house cat caught his eye. He watched it cycle through a couple of times, remembering the first day it had flickered on. Nick Douglass had hacked into the machine. Hiding the program in the hard drive just to prove he could. Nick had thought it was hilarious that he had been able to outsmart him, the “computer security expert”. Cam had tried for over a week to get rid of it with no success. He had fully intended to threaten Nick with bodily harm if he didn’t fix it when he came to Scotland. Only his friend hadn’t arrived.
He had finally figured out how Nick had done it but he didn’t want to delete it anymore. That stupid animation had become a memorial to Nick. A reminder that it was up to Cameron to find out what had happened to him. After all, if he hadn’t refused to go and pick him up at the airport eighteen months ago… He closed his eyes in regret. He knew Nick had arrived at the airport since he had collected his rental car. He even had the surveillance tapes of the garage to prove it. The car had been found abandoned and empty on a country lane about twenty miles away from Murray House. No one had heard from him since and, until recently, there had been no new leads.
When Jack and Megan had come to him for help, he had set out to find the identity of the person trying to kill them. Unable to find any motive for getting rid of either of them, he had looked for similar crimes. He found that a number of shapeshifters had disappeared over the last couple of years, Nick Douglass was one of them. At the time, they had been looking for mated couples who had vanished and, in the end, he had dismissed them as unrelated. The disappearance of the others had continued to bother him though.
When they had finally caught up with James York, the man who had been trying to kill his friends, Cameron had found that the man had extensive notes on shapeshifters. He must have gotten that information from somewhere and Cam couldn’t help but wonder if it had anything to do with the missing shifters. He might just be grasping at straws but anything that might help him find out what had happened to Nick was worth checking. With this in mind, he had continued to investigate.
This morning, he had made one of his periodic checks of the missing persons’ database to check for further disappearances. There had been one new entry, a twenty-three-year-old woman, and listed under identifying characteristics was a very familiar birthmark. It had only taken him seconds to discover that she wasn’t the first. In fact, two other women bearing the cat’s paw birthmark had been reported missing in the last three months. It appeared that whoever else was targeting shapeshifters had decided to include the marked. Fear and anger had filled him as he realized that Jayne might be in danger.
So now here he was, pacing like a caged lion, trying to figure out how to protect her without taking her. Joining her mind and soul to his was what his every
instinct screamed he should do. He knew she was alone, her parents were gone, both killed in car accidents. She was single and everything he had been able to find out told him she had few close friends. Cam had plenty of contacts so it would be easy to find someone to guard her, but he couldn’t bring himself to pick up the phone. It was like some great, big cosmic joke. The very thought of another man laying his hands on her in any way was intolerable. It left him with only one other option, to go himself. He just hoped his willpower was up to the challenge.
* * * * *
Jayne turned the last page with a sigh of pleasure. She always had mixed emotions on finishing a really good book. Sadness that the story was over and satisfaction that the characters had gotten their happy ending. She leaned back into the plump pillows of the sofa and basked for a moment in the warmth of the sun shining through the windows. She wished she could make this feeling last forever. If she closed her eyes, she could almost believe it was summertime. Unfortunately, she had to go to work this afternoon. That meant she would have to leave the illusion behind her and face the cold winter’s day that it actually was. It had been snowing overnight but not heavily enough to defeat the salty air of a seaside town for long. On top of that, the sun had come out this morning and, as a result, the snow had turned to a muddy slush. Jayne grimaced at the thought of walking through it.
The jangling of her doorbell interrupted her reverie. Jayne sighed and, for an instant, considered ignoring it, but she couldn’t do it. She was too curious. She brushed her long straight hair over her shoulders and back from her face and went to answer it. It could only be a salesperson, she couldn’t think of anyone else who would be at her door. Her brows pulled down in a frown. Now that was sad. How had she managed to cut herself off so completely? It hadn’t been intentional, it had just sort of happened.
She had been on the right track the other night at the reception. It was time to take back her life. Kissing a man in a moonlit garden had been a good start. The memory of that kiss had occupied her thoughts for a good portion of the last few days. Even now she shivered with remembered sensations. She needed a man. Bob, her vibrating friend, just wasn’t doing it for her anymore. She could almost hear Megan cheering from here. She was lifting her hand to unlock the door when the bell sounded again. Whoever it was wasn’t the patient sort.
“Whatever you’re selling, I’m not…” her voice trailed off, fingers tightening on the handle of the door. She blinked in astonishment at the man standing in her doorway. He was dressed casually in a dark sweater, faded blue jeans and a brown suede jacket. His jaw bristled with stubble and golden hair fell in disarray to his shoulders. She felt instantly frumpy in her jogging pants, bulky sweater and stocking feet.
“Cameron?”
He scowled at her and, fleetingly, she wondered if it was because she’d used his first name. She dismissed the thought as ridiculous. Mr. Murray was a little too formal for someone who had had his tongue in your mouth. Scowling just seemed to be his default expression, he did it a lot.
“What are you doing here?”
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than it occurred to her that there was only one explanation for him being here. Her heart thundered.
“Megan and Jack…are they…” she couldn’t make herself finish the question. His brows raised in a brief expression of surprise.
“They’re fine.”
Relief swept through her. She couldn’t have handled it if she’d lost Megan, too. She studied the taciturn man in front of her in confusion.
“Then why are you here?”
He moved toward her and she was captivated by the restrained power of his body. Unconsciously, she stepped back, opening the door for him. He strode past her without answering, heading unerringly toward her living room. Jayne shook her head and closed the door behind him.
He was standing by the living room window, hands in his jeans pockets, when she caught up with him. His scowl had been replaced by a pensive frown.
“Care to tell me what you’re doing here?” She sat on the arm of one of the armchairs and watched him. He stood completely still, yet he seemed to fill the room with his presence. There was something about him that drew her and yet, at the same time cautioned her to stay away. She wasn’t afraid of him, though he could undoubtedly be a dangerous man. The air around him fairly vibrated with it.
He abruptly shifted his attention from the window, pinning her with his amber gaze. Jayne stared back patiently and waited.
“I’m here because you’re in danger.”
She wasn’t sure what she had expected him to say but it definitely wasn’t that.
“Danger?” she repeated doubtfully. “From what?”
“You know about the man who was after Jack and Megan?”
She nodded. “He had some kind of grudge against Jack. What does this have to do with me?”
“Somebody told James York where to find them, gave him details about their lives. I believe that person might come after you next.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know why yet,” he growled and swept a hand through his hair. “I dinnae even know who. I only know there have been other, similar cases where someone like you has disappeared.”
“What do you mean someone like me?”
He was silent a moment. “Someone with the same…characteristics as you.”
He glanced out the window again, tension visible in every line of his body. Jayne had the impression he would rather be anywhere but here. The fact that he had believed strongly enough that she was in danger to come here to warn her made her more inclined to take him seriously.
“Shouldn’t we go to the police?”
“No! I…there’s no evidence I can take to them.”
Jayne blinked in surprise at the vehemence of his reply. “Well…okay. I’ll take care…” he took a step toward her and she trailed off.
“No’ good enough.”
The statement brought her to her feet, wiping away her calm façade. “What do you mean ‘No’ good enough’? What else do you want me to do?”
“I want you to come home with me back to Murray House. Now. I can protect you there.”
He had the most amazing voice, even when he was growling at her. Wickedly deep and smooth, it was an unusual mixture of American and Scottish. It poured over her like melted dark chocolate. Unbearably tempting. For a second, part of Jayne yelled, Yes! But sanity prevailed, for once. “No. I’m sorry but, no.” You have no idea how sorry. “I can’t just up and leave everything at a moment’s notice. I have a job.”
“Is it more important than your life, lass?”
“You don’t even know for sure that my life is in danger!”
“Nevertheless, you will come with me.” He glared at her, hands clenched at his sides.
Jayne laughed. “Don’t you pull that ‘Lord of the Manor’ shit with me, Cameron Murray. You might have more money than God but that doesn’t give you the right to order me about.”
He studied her in silence, expression thunderous. A muscle ticked in his tightly clenched jaw and she had the impression that he was fighting some internal battle.
“Fine,” he ground out. “Then Ah’ll stay here.”
Jayne tilted her head, considering. She wondered if he was aware that his Scottish accent thickened when he was mad. What else would bring out the Scot in him? Lord, he was a wonderful specimen, even when he was pouting. What would she give to see that powerful body naked? Every one of her hormones stood up and screamed at her, “Do it, Jayne!” She thought of Bob, her trusty but weary friend. Hadn’t she decided just this morning that she needed a real man? Why not this one? Her flirting skills might be a bit rusty after all this time but she could at least try. Her chances would be increased tenfold if he were under her roof for a few days until he was convinced she was safe.
After all, he was kind of a friend of the family and he had driven all the way from the north of Scotland to warn her… It just wouldn’t be right to
just send him straight back, now would it? There was something about Cameron Murray that had instincts she thought she had lost twitching back to life. It was just the kind of impulsive decision the old Jayne would have made and, if she was going to take back her old life, what better way? She smiled at him and he met her eyes with suspicion.
“Okay.”
Cameron blinked in surprise at her easy compliance. He had been prepared for an argument and was aware of a vague feeling of disappointment that she hadn’t given it to him.
“You agree?”
She nodded serenely and he frowned at her suspiciously. She was up to something. He hadn’t picked up any specific thoughts, but he was sensing a kind of muted anticipation and excitement from her. He watched as she stood up and started toward the sitting room door.
“Make yourself at home, the sofa in the library folds out into a bed. I have to go to work so I’ll see you when I get back this evening.”
He shook his head and followed her down the hall, leaning against the wall outside her bedroom. Drawers opened and closed and he tried not to imagine what she was doing. Against his will images of Jayne naked drifted into his mind. He wondered if her skin tasted as creamy as it looked. He wanted to nibble and lick his way up those long legs, run his tongue over the birthmark that proclaimed her his. Did she have freckles? There were none on her face but that didn’t mean they were absent from her body. Were her nipples pale pink or soft peach? Given her hair color, he thought they would probably be pink. He pictured them peeking through that hair as it hung loose and free over her shoulders. Tangling around them both as she straddled him. Would her fiery red pubic hair burn him when he entered her? Or was she bare? Cameron moaned as his cock surged to eager life. Stop it! Stop torturing yourself, you bloody idiot!
