by Vella Day
Rye came over and sat next to him. “Tell us what you can.”
“This is not for public knowledge,” Kalan said, “but I asked my dad to keep an eye on Brian since I wanted to make sure he didn’t come after Elana.”
Elana planted a hand on her chest. “I hope he isn’t involved in any of this.”
“It doesn’t look like he is. Before my father retired, he worked for a security firm run by Rye’s dad. My father seemed rather unsettled after he returned from his retirement cruise, so I asked if he could help. No surprise, he jumped at the chance. What I didn’t expect was for him to put a security camera in Brian’s room. He wouldn’t tell me how he managed it, but he probably slipped the maid some money to let him in the room.”
Her breath caught. “Does that mean you have the trespassers on camera?”
“Yes and no. I just spoke with my dad and he said both men wore masks.”
That didn’t make sense. “If they walked down the hallway in masks, surely someone would have seen them.”
He shrugged. “My partner is there now knocking on doors.”
Kalan eased off the stool. “You ready to head back to my place? I’m in need of some real food.”
“Sure.”
Izzy picked up the plate of cookies. “I’ll put these in a bin for you to take home.”
Kalan held up a hand. “Oh, no you don’t. Last time I ate the whole batch in like two days.” He patted his stomach.
“Suit yourself.”
Elana hugged her temporary bodyguards goodbye. Being surrounded by her friends, even if it was for a short while, helped keep her from falling apart. When Elana stepped outside, to her delight, the fear that had blanketed her since her parents murders had mostly disappeared. Being around Kalan gave her such a sense of well-being.
Even though dusk was falling, the summer air was still muggy. The crickets and cicadas were going crazy, along with several bullfrogs. Those around Silver Lake truly lived in the country.
“If Brian is supposedly in the clear, do you have any other suspects?” she asked.
An adorable smile crossed his lips. “First off, I can’t discuss the case with you any more than I have. And secondly, how about we forget everything for one night and try to relax?”
She wasn’t sure she was capable of ignoring the pain in her chest, but she’d try. “You want to watch TV or something?” There was so much she didn’t know about him and so much that she wanted to learn.
“How about we talk while we eat?”
“What do you want to talk about?”
Sex or their possible relationship? Even she couldn’t help but notice the sly looks of yearning that were often followed by a glare as stoic as a rock. It was almost as if he was trying to gain control, but why?
“Anything you want. I have some hot dogs in the fridge. I could build a fire, and we could cook them outside. How does that sound?”
Her heart lurched. Most families went on camping trips or at least set up a tent in the backyard and roasted marshmallows over an open fire. Hers did not. “I’d love that. The last time I did anything like that was when I was in ninth grade, and Izzy and I went to the annual bonfire that signified the start of football season.”
“I loved those times. After the game—win or lose—the team would go to someone’s house and drink all night.”
“In high school?” That slipped out. Just because she wasn’t a party hound, didn’t mean he hadn’t been.
“We were stupid back then.” He slowed as he neared his house. “You never went to parties?”
Tension rippled through her. Now he’d think she was some social outcast. “My parents were often out of town and didn’t want me going out.”
“You went with Izzy the first time. Why not again?”
She looked up at him and smiled. “I guess it won’t hurt if you know. That first year, Izzy kind of had a crush on one of the linebackers and wanted to make an impression on him. It was right after you graduated, I think. The guys on the team decided to see who could build the biggest blaze. When it was Justin’s turn, Izzy kind of helped.”
Kalan laughed. “Did anyone find out she was the one who lit the fire?”
“Some might have suspected, especially when she raised her arms and caused the wind to fan the flames.”
“Any repercussions?”
“No, but her desire to help Justin win the contest backfired—pun intended. Every girl at the event surrounded him when he was declared the winner. After that, we didn’t go. I think Izzy was afraid her magic would slip out.”
When they reached his front door, he held it open for her. The moment she stepped inside, she was wrapped in a sense of being home. Funny how certain rooms could draw you in like that.
“You want to change?” he asked. “Even with a fire, it can get a bit buggy by the lake. I suggest a long sleeve shirt and some pants.”
She liked that Kalan seemed so concerned for her. “Good idea.”
“Wait.” He retrieved her red onyx from his pocket. “I’d feel better if I put this in the safe. Are you okay with that?”
He was being silly. “My parents would never buy me anything that valuable. I’m sure there’s a ton like it in India.”
“Maybe, but I want to be cautious.”
As her father used to say, one man’s trash was another’s treasure. “Okay.”
When Kalan disappeared, she headed to her room to change. When she returned, he was organizing the hot dogs, paper plates, napkins, and matches on the counter. He then stuffed them in a garbage bag. “Ready?” he asked.
Good thing her mom couldn’t see this adventure. She’d be horrified. “Where are we having this feast?”
“I thought we’d go by the lake because there are several fire rings already made. With so many trees around, we need to be careful.”
This whole spontaneous outing put her in a much better mood. A few clouds graced the sky, but there didn’t seem to be any rain in sight. The path was secluded, safe, and peaceful. “It’s so nice here. Even though we live in Silver Lake, I’ve never been.”
“That’s not surprising as the land, including the lake, is privately owned. This whole area was purchased long ago by some developer, and most of the families have lived here a long time.”
“I had heard that, but since I love being around the water, I wish I had been invited.”
“Do you like to swim?”
The idea of wearing a bathing suit gave her the willies. “No. Izzy was the swimmer. I’m not into sports.”
“You seem to like walking.”
Without thinking, she punched him in the arm. “That’s not a sport.”
“It is if you do it fast enough.”
She supposed that was true. They turned down a path, and when the lake appeared she was filled with awe. Rays from the last of the sun made the water appear almost iridescent. “It’s fantastic.”
“It’s one of my favorite places. There’s a kind of solidness to the lake.”
That was an odd comment. “Water is hardly solid.”
“The bottom is supposedly lined with pink quartz which is what gives the lake its shimmering surface. I feel the lake is solid, metaphorically speaking, in that it won’t drain away and be gone someday.”
The last thing she expected from Kalan was introspection, but she liked it.
He stopped. “This place okay?”
A fire ring was set back about fifteen feet from the water’s edge, and someone had dragged several logs and placed them around the circle for seating. “Perfect. What would you like me to do?”
“Gather some sticks, but make sure they’re already on the ground.”
“We should have invited Izzy. She could have lit a fire with nothing but her magic.”
He smiled. “I like to do it the old fashioned way. It’s a guy thing.”
Kalan turned around and Elana couldn’t help but stare at his ass. He was wearing jeans and looked damn good in them too. A wave of desir
e washed over her. What the hell? Get a grip Elana. She was in mourning and Kalan was here to protect her, not be eye candy. She needed to focus on the task at hand before she did something stupid like reach out and grab his butt.
For the next ten minutes, she gathered small sticks along with some slightly larger ones. When she returned, Kalan had a stack of large pieces off to the side. “Where did you find those?” she asked.
“Found them at another fire ring.” He slipped the wood from her fingers. “You know how to build a campfire?”
She laughed, and it actually sounded full of cheer. “No, my family wasn’t the outdoors type.”
With great care, he explained how to place the medium sized twigs in an alternating square fashion. “Once we’ve built a six-inch high log cabin structure, we’ll place some dried leaves inside and then place the tinder on top.”
While he constructed this special wood fort, she broke off the small pieces and dropped them inside. When all was set, Kalan was able to light the fire with one match, and Elana clapped. “You’re good.”
“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Wait until you taste these dawgs.” He picked up one stick, withdrew a knife from his pocket, and whittled the end into a sharp point. “Perfect.”
Kalan insisted she sit while he prepared the meal. With both hotdogs jammed on one end, he rotated them over the crackling fire until the skin nearly burst. The scent of burning woods, the rich pine from the forest, along with the aroma of the lake almost made her high from the collective smells.
“All done.” With short, quick movements, he pulled off the first one, dropped it on a plate, and handed it to her. He then removed his.
She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to eat it without a bun though. Using her fingers was totally out of her comfort zone, not to mention, the meat was hot. Kalan had placed his hotdog on his paper plate with one end sticking off the edge, folded the plate in half like a bun, and bit into the end.
“Something wrong?” he asked with his mouth full of food.
“No. Everything is good.”
Take a chance. Go for it For the first time since she’d learned of her parents’ deaths, a sense of freedom engulfed her. The first bite was better than anything she’d ever tasted. Elana didn’t know if the wood made the difference or if it was because of the carefree man next to her that made things more appealing.
“You ever take any trips?” he asked after he polished off the first hot dog and stuck a second one on the stick.
“Trips?”
He smiled and her insides did a little somersault. “When was the last time you took a vacation?”
“Not in a long time. My parents were out of town on business so much that they didn’t have time to take me anywhere.” God, now she sounded like a real loser. She should have lied. “After I finished college, I didn’t have the funds to go anywhere.”
“Then imagine your time at my place as a trip to another land. You said you haven’t seen this lake, so pretend you’re in a different place.”
Kalan had a great way of looking at things, so different from her logical mind. “I’ll try that.”
While he ate two more hot dogs, she studied the surrounding beauty, loving how the fire sent soothing heat to her front. An occasional blue jay would squawk and the cicadas would suddenly go silent then flare up again. As the sun set, the nearly full moon appeared, and the beams skipped across the small waves in the lake, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.
“Ready?” Kalan asked.
Elana jumped. She’d been lost in thought—good ones for a change. “Yes.”
He dumped some dirt on the fire and stomped out the embers. Kalan placed the garbage and uneaten food back in the trash bag, making the carrying process easy.
About halfway back, she was looking up at him when her foot hit something sticking up from the ground, and she tripped.
“Whoa!” As if he possessed lightning fast reflexes, he steadied her. “Gotta watch where you’re going.”
Was he kidding? “It’s dark out here. How can you see?”
“I have Superman vision.” Before she could respond to his mocking comment, he clasped her hand. “You’re safe with me.”
Holding hands seemed natural to Kalan, but to Elana, it was a new experience. He wasn’t acting like a cop, but rather like a man who liked her. Several times during their cookout, she’d caught him staring. If she hadn’t been so stressed out, she’d have believed his facial hair had actually grown thicker and his nails had become longer. She’d blink, he’d look away, and then everything would return to normal.
Kalan led her into his house and then dumped the trash. “You want to watch a movie?”
As much as she would have enjoyed snuggling up against him, she was really tired. “Would you mind if I just showered and dropped into bed?”
“No problem. If it will make you feel safer, you can lock your door, but I’ll be here to protect you.”
His sincerity touched something deep inside her. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you.”
Before she did something she’d regret, Elana rushed down the hall. Her goal right now was to get through the night.
Chapter Twelve
‡
Kalan was pleased Elana wanted to head straight to bed. If she’d been willing to watch a movie with him, he might not have been able to keep from ravishing her. His bear was growing stronger by the hour, pushing, clawing and chanting mate. He was constantly trying to hide his body’s reaction whenever he was near her. Hell, his claws kept coming out, his hair had sprouted a few times and teeth had sharpened. Even worse, his damn cock never seemed to go down, and he could only run to the bathroom so many times to get himself under control before she started to wonder what the hell he kept doing in there. Christ, she probably already thought he was some kind of weirdo.
James had stated Elana was his mate, and Kalan was finally ready to admit that it was true. He could no longer deny it, and his body sure had been sending out confirmation signals ever since he’d run into her.
He’d thought about going back to James and asking him if he knew why he’d been paired with a human, but the closed-mouth man would probably shrug and say he had no idea. It wasn’t as if James couldn’t ask his wife, since Kalan assumed an immortal and a goddess could communicate telepathically. If they couldn’t, the thirty days they were forced to spend apart each month would be terribly painful.
The bathroom shower turned on and Kalan’s senses shot to high alert, forcing his bones to crack. As he pictured Elana naked in his bathroom rubbing soap over her large breasts and between her legs, it was almost too much to bear—no pun intended. No amount of self-control seemed to be working, and he was all too aware that she was too fragile for the type of sex he needed. Hell, even if she hadn’t been recently traumatized, it would scare the shit out of someone as sheltered as she had been.
Kalan paced, trying to figure out how to handle this insanely intense desire that he had for Elana. A mate! He never would have guessed, but he was damn glad she was the one.
His protective side was pummeling him from the inside, and his urge to mate appeared to be doing some internal damage as well. Doing so her right now, however, was out of the question. He’d only approach her if she acted first. Since that would never happen, he’d have to suffer in silence and hope his bear didn’t succeed in taking over.
The door to the bathroom opened. He turned to look out the window instead of glancing back down the hallway, forcing himself to think about work. One look at Elana wrapped in a towel, and he would have lost it.
When the door to her bedroom closed, he let out a breath then waited until the lock clicked. Once he was convinced she was snug and safe in her room, he grabbed a beer from the fridge and dropped onto the sofa.
From his pocket, he took out the address of the Changeling who might know something about the murders. The handwriting looked like something one would find on an ancient sea scroll, written in ink
with long flourishes at the end of the letters. Kalan didn’t recognize the address because the Changelings rarely called the sheriff’s department for help. Driving around the mountains was asking for trouble, so he’d avoided it when possible.
Tomorrow, he’d ask his dad to keep an eye on Elana while he and Rye checked out this Chris Darden fellow. Even if this guy wasn’t responsible for killing the Stanleys, he might provide some useful information—or not. Changelings weren’t known for their generosity.
Kalan stretched out on the sofa ready to keep vigil over Elana. If anyone tried to sneak in, they’d have to come through him first. The Changelings’ powers weren’t strong near the lake, but they could cause trouble. If a human had been responsible for the deaths, Kalan bet that person would die of a heart attack if Kalan shifted into a seven-foot bear. No, Elana would be safe on his watch.
Needing to relax, he turned on the tube. By midnight, however, the drivel on the television made him nearly comatose. If he slept in his room tonight, and someone managed to break in, they might reach Elana before he did.
There was only one solution. Shift into his bear form and sleep in front of her door. He’d rise as soon as the sun came up, and she’d never be the wiser. His biggest fear was that once he was in his bear form, though, he’d want to break down the door just to be with her. His human self had some control, but he wasn’t sure about his animal side.
He left the television on with the sound off, hoping to make an intruder believe he was still up.
Kalan shifted and then spread out in front of her door. As much as he believed he would fall asleep quickly given how fatigued he was, he found it hard to calm his racing thoughts. Elana’s little whimpers tempted him like no other. He prayed she didn’t cry out, for if she did, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. For now his bear seemed to be satisfied with at least being allowed out to protect her.
If he didn’t get some shuteye, however, he wouldn’t be able to protect even an ant tomorrow. Eventually, his mind shut down and his body succumbed to a deep sleep.
The full body impact and scream woke him. What the hell! He opened his eyes to find Elana on top of him, scrambling to get off. Oh, shit. He didn’t dare move for fear of further startling her. Only then did it occur to him that she might have wanted to use the bathroom in the middle of the night—the one that was across the hall from her room. Stupid…stupid. His hormones had blocked his thinking process.
