Animal Instinct

by Kate Davidson

“I WISH YOU WOULD have let me help with the dishes,” Sarah said quietly from her position on the couch. The sun had gone down some time ago and Jackie had loaned her a large shirt to wear for bed. The hem reached her knees and Sarah felt tiny inside of it. She didn’t like feeling that small. It seemed like lately she was just an irritating speck everywhere except at the ranch. Her mother stared at her as though she were some alien being she couldn’t understand while her stepfather clearly detested her. It was nice to be somewhere people wanted her to be.

  Jackie had made macaroni and cheese for dinner, knowing it was Sarah’s favorite. At the same time, Sofie had been genuinely excited to put sheets on the guest bed. The two of them talked to her like a real person, teasing and laughing. She hadn’t felt so welcomed in a home since her father died. Sarah let out a quiet sigh before looking down at one of Jackie’s dogs. Shylock’s head lay in her lap and she rubbed his neck, forever winning his devotion. It was just another sign that she belonged there.

  “Not with that arm of yours. Besides, guests don’t clean up,” Sofie tossed over her shoulder as she finished putting the dishes in the dishwasher. Jackie probably would have helped if she hadn’t seen red when Sarah had taken her shirt off to change and exposed the purple, blue and green bruises on her shoulder. Her stepfather had really nailed her with that table. Thank God it had only clipped her shoulder or she might have had a concussion. “Why don’t you watch some TV?”

  Sarah shook her head. “There’s nothing good on. Brokeback Mountain is so boring.”

  Sofie nearly had a heart attack. She spun around, splattering soapy water everywhere, to gape at the once innocent eight year old. “You’ve… you’ve seen that movie?”

  “I saw parts of it. They just sit there most of the time and everyone’s so awkward,” Sarah complained.

  Sofie let out a relieved sigh, the tension going out of her shoulders. At least none of the adult content had sunk in or Sofie would be in the awkward position of explaining the facts of life. She reached for one of the yellow kitchen towels to clean up the mess she made. “Do you want to read something?”

  Sarah glanced at their simple wood bookcase at the end of the living room and winced. “You have all those weird vampire books and Jackie only reads Janet Evanovich. And I’ve already read all your books on horses,” she added.

  Sofie thought that over as she rinsed off the pan and set it aside. What did one do to entertain a small girl? “I’ll get my laptop. We can play the Sims.”

  Sarah immediately grinned. “That’d be great! We can make versions of ourselves and have them all live together. Oh, and I want a pool in my room. Indoor pools are so cool.”

  Sofie, happy to have found the right source of fun, hurried out of the kitchen then turned down the hall to get her laptop.

  Sarah looked down at Shylock. “If Sofie has the pet expansion pack, we could put you in the game, too.” He didn’t have much of an opinion on the subject so he stayed quiet. The doorbell rang and Sarah hopped off the couch, disturbing the dog’s rest. He stared after her mournfully. “I’ll get it!”

  Liam didn’t know what to think of the small, slender child that answered Jacquelyn’s door. He looked past the lenses of her glasses into the lively brown of her eyes. And he could smell bruises, the blood just beneath her skin, coloring it. Add to that the peculiar way she’d positioned her arm and it wasn’t unreasonable to assume that this girl was Jackie’s abused student. The one she hadn’t mentioned was staying the night.

  “Oh, hey Liam!” Sofie called from the hall, quickly approaching the door with a laptop under her arm. “Come on inside. I almost forgot what night it was. Liam O’Connor, this is Sarah Baldwin. Sarah, this is one of Jackie’s friends.” Liam raised a brow as he stepped over the threshold. Friend? Well, he supposed there wasn’t much else to call him in front of a child.

  “Nice to meet you, Sarah,” he murmured, taking her hand. He noticed the bounce in her step abruptly went flat, her face paled as though she’d seen a ghost and she started searching his face as though looking for a secret even he didn’t know.

  “My daddy talked about you once. I remember him saying your name and something about a hedge. He wouldn’t explain it to me. He always said business was a dangerous place and he didn’t want me involved.” She hadn’t been sure of this tall man standing on Jackie’s porch in a leather jacket. She thought he looked like trouble. Now he was a memory, more precious than the shoes and clothes her mother kept trying to give her.

  “Baldwin,” Liam said thoughtfully. “That would make your father Nathan Baldwin, then? Sharp man. I was trying to steal him from the company he was with.” He also remembered hearing about the car accident that took his life. He very gently squeezed Sarah’s hand. “You must miss him.”

  “All the time,” she answered with complete honesty. Then Sarah tugged him inside. “Jackie’s out at the barn but you can play on the computer with us.”

  Sofie noticed the look on Liam’s face wasn’t complete denial and couldn’t help a smile. Did he have a weakness for kids? That would be an interesting twist. “Actually, Sarah, Liam’s got something important to talk to Jackie about. Why don’t you go set up the game, okay? The disc’s already in,” Sofie told her, handing the laptop off and pulling Liam into the kitchen. “You’re probably a little too hungry for several mind-numbing hours of computer games,” she whispered.

  Liam nodded. “Why, exactly, is Jackie still at work?”

  “She’s making a few calls about Sarah. Child Protective Services, that kind of thing. And I have a hunch that she’s trying to dig up a few relatives on Sarah’s father’s side that she can stay with while whatever happens… happens,” Sofie explained.

  “That sounds like her,” Liam commented. “I think I’ll have to interrupt.” He smiled and nodded briefly at her before making his own way through the back door. The German shook her head. Well, he could probably smell his way there so her guiding him didn’t make much difference.

  It was a good barn. Liam could see the details perfectly even in the dark. The colors on the outside were white and silver. He stepped into the aisle between stalls and onto stone. That would cut down on the dust. The first few stalls were empty but the horses smelled him well enough. Horses were different when it came to vampires. After all, vampires had existed long before the invention of the car and horses had been the only way to get around. The animals were occasionally uneasy around them but domesticated horses had a trust ingrained in them after years of exposure. The horses in Jackie’s barn weren’t much different. They backed away from him as he passed and a few made nervous sounds. What he hadn’t expected was a large gray horse to lean out and try to bite him. Liam turned to look at his would-be attacker then scented the air. Testosterone. He was a stallion and proud of it.

  Liam didn’t know a lot about horses, having used them only for transportation, but he did know about beauty and this stallion was beautiful. Big and muscled, but sleek, he tossed his striking head and drew back into his stall. Liam’s eyes flicked to the label on the stall door. “Ultrano. Well, if you’re not one of Jacquelyn’s favorites then I’m a mortal.” The rest of the horses were shyer and Liam wasn’t interrupted on his way to what he assumed was an office. He could hear the impatient sound of a pencil tapping against paper.

  “Come on, Hannah, pick up the phone,” Jackie muttered. To be fair, it had been a while since she’d tried to call her. When she’d stopped coming out to the barn for lessons their casual friendship had more or less ended. Still, Jackie needed her help. “Hey, Hannah, it’s Jackie Chase. I know it’s been a while but I need you to help me dig up information on a guy named Gregory Crawley. My money says you’ll probably have a story at the end of it so it’s a win-win situation. You’re still working for that on-line news organization, right? I sure hope so. Give me a call back as soon as you can.” She hung up the phone then let her face fall into her hands.

  Her call to CPS had not been reassurin
g. The clinical way they asked questions, their precise tone had rubbed Jackie the wrong way. They were going to investigate within twenty-four hours of the report but Jackie couldn’t keep Sarah away from home that long. Plus, there was the problem of her stepfather. Sarah’s mother wouldn’t have married him if he weren’t rich, with considerable influence. God only knew what kind of lies they would come up with to keep his ass out of prison. Jackie had tried to look up Mr. Baldwin’s relatives but had come up only with an elderly mother who lived in Maine. It was selfish but Jackie didn’t want Sarah to move to Maine. She wanted someone nearby to take care of her so she wouldn’t have to say goodbye. Besides, this was the only home the girl had ever known.

  Jackie couldn’t say what tipped her off. Suddenly she knew that there was someone in the office with her. There was no sound and her eyes were covered but she knew. Her body began to tense and then a hand curled around the back of her neck. She lifted her head to see him and immediately felt the press of lips against hers. This was very different from the other kisses Liam had given her. Not a raging inferno so much as a warm pool of water that she gradually slid into. Her muscles relaxed as her lips parted and she indulged in a long, deep taste of him. Jackie felt ridiculously at ease while Liam broke the kiss and straightened. She blinked, trying to clear her suddenly fogged brain. “What was that all about?”

  “You looked stressed,” he replied. She had looked extremely stressed and worried sitting at her scarred wooden desk set against the wall in an office that also served as a tack room. There was a mini fridge beside the door and a trunk on the other side. One wall was lined with saddles, another lined with bridles and below them were shelves filled with brushes, hoof picks and a dozen things he didn’t recognize. What he fully comprehended were the numerous ribbons hanging on the wall over Jacquelyn’s desk. A streak of blues and reds with only the occasional yellow breaking them up. Clearly, he noted, she was not in debt because she wasn’t good at what she did.

  “Thanks for the help but I can deal with my own stress.” Jackie noticed his clothes and couldn’t help but gawk. It was the first time she’d seen him out of silk and Armani. And dammit! He looked just as delicious in jeans as he did in designer wear. That was so unfair. “Jeans are a little unusual for you.”

  “It makes more sense to wear jeans to a ranch than a suit,” Liam pointed out. He breathed in, the scent of her skin and the blood just beneath it reminding him why he was there. “I think it would be best if I fed here. We wouldn’t want your underage guest to be scarred for life.” For convenience’s sake he picked up her left wrist. He preferred the neck. The smell was more potent there and the blood more generous.

  “You met Sarah?” she asked. He glanced at her with vampire eyes and Jackie swallowed hard. Right - food first, conversation later. Liam bit down, a sharp pain in her skin. Then there was pleasure and heat. She closed her eyes on a groan as he fed from her.

  “Yes, I met your Sarah,” Liam replied once his hunger was sated. “Interesting kid.” Jackie had to force herself to focus on what he was saying. At his bite, all the dreams from the past week had flooded her. Hot, bothered and embarrassingly damp, she stood up and busied herself with getting out a bandage from the First Aid drawer.

  “I’ve called the proper authorities. I shouldn’t feel this pessimistic about how effective they’ll be,” Jackie muttered, cleaning away the excess blood.

  “I take it you’re not a believer in the system?” he asked mildly.

  “I think there are some flaws that can be used to the advantage of rich, powerful men who like to beat their kids,” she answered. “The problem is I don’t know if Gregory Crawley is either of these things for sure.”

  “Crawley?”

  Jackie looked up at him, hope in her eyes. “You’ve heard of this guy?”

  “I’ve heard of his father. We move in the same circles. He’s a rich and fairly indulged boy,” Liam said. And, unfortunately, any investigation into his life would be shut down as quickly as possible. “His father cleans up his messes.”

  “Messes that include the CPS asking questions,” she muttered, closing her eyes tightly. “I just knew this wasn’t going to be easy.”

  “If the Hannah you were calling is connected to the press then that would be your best bet. Public exposure wouldn’t be good for the Crawleys.” She still looked worried and just a little angry at the injustice. Liam couldn’t really blame her. Sarah had an inviting quality about her. He’d seen it in the girl’s smile and it had reminded him of one of his very few regrets about his life as a vampire. There was no chance of children for him in the future. He’d liked them well enough in life. Although he came from a time when beatings were accepted, the idea of a child being abused didn’t sit well with him. Perhaps he should look into the issue.

  “If that doesn’t work, I can always have you kill him,” she mumbled. Then Jackie collected herself. There was something she needed to talk to him about and it wasn’t her personal life. “By the way, Izzy told me about the dreams that come along with your bite and she informed me it never lasts beyond the first few nights. So how about you stop barging into my subconscious?”

  “But you’re so creative in your sleep,” Liam said, a quick smile flashing across his face. The truth was he had no way of knowing just what they got up to in her subconscious. He only received impressions, flashes of sensation. But it was more fun to pretend otherwise.

  She glared. “This situation is awkward enough as it is. You trying to turn our relationship into something sexual does not help.”

  “Why are you so opposed to having sex with me? You enjoyed it the first time and you’ve certainly been interested enough this past week,” Liam pointed out, honestly curious. Jackie started to pace, which wasn’t saying much considering the clutter in her office. It was more like she took a step or two then turned and did it again. There were scruffs on the concrete where she was walking so Liam could assume she’d made a habit of this short version of pacing.

  “We have a working relationship. I give you blood in exchange for money. Mixing sex in makes me extremely uncomfortable, especially when you’ve got a dozen other girls throwing themselves at you.”

  Now they were coming down to the truth of it. She wanted to sleep with him but she didn’t want to fall into the same category as all the other donors. But Liam didn’t want her there, either. It didn’t fit and the problem had been nagging him for the past week. In theory, Jacquelyn being a donor worked perfectly but reality consistently failed to match up. He’d already hired several young, willing women to make up for his recent losses, so letting Jacquelyn go wouldn’t hurt him. Then why did the very idea burn? She would also still be in financial trouble. She hadn’t even worked long enough to get her first check.

  “If this hadn’t worked, if I hadn’t said yes to hiring you, what else were you going to try?” Liam asked, sitting in her chair. He had a skill with finances and he was certain between the two of them they could find an acceptable solution. She stared at him for a moment with a confused expression before responding.

  “I would have to sell some of my own horses. It would take a while though since they’re expensive and finding a good home isn’t easy.” She smiled with a little chagrin. “I also wouldn’t want to let them go. Ultrano is doing so well and I’ve poured so much training into him.”

  “He’s a handsome boy. I met him outside,” Liam explained, gesturing towards the door. “Big horse.” An idea was beginning to form as the wheels in his head turned. “How much would you charge for him?”

  “Around a hundred and twenty thousand dollars,” Jackie told him.

  Since a hundred and twenty thousand was nothing to Liam, he smiled that self-satisfied smile he usually reserved for particularly rewarding business deals. He supposed that this fell into that category. “I’d like to buy him and keep him here. Of course, I’d pay you to train him.” Her eyes widened like one of her horses had just inexplicably grown
wings.

  “You… you what?”

  “I want to buy him and any other horse you think I might like. I’ll board them here and pay you to train them,” Liam repeated, pleased by her shock. It was so difficult to get Jacquelyn to the point of silence. “In the long run I think this will help you more than being a donor. Although, I wouldn’t mind a drink every now and again, preferably after I’ve seduced you.”

  “Just wait a second,” Jackie said, holding up her hands as if trying to halt the world long enough so she could think. “You would buy several expensive horses, pay boarding fees, training fees, show admission fees, the works, just so you can have a shot at sleeping with me?” In effect he would be acting as her sponsor, something that every trainer needed and she’d never had. It would be like a miracle. One of her big concerns was too few boarders and the price of the upkeep for her own babies. Their costs were high. Hay and shoes didn’t come cheap nor did competing in shows with all their fees and subsequent expenses. And that was excluding the possibility one of them got sick. At that point the price tag of her horses rocketed well past the hundred and twenty thousand she’d quoted to Liam.

  “Sleeping isn’t the first thing that comes to mind,” he told her, a wicked glint in his eyes. She leaned against the wall when she realized that holding her own weight was becoming a problem. It felt like she’d been kicked in the chest. He was really, seriously offering to save her ass. So he could get her ass, yes, but still…

  “There’s no promise that anything other than a professional relationship is going to come out of this,” she clarified. “If you buy these horses then it’s because you legitimately want them and want me to train them and compete. Anything else is just… irrelevant.” He nodded even though his smirk said other things. She let out a breath and continued, “Good. You’d better clear your schedule for Monday at some point since you’ll need to come out and see me work them. I own Ultrano, Sampson and Lucy but since Lucy’s into her sixth month of pregnancy she’s on a very light schedule.”