Animal Instinct

by Kate Davidson

  “It will probably be expensive and I can’t… You know I can’t pay you back any time soon.”

  “Jacquelyn,” he murmured. “Tell me what you need.”

  “Custody of Sarah,” she said.

  Liam sighed. “Killing her parents would be considerably simpler.”

  Jackie smiled weakly at the thought. “That still leaves the problem of where Sarah would go. Her grandmother lives in Maine and Sarah said she’s never even heard from the woman. I wouldn’t trust anyone from her mother’s side of the family, either. And I don’t want her to get lost in the system.”

  “Which leaves you,” he concluded.

  “I know it’s going to be tough to sell this idea to a judge,” Jackie told him honestly. “I’m single. I can’t afford the private school Sarah goes to and I live with another woman. It doesn’t matter that I’m not sleeping with Sofie. A good lawyer could make it seem like I do.”

  “You forget that we have the advantage. Child abuse. The exposure has already hurt Crawley Senior. He’s not pleased with his son. I know this because I made a call to communicate my concerns over the media attention. I doubt Gregory Crawley is deeply attached to his stepdaughter. Losing custody won’t hurt him much as long as this is all kept very quiet. Is Sarah’s mother going to put up a fight?”

  “I’ll take care of her,” Jackie said and her voice was dangerously soft. “You don’t have to worry.”

  “Try not to kill her even if it would make this whole process a great deal easier.”

  “Speaking of which, this whole process needs to start fast. Sarah isn’t going back to that house.” She heard him sigh again.

  “Have you noticed that you make things much more difficult than they have to be?”

  “Come on, Liam. Surely you enjoy a challenge every now and again,” she teased.

  “You called me Liam again. Is this going to become a habit or will you only call me by my first name when you need something?” Jackie shifted uncomfortably.

  “I think I’m going to make it a habit.”

  “Oh, really?” She grimaced. There was that tone again. That annoying, ‘I’ve won’ tone.

  “Maybe you’ll learn from my example and start calling me Jackie,” she hinted. She could practically hear him smile on the other end of the line.

  “And lose that annoyed glare you shoot at me every time I call you Jacquelyn? Never.” Jackie snorted, feeling almost relaxed until he asked his next question. “When should I pick up the clothes you stole?”

  “I didn’t steal them. I just borrowed them,” she pointed out, a little less certain than she wanted to be. “I might as well drop them off at your office sometime tomorrow. We probably won’t be able to ride unless the arena miraculously dries in a few minutes after the rain clears off.”

  “I’ll let Grace know you’ll be stopping by. I’m sure the two of you are going to look forward to that.” Jackie glared at the phone although she didn’t feel as annoyed at him as she wanted to be.

  “All right, I’ll see you then. And Liam?” She cleared her throat, wishing she didn’t feel so awkward about this. “Thank you.”

  “Believe me, Jacquelyn, this will be a pleasure,” he told her and she tried not to feel a little panicked at the hint of vicious joy in his voice. For a man who harkened from the days that child abuse was more common than not, he didn’t seem to care for it.

  “I have to figure out how to pay you back for all this,” she said, trying to be casual.

  “Dinner tomorrow night will do just fine.”

  Jackie gaped at the phone. To say she was surprised was an understatement. “Did you just ask me on a date?” she asked, desperately trying to sort out the confused whirl of thoughts in her head.

  “It would appear so.”

  Holy crap! He sounded as surprised as she was. So it had been an impulse, not some kind of devious plot. Jackie glanced over her shoulder at Sofie who had apparently been eavesdropping on the entire conversation from the kitchen and was rapidly mouthing ‘say yes!’ over and over again.

  “I don’t really have anything else to do,” she said. “I… Yes. Sure. Why not?”

  Sofie opened her mouth in a silent scream of triumph and jumped up and down in the air.

  “Good.” His voice sounded younger there and genuinely pleased. Jackie smiled a little in response to it. “I look forward to seeing you.” He hung up. She stared at the phone and wondered how they’d gone from discussing custody to dating.

  “Sofie,” she said quietly, meeting her German friend’s eyes. “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”

  Sofie grinned. “Well, thank God for that.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  JACKIE DRUMMED HER FINGERS against the steering wheel of her car, occasionally glancing at the office building that housed her – was she brave enough to say it? – date. She’d been sitting there for fifteen minutes debating whether or not she should actually get out of the truck. On one hand there was Liam, a gorgeous if slightly possessive vampire who knew exactly how to drive her insane. On the other hand there was simple, safe single life. She missed simple. It had been years since she’d last bothered to try dating and even longer since the date in question hadn’t been a blind one. Everything was so much less complicated when she didn’t have to worry about men.

  Oh, who the hell was she kidding? When had her life ever been simple? Without Liam she would be drowning in debt, fighting for Sarah’s safety, which she could probably never win with her limited resources, and extremely sexually frustrated. She also wouldn’t know that Daniel was in town. Her entire body seemed to shudder at the thought and she leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. Maybe that was another thing keeping her in the truck. She’d dated a little, even slept with one or two men. But none of it had really mattered. Jackie could feel how much this mattered. There was more to Liam than she’d originally thought and she was beginning to really like that more.

  Honestly, if she didn’t know any better, Jackie would think she was afraid of having a serious relationship. That was obviously ridiculous. She wasn’t a teenager anymore. She could handle this. Jackie grabbed the bag she’d put Liam’s clothes in and finally got out of the truck. There was a cold breeze going through the city that day so she pulled her brown leather jacket closed. It was not a subconscious defense. Absolutely not.

  Eve smiled when she saw Jackie. She also lifted a brow when she noticed the fairly obvious mark on her neck. So that’s what she’d been up to when Liam had taken her away from the party. She also looked rather lovely in a purple silk blouse, navy blue slacks and a thigh-length brown leather jacket.

  “Hey, Jackie. You’re looking very becoming. Date tonight?”

  “No!” Jackie snapped, eyes going a little wild with panic. “Well… yes. Maybe.” She covered her face with her hands. “I have no idea.” Eve blinked.

  “Okay. Do you want to talk about it?” Jackie lowered her hands and sighed.

  “No, it’s fine. I’m just losing my mind. See you around.” She ran a hand through her hair as she walked toward the elevator, considering her options. There wasn’t any reason for her to start panicking and acting crazy. She should just enjoy the date for what it was. Besides, Liam would probably do something typically Liam-like and overdo the entire evening. Then she could acknowledge that their relationship was based on sex and relax a little. There was absolutely no point to working herself up into a frenzy over nothing.

  Unfortunately her sense of calm was obliterated when she stepped out of the elevator and Liam seemed to materialize beside her. “For God’s sake,” she exclaimed, taking several deep breaths to get her heart rate back under control. After a minute she managed to give him the glare he deserved. She was just glad she was too far down the hall for his secretary to see her flip out. “You do that to me on purpose.”

  “Do what?” he asked, eyes wide and innocent. Jackie was amazed to see that he could actually pull the inno
cent look off since he was usually so steeped in sarcasm that it added at least five years to his appearance.

  “You use your vampire sneaking skills to appear out of nowhere and scare me half to death,” Jackie accused him, fighting off the smile that wanted to curve her lips in response to the amusement in his eyes. “I used to think you weren’t conscious of it but now I’m sure you do it for kicks.”

  “I merely thought you would want to avoid a second confrontation with my secretary so I asked Eve to call me when you arrived so I could meet you at the elevator. Scaring you half to death was just a fringe benefit.” Jackie rolled her eyes but the effect was ruined by the smile that crept up on her.

  “Your concern is really touching,” she replied as he guided her down the hall to his office. The vindictive side of her nature enjoyed the frustrated glare Grace sent her way. However, Jackie couldn’t help but notice that a little part of her seemed almost… jealous. Jealous of Grace for being close to Liam on a regular basis. Jealousy was a seriously bad sign if she wanted to keep this relationship light and uncomplicated. So he slept with other girls who made her look decrepit. That was only a problem if she kept dwelling on it. “Here are your clothes,” Jackie said abruptly once they were in his office, quickly passing him the bag. “I’m sorry I borrowed them without asking.”

  “I only regret I wasn’t awake to see it,” Liam said as he watched her cross the room to his desk, wondering at the sudden change in her mood. She was tense but he couldn’t find a reason for it. Maybe a change of subject would help her relax. He noticed the label on the paper bag and smirked. “Trader Joe’s?”

  Jackie turned and lifted an imperious brow. “Are you mocking Trader Joe’s?” He was a little struck by her resemblance to a Highland queen when she looked at him like that so he merely shook his head. “Good. Mocking the institution that gifted the masses with two buck Chuck would not be a smart move.” Jackie took a seat, beginning to relax again. She took comfort in the fact that Liam probably hadn’t done his own shopping in years and whoever did most likely didn’t go to Trader Joe’s even if they should.

  Then Liam took his shirt off and relaxation was no longer an option. “What are you doing?” she asked, immediately shamed by the squeaky quality of her voice.

  “Changing,” he said. “An Armani suit seems a bit impractical for where we’re headed.” Jackie cleared her throat as he came closer and set the bag on the seat beside her. He was close enough for her to have to acknowledge yet again that he had a marvelously toned body. It took her a minute to remember what it was she’d wanted to ask him.

  “Where are we going, by the way?”

  “That would ruin the surprise. And speaking of surprises…” She blinked and he was leaning over her. Before she could process what was happening, he was kissing her slowly, thoroughly. Intensely. “Now we’d better get going or we’ll never get out of my office.”

  Jackie stared at him for a moment, still dazed by the unexpected lip contact. She wondered if she could actually survive any more of Liam’s surprises.

  Jackie was a woman with relatively simple tastes. When it came to horses she would spare no expense to insure their well-being. When it came to herself, she was a lot cheaper. She refused to pay over twenty dollars for a good pair of jeans and the idea of paying hundreds for one pair of shoes made her head spin. And she assumed that Liam was her polar opposite in these things. He was the fine champagne and caviar type. He believed in labels and excess. There was nothing wrong with it, exactly. Jackie just had an aversion to spending money on things she didn’t really need, which probably had something to do with the fact that she rarely had money for things she didn’t need. Recently she hadn’t had much money for the things she did.

  So it wasn’t just a surprise when Liam took her to the Santa Monica Pier for a hot dog and a walk along the beach. It was a shock.

  “We’re at the beach,” she said, staring from the golden sand to the jean-clad vampire. “Aren’t vampires sensitive to the sun?”

  “It’s weaker at this time of the day,” he explained. Liam had to admit he was pleased by her dumbstruck expression. He had only briefly considered taking her out to an actual restaurant when he realized that was exactly what she would expect. And he didn’t want her to be able to predict his every move. For a reason he hadn’t quite identified yet, he didn’t want Jackie to keep him at arm’s length. “I can take it.”

  Jackie didn’t know how it felt to be a vampire in sunlight but Liam was as good as his word when he said he could take it. The Pier was crowded as it usually was when the weather was good so she didn’t mind quickly grabbing their food and then deserting the Pier in order to walk along the beach beneath it. Jackie hadn’t often been here since she wasn’t a tourist or a big fan of roller coasters set on wooden planking. It was built along a gorgeous beach within an easy distance of her ranch, though. Maybe if things worked out with Sarah she could bring her down here every once in a while. Of course, things would only work out with Sarah thanks to Liam. Glancing over at the barefoot vampire as she bit off another chunk of her hot dog, she tried to understand exactly what it was that made him so generous when he didn’t have to be. She was starting to see a part of him that wasn’t biting and sarcastic. Maybe it wouldn’t kill her to return the favor.

  “I’m worried about Francis,” Jackie told him, licking a bit of mustard off her thumb. “He hasn’t been acting like himself.” A handful of people were playing in the surf but they paid no attention to the couple walking across the sand further away. It was as safe a place as any to talk.

  “How does a horse usually act?”

  She lifted a brow and tried to decide whether that was an insulting comment or not. Jackie chose to believe it was a sincere question. “Horses have different personalities. Some of them are terrors and some are gentle. Francis is one of the gentlest horses you will ever meet. Generally he’s happy. But this morning he was very out of sorts. I know his infection didn’t go septic but something else could have happened to him that I’m not aware of because I can’t read his mind. His arthritis might be getting worse.” She didn’t look directly at him when she talked, her mind somewhere else as she stared across the beach.

  “Horses get arthritis?” Liam was getting a look into Jackie’s life that was priceless and interesting. He realized that she worried nearly every minute of every day but she continued to take on more responsibility. That either made her crazy or just strangely likeable.

  “Unfortunately,” Jackie said. “It’s particularly bad for large horses. And if Francis is anything, it’s large.” Her eyes darkened slightly as she stared down at what was left of her hot dog. Instead of seeing food she saw Francis and the condition he’d been in when he arrived at her ranch. Tall but starving. He wasn’t her horse but she cared about him. Sarah wasn’t her daughter but she cared about her, too. That was her problem. She cared too much. “By the way, Sarah’s mother stopped by the house.”

  “Did she indeed?” Liam murmured, noticing the dark shadows behind her eyes. “And what did Mrs. Crawley have to say about the fact that I’m blackmailing her husband into giving you custody of her daughter?”

  “She cried a lot. Good thing she had waterproof mascara,” Jackie said flatly. Liam could bet that if he tried to hold her hand just then it would be tense. Instead he just observed the stiffening in her shoulders and continued to walk a little apart from her. “I told her she’d best bring Sarah’s school books and clothes to my house so I don’t have to go get them myself. I might have also mentioned that if I went there I wouldn’t leave without having broken someone’s nose and it would probably be her husband’s.”

  “How is Sarah doing?” Liam asked.

  Jackie’s shoulders relaxed. “She smiles a lot. Sofie almost had to tie her up to keep her from cleaning the whole house.” She sighed. “She’s afraid we’re going to send her back so she’s trying to be useful.”

  “I assume you told her that wasn�
��t necessary,” Liam said, glancing out across the ocean at the setting sun.

  “You assume correctly.” Jackie rolled up what was left of her hot dog in the wrapper and sat down in the sand. “I’m still very tempted by your offer to kill her stepfather.”

  “Any time you change your mind…”

  “No, that shouldn’t be the only option,” Jackie said.

  He sat down beside her. “It occurs to me that you never really talk about your past. Nothing about your childhood or your family.”

  Jackie shrugged. “I don’t think about it a lot.” Her voice had been casual but Liam could hear the lie in the jump of her pulse. He continued to stare at her. She glanced at him briefly before turning away and staring down at the water’s edge where children were being slowly rounded up by their parents as the sun continued to set. Liam didn’t move or speak. After ten minutes of tense silence she finally opened her mouth. “I grew up with horses. My dad owned a ranch and I went there almost every day since I could walk. Last I heard my mother, father and brother were all fine and dandy.”

  “When was the last time you heard from them?”

  “When was the last time you heard from your family?” she shot back, narrowing her eyes at him. Liam’s lips quirked upward in a humorless smile.

  “Over five hundred years ago.”

  “Well, it’s been less than that for me,” Jackie said. “Anything else you want to know?” His eyes went to her abdomen as he thought about the surgical scar he’d seen on more than one occasion. “No.”

  “No?” he asked, lifting a brow at her icy tone.

  “No,” she repeated. “I know what you’re thinking about and we’re not going to talk about it. Now it’s your turn.” Liam narrowed his eyes slightly. He knew where this was going. Asking questions about her family was bound to lead to questions about his own. It didn’t mean he had to like it.

  “My turn?”

  “Yes. Izzy said you were over five hundred years old and I seriously doubt you’re originally from America with that accent you get sometimes so I’m going to go out on a limb and say you’re originally from Ireland. You wear money and power very well but I doubt you were born to it.”