“And Delaney?”
“Not a scratch.” There was definitely admiration in his voice and it gnawed at her. Did he like Delaney? Something about that made her feel strange, even angry, toward the shopkeeper, and that was just illogical.
“And you?” she asked.
His face fell. “I had a few bumps and bruises. And, well, Barnes is going to tell you anyway.”
He shoved his sleeve up and held out his arm.
“No!” Her hand flew to her mouth.
There were teeth marks where the animal had broken the skin.
She rushed to him, bending over to examine the wound carefully.
“It’s not a bad bite,” she said, but could not hide the worry in her voice. Mild or not, it only took a little of the lycanthrope’s saliva to turn a man.
“But?”
She ran her fingers around the bite, her heart heavy. “There’s no way to know until the full moon. Oh, Jake, I’m so sorry. This is horribly unfair to you.”
He grabbed her hands, a smile creasing his face. “All I wanted to do was protect you.” His fingers trailed down her cheek and held her chin. “And I would have given my life to do so. If I’m cursed, I’ll find a way to deal with it,” he said.
She stared into his beautiful green eyes, quietly savoring his touch. “We’ll find a way. I have some of Julian’s research notes. Perhaps I can find a way to keep you from metamorphosing.” She should have pulled away from his hand, but she didn’t.
Gently, she tugged him up to stand in front of her. His breath fanned across her face—peppermints and coffee. She lifted a hand to touch his cheek as he had hers. Her fingers etched along the scar.
“Like I said,” Jake continued, “whatever happens I’ll deal with it. But if I’m going to turn into one of those beasts and lose control of my senses, there’s one thing I want to do first.”
His lips were on Maisy’s before she could blink. She could do little more than clutch his arms and pray she didn’t faint from the pleasure of it. When his tongue slid across her lips, her mouth parted of its own volition. Deepening the kiss, he plundered her mouth. She followed the dance. Never in her life had she experienced such pleasure.
Her hands circled around his neck and her body pressed into his. She wanted to be closer, to feel his touch all over.
“Lass?” Barnes’ voice penetrated the fog. “Lassie?”
Damn the man.
Jake pulled away but didn’t let go. He let out a frustrated groan that she all but imitated.
At least there was that. She knew he wanted her as much as she did him. The proper Englishwoman in her should have been appalled, but she didn’t give a rat about being proper.
“What is it, Barnes?” She hissed through her teeth without turning from Jake’s embrace.
“There’s a bit of a problem, lass, that needs your attention.”
She sighed.
“Whatever it is, it can wait.”
“Afraid that’s not possible. Marshal, you’ll be wanting to strap your guns back on.”
Guns?
Stepping away from Jake, she turned to the door where Barnes waited.
“And lass, you’ll be wanting to put on some proper clothes as quickly as possible and arm yourself as well.”
“If something’s attacking, I bloody well won’t take the time to change.”
“That’s just it,” Barnes said. “They aren’t attacking.”
For once she wished she had windows in her bedchamber so she could see what the ruckus was about.
“You go see what he’s talking about,” she instructed Calloway. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
Before he even made it to the door she had on her leather britches. She slipped on a white shirt and pulled her corset closed over it. Throwing on her leather jacket, she reached for her rifle and tossed a few vials of silver and acid into her belt. After stepping into her boots, she went to the main entry on the train.
Barnes, Calloway, and Delaney stood in the doorway, all of them holding rifles.
“Good morning, Delaney. Are you well?” Maisy asked.
Delaney wore a blue day dress, which was at odds with the large gun in her hand. “Quite well, thank you. It seems you have visitors calling rather early.”
Maisy glanced out the door.
“They’ve been standing out at the perimeter for the last five minutes,” Barnes said, pointing to the men and women forming a ring around the Iron Witch.
Odd.
“Why are they facing outward? Is it some strange ritual?” Maisy asked.
A gust of wind picked up, and the smell of cat wafted through the train. She sneezed.
“I can’t say I blame them for wanting to avenge the death of their alpha and beta, but why are they just standing there?” Maisy asked.
Barnes shrugged.
“Well, as I prefer the direct approach, I suppose I shall go and ask. You three cover me and stay here. The fewer who have to rush back to the train, the better.”
“No. You aren’t going out there alone,” Jake said.
She started to argue but knew it was a waste of time. The man was as stubborn as the Scotsman.
She climbed down the steps and strode halfway to the perimeter fence.
“Can I help you?” she called out.
At the sound of her voice, the men and women turned around. And then they took a knee and bowed their heads.
Eerie and disturbing.
“We wish no harm, Alpha,” said a young man with a bushy blond beard. “We are here to protect. We failed our last alpha, but we will not fail you.”
“Alpha?”
“I’ll say this,” Calloway whispered. “Your life is never boring.”
“You aren’t helping,” she replied. She’d killed the alpha and their second. Allergy or no, she had inherited a pride. She looked askance at Calloway, and his mouth quirked as if he were seconds away from laughing at her.
Oh, bother.
Acknowledgments
Liz Pelletier, you are one amazing chick. Thanks so much for everything you do and for being my friend. A special nod to the gang at Entangled who helped me pull this story together.
I need to thank my friends Sally Hamilton, Rachel Caine and Jaye Wells for brainstorming with me. I want to thank Fen Con for asking me to write a short story with a Southern Steampunk theme. That turned out to be a fortunate event for me. Thanks to my friends Shannon, Nikki, Heather, Jenny, Kate and Rosemary for always being there for me. You guys are awesome. And to my lovely assistant Pasha, who keeps my world rolling.
About the Author
Award-winning author Candace Havens lives in Texas with her mostly understanding husband, two children and two dogs, Scoobie and Gizmo. When she isn’t living in the imaginary worlds she creates, she’s interviewing celebrities, writers and producers for her job as a TV columnist, and talking about movies with 96.3 KSCS. She runs a free online workshop for writers.
A Riveting Affair (Entangled Ever After) Page 29
