Cole tightened his grip. “I’ll meet you there,” he said with quiet menace. “Now who sent you?”
The man drew his last precious breath, nearly dead from loss of blood.
“Who sent you?” Cole shook him.
Before he could answer, blood began leaking from the corner of his mouth. His eyes rolled up. It was too late.
Cole loosened his grip, thinking the man had succumbed to his injuries. Then with a burst of strength his assailant launched himself blindly, catching Cole by the shoulder and spinning him around.
Shifting in mid punch, Cole punctured the attacker’s lungs and grabbed his head with his other paw. Spinning him upside down, Cole cracked his skull and snapped his neck on the hard ground. The head lolled as Cole thrust him away.
Checking both men for identification yielded nothing, which didn’t surprise him. Choosing one of the rifles, he sniffed the barrel. Tranquilizer darts, not poison. They had wanted to capture Bri, not kill her, at least not until they took her to their boss.
He hadn’t let himself think about what might have happened to her had they succeeded. Now that it was over, he acknowledged he’d taken a hit today. He needed her to be safe, almost more than he needed anything else.
Cole dragged the bodies to the ditch the earth had provided. Two feet wide and three feet deep, it ran the length of the clearing. He laid the bodies head to toe. Mother Earth, these men have passed from this life into the next. Hide their bodies from any who would seek them.
The ground shook gently under his feet. He tossed their guns in after them as the bodies sank lower, loose dirt covering them up, refilling the hole. He knelt near the grave and sent his gratitude and appreciation through his hands into the soil. The ground revealed Bri’s heartbeat, slow and steady, from where he’d stashed her several yards away.
He didn’t want to go to her with blood on his hands. Shifting back into the wolf in a smooth and automatic move as natural to him as breathing, he crossed to the small creek on the opposite side of the clearing. He submerged his bloody muzzle in the cool, crisp water, cleansing his fur and his soul. Wading into the rocky creek bed, he watched the dark stain dilute to pink until it ran clear, flowing around a bend and out of sight.
The snap of a twig startled him and his wolf spun in a low crouch, teeth bared. Cole came face to face with huge green eyes watching him with horrified fascination.
Chapter 12
Bri blinked. Ears ringing, she couldn’t see clearly and had difficulty standing without the support of a nearby tree. An enormous black and silver wolf stood in the creek bed. The image was blurry but discernable enough.
She froze as the enormous animal turned in a low crouch.
Eyes locked on her, the wolf’s fur receded into skin, legs reshaping into arms, and the elongated muzzle became Cole’s human face. He was stunning—tall, broad shouldered, muscles everywhere, a tapered waist, and once again—naked. He really had to stop doing that.
Her heart did an excited tip-tap in her chest as he crossed the uneven terrain and gathered her in his arms. His spicy masculine scent was comforting even as the press of his arousal against her stomach made her knees weak.
“You’re okay.” She heard the relief in his statement.
Wrapping her arms around his waist, she nestled close, her head on his chest, leaning on his strength for just a minute before they had to start moving again.
“What happened?” She’d awoken on a wave of nausea, her temples pounding and fear lodged in her throat.
“They got you with a tranquilizer dart.” He stroked the length of her ponytail down the middle of her back. “Either you have an incredibly strong constitution or it wasn’t such a strong dose. Most people would be out for hours.”
“Lucky me,” she murmured against his chest.
His arms tightened around her. “I didn’t hear them coming.”
“Are they still out there?” She eased away enough to peek up at him.
Lines creased his brow, and his lips compressed. “They won’t be bothering you anymore.”
She grimaced. “Do I even want to know?”
He ran his hands over her arms as if searching for any further damage. “I don’t think so.”
Up close, his nakedness had an alarming effect on her body. If she’d appreciated him from a distance, his heat and strength, his smell, all of it made her mouth water. She had the incredible urge to rub herself against his leg to ease the ache in her core.
Heat stained her cheeks, and she took a step away from him, needing relief from the intensity of his effect on her. A wave of dizziness hit her and she stumbled.
Cole grabbed her arms to stabilize her. “Just hang on to me.”
Bri’s tongue darted out to moisten her dry lips. “You’re naked again,” she reminded him with a rueful smile.
One eyebrow arched, he flashed her a boyish grin that made her want to kiss him. Maybe there had been more than poison in the dart.
She sighed, rubbing her aching eyes. When she tried to focus on something, the world started spinning and her stomach wasn’t happy about it. She put a hand on her belly, feeling sick.
Cole guided her to a boulder and sat her down with a gentle hand on her nape, massaging the tension there. “Take a few deep breaths. I’ll get some water from the pack.”
He found the spot several yards away where he’d shed his clothes and left their supplies. In deference to her modesty and his inability to hide his body’s reaction to her, he pulled on a pair of jeans and black T-shirt. He’d never been so attracted to anyone in his life. The fact he’d shifted several times in front of her left him elated. Knowing she wanted him was heady, but the jury was still out for the reason behind it.
If the pearl caused his reaction, had a similar compulsion for him been implanted in her that she wasn’t aware of or hadn’t told him about? He refused to be anyone’s puppet. Was what he felt for Bri too intense to be natural?
After pulling a water bottle from the pack, he returned to her. She sat upright on the boulder, watching him with those wide eyes that made him want to forget about the pearl altogether.
He crossed to her slowly and handed her the bottle. “How are you feeling?”
She took a long drink and wiped at her forehead with one palm. Her lips mesmerized him as they closed around the edge of the bottle, the movement of her throat as she swallowed.
Stifling a groan, he scanned the forest around them. It was early afternoon, and they’d be stuck out here for the night if they didn’t find some transportation. “Do you think you can walk?”
Bri nodded and stood. “Water helps.”
Her skin was pale and she still looked weak. They needed to get moving and he’d have to push her even if she wasn’t ready. He wedged the water bottle in the pack and shouldered it. “We’ll make better time if we stay closer to the road.”
“I spent summers here when I was a kid,” she mused. “If we continue on this road for a while, we’ll eventually meet up with the highway. We have to go over a small pass and down the back side of the mountain to get to the nearest town, probably forty miles or so from here.”
“We’ll cover as much ground as we can this afternoon and then set up camp someplace safe.” If they were lucky they’d make it to a town by tomorrow evening. As a wolf, he could cover forty miles fast. Walking, especially after Bri had been drugged, would take them a lot longer.
Bri remained quiet as they followed the trail paralleling the road. He didn’t want to press her to talk before she was ready. He wasn’t much for small talk anyway, and the silence between them was oddly comfortable. Easily an hour passed and no cars. This was definitely a private part of the world, no doubt selected by Jonah for that reason.
Sometime later, Bri finally asked, “Why do you think they’re after
me?”
Glancing over, he caught her sad half-smile and his chest ached. Because he hadn’t protected her, he’d been forced to kill two more men. He didn’t want to give voice to what she was probably thinking. If two men had been able to track them, what had happened to Jonah? If Jonah was to be believed, not much could stop them.
Maybe he wasn’t as tough as he thought he was. Mack certainly hadn’t been. Worry assailed him; they were caught in the middle of a far bigger conflict than Jonah had alluded to.
“I don’t know, Bri . . . we’ll figure it out and find a way to stop them.”
“Sure,” she said, her tone defeated and tired.
Cole shot her another quick look, but she had turned away from him and stared into a dense thicket of trees.
“How do you think they found me this time?” she asked after several more minutes of walking. “Do you think they’re part of the same group who sent people to my house yesterday?”
“Probably, unless you have more than one group of people trying to find you.” As soon as he said it, Cole wished he hadn’t voiced that particular concern. “Knowing Mack, I’m guessing no one was left to follow us from yesterday. I hate to say this.” He paused. “I think they must have some inside information to be able to find you so quickly. Mack and Jonah don’t seem as though they would have a safe house just anybody could find.”
“People are dead because of me.” She voiced it starkly, not hiding from it. “And I’m afraid.”
He admired her honesty. “We’ll figure it out. I won’t let anything happen to you. Trust me.”
She stopped and turned to face him. “Why? You don’t even know me. Why would you put yourself at risk like that?”
Her expression was so solemn, concern stamped across her delicate feathers. Cole thought he had never seen a more beautiful woman.
“It’s not like I can leave you,” he answered truthfully. The moment he stepped out of her orbit, the pearl would kick up a mighty protest in his diaphragm and he’d be searching for her, if for no other reason than to maintain his sanity.
“The compulsion,” she murmured. Some of the starch slipped out of her argument. “I can accept that.”
He cocked his head slightly. “You don’t think I’d stick around for you?” His voice roughened with desire.
She laughed harshly. “Would you, without the compulsion? Your life is in danger. My father and his bodyguard are immortal warriors and who knows what I’m capable of or when that lovely gift will emerge,” she finished with a self-deprecating sigh.
Her fiery protest sent him over the edge, his body suddenly engulfed in need, and he didn’t care that their draw to each other was too intense, too powerful.
He had to taste her.
“Oh hell,” he muttered.
Closing the distance between them in an instant, his hand curled around her nape. At first his lips were feather light as they brushed hers in a gentle caress. He sensed her acceptance in the relaxing of her body against his, the quickening of her breath. His tongue brushed lightly over her lips as she opened for him, and he explored the heady taste of her. Their tongues touched, dueled, desperation driving them deeper into each other. She ran her fingers through his hair, tugging him closer as he drew her tongue into his mouth.
Cole growled his pleasure deep in his throat as he pulled her slender body up against him. His heavy erection pressed unashamedly into her stomach. Her answering moan was all he needed, and he intensified their kiss, plunging his tongue in her mouth the way he wanted to move inside her body.
She stroked his hair and torso, pushing his T-shirt up to explore the hard muscles of his stomach and chest. Her touch was cool against the heat of his skin, almost more than he could bear. In another moment, he would have her beneath him on the forest floor.
Freeing her hair from the ponytail, he tunneled both hands through the silky strands. Her eyes, half closed, glazed over with desire.
Cole pressed his forehead to hers. He couldn’t quite make himself let go, but he needed to.
She wound her arms around his waist and huddled close, her breathing as harsh and erratic as his. They clung together while their breathing evened out, syncing their pulse beats until they picked up the same rhythm.
“We should go,” Cole finally said, close enough to her ear for the whisper of his breath to send shivers of awareness skating over her skin.
Bri nodded against his chest and reluctantly stepped away, instantly feeling the lack of warmth. Desire for this man pumped wicked heat through her body and made her legs rubbery. Hands down, that had been the best kiss she’d had in years, maybe ever. Now she had a craving for him she didn’t think would go away anytime soon.
She tucked her hair behind her ears and glanced at him helplessly.
“I’m sorry about that, Bri, I shouldn’t have kissed you.” He ran a strong hand over his face, looking agitated.
Despite her reluctant agreement, disappointment tugged at her. “It’s not like I didn’t participate.” Then she paused, hearing for herself how her words must have sounded to him.
Cole muttered something under his breath she didn’t catch. His confusion made her feel . . . better. He’s as affected by this strange and intense attraction as I am.
With some satisfaction, Bri fell into step behind him, probably a safe enough distance. The view was nothing to complain about; his beautiful backside provided a pleasant distraction. The image of him standing tall and naked in the creek bed flooded her mind and made her hot all over. The man was gorgeous. His sharp features and silver-streaked hair revealed hints of the wolf beneath. His quiet, efficient movements held an unconscious gracefulness.
When she thought about him shifting into the wolf, her body buzzed with the thrill of witnessing something so powerful.
I really need to get a grip.
Just because the man had kissed her silly didn’t mean anything. There was too much going on around them, forces out of their control.
Taking a deep, cleansing breath, she tried to focus on the beauty of the forest and the mountains. Late-afternoon sunlight filled the valley, highlighting the deep green of the trees. It was breathtaking, as if the press of modern development had left this place untouched, clean, and protected from the carelessly destructive drives of the human race.
This valley would always win, would swallow humans alive if they didn’t live in harmony with its rhythm.
Chapter 13
“This is a good enough place to stop for the night,” Cole announced a few hours later.
Bri was exhausted. She’d been barely able to move her feet for the last hour, and now it was well past dark. Gratefully, she sank down onto a nearby log.
For most of their trek, they had kept the road on their left. Cole had taken them into the deeper woods about twenty minutes earlier so their camp would be more protected.
The place he’d chosen was tucked up against the rise of a small hill. Several tall trees guarded the narrow clearing, making it difficult to see even if someone looked. Moonlight barely penetrated the upper canopy.
Bri’s irritation with him had grown into a fearsome thing. He’d been the one to kiss her, and then he spent the rest of the afternoon sulking. He hadn’t uttered another word to her except grunting answers to her questions and keeping up a breakneck pace. If they had to spend any length of time together, that behavior had to stop.
Her stomach growled loudly in the quiet of the clearing.
“Hungry?” he asked, finally turning toward her.
“Starving.”
He let the pack drop to the ground and leaned it up against one of the nearby trees. “I’ll gather some firewood. We didn’t bring any pads for the sleeping bags. The ground is going to be pretty hard without them. If you can find a reasonably flat surface and clear away the ro
cks and brush, it’ll help.”
“I can manage that,” she said, already scoping out the clearing in the dim moonlight for the flattest spot.
A few moments later Bri felt him staring at her. She straightened, glancing at him in question. “Everything okay?” The man was far too brooding for her taste.
He remained silent for a moment as he watched her in the darkness. “Not hardly.” He walked off in search of firewood.
Shrugging, she opened the pack and rummaged around until she found the small flashlight. When she stood, her legs whimpered in protest. Another day of walking might just kill her. She scanned the area for the best spot to lay the sleeping bags, and settled under an enormous fir where soft pine needles covered the ground.
Lost in thought, Bri set about clearing the space. Using a fallen branch with a fan of leaves as a broom, she removed any clumps of dirt and arranged the pine needles to cover an area large enough for two sleeping bags. She gathered the few rocks that would make rolling over in the middle of the night a rough experience, and arranged them in a circle outside the spread of the low branches.
The more she thought about everything that had happened since she’d met Cole, the more irritated she got. What she didn’t need on top of everything else was a moody protector who vacillated between kissing her and ignoring her. “He doesn’t need to be such an asshole about it,” she muttered to herself.
“Asshole, huh?” a deep voice said from only a few feet away.
Bri jumped and the breath exploded out of her lungs as she spun around, brandishing the branch as a weapon and shining the flashlight into the face of the intruder. Cole regarded her with a faint smirk and raised his hand to protect his eyes.
“You scared me!” she nearly screamed. “I didn’t hear you over there.”
“Hard to imagine,” he replied with a raised eyebrow. “You seemed pretty focused.”
Circle of Dreams (The Quytel Series Book 1) Page 13
