by Lavada Dee
The lodge came into view, and Devon pulled her over to a bench on the edge of the path. “Let’s wait here for Tyrell and Page.”
“Are you worried that Tyrell might be having trouble?”
“No, sound carries, and Page would have shouted out, or called, since we all have our cell phones.”
Devon relaxed and put his arm along the back of the bench. “So, we good?”
Nadia looked at him for a minute. “We are. I’ve only been here for a couple of days but I feel…I don’t know. Different.”
Devon laughed. “Yeah, I just bet you do.”
Chapter 12
Tyrell poured a glass of wine and took it out to the balcony. It had been a good day with a lot resolved. Somehow, except for him, they had all skipped lunch, and he only had the sandwich at the hospital with Grant. That, plus the walk, had compelled all four of them to be ready for an early dinner. Tyrell smiled to himself, thinking about the dinner Nadia had ordered. And, more to the point, how she had ordered it. He had been ready to do a repeat of breakfast and order for her, but she must have read his mind because, with a glare to warn him off, she quickly ordered the special.
He leaned back in the lounger and let his mind run free. Nadia had been full of surprises. For one thing, she looked different. He more than half expected her to demand time to freshen up before dinner. Instead, she had trooped into the dining room with the rest of them. With no makeup, she had a glow about her that the freckles enhanced. No doubt she’d be bleaching them out once she noticed them. Tyrell liked the new look. She would probably disagree, but he found her more attractive than when she was made up to perfection.
But it wasn’t just her appearance. There was something more. She seemed genuine, and friendly. Unlike before, she had engaged Page in a conversation. And then there was Devon. It was like Nadia had become his friend. He would sure like to know what they talked about on the walk back. He had purposely let them go on ahead. His reasons were two-fold. Primary was the hope Devon would get to know Nadia well enough to like her. If things progressed like he intended them to, it was important Nadia and Devon accept each other as family.
The second reason was to talk to Page about where they would go from here. The other night she tentatively agreed to stay on for the rest of the contract. But he really didn’t need a full-time physical therapist. Plus, he needed alone time to spend with Nadia. Again, he smiled at how she was going to take that. She was attracted to him. He wasn’t mistaken about her physical reaction to him, but he wanted more. For that she needed to know him, and maybe more importantly, know herself. He had a lot of ground to cover, and only two weeks to do it. Having to work around Page would complicate it.
A knock on the door announced Devon, who, as usual, didn’t wait for an invitation to come in. A beer in hand, he joined Tyrell on the balcony. Nodding to the drink Tyrell held, Devon said, “Wine? Wow, and you being a beer man.”
“Just switching off a little, and trying to settle dinner. I thought you’d have work to do. All this time spent babysitting me has to have left you behind.”
“I’m not working on any computer applications right now. Like you, I’ve been sort of at loose ends. As far as the lodge, with this staff, it pretty much takes care of itself. Makes a guy feel downright un-needed.”
Tyrell let what Devon said sink in for a second, then asked, “Do you ever get tired of developing applications? I don’t think I could sit still long enough to do that kind of work.”
“I don’t think you could, either.” Devon laughed. “Seriously, it isn’t work for me. It’s like a puzzle. I get so involved, I don’t notice time passing until I start to stiffen up. But I hear what you’re saying. If I didn’t enjoy it so much, no amount of money would keep me tied to a computer that long.”
Devon made a lot of money, enough so that he could live comfortably off what he already had. He had started in high school, and if he hadn’t been so good looking would have been labeled an ‘A’ class nerd.
He glanced over, and again noted Tyrell’s drink of choice. “I still can’t believe you’re actually drinking wine. You, the beer and hamburger guy. Good grief, something is in the air. First, Nadia does a flip on us and becomes real. Then you do an about face, including your drinking habits.”
Devon’s statement about Nadia opened the door for Tyrell, and he didn’t waste any time pushing through it. “Nadia…what’s your take on her?”
“You’re fishing. You know damn good and well you purposely hung back on the trail coming back, so I would have her to myself. I should hold out on you for such a sneaky move.”
Tyrell pushed out of the lounger. “Want another beer while I’m up?” Wine was good but he was ready to switch.
“Not yet, and I don’t need a peace offering. I was glad I had a chance to talk to her, though to tell the truth, she was scaring the shit out of me.”
Tyrell didn’t want Devon to read his body language, and getting beer was a good excuse to put some distance between them. Now, he took his time and called back. “Do you feel any attraction?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Tyrell almost dropped the bottle he was holding. Damn. Schooling his features, he took pity on his brother, and suggested he come in where it was warmer.
Devon was grinning when he came in the door. “So to get back to how I feel about Nadia. She is pretty, maybe more…more like beautiful. I can imagine…”
Tyrell knew he had asked for it, but Devon was taking it too far, or would be in a few seconds. “Knock it off.”
Now Devon was laughing. “If you can’t take the heat…” He half fell down on the sofa and put his feet up on the coffee table. “Okay, yeah, I’m finding myself liking her. Attracted? Not like you’re asking, or maybe like you’re trying not to ask. So a question for you. What’s going on?”
Tyrell leaned forward. “Remember the talk Dad had with us about women?”
Devon nodded. “Yeah, sort of. That’s going a ways back.”
“It was in that same conversation that he explained about the totem our people carry. An ancient gene that allows some of us to shift into another part of ourselves. By that time, I had experienced it and unfortunately you, Grant, and Cooper had witnessed it. Hell, none of you wanted to share a bedroom with me.”
Remembering back, the two brothers were silent for a minute. Then Devon said, “After explaining the totem, birds and bees seemed tame.”
Tyrell took a drink of his beer and sighed. “He told us about taking the time to seek out the one woman that was meant for each of us. The one that would complete us. Grant and Cooper have been lucky.”
Devon interrupted. “Not so much Cooper. You weren’t here, but finding and then losing Galynn almost destroyed him.”
“Yeah, Grant called me. He was really worried about our boy.” Cooper was the youngest of the Blackhawk brothers, and they all felt protective of him. Tyrell maybe more so than the others.
Devon took a deep breath and leaned back trying to look nonchalant. “So are you telling me what I think you are? Nadia?”
“Yeah. A bitch, isn’t it?”
Devon seemed wary, like he didn’t want to say too much. Tyrell couldn’t blame him. Finally, he found words and said, “Are you sure? I mean how could you be so positive. She doesn’t come from here. New York?” He laughed. “Sorry, thinking about the Pace Salsa ad that’s running on TV.”
A visual of the ad where a group of cowboys sit around a campfire and make derogatory remarks about the salsa being made in New York City hung over the room, and for a minute, lightened the conversation. Then Tyrell brought it back around. “It’s the wolf within. For years, I’ve relied on its senses to know things. On missions, it was this other identity that kept my team alive and gave us the advantage to get the job done. Not just mine, but the other men as well. It’s hard to explain, but it is sort of like living in a parallel world.” He let his gaze lock with his brother’s and knew the moment Devon accepted what he was saying as the tr
uth.
Tyrell’s voice deepened. “Do you know what mind-speak is?”
“No—yes.” Devon got up and paced over to the patio door.
Through the years, Tyrell had held things back from Cooper and Devon. Grant, he couldn’t have withheld from even if he had wanted to, as he shared the mutant gene, although to a lesser degree. His father had explained it. Long ago, totems were an accepted phenomenon given to warriors and healers. Through time, the need for them lessened until they were, for the most part, extinct. He told the boys to think about totems like tonsils. Something extra.
Tyrell remembered asking if that meant a totem could be removed. His father had laughed at that one. Back then, in his innocence, it had seemed a logical conclusion. Now he had to ask himself why he would want to. As a man, he could control shifting, and even if he didn’t change form, he wouldn’t want to give up his heightened senses.
Devon came back and flopped on the sofa. “I should be used to this, to you, but honestly, if I hadn’t seen you shift, I wouldn’t believe it. And, mind-speak? Again, I witnessed it with you, heard you speak to me when you weren’t even in the room. Grant heard you when you were injured. We knew the minute those bullets tore into you.”
Tyrell remained silent, giving the impact of Devon’s words rein. Then said, “I can hold a conversation with her in our minds.”
“You mean Nadia has this gene? I mean, sometimes I can hear you, but only Grant can converse.”
“No, she doesn’t have the gene, but true mates connect in ways we can’t with other pure mortals. I’m guessing Grant and Baylee can, though I’m not sure how it works for others. I just know it validates that Nadia belongs with me.
“Whew, I’ve got to tell you if anyone but you was telling me this story I’d be ready to call the men in white.” He thought for a second then said, “So, what are you going to do?”
Tyrell frowned at his drink like it was its fault he had this problem. “Damned if I know. I can’t even get close to her, or at least, not without using…”
Devon looked as serious as Tyrell felt. “Guess you got to do what you got to do. If you don’t connect, what then?”
“Hell, I have no idea. This is a once in a lifetime thing for me. She might go on to a forever relationship, but I won’t. Or at least, not on the level I would have with her. Seems like my only choice is to ride it out, and see what happens.”
Devon glanced at his watch. “It’s almost one o’clock. I’ve got to start getting back into some kind of work pattern. Have you given any more thought to what you want to do? Work-wise, that is?”
“Yeah, I’m going to call Dad in the morning and see what he has in mind for the air service. And, I’m going to put a lot more effort in getting to know Nadia.”
“This morning, I would have said good luck, but something did change this afternoon. I think there is a lot more to that woman. For one thing, she isn’t happy.”
Tyrell finished his beer, and sat back. “Then the time you spent on the walk wasn’t wasted. I think tomorrow is going to see some changes for all four of us.”
Devon stood up and grabbed both of their empties. “Is Page going to be here in the morning?”
“No, we are going to do a two o’clock swim and massage, then take a walk. The walk will have to do for a few days, though I want to extend it to a jog after that. Want to meet Dad for breakfast if I can get a hold of him?”
“Sure, I might be working in the office, so just give me a call.”
The room felt empty after Devon left, and for maybe the first time ever, Tyrell didn’t like being alone.
Chapter 13
Nadia woke up with a start. A breeze fluttered the sheer curtains at the patio door. The door had been closed when she went to bed. It would have been too cold to leave it open, and yet it didn’t seem cold in the room. She didn’t want to move. Safe in the cocoon of the duvet, she took a deep breath. Unfamiliar sounds drifted in from outside. The sound of the lake and a night bird took the place of the city noises she would have heard at home. Then she heard him.
“Come out on the balcony.”
“This is insane, I have to be dreaming,” she mumbled. Her heart was beating so hard she could feel the pulse in her throat.
“Do you want me to come to you?”
Again the voice called out to her. Tears welled up in her eyes. “Go away,” she shouted, then clamped a hand over her mouth. The door was open. If anyone heard her, they would call security.
“You don’t want me to go away. I’ll meet you in the stairwell.”
“I have to be crazy, I have to be crazy.” The words chimed in her head as she pulled on designer sweats. Opening the door she started to step out.
“Shoes.” The voice in her head whispered.
Darn, she had forgotten to put on her shoes.
The quiet that looms late at night gave the hall an eerie feel. Nadia took a breath, and again told herself that this was crazy, that she was crazy. When she got to the door, she hesitated and tried to pick up Tyrell’s presence. Then, like the most natural thing in the world she opened the door and entered the dimly lit stairwell.
Tyrell was standing just on the other side. Smiling, he took her hand. “What took you so long?” His voice was low and deep.
He didn’t seem to expect an answer. He moved closer and drew her against him, then with his hand at her waist, they walked in unison down the steps. At the bottom she pulled back. The stairwell was lighted, but outside it would be dark.
He let her go and waited. Finding her voice, she said, “Who are you? What are you?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, his gaze caught hers, and his eyes spoke of safety. She smiled up at him, reassured that no harm would come to her from this man. How had she missed the beauty of him? Not in the perfect way that Devon was, but in a wholly masculine way.
Nadia’s whole life had been about the family business. Everything she did was for it, and she was good at what she did. All of sudden she saw not Devon, but Tyrell, as the look for the “Fragrance of Man.” Cortico stock would soar when women bought the new line for their men in hopes of catching some of the exotic essence of Tyrell.
Nadia sensed a change in Tyrell. His eyes narrowed and a slight flare of his nostrils made him almost look like he was catching a scent. This time his voice was rough. “Don’t. I am not your minion.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” But she did. Somehow, he had read her mind. Well, she was good at bluffing. She opened her mouth, and was surprised at the words that came out. “I’m sorry, I do know what you mean. I don’t know why, but all of a sudden I saw a vision of you in my world.”
He seemed to relax and go back to the way he was before her thoughts. All of a sudden it seemed like all was right with the world, and she felt in perfect sync with him. He held out his hand and she placed hers in it.
Tyrell walked slowly along the path leading in the opposite direction from the one they had taken that afternoon. Nadia couldn’t explain why she didn’t question going with him. It wasn’t long before the lights from the lodge disappeared. The night closed in around them. Still, she wasn’t afraid, even as she took in the unfamiliar noises around her. Noises like a night bird crying out in a nearby tree and the rustle of the wind along the banks of the lake.
Nadia could hear the rustle of their feet as they walked along in silence. Their bodies and minds communicated without sound. When Tyrell stopped and pulled her into his arms, she went willingly.
His body was hard against the softness of hers and she pressed closer, telling him without words what she wanted.
Tyrell opened her sweatshirt and ran his hands down her back, cupping her buttocks and pulling her against his erection. It was something she had never been close enough to a man to experience. The men in her life wore suits or slacks, not well-worn jeans that molded to their bodies. Blood surged through her veins, bringing warmth and heightening her senses until she was acutely aware of her body’s reaction. Following
his lead, she pushed her hands under his sweatshirt, and around his back. He was tall, taller than she had realized.
“I wanted to take this slow. Give you a chance to know me before…” With a half moan, half growl, he bent his head and took her mouth with his.
Nadia instinctively opened for him. His tongue swept against hers and she cried out. She felt boneless. If he let her go she knew she couldn’t stand on her own. Did she want to? With surprise, she found herself wanting to sink to the ground, and pull him down with her.
Tyrell released her mouth. He was breathing hard, like he’d been running. She felt a surge of power at the control she had to cause him to react like this with her. Control she hadn’t known she possessed. He let his gaze roam over her face, down to her mouth, and again a muted growl escaped from his full, sensual lips. She closed her eyes, willing him to again hold her close, to kiss and caress her. When he remained still, Nadia slowly opened her eyes to see him silently gazing down at her. A slow smile played over his lips. Letting herself, she reached up and traced the tips of her fingers along his mouth. “You make me feel…” She stopped. For all the aggressiveness she showed in business, she had never initiated intimacy.
He again pulled her into him. The angle he had them at emphasized the contact of their lower bodies and Nadia wanted to melt into him. She wasn’t experienced, but she had read about consummating a relationship, and hadn’t been exactly waiting breathlessly for that moment. Until now.
“You think too much. This is about feeling. Let yourself go, experience the wonder we create.”
Again, Nadia felt herself give way to him. When he lowered his mouth to hers, all thoughts beyond the moment faded away.
* * * *
Tyrell fought to stay in control. Thank heavens he had brought her outside instead of going to her room. How would he have kept himself from taking what she so innocently offered? He deepened the kiss, and his pulse pounded faster when she made a soft mewing sound. A fleeting thought of constructing a makeshift bed out here in the open entered his mind, and he immediately rejected it. She might follow where he led, but what about afterward when her blood cooled, and she was again thinking instead of feeling?
