Christine Feehan 5 CARPATHIAN NOVELS

by Christine Feehan

  Colby turned her attention to Tanya, Joclyn’s daughter, as Ginny came running over and wound her arm around Colby for support. Rafael put his hand on the child’s shoulder with an encouraging smile and Ginny smiled up at him gratefully, obviously mesmerized by him.

  I’m going to throw something at you. Colby tried not to laugh at the situation, but for the first time in her life, she felt like she was sharing something with someone else. Like she belonged. Was a part of someone else. It didn’t seem to matter that her brain screamed a million warnings at her, she was enjoying his attention. It was a new experience for her.

  “I’m on a tight schedule, Colby,” Ben snapped, bringing her attention back to him. “If you can spare me enough time to tell me what’s going on around here.” He sounded accusing.

  Rafael immediately circled Ginny’s shoulders with his arm. She looked about to cry. “Go ahead, Colby, report to the official. Ginny and I can handle this, right, Ginny?” His voice was low and intimate, welding them all together as if they were one family. He sounded supremely confident in Ginny. “You know me, Tanya. Ginny and I will start the lesson and when Colby is finished with her business, she will join us. Is that acceptable to you?” He turned on a high-powered smile.

  Colby shook her head watching Rafael. He was definitely creating the impression he belonged, he was a part of their family. Ben caught her arm rather roughly, dragging her attention back to him. She glanced up at him, startled, like someone waking up, coming out of a dream.

  A low warning growl shimmered in the air, so that the horses stirred restlessly and the adults looked around carefully. They all heard it; most of them thought it might have been Ginny’s dog, who was sitting regarding them all with an inquiring eye at the sudden attention. Colby knew better. She tucked her hair behind her ear and surreptitiously glanced in warning at Rafael. “Come up to the porch, Ben. Can I get you some coffee?”

  He waited all of five steps before he exploded. “You want to tell me what the hell that was all about?”

  Her eyebrow shot up. “What are you talking about?”

  “Before you deny the little scene on the porch, Colby, you might take a look in the mirror at your neck. You’ve been all over that man.”

  Colby bit at her lip to keep from laughing. If she didn’t laugh, she might cry. Her behavior with Rafael was completely out of character. She knew it and so did Ben. “Why are you blaming me? It just so happens he was all over me,” she corrected. So maybe she wasn’t the most beautiful woman in town, did that mean that Rafael couldn’t possibly be attracted to her? “Some men are attracted to me, as strange as the concept might seem, Ben. I don’t always have to attack them.”

  “This is so like you, choosing the wrong man. A man like Rafael De La Cruz will eat you up and spit you out! You’re playing with fire. You can’t do that with someone like him. Damn it, Colby, why don’t you settle down with a decent man like Joe Vargas?”

  “Joe Vargas! Sheesh! What is it with everyone and poor Joe? He would hate being married to me.”

  “Everyone in their right mind would hate being married to you.” He dragged her onto the porch, deeper into the shadows, his fingers circling her upper arms to give her a little shake. “Is this about money? What are you up to?”

  “Ben, let go, you’re hurting me.” Colby pried at the fingers circling her arm. “You always forget how blasted strong you are.”

  “Let her go now.” The voice was very soft, very menacing. A whip of malevolence, a dark promise of retaliation. Colby had never heard anything like it before. Rafael had somehow covered the distance between them, completely across the wide expanse of yard, and was blending into the shadows so that his large frame scarcely could be seen, yet his black eyes were nearly glowing in the dark with unbelievable menace.

  A shiver of fear ran down her spine and her hand went protectively to her throat. Rafael looked merciless, ruthless, every inch the predator. In that moment he didn’t look wholly human. There was an animal quality about him, feral, dangerous, untamed.

  Ben dropped his arms and would have stepped away from her, his hand sliding to his gun as his instincts took over, but Colby stayed firmly between the two men. “I’ve known Ben since I was about three years old, Rafael. He’s like a brother to me. He would never hurt me, never. I’m sure this looked like he was getting rough, but it isn’t like that at all. He was just, well . . .” She floundered for a moment, her heart pounding in her throat. The feeling of menace, of death was so strong she actually felt terrified for a moment. Terrified for Ben.

  Rafael was the first to move, his arm snaking out, fingers circling her wrist to draw her very gently to him. “Then I must apologize as I do not understand the relationships of men and women in other countries.” His arms circled her slender body, brought her right up against him protectively. Ssh, meu amor, your heart is beating far too fast. Listen to the rhythm of mine.

  Ben stood there in silence watching the other man as he bent possessively over Colby. There was a protective posture to his body as he held Colby, his hands gentle, despite his tremendous strength. Rafael exuded power and menace, the arrogance of one long used to commanding others with complete authority. He looked like a man who always got his way and Ben could clearly see Rafael De La Cruz wanted Colby Jansen. De La Cruz was a man, not a boy, and Colby looked young and vulnerable beside him. She seemed a bit frightened and very confused as if she found herself in a situation she was unprepared for. And Ben knew Colby, knew she would never be prepared for a man such as Rafael De La Cruz.

  “I would never hurt Colby,” Ben said calmly. “We’re old friends and I guess I’m used to rough-housing with her a bit.”

  Rafael smiled, showing gleaming white teeth. There was no humor in the smile, rather a subtle warning. “Perhaps she is becoming too old for such things.” His voice was softer than ever and it sent Colby’s pulse racing all over again. He sounded deadly.

  Colby took a deep breath and let it out, determined to take back control of the situation. “Thank you for worrying about me, Rafael, but as you can see, I’m perfectly fine. I really have quite a bit to discuss with Ben, so if you would excuse us . . .”

  Rafael bowed low with a courtly old-world elegance long since gone from the modern world. All the time his gaze never left Ben’s face, the black depths of his eyes ice cold. Ben watched as the man bent to brush a kiss on the top of Colby’s silken hair before gliding away, back across the yard to the Everetts and Ginny.

  Ben stared down at Colby, his features set and sober. “You are nuts to think you can control him. He’s dangerous, Colby. He would have torn my heart out with his bare hands. You should know better than to get involved with someone like that.”

  Colby stood there looking up at him rather helplessly. She didn’t know if she was involved with Rafael. Everything in her life seemed as if it was spinning out of control when she was anywhere near Rafael. She shook her head and dropped into the porch swing, her knees suddenly rubbery. “I don’t know what’s happening to me, or to the ranch, the world is so upside down right now, Ben.”

  It was the first time he had ever heard her sound so lost. At once he hunkered down beside the swing, his hand on her knee to comfort her. “Listen to me, honey. You don’t need to sell your soul here. I’ve got money if you need it. A little saved up, nothing big.” He took a deep breath, his face manfully expressionless as he made the ultimate sacrifice. “And hell, if you need me to marry you, I guess we could do that too.”

  Colby stared at him for all of five seconds before she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him close, laughing softly. “What would I do without you, Ben?”

  Rafael heard the entire conversation, his blood surging with such power through his body he held himself utterly still, afraid the demon would break loose. His brother stirred in his mind, questioning the fury pouring through him. Rafael stared at the hand touching Colby’s knee, watched as she flung herself into the other man’s arms, heard her soft laughter, t
he camaraderie of a man and woman who had known one another a long time.

  He felt the demon raising its head, the roaring, the bestial reaction beneath the thin veneer of civility he had worked so hard at achieving. Fangs exploded in his mouth and his eyes burned savagely. A red haze seemed to consume his brain.

  Call out to her. It was Nicolas. Calm. Commanding. The voice of reason when the dark call of his nature was consuming him. Rafael. Deliberately Nicolas used his brother’s name to call him back from the edge of disaster. Call out to her now.

  The beast could see his rival embracing his lifemate. He had not bound them together for fear she would be uncomfortable, now the beast had a firm hold on him.

  Call out to her. It was the cool wind of reason moving through his mind. Rafael latched on to the ribbon of sanity his brother provided.

  Colby. Move away from him immediately. For me. Do this for me.

  The normally soft voice was a menace in her mind. More dangerous than any wild animal she had ever encountered. The threat was there, just like the time she had come upon a large mountain lion in its prime just after it had made a kill. She sensed his fear that she might not listen to him, that she wouldn’t see the danger, but Colby was far more adept at reading wild things than he gave her credit for. And she chose that moment to touch his mind.

  Colby pulled away from Ben and leapt to her feet, pacing away from him quickly, her mind working on two levels. She wanted to appear normal to Ben, yet she shared the swirling cauldron of dark violent emotions with Rafael. “You would hate being married to me and you know it.” She crossed her arms and tried to keep from shivering. Somewhere out in the gathering darkness was something powerful and menacing. It crouched very close, watching them with the unblinking eyes of a tiger. “I’d drive you crazy, Ben, and you know it. But it was very sweet of you to offer. I’m sure you earned your way into heaven tonight.”

  Ben stood up slowly, trying not to look like he’d dodged a bullet. “You know I’d do it, if you needed me to. Just don’t do anything desperate, Colby.”

  She walked down the steps of the porch and glanced around the yard casually. She felt the danger like a living, breathing entity. What is it, Rafael? Do you feel it too? Was it Rafael? Or was he simply tuned into the danger? Was Rafael threatening her?

  I could never harm you, querida, never. There is no danger to you or yours, I would know. You are simply feeling me being a jealous man. The voice was his usual calm. She saw him then, standing by the corral as if nothing had happened, talking quietly with Sean and Joclyn as Ginny led Tanya’s horse around in a wide circle.

  Jealous? That was jealous? Colby stared at him for a long time. He looked completely normal, a handsome, charming foreigner who was very magnetic. Was she going completely insane? What did she think? That he was more than a man? He had power the same way she had power; it was easy enough to lose control. She understood that better than anyone could. Yet she had caught a glimpse of a raging beast, not human, something far more dangerous.

  You can project that much danger when you are simply jealous? And not for a very good reason, I might add. She had to ask him. She didn’t know if she wanted him to lie or to tell her the truth. But she had to ask him.

  When we are alone and I can hold you in my arms we will talk. The words were spoken like a soft caress, running across her bare skin so that she touched her own arm. Astonished, she looked down. The blisters and redness were gone. Her skin was smooth and unblemished from the sun. He had healed her terrible sunburn.

  “Are you going to talk to me or stare at that foreigner all night?” Ben demanded, coming up behind her. “I thought you had another problem out here.” He sounded almost belligerent and Colby turned back to face him.

  “You know, Ben, I don’t think I’ll understand men in a million years. They aren’t at all logical like they try to brainwash women into thinking they are.” Colby turned away from him to stare up at the darkening sky. “Paul is over in the hay field. I haven’t checked on the problem yet, Ben. Juan Chevez was the one who found the steer and Paul saw it. He can take you out there, but it’s getting dark very fast. I don’t know if you have time.”

  “I’m getting worried about you and the kids out here by yourselves. I’m making time, Colby, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

  She smiled at him over her shoulder, her hair falling in a bright cascade down her back. She looked so beautiful Ben was slightly shocked. She looked almost ethereal, hauntingly sexy and a little mysterious. He had considered her a younger sister almost all of his life. Ben’s feelings about Colby were very mixed, and he didn’t want to see her in this light. They weren’t suited at all. He had never noticed her looking alluring and sexy before, not once in all their years together.

  Ben glanced over at the dark stranger and caught the man looking at him. Rafael didn’t look away, his smoldering eyes odd in the waning light. They reminded Ben of a cat’s eyes, more suited to night vision than day. The eyes didn’t blink and Ben looked away, not liking that intent, hair-raising stare. Rafael De La Cruz was making it perfectly clear that Colby was off-limits to any other man. Ben didn’t trust him, sensing something violent and dangerous seething below that calm exterior. And De La Cruz seemed a playboy type, easily acquiring women and just as fast tossing them aside. Colby was not made for a one-night stand. She was a woman who would give herself completely to someone she loved. Ben didn’t want it to be a man like De La Cruz.

  He shoved his hat on his head. “I’ll find Paul and talk with Chevez, but, Colby, you keep the kids close and don’t go wandering off by yourself.”

  “I have a ranch to run, Ben,” she said quietly. “I’m not going to let someone scare me off.”

  “You said Juan Chevez found the steer. What was he doing riding your ranch?” Ben sounded casual, but Colby wasn’t in the least bit fooled, she had known him far too long.

  “After the fire, Rafael didn’t want us to be alone here. He couldn’t stay with us so he asked Juan and Julio to help us out.” She looked down at her hands, ashamed to admit her weakness to him. “It was a good thing they stayed. I was sick this afternoon and slept most of the day away.”

  “So De La Cruz ordered them to stay.”

  “They wanted to stay, Ben. They are Paul and Ginny’s uncles, after all. They are concerned for their welfare.”

  He turned his faded blue eyes on her. “Are you trying to make me believe that Colby Jansen is not in the least suspicious about this setup? That these people show up out of the blue claiming your brother and sister and wanting the ranch to hold for them? That they just happen to be business associates and are staying with your neighbor Sean Everett whose entire crew just happens to be ex-cons? And that just about the same time they arrive, all kinds of ‘accidents’ begin happening on your ranch? This is all coincidence, Colby? And now Juan Chevez finds a dead steer mutilated while he is ‘watching over you’ on De La Cruz’s orders. It seems a bit far-fetched to me.”

  “Didn’t we have this conversation before, and I was the one saying these things to you? You told me I was stubborn and to get over it. You told me I was talking through my hat when I tried to point out to you that the things going wrong on the ranch weren’t accidents.”

  “Yeah, well, Pete’s death was no accident, Colby, and it was no accident that Chevez and Everett’s riders were up on the bluff. Or that Clinton Daniels and that scum Harris were out there either, along with that new hand of his, Ernie Carter. Now that’s a real winner there. What the hell were you doing riding out there alone?”

  “Ben”—she laid a placating hand on his arm—“you aren’t suggesting everyone is conspiring against me, are you?”

  Ben felt the weight of those peculiar eyes staring at him malevolently. He didn’t look up to see; he knew instinctively they had De La Cruz’s full attention and he knew it was because he had raised his voice to Colby and she was touching him. “I think you’re in great danger, Colby, and not just of losing the ranch
. That’s what I think and you’d better take me damn seriously.”

  “I will, Ben,” Colby conceded with a little sigh. “I’m worried too. I don’t know what to think, but I don’t want anything to happen to Paul or Ginny. I promise to be careful.” When he continued looking at her she sighed again. “Very, very careful.”

  “And not trust anybody too much,” he prompted.

  “And I won’t trust anybody too much,” she added obediently.

  Ben walked off toward the hay field, and she watched him until his large frame disappeared around the side of the large barn. She stared at the barn, puzzled. It would have made more sense for the arsonist to burn down the barn. It was located farther away from the house and it didn’t have built-in sprinklers. The barn would have gone up fast with the hay in it. Why hadn’t they chosen the barn?

  “Colby!” Ginny called out, her voice betraying annoyance. She desperately wanted to make a good impression. Tanya was very nice and she wanted Colby to pay her lots of attention so she would want to come back.

  Colby hurried over, ignoring Rafael’s hot gaze and concentrating totally on Joclyn and Tanya. She was aware of Rafael watching her intently the entire time she gave instructions, but she forced herself to keep from looking at him. She wanted to look at him. She even needed to look at him. She could feel her mind continually reaching for his. She had felt the sensation before; now she recognized it. And he often touched her mind. Like a shadow. Almost for reassurance. The moment he touched her she could relax again, breathe. She smiled at Joclyn and talked normally. She hugged Ginny often, going through the motions of being interested and excited by her chatter. She lavished attention on Tanya, but all the while she was intensely aware of Rafael. Waiting. Watching.

  Sean handed Rafael an envelope through the truck’s open window just before they left, promising Ginny they would return in a couple of days. Colby watched Rafael casually tuck it into his shirt pocket. She really looked at him then, allowing herself the luxury. His clothes were immaculate, despite the fact that he had been checking the burns on the horses in the corral and helping with the riding lesson. It seemed as if even the dirt and dust of the ranch didn’t dare cling to him the way it did everyone else. And he always smelled so good too.