Out of the Light, Into the Shadows

by Lori Foster

  Was he smelling her?

  For only a moment, his eyes closed.

  Her chest ached from holding her breath and fighting off the urge to scream.

  Amos didn’t move his hands; he kept them relaxed, one at his side, the other curved over his injury. But somehow his thighs now caged her in. The scent of blood and danger clung to him—

  “What the fuck?” Brax dropped the med kit on the table with a clatter. With an arm wrapped around her waist, he snatched her back. Glaring at her, he said, “Make some more coffee, will you?”

  Now that she was freed from Amos’s mystical shackle, her umbrage exploded. Brax wanted to chastise her? Of all the …

  Cameo folded her arms. “No, I will not make coffee, and don’t you dare use that tone with me. If you’ll recall, I don’t work for you anymore.”

  Brax had turned to his uncle, but with her antagonistic gauntlet thrown out there, he slowly pivoted back around to her.

  A strange foreboding came over Cameo. But damn him, she would not cower in his presence.

  Incredulous, indignant, Brax stared down at her through eyes gone molten. One eyelid twitched. A muscle in his jaw tightened.

  Admittedly, it unnerved her to have two powerful, enormous men scrutinizing her in such minute detail, but she didn’t want them to know it so she didn’t retreat.

  Pointing a finger at Amos, she said, “He started it, and all I did was wait him out.”

  Brax’s jaw hardened more. Through his teeth, he said, “I know what he did, Cameo. Given who he is and how you fawned over him, it’s understandable.”

  Her shoulders snapped back. She was so … well, hell, she was hurt. She’d expected Brax’s trust, his defense, and instead he continued to accuse her. Regardless of his strange powers or special gifts, she would not be anyone’s doormat.

  No matter if she already loved him.

  Her smile wouldn’t fool anyone, but Cameo donned it anyway. “I see. Well, I’m glad that was all made so clear to me. I’ll leave now so that I don’t accidentally fawn over anyone here again.”

  Neither man moved.

  Had she really expected him to apologize and beg her to stay? Yes. She’d been a fool.

  Cameo forced her chin up a notch. “Good-bye, Brax. I’m certainly glad we were able to clear up so many things so thoroughly.”

  It would have been a good parting shot if both men hadn’t spoken at the same time.

  Amos said, “Leaving isn’t an option, sweetness, not anymore.”

  At the same time Brax said, “Forget that, Cameo. You’re not going anywhere.”

  One look at their hard-hearted expressions, and Cameo knew they meant what they said. They intended to keep her here—one way or another.

  So okay, maybe she wasn’t able to fend off the panic after all.

  THREE

  BRAX put her in a chair. Literally.

  He wanted to apologize, to explain, but first he had to attend to his uncle. Amos might be blowing off the severity of the injuries, but he’d had enough of his own to gauge the damage and the pain involved.

  He hadn’t seen Amos in almost five years. That he’d shown up now screamed imminent danger.

  In a rightful snit, Cameo wanted to leave. After regaining her courage, she started to rebound from the chair. Brax restrained her with a swift, almost negligent thought.

  Yes, she had the ability to fend off his influence in some instances. But not where it concerned her safety.

  Wincing as he examined his uncle’s injury more closely, he said to Cameo, “Try to relax, honey. You’ll be more comfortable if you’re not fighting so hard.”

  A low growl and renewed struggle were her only responses.

  Brax sighed. “Let me take care of Amos and then I can explain everything to you. Trust me. Everything will be okay.”

  Pride brought about her complacency, but he sensed the turmoil boiling inside her.

  Even under his physical persuasion, her thoughts remained clear and concise. “You’re not a dummy, Brax. You know that you just shot a million holes through any type of trust.”

  True enough. It’d be like starting over, except … well, Cameo was smart. So far she’d shown more tolerance and acceptance than he’d ever dared hope for. When he told her of the necessities—

  “She’s not going anywhere, boy. You’ve seen to that. Do I really need to bleed to death while you ruminate over soothing her?”

  As Amos spoke, his gaze bored holes through Cameo. Brax understood because his initial reaction to her had been the same, and it had only grown stronger through the years. She alternately fascinated and entranced with her candor, openness, and independence.

  Cameo always presented herself without artifice. What you saw was the real deal.

  He’d gone through a five-year process of observing her idiosyncrasies, learning the level of her compassion and intelligence, growing closer to her.

  And in that time his desire for her became inexorable: He had to have her.

  So yes, he understood the depths of Amos’s curiosity.

  But his uncle’s blunt apperception didn’t help alleviate Cameo’s growing distress. Not that Amos would care about Cameo’s finer sensibilities. He’d stopped caring a long time ago. His lack of deference to females was in part why he’d retreated from the world.

  Amos couldn’t deny his heritage, but neither could he find the right woman to help soften the ever-corroding edges of his domestication.

  It was safest for Amos, and everyone else, if he kept to the outskirts of mainstream society.

  Only his uncle Torne was more savage. And no one had seen Torne in a decade.

  Aware of Cameo’s unwavering attention on him, burning his flesh, pricking his conscience, Brax threaded a needle.

  “I’ve chosen her,” he said to his uncle while intending for Cameo to hear, too. “She’s mine now.”

  “You think I didn’t know that?” Amos’s gaze flickered over Cameo in that unsettled way of his. “You really put her through her paces first, didn’t you? It’s a wonder she can sit upright.”

  The sound of Cameo’s gasp rebounded in the stainless steel kitchen.

  “Don’t sound so scandalized, honey.” Though his uncle’s sensual observation pricked his covetous instincts, Brax bent to the task of mending his flesh. “He didn’t see anything.”

  Being contrary, Amos said, “I see plenty, if not firsthand then secondhand.”

  Brax scowled at his uncle, then glanced at Cameo. The color in her face told him he had better explain. She was such a refined, private woman that having her sexuality out there on display would cause her to withdraw from him more than anger or indignation ever could. “After a time, as we age—”

  “By we, you mean your family?”

  “The males of my family, yes.” Brax possessed capable medical skills, but his uncle’s injuries worried him. He’d lost a lot of blood. “As we age, our other senses become heightened, almost extreme. Sometimes even painful. You’d be surprised to learn—” He paused on that thought and took a moment to glance at her with speculation. “Or maybe not. You’ve been refreshingly open-minded so far.”

  The compliment didn’t soften her one iota. “My open mind is closing fast, so I suggest you finish this fascinating tale.”

  Hiding a spontaneous grin, Brax went back to stitching. Though the needle pierced Amos’s ravaged flesh again and again, he never made a sound. “There is a lot that can be deciphered through scent and taste.” Another glance showed hot color washing her face and neck.

  “He did not taste me.”

  Again Amos flickered—and almost smiled.

  “I’d have already killed him if he had.” Family or not, no one touched what was his. And Cameo, regardless of her acceptance of the fact, was his.

  Cameo pulled back in apprehension over such a dire statement.

  Amos continued to study her, no doubt absorbing her reaction to the implied threat. He understood Brax’s perspective, and if Amo
s ever found the right woman for himself, he’d feel the same.

  “My point is that arousal leaves a distinctive scent clinging to a woman’s body.” Thinking about it heated Brax anew. Cameo might have been satisfied, but he remained on a razor’s edge of need. “I kept you at the heights of stimulation for an extended period. Not that the length of time matters. Anytime you’re aroused, the males of my family will know it.” He paused to give her a level look. “And when with me, you’ll usually be aroused.”

  “Then my answer is no!”

  Lacking any real apology, Brax said, “I’m sorry but it’s too late for that. I want you too much to give you up.”

  “Ohhh … just … shut up, Brax!” Breath strangled in Cameo’s throat as her color deepened more. “Not another word from you. I mean it.”

  Brax couldn’t say the exact emotion evoked by her impudent commands, but whatever it was, it pushed him to assert his claim completely, and soon. When he made her his in every way, she would learn the proper way to deal with him.

  It might take an all-day session of lovemaking, but then he could explain to her that no one spoke to him in that tone or dared to order him about, not even the elders. People unrelated to him sensed that much just by his presence.

  And yet, while held immobile by the sheer strength of his will, Cameo dared much.

  Her gumption proved a trust she might deny. She understood his capabilities, so if she truly feared him, she would be smart enough to hold her tongue.

  Knowing that, despite everything, she still felt safe with him reassured Brax that he’d made the right choice. He would never hurt her, or allow harm to come to her, and she instinctively knew that.

  It would take a confident woman to match him, and Cameo’s strength was an asset. She only needed to temper it with him.

  But then, her demure attitude on all things carnal also added to her allure. That she saved all her fire and passion for him stirred his primitive nature.

  “And you,” she said, redirecting her venom to Amos. “You can just put away your lethal stares and unspoken innuendo. I don’t like it. I don’t like you.”

  “And yet,” Amos said, “you would have tended my wounds.”

  Most of her body remained still, but not that stubborn chin. She lifted it in challenge. “I’m not inhuman. I wouldn’t watch you or anyone else bleed to death.”

  “Intriguing.”

  “Isn’t it?” Brax saw Cameo’s confusion and decided to elucidate. “It was your complete disregard of Amos’s demeanor that enthralled him. Even though you felt threatened and afraid, you fawned over his injuries.”

  Amos’s gaze moved over her. “It’s unheard of for a woman to approach me without invitation.”

  Cameo’s expression did not bode well for understanding. “I approached you only to help, not for any other reason.”

  Stubborn woman. “Cameo, I know you weren’t coming on to him, and Amos wasn’t coming on to you.” He looked at Amos and, with steel in his tone, said, “Were you?”

  “I have no use for women.”

  Right on cue, Cameo said, “Huh. And here Brax has so many uses for them.”

  Deciding he’d do better to smooth things with Cameo after he had her alone, Brax asked his uncle, “How long will you be here?”

  “I need new weapons and tech. Then I’ll leave.”

  Thinking of the severity of his injuries, Brax shook his head. “You should at least eat and get some sleep, maybe leave in the morning.”

  “The woman has distracted your judgment.”

  “The woman,” Cameo said, “has a name.”

  Ignoring her, Amos finally turned all his attention on Brax. “There’s no time for resting when innocents are at stake. The wound is fresh.”

  “Well, of course it is,” Cameo said. “What’s significant in that?”

  Brax sat back on his heels. “It means that the one who attacked him is in the vicinity.”

  One corner of Amos’s mouth tipped. It was the closest he ever got to a smile these days, and it wasn’t pleasant or reassuring. “I can almost feel his breath on the back of my neck. I don’t want to lose my focus on him.”

  Finished with cleaning and stitching the wound, Brax added antibiotic ointment and gauze. He stood. “I’ll get you what you need.”

  “I have a question.”

  They both looked at Cameo, Brax curious as to her query, and Amos with impatience.

  “If you knew trouble followed you, why did you come here?” Her baby-blue eyes never wavered from Amos’s toxic stare. “Why run the risk of getting Brax hurt, too?”

  Brax held up a hand before Amos could speak. “She doesn’t yet realize what an insult that is.”

  “Amos got hurt,” she pointed out with a shrug in her tone. “Are you claiming you’re better at this than he is?”

  Temper fraying, Brax fought for a moderate tone. “I’m saying that a paltry wound would be no reason to avoid conflict.”

  Amos slowly stood. “I didn’t know Brax had a female of importance here.”

  Cameo’s brows lifted. “So there’s another kind of female?”

  “Yes.” His level stare withered her bravado. “There’s the kind that doesn’t distract him.” And then to Brax, he said, “Handle your woman.”

  With a nod, Brax freed Cameo from the cerebral tethers—and barely caught her swinging palm before it made solid contact with his face.

  God Almighty, but she must have been exerting a lot of energy to do that, to move as quickly as she had the moment she regained free use of her limbs.

  Disapproving, Amos watched while Brax struggled to physically control her without hurting her. She fought in enraged silence without concern for injuring herself, her movements fast and frenetic. Her bones were so fragile and her muscles so slight that Brax knew inadvertent harm could easily befall her.

  Before that could happen, he caught her up close, slamming her back to his chest. He trapped her by wrapping both arms around her, pinning her arms down, and hugging her body tightly to his.

  She still said nothing, but fury hummed in every line of her petite body. She had to know it was useless, that his strength far exceeded hers, but still she fought him, laboring against his hold.

  “Settle down now,” Brax soothed.

  “Go to hell.”

  Damn, he hadn’t expected a physical confrontation from any woman, much less this woman. That his uncle witnessed it all didn’t help. “This is absurd, Cameo.”

  “I told you I didn’t want you to do that to me without my permission. I was very clear.”

  “I thought you only meant sexually—”

  Her renewed struggle cut off that explanation. “Can’t we agree to conversation instead of battle?” he asked.

  She twisted again. “Since you don’t respect my wishes, I can agree to leave and never see you again.”

  The mere suggestion of such a thing obliterated Brax’s more civilized temperament. He tightened his hold until she had no choice but to still completely. His mouth touched her ear as he breathed, “Unacceptable.”

  Playing mediator, Amos moved to stand right in front of her. “Understand, Cameo, he held you here because it’s dangerous for you now, too. The man I’m chasing is a fan of sexual slavery. I found his hideout, a half-buried shack at the back of abandoned property. At the time he kept three women captive there.” He touched Cameo’s chin. “They were not faring well under his attention.”

  A new anxiety stiffened her spine. She stopped fighting. “Sexual slavery?”

  “He had them chained at the ankles with heavy, rusted shackles. They were naked, dirty, hungry, and … marked.”

  Silence ticked by until Cameo whispered, “Marked?”

  “Branded.” Amos slashed a hand through the air. “He treated them worse than animals. They’d been used piteously, repeatedly. His appetites are not … normal.”

  Cameo’s breath turned shallow and fast.

  “Other than a dirty mattress on the fl
oor, they had nothing. Their surroundings were wretched. I was deciding how best to free them when I was attacked from behind.” He touched the back of his head. “A woman bludgeoned me with a shovel, knocking me down and stunning me.”

  “You hadn’t sensed her approach?” Brax asked.

  “I was concentrating on him.” His mouth quirked. “I wanted the bastard decimated.”

  A fine trembling of fear replaced Cameo’s fury.

  “Luckily,” Amos continued, “the bitch’s loud screeching helped me recover my wits just as she struck with her knife. It was meant for my throat, but I leaped up and back, and she caught my midsection instead.”

  Horror widened Cameo’s eyes and made her body go limp. “You could have been killed.”

  Instead of restricting now, Brax offered comfort. She pressed back closer to him, thrilling him, reassuring him that somehow they’d work through the difficulties.

  Loosening his hold so that he could stroke her arm, he bent down and pressed a kiss to her temple.

  “I believe the woman was his wife, and that she’s working with him in his twisted sex torture.” Amos’s scowl darkened with disgust. “That somehow makes it sicker, right?”

  “Very sick.”

  “The cretin broke from my spell when he heard her yells. He withdrew a gun. I was already bleeding like a slaughtered pig, so I made my way back to my car.”

  “You don’t have the same level of talent as Brax?”

  “He does,” Brax said, fascinated by the way Amos now related to Cameo. His uncle rarely spoke with women anymore, and never would he explain himself to a female. But her easy acceptance of the unbelievable went a long way toward earning trust. “His talent is more refined than mine.”

  “I’ve been at it a few years longer.” Amos searched Cameo’s face, and Brax saw the moment that she drew him in.

  He opened completely to her.

  “I could have stayed and finished him off, but it’s difficult to concentrate on two people at once, especially when injured. One of them at a time would have been no problem at all.”

  “Or both of them, if he hadn’t lost so much blood.” Unable to resist, Brax smoothed back Cameo’s hair. He loved touching her. Soon, he’d touch her everywhere. To Amos, he asked, “What do you want to do now?”