by Grant, Donna
Mystery, sandalwood, sex, and power. It radiated from Cole as if he had bathed in it, and the more Shannon was around him the harder it was for her to walk away.
When his head lowered, tingles of excitement raced over her body. Her eyes lowered to his full lips, lips that she knew could kiss as fluently as he spoke. Her lips parted of their own accord, hoping, praying for his kiss.
Her eyes closed as he came closer, and her chest rose and fell rapidly as his heat engulfed her. When his cheek touched hers, she nearly melted on the spot, and it was only because he held her arms that she managed to stay upright.
“Stay alive,” he whispered in her ear, his warm breath sending chills of delight over her skin.
He pulled away, and Shannon instantly missed his scent and warmth. When she opened her eyes it was to find him staring at her. She realized he was waiting on a response. She opened her mouth, but her voice was lodged in her throat. A fool she was for thinking he might kiss her.
She cleared her throat. “I will,” she said and somehow managed to pull out of his grasp. She turned and headed toward the tavern, silently hoping he would stop her again and this time kiss her.
Yet, he didn’t. When she came to the door of the tavern, she glanced over her shoulder, but he was gone.
* * *
Cole fisted his hands at his sides as he watched Shannon enter the tavern. He shook with need and cursed himself for not kissing her when he’d had the chance. He had seen her parted lips, the desire in her eyes.
She was his for the taking. So why hadn’t he taken her?
She was different.
Cole closed his eyes and leaned against the building as he tried to gain control of his raging body.
“That’s something I don’t see every day.”
Cole grimaced when he heard Gabriel’s voice. He looked to his left and saw his friend beside him. “How much did you see?”
“Enough.”
Which meant all of it.
“Who is she?”
Cole shrugged. “I know her name is Shannon and she hasn’t been here long. Her speech is different, but she won’t tell me where she is from, just says it is far away.”
“Interesting. If I’m not mistaken, that’s the same girl we watched trying to escape earlier.”
“The
same.”
“Interesting.”
Cole ground his teeth. “Quit saying that.” Gabriel grinned and glanced in the tavern. “Well, it is interesting. I’ve watched you for many years around women. Always before they are attached and you aren’t.
Never have I seen what I saw just now.”
“Don’t,” Cole warned. He didn’t know what was going on, and he damn sure didn’t want Gabriel asking questions.
“Calm down, Coleman,” Gabriel warned in a low voice.
Cole squeezed his eyes shut.
A hand gripped his shoulder. “Get some rest,” Gabriel said. “We’ve a long day tomorrow.”
He opened his eyes and sighed. “I’ll meet you at the back of the tavern at dawn.” Gabriel said good-night and faded into the darkness. For long moments Cole watched Shannon as she cleaned. Part of him knew he should forget her, but another part of him couldn’t, especially not after he had made her that promise—a promise he would fulfill.
When he could stand it no longer, he walked to the back of the tavern and climbed up to his room. Though he crawled into bed and shut his eyes, he knew he would get little sleep. Not with images of Shannon in his head.
He could still smell her exotic scent, see her honey-brown eyes heavy-lidded with desire, her lips parted as she waited for his kiss. He could well imagine her full breasts in his hands and her sex clenching around him as he thrust into her.
And it drove him wild with need.
* * *
Shannon woke the next morning more tired than she had been in ages. Mostly it was due to the fact that her mind was full of Cole.
He was as mysterious a man as she would ever meet. A man that wouldn’t give her the time of day in her own time, but a man that had promised to free her before he left.
Free
her.
She sighed as she threw off the covers and climbed out of bed before Benton came in to get her. Her time for day dreaming ended the moment she arrived in this time.
Reality was a hard pill to swallow, but swallow it she must. After all, who would be looking for her in her own time?
Always she had been alone and that was how she would stay until she died. As she pulled on the simple gown given to her, she couldn’t help feeling that she wouldn’t be alive for much longer.
Someone had brought her here, but to what purpose. So far, she had learned nothing, and how could she when she was kept in this hell hole twenty-four hours a day.
With a vicious yank, she pulled the comb through her hair to work out the tangles that always managed to appear over night. Her hair was fortunately long enough that it was easy to pull it back in a loose bun with the pins provided her. It might not last through the day, but at least it would start that way.
Once her feet were in what sufficed for shoes, she opened the door and walked into the main room only to see…Cole. He stood leaning against the massive fireplace, his head down, with one hand on the stones and the other on his hip, as if he were deep in thought.
She drank in the site of his tall, muscled body, a body that men worked daily for but would never accomplish. His golden brown hair hung loose and wavy to his shoulder, begging her fingers to run through it.
Of a sudden, his head jerked up and he slowly turned to look at her. Shannon’s stomach fluttered before it dropped like lead to her feet. Neither made a move as they looked at each other across the room.
His gaze looked troubled. Shannon took a step toward him when Benton walked in front of her.
“Quit your dallying. There is work to be done,” he bellowed.
By the time he moved past her, Cole was gone. Shannon didn’t like the empty void that filled her, and she quickly shook her head to clear it of Cole.
Despite her attempts, Cole’s image stayed with her throughout the morning.
There had been something in his eyes, something that had alerted her, and she wanted to know what it was.
And so she began to plan.
Chapter Six
Cole made his feet leave the tavern. He had told himself not to wait around in the main room, but he had stayed, hoping to catch a glimpse of Shannon after a night full of dreams. Dreams of her dying…in his arms.
He had woken in a foul mood, a mood that would only dispel at seeing Shannon with his own eyes. Yet, his mood hadn’t lifted at seeing her, instead, it intensified. He needed to know answers about why she was here, why she was being held, but even he knew those would have to wait until he and Gabriel found the creature and destroyed it.
And Cole feared that by then, Shannon would be dead.
When he found Gabriel behind the building, he walked past his fellow Shield toward the castle. “Did you discover anything last night?” he asked.
“Good morn to you as well,” Gabriel said as he caught up with Cole. “Did you not sleep well?”
“Nay,” Cole murmured. “I didn’t.”
Gabriel’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. “Tell me.” Cole looked closely at his friend before raking a hand through his hair. “Dreams, Gabriel. I had dreams.” He thought his explanation would be enough, but he should have known Gabriel better than that.
“What kind of dreams?”
It was something in Gabriel’s voice that drew Cole’s attention. He watched Gabriel carefully as he said, “I see a women dying. In my arms.” Gabriel blanched, and Cole knew his dreams were more than mere dreams. He took a step toward Gabriel. “What do you know?” With a shake of his head, Gabriel turned away from him. “Those aren’t just any dreams. Heed me well, Cole. Pay close attention to them. Who was the woman?”
“Shannon.”
Gabriel whirled around, his silver eyes ablaze. “What is she to you?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
Gabriel watched Cole. As long as he had known him, Cole had never acted this way towards a woman. Women were women, meant to be loved, then left, yet this Shannon had him all but tied in knots. And as far as Gabriel knew, Cole hadn’t yet taken her to his bed.
“Listen to me carefully,” he said to gain Cole’s attention. “Go over those dreams one by one. There will be something in them that can help us.”
“Help us with what?”
“Save her. You were shown those dreams for a reason, Cole. We’re not just going to sit by and let her die when there is a way to save her.” Cole closed his eyes and lowered his head, but not before Gabriel saw the relief in them. He had no idea how much time they had to work with, and add to that finding out about the Viking that was here as well as discovering just where the creature was and how to kill it.
But he would do what he could to aid Cole since even a blind man could see how disturbed he was this morning. Though Gabriel wouldn’t admit it, he knew just what kind of dreams Cole was having. Yet they weren’t dreams, they were nightmares that had haunted Gabriel for years.
“Thank you,” Cole said as he raised his head.
Gabriel started towards the castle. “Don’t thank me yet.”
* * *
Cole wished the creature would show itself. Knowing what they were going up against would help alleviate some of his anxiety. He hated the waiting, especially when his mind was occupied with something else.
His hands itched to feel his weapon in them as he swung it at the creature. What would it be this time? Another gargoyle, a giant snake? A three headed dog?
Patience wasn’t a virtue given to him, and no amount of teaching from the Fae had ever lent him the ability to master it.
“We need to get into the castle,” Gabriel said as he watched more people stopped at the massive gate only to be turned away.
Cole chuckled and slapped him on the back. “Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
“You have an idea?” Gabriel’s eyes crinkled in the corners as he looked at Cole.
“I have an idea.”
* * *
Nearly three hours later, Cole and Gabriel walked solemnly toward the castle gate.
“I hope this works,” Gabriel hissed.
Cole sighed. “It will work. Have faith, my brother.”
“It
better.”
Cole kept his head bowed as they stopped in front of the guards.
“State
your
business,” the guard demanded.
“What do you think the business of a monk is, my son?” Cole asked.
The guard sneered and motioned to the men above him to open the gate. “A fat lot of good you monks do,” the guard murmured as they walked past him.
Cole and Gabriel walked through the gate as if they had all the time in the world.
Cole could literally feel Gabriel’s tension. They stopped once they reached the bailey and discreetly looked around from beneath the hoods of their cloaks.
“Where would you like to begin?” Cole asked.
“The
Viking.”
They smiled to each other and moved in the direction they had been the previous night. To their disappointment, there was nothing there for them to see.
But Cole wanted a closer look.
“Keep watch,” he said as he walked into the wooden building.
Whoever had built it had done it in a hurry. It was roughly put together, as if they didn’t expect to use it long. He studied the ground and saw it had all but been trampled.
Whoever had been in here had done much more pacing than what they had witnessed last eve.
His eyes scanned the area, searching for anything that might give him some clue about the Viking. He was just about to give up when he spotted what looked like claw marks in the wood. He ran his fingers along the marks, noting how long and wide they were.
He turned and walked back to the entrance.
“Find anything?” Gabriel asked.
“Aye. Claw marks.”
Gabriel thought that over for a moment before he said, “So, the creature is here.”
“Aye and he’s big. Those marks were twice the size of my hand,” Cole said and held up his large hand.
“A big one all right. So, he is like the gargoyle, only attacking at night?” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than a roar split the silence. Cole and Gabriel watched as the few people inside the castle walls hurried to safety.
“I would say, nay,” Cole said and scanned the bailey.
Gabriel threw him a look. “Where should we start?”
“I don’t think we should. Not yet.”
Gabriel’s black brow went up in question.
“Oh, we will hunt him, but I think we need more information. He hasn’t attacked yet. I want to see just what we’re dealing with.”
“You may be right. We know where he is and we know how to gain access to the castle if we need to return.”
“Exactly,” Cole said. “I say we return to the village and question more of the people. Someone will talk.”
“Good idea. I’m not comfortable in these monk’s robes.” Cole hid his grin as they walked back to the gate and toward the village. After the road turned that put the castle out of view, they ducked into the trees and made their way to the tavern. They threw off the monks’ cloaks, and Cole tossed his to Gabriel who would hide them for future use.
“All right,” Gabriel said as he adjusted his clothes. “Where do we start?”
“The
tavern.”
Cole knew Gabriel thought he wanted to return because of Shannon, and maybe part of him did, but the other part realized drunken men talked the easiest.
“I’ll go first,” was all Gabriel said.
Cole waited as long as he could before he followed Gabriel into the tavern. He spotted his friend sitting in a back corner near a group of men that were well into their cups.
He was making his way to the table he preferred when he spotted Shannon. She was being groped by a group of men that wanted more than food and drinks. Try as she might, she wasn’t able to get them to release her.
Without thinking, Cole realized he had moved towards her. He watched as she elbowed one man in the face when he latched onto her breast. He shoved her away from him while another man stuck out his foot and tripped her.
Cole saw her falling as if in slow motion and realized she would hit her head on the corner of a table. In two strides he was beside her, catching her before she could bang her head.
She looked up into his face, her eyes round with fear. He smiled, hoping it would help calm her.
“You caught me,” she whispered.
“I
did.”
For a long moment she simply stared at him, giving Cole time to memorize the feel of her warm, lithe body in his arms. Her full breasts were pressed against his chest and he wanted nothing more than to carry her up the stairs to his room and make slow, sweet love to her until she forgot about everything but him.
“Thank
you.”
Her words jerked him to the present, and he realized he needed to release her. He righted her and backed away with a nod.
He cursed himself as he made his way to his table after having drawn every eye in the tavern his way. With controlled movements, he pulled out the chair and slowly sank into it. He fisted his hands beneath the table wishing he had smashed his fist into the men who had dared to touch Shannon.
After a deep breath, he had steadied himself enough to rest his forearms on the table. He closed his eyes and opened his ears to hear snatches of conversations around him.
“…ever since she came ….”
“…gotten worse, I tell ye, and ‘tis goin’
to get even shoddier.”
“…too many strangers. Take them, I say, instead of the people that have made this village their home.”
“…she talks funny, too ….”
The smell of innocence, life, and freshness assaulted him. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know who it was beside him.
