by Connie Hall
So this was Daddy.
Chapter 4
Hannah wanted to reproach him for startling Mayhala, but the expression in his cold narrowed eyes stopped her. He looked like a black bear who’d just been awakened early from hibernation, irritated, threatening, and ready to end his hunger.
He was tall and lean, she noticed, with the same exotic sun-bronzed skin tone as his children. There was a penetrating gleam in his eyes, as if he could see right into a person’s most private places. His harsh expression tugged at the sharp planes of his ruggedly handsome face, softened only by a pair of wide sensual lips. A thick ponytail of jet-black hair fell past his sinewy shoulders and stopped at the middle of his back. If he’d been wearing buckskins, moccasins and a muzzle loader, he would have looked like a character right out of The Last of the Mohicans.
Something about him looked familiar, too. A memory flashed and she was seeing him in the headlights…the one who’d been stabbing that weird creature. It had all seemed so unreal and so far away. But this guy was definitely real. His authority and predatory air filled the room like a thundercloud, and the walls suddenly closed in around her.
To her dismay she realized she wasn’t wearing anything but an oversize T-shirt that barely covered her thighs. His? He’d undressed her. Oh, God! He had to have seen she glowed like white Christmas lights. The thought made blood rush to her cheeks, but she couldn’t feel the sting of it for the wired sensation chasing beneath her skin.
An overwhelming feeling of embarrassment gripped her and she wanted to throw back the covers and run. But all she could do was lie in this bed, avoiding his gaze, her fingers twisting the covers, her feet and toes twitching as she said, “She’s okay. We were just getting acquainted.”
“You have a concussion. She shouldn’t be in here.” He reached down and scooped up Mayhala.
The girl immediately went into a tantrum. “Noooooo! Daddeee. Stay! Feel ecktrick! Ecktrick!”
“You can visit later. Let’s go to Aunt Betsy’s now. You and Chogan can play with Travis and John.” He didn’t raise his voice and spoke calmly, yet assertively. His tone immediately quieted the kicking and screaming toddler and she seemed to accept her fate.
So Chogan was his son’s name and Betsy was his sister. Hannah wanted to ask him if Mayhala could stay here, but she didn’t dare draw attention to herself again. She couldn’t get that memory of his stabbing the beast out of her head, or the fact that she was lying practically naked in his bed and glowing like St. Elmo’s fire.
What must he think of her? Well, she wasn’t quite as bad as that thing he’d bludgeoned last night. No, as freaks of nature went, she didn’t think she was even close to whatever that was. So maybe he was used to the fantastic.
She watched him glide from the room. He had the proudest, most confident posture she’d ever seen on a man, his back board straight. His sinewy shoulders moved like well-oiled machines beneath his plaid flannel shirt. His thigh muscles rippled beneath tight black jeans. And his boots seemed to hardly touch the floor. Mohican hunter stealth all the way. He probably didn’t have any trouble tracking the creatures like the one she’d seen him stab.
He gave orders to someone named Tansy to take the children to Betsy’s house and let them eat dinner there. He said he’d pick them up in a couple of hours. Was Tansy the babysitter? Where was Mayhala’s and Chogan’s mother? Had she left him because he had a penchant for knives?
Hannah shivered at the thought and she couldn’t stop the fear from twisting her gut into knots. She also realized she had to get out of here. She tried to sit up, but the room wouldn’t stop spinning. She eased back down and squeezed her eyes closed, holding her hands tight to her sides so they’d stop moving.
Hannah heard Tansy’s flustered acknowledgment, then the children’s father admonishing them to be on their best behavior while he apparently put on their coats.
After a few minutes the front door banged shut.
She listened for his footsteps, but a pregnant silence had encompassed the house. Hannah heard her own pulse like Indy cars doing laps in her ears.
Why had he sent the children away? Was he searching for that big knife he’d been carrying last night? She gulped in panic and decided to give escape one more try. She threw back the covers.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a male voice said, the words laced with a deadly warning.
Chapter 5
She glanced up and saw him. The man entered a room like a ghost, appearing out of nowhere, bullying her with warnings. He rested a shoulder lazily against the door molding, his ankles crossed. The look in his topaz eyes as he gazed at her was razorlike. All he needed was a robe and vestments and he could have been a Grand Inquisitor right out of Joan of Arc’s torture chamber.
Too late she realized that her bare legs were exposed and the side of the T-shirt had ridden up past her crotch, giving him an x-rated light show. Faster than humanly possible for a wounded and glowing woman, she pulled the covers back up to her neck and wished he’d take his intimidating demeanor somewhere else.
“Don’t worry, I’ve seen it all before.” He sported a physician’s bored tone, though he wore the expression of a guy who’d purposely stepped into the women’s locker room and enjoyed the view.
Hannah felt her whole body blushing down to the roots of her hair as she said, “Then you’ve seen too much.”
“I make you nervous, don’t I?” He seemed to enjoy her discomfort as he straightened and approached her.
“No.” She found herself physically cringing.
He gazed down at her with those piercing eyes, not saying a word. They seemed to look right though her, not at her.
“Okay, you do make me nervous.” She decided to come clean. Maybe he’d stop looking at her like that.
No such luck. “I get the impression you don’t trust people, either, that you’ve probably shied away from them all your life, that you’re so uneasy right now you’re trembling.”
It disconcerted her that he could read her so well. How did he know being near others made her nervous, this handsome Daddy who’d taken it upon himself to undress her? She didn’t mind so much the undressing part as his seeing her abnormal skin, glimmering like one of those phosphorescent glow-in-the-dark necklaces, that mortified her.
Her fingers dug into the covers and she twisted them as she said, “You make a lot of assumptions.”
“You wouldn’t be so defensive if I hadn’t hit a nerve.”
“You expect me to trust somebody who does an excellent Van Helsing impression?”
“If you hadn’t been trespassing on private reservation property, Hannah, you wouldn’t have seen that.”
“How do you know my name?” She didn’t know his. That wasn’t fair.
“I got it from your registration and insurance card in your glove compartment. I also know you’re a web designer.”
Undressing her. Reading her private information. Making her run off the road. What else had he done? She couldn’t keep the annoyance from her voice as she asked, “How do you know that?”
He shrugged. “Took a guess. Seemed like a good profession for someone who’s leery of others, a loner, and—” teasing laughter filled his voice “—I found some computer software books in your trunk.”
Hannah couldn’t help but grin and it made her aware of her aching head. At least he had a sense of humor. She relaxed a little and said, “Since you know so much about me, mind telling me your name?”
“Aden Running Wolf.”
His name suited him, all right. “Well, Mr. Wolf, what was that thing you stabbed last night?”
“Call me Aden.” That sensual mouth twisted up in a hint of grin, which softened his eyes as he said, “One of the Wicked Ones. An eportachi demon. They lure humans to their deaths, then feed off them.”
“Eat them?” Fear caused the hairs at the back of her neck to stand up. She’d actually seen her first demon. All this was fantastical, and if she hadn’t lately bee
n exposed to weird supernatural experiences of her own and hadn’t seen the creature with her own eyes and felt its power, she would have had a hard time swallowing this. But she sensed he was being completely honest with her. “And you kill these things?” Either he had a death wish or he was a thrill seeker.
He nodded. “They particularly like female flesh. You should be glad I destroyed it. It had bewitched you.”
He’d spoken openly about destroying this demon, even sounded smug about it, as if fighting the powers of darkness was an everyday occurrence, like drinking water or taking a shower. What else did he kill? The possibilities sent a cold shudder through her and made her head ache even more as she asked, “You hunt those things often?”
“When I can pick up their trail.” He paused near the bed, towering over her.
“What kept you from being killed?”
“I’m good at demon hunting.” He wasn’t bragging, merely stating a fact.
So she was stuck in the bed of a ruthless demon hunter and utterly at his mercy? She closed her eyes and felt her head circling opposite the earth’s rotation.
He said, “You need to rest. I’ll leave you, but don’t worry, you’ll be safe here.”
If I’m not a demon. What was she turning into? Devil? Angel? Creature from the Black Lagoon? Would he hunt her one day? She had to find her mother to find out who and what she was—if she was even human. She didn’t ponder this thought long, however, for her head pounded and her eyelids suddenly felt weighted and she couldn’t keep them open any longer no matter how hard she struggled. Then her dizziness disappeared into darkness.
Aden stood staring down at Hannah. What manner of creature was she? Since he felt white magic vibes from her, he’d determined she couldn’t be much of a threat. So why was being near her so damn intoxicating?
Thoughts of her had besieged him since he’d found her. Last night he’d had to bandage her wounds, then undress her. As much as he had wanted to ignore her body, he’d found himself as physically drawn to her as his daughter had been. Hannah’s skin “fizzed,” as Mayhala had called it. Fizz hadn’t come close to the magical allure of Hannah’s body. No wonder his daughter wanted to touch her. Lucky Mayhala.
Where had that come from? He shook the thought away. But he couldn’t get the image of Hannah out of his mind, and it kept running, full feature, the long slender legs, thin waist, well-formed breasts, long silken hair.
He reached down to touch that hair, but he pulled back at the last moment and forced himself to leave the room. He shouldn’t want to touch another woman not while he still loved Linda.
The emptiness of the house strummed against his ears as he strode into the living room and flopped onto the couch. He hated the silence when the kids were gone. That was when memories of Linda’s voice and laughter haunted him, and he felt her loss and his loneliness the most. Right now, all he felt was Hannah’s presence in the house, only a hallway separating them.
He remembered last night, taking her car registration and insurance cards to Akando, his brother, to read. What a chore. Akando kept quizzing him about where he’d gotten the cards. Aden had lied and said he’d found them in Food Lion’s parking lot and wanted to mail them back to their owner. He hadn’t felt like explaining to his brother about his houseguest. Once one of his siblings knew, the gossip would spread between the twelve of them like a grass fire. He didn’t want them knocking down his door or voicing their optimistic opinions and suppositions about a woman being in his house. His sisters had tried for a year to fix him up with someone and he’d always refused. Why go there when he was still in love with Linda?
Strange, Linda hadn’t been in his thoughts since he’d brought Hannah home. He felt a stab of shame now. Why hadn’t he thought of his wife? Her memory and the guilt of having caused her death had plagued him for two years. But he’d found a reprieve with Hannah. And if he was honest with himself it had felt good to be free from the burden, even for a few hours, because you can only torment yourself so much.
And no matter how devoted he was to Linda’s memory, he couldn’t have just left Hannah in her mangled car. When he had first found her, he had wanted to take her to the hospital. But he quickly realized that with the mesmerizing white magic emanating from her, such a plan was a mistake. He also knew she would eventually wake up and be disoriented and afraid, and he had wanted to be there for her. Furthermore, he didn’t know how she’d react to seeing the demon or his killing it. Other than showing the expected fear, she seemed oddly accepting and resigned to what had happened. He was satisfied she would keep his secret, and if she didn’t he would have to find a way to get his answer….
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Chapter 6
Hannah awoke with a start. For a moment she couldn’t remember where she was, but then she saw Aden sitting in a chair by her bed. He was stretched out, ankles crossed, fingers clasped over his flat belly. Worn jeans accentuated his corded thighs and a blue flannel shirt covered his lean torso. His broad chest moved up and down in a gentle rhythm. His eyes were closed, she noticed, and a five-o’clock shadow darkened his chin. A light burned on the bedside table and his hair was so black it gleamed blue in the light. A man didn’t have a right to be so handsome, and she found her heart pounding. Had he stayed by her side the whole time? She’d never had anyone be that concerned about her welfare. It felt both odd and gratifying at the same time.
As if he sensed she’d roused, he opened his eyes and said, “You’re awake.”
“Yes,” she said, her voice unsteady. Everything in her felt tremulous around him.
“Feel better?”
“My head feels like it might stay attached to my neck.”
“It’ll take a while for the effects of the concussion to settle down.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“About eight hours. It’s 2 a.m.”
“And you’ve sat here all this time.
He nodded, yawned and stretched. “Had nothing else to do.”
He sounded casual about it, but he had stayed with her. That meant a lot to her. She felt a little catch in her throat as she said, “What about the kids?”
“They spent the night at my sister’s. Mayhala pitched a fit to see you, but she’ll get over it.”
“She’s a darling child. You’re lucky to have both of them.”
“I know,” he said, fairly glowing with pride. His grin widened and it transformed his face. He appeared more handsome, if that was possible, not fatherly at all. More like Mr. December in a hunk calendar.
She fought a desire to touch his hair. It was incredibly long and thick and ripe for running her fingers through it. “So when you’re not demon hunting and being a father, what do you do?”
“I used to be a holistic veterinarian.”
“Acupuncture and all that?” she said, impressed.
He nodded, his expression remote.
“Does it work?” she asked skeptically.
“Absolutely.”
“You still practicing?”
“No, after my wife died…” He faltered, pain etching tiny lines near the corners of his eyes. He recouped his sangfroid and quickly added, “You could just say I’m retired.”
Hannah wanted to question him about his wife, but she could see the topic caused him pain, so she let it slide.
He leaned back in the chair, steepling his long fingers together, and she noticed he was distracted by something. His brows narrowed in worry as he said, “I have to tell you something about your car. It’s totaled.” He shook his head and sympathy flashed in his eyes.
“What next?” She gazed up at the ceiling and rolled her eyes. The movement made her temple throb. She rubbed her hands together and couldn’t still them.
“I had it towed to a local junk yard.”
The thought of her beautiful new Fit in a junk yard made her moan in agony. For five years she’d saved to pay for that car. She probably should have sounded more appreciative, but techni
cally he had caused her accident. You don’t thank someone for throwing a brick through your window, or trampling your flower bed, or having rotten timing for killing demons on dark country roads.
Hannah watched his gaze trace the length of her body beneath the covers. She suddenly grew self-conscious and horribly aware she was in his bed and he sat inches away from her, a sexy wall of masculinity. And good grief, she couldn’t forget he had undressed her. Probably seen every inch of her creepy transformation. What must he think?
“I’ll make arrangements to leave.” She tried to sit up.
He reached out and pushed her back down. “No, you won’t. You’re not leaving here until I know you’re completely well.” His eyes held firm resolve.
It felt nice that he was so concerned about her. He seemed so distant and hard on the outside, but was obviously caring and sensitive on the inside. She couldn’t stay angry at him for causing her accident.
“So what brought you here to the reservation?” He lapsed into silence, his air of patience one that most men didn’t possess. He seemed content to wait until she was ready to speak.
Hannah paused. Could she trust him? Who else did she have to trust? And he might know her mother. “Cara Harris,” she said, “My mother.”
His eyes narrowed as the name registered in his expression. He looked deep in thought for a moment, then he said, “You’re just searching for her now?” Doubt raised one of his dark brows.
“Yeah, well, I’m desperate.” Hannah heard the resentment in her voice. She had never been able to forgive her mother for giving her up, but she understood why Cara had done it. Hannah wasn’t normal and her mother must have known that. Why deal with a problem child when you can leave them on the state’s doorstep? “Do you know her? It’s imperative I speak to her.”
His handsome face looked torn for a moment, then he leaned forward and clasped her hand. A frown pulled at his brow as he gazed down at her fingers.
