by Aliyah Burke
“Now, I feel one hundred percent,” he uttered softly although his tone was lined with conviction.
“Hu…hungry?” she managed to stutter.
Dane raked his gaze over her, loving the shivers she couldn’t successfully keep from him. “Starved.”
Aida took Dane’s dry clothes off the line. Her body blazed for him hotter than anything. Running her hands over the well worn denim, she sighed.
“What are you doing here, Dane Sidorov? And how is it you showed up in handcuffs?”
Casting a glance to the house behind her, she sighed again. At the moment, Dane lay, injuries tended to, sleeping in there. Naked. Aida whimpered, and her hands shook. Her mouth grew dry at the memory of what they shared. Never had a guy made her feel more satisfied. Ever.
“Get a grip, Aida,” she admonished herself.
Going back inside, she placed his folded clothes on a chair in the room he slept in. Dane lay sprawled on his back, the sheet barely at his waist, one leg free and clear of the white cotton, allowing her one mouthwatering look at the rippling and powerful muscles he had poured under the golden skin. His black hair was tousled but his expression seemed almost peaceful. Lust and desire slammed into her, and she found herself walking toward him before she managed to tear herself from the room.
Aida changed and headed to the front door, both dogs rising to meet her. Taking a knee, she took hold of Ruger’s head and stared into his eyes. “I have a bigger job for you right now, Ruger. I need you to stay here and keep Dane safe.” Her scarred boy glanced back to the doorway, leading to Dane’s room and back at her. “Please, Ruger.” He turned and lay down before the door to the dark room. “That’s my good boy. Guard well.”
He lay his large head down on his paws, eyes holding hers, then Aida left with Kamau. Closing the front door behind her, she saw Kees riding up.
“Morning, Aida.”
“Morning, Kees.” She took the reins of the horse he’d been leading and easily swung up in the saddle. “How are you?”
“Good, good. Where’s Ruger?”
Gesturing back at the house, she lifted a shoulder. “Leaving him home today.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yes. Just a precaution.” She didn’t want to tell him about Dane being there. Leastwise not until she leaned a bit more about what happened to him and why he’d showed up as he did. Talk about putting a wrench in my plans for the day. It had been one hell of a shock to open the door to him this morning.
He grinned and said, “Let’s ride.”
With Kamau easily keeping pace, they rode off. It was late afternoon when she returned. Hot, sweaty, dirty, and tired. Kamau ran for the water and shade, tongue lolling. Dismounting, Aida removed her hat and smacked it on her leg, sending a cloud of dust up around her.
“Thanks for coming along, Aida.”
“No problem, Kees. Glad to help. Come get some water before you go.” She pumped some water into a pail and gave a bit to each horse, then she held the bucket up to Kees. He took off his hat, filled it with water and flipped it back on his head. The droplets rolled down his dark skin.
“God, that feels good,” he said with a grin.
She laughed and waved as he rode off, the bucket in her other hand. “Come on, Kamau, let’s get inside.” Placing the bucket down, she headed for the house. Aida opened the door and found Dane sitting shirtless in her living room, a scowl on his face. “Hey,” she said, trying unsuccessfully to ignore his chiseled chest. Ruger came to her, and she rubbed his head affectionately. “Missed you, boy.” She placed a kiss to his broad head. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Where were you?”
Aida raised a brow at the anger in his tone. “Out. I need to get cleaned up. Then I’ll fix some food.”
She walked to her bedroom, tossed her hat on a chair, and toed off her boots. Aida had just undone the button on her jeans when she felt Dane’s eyes on her. Turning slowly, she came face to face with Dane who lounged in her doorway.
“Yes?” she asked, yanking her shirt free from her pants.
“Where?”
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Aida sighed. “Dane, I’m really looking forward to my shower. Can we do this later?” She faced away from him.
“No,” he whispered in her ear. She jumped in surprise of having him so close.
He placed his hands at the curve of her waist and pressed into her. Shivers shot through her, and her pussy creamed.
“Just because you showed up out of the blue outside my house this morning didn’t mean I would cancel my plans.”
Dane began to pull up her shirt, and she stepped forward out of his grasp. Without looking at him, Aida went to the bathroom and got into the shower after removing the rest of her clothes. Her body was killing her. It felt hypersensitive, and she couldn’t stop the mental replay of Dane’s hands in place of hers on her skin. With a frustrated whimper, she got out and dried off.
“Shit. I have no clean clothes in here,” she muttered right before a stack of clothes on the closed commode caught her gaze.
Despite her confusion on how he managed to put them there without her knowing, Aida still smiled. Until she realized what he had put there. With a groan, she lifted up her black and white pleated plaid mini crinkle skirt and slid it on. Then she tugged on the pale pink tank top.
With a big sigh at her reflection, Aida stepped out of the bathroom and froze. The smell of cooking food reached her. Heading for the kitchen, she found Dane, still shirtless, chopping vegetables. She could smell the steak frying.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“I’m cooking. This way you can tell me what you did today.”
“How about instead you tell me how you ended up showing up at my door in handcuffs.”
“And if I tell you, you’ll tell me where you were?” He speared her with his stare. It heated up as he dropped his gaze down and moved it slowly back up her body. “Nice,” he said with a wink.
She wanted to preen at his words. As it was, her body temperature skyrocketed a few hundred degrees. There existed something sinfully sexy about wearing clothing he’d picked out for her. “Yes, I’ll tell you.”
Dane lifted the cutting board and scraped the veggies in the skillet, covered them and readjusted the heat. She watched him take a drink of water and clean up the counter area. Swallowing, Aida walked to him. Her body rippled with heightened awareness the nearer to him she got. Without hesitation, she touched his arm and turned him toward her. His incredible eyes stared at her. They were haunted, and no matter how he tried, Dane couldn’t hide that from her. And him being in pain of any kind tore at her gut.
“Tell me, Dane. Let me help you.”
He reached out and stroked his thumb along her cheek. “You were right when you pegged me for military. I am active duty. Special Forces.”
Aida heard no male arrogance in his tone. This was not about impressing her. She lifted herself up onto the counter and said, “Go on.”
“My unit was sent to Siberia to…to… Anyway, it all went to hell. We were betrayed, and everyone was killed.”
She wanted to reach out to him, comfort him. She didn’t, realizing that wouldn’t be the best course of action for the moment. “Except for you.”
“Except for me.” Anger and pain flared in his eyes. “And the traitor.”
She gasped. “He was one of your own?”
“Unit commander.”
Aida felt her gut churn.
“I left Siberia and came here, just to Africa first then to South Africa, to heal. I did and called back there to let them know I was alive. General Herbert came to get me.”
“You mean apprehended you,” she ground out.
Dane checked the stuff cooking. “Yes. I escaped going from the containment cell to the transport. That’s why I was in cuffs.” He moved to stand before her. “Now, I’m going after the traitor.”
Aida fought back a shiver at the deadly edge to both his tone and gaze. T
his is not a Dane Sidorov I would like to face. “Why did you come here instead of going home to heal?” she asked, looking over the faded scars on his torso. “Why not seek out your family?”
“At the time, my first priority was protecting them.”
Aida knew there was more to it than that. “And now?”
“You are my first priority.”
She arched a brow, unable to hide her shock. “Me? Why exactly?”
Dane went back to the stove and checked the food. “Because we belong together, solnyshko moyo.”
Had she not already been seated, Aida would have collapsed. The words were spoken in such a straightforward manner it was like he truly believed them. She closed her eyes and struggled for a few seconds to regain some control. He stared at her when she opened them again.
“I fully believe my words, Aida. It’s the truth. We belong together.” He dished up a plate of food for each of them. “Come eat.”
Remaining on the counter, she turned her head to watch him. He looked at her, causing her belly to flip a few times. Dane arched one black brow and pulled out a chair before looking pointedly between it and her. Aida obediently slid off the counter and walked to him, allowing him to seat her.
“No more questions, Aida?” he asked sitting across from her.
“Oh, I have plenty more, but…not really sure I want to know the answers.”
“Then tell me where you were today.”
“Out with Kees.” She could feel his body tense immediately. “We had some branding to do.” Dane stabbed a piece of steak and ate it. She held his gaze calmly before asking one of her own. “Does your family know you’re alive?” He remained silent. “Dane?” She pointed her fork at him. “You need to tell them.”
He sighed. “Okay.”
Aida frowned. “Okay? Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“Are you worried they may be in danger?”
“No, my family is…very capable of protecting themselves.”
“Then what is it?” Aida drummed her fingers on the table. “What gives, Dane? I have a right to know since I’m in this with you.”
“I would never let anyone hurt you,” he said on a low timbre. A sound which brought her boys to full alertness.
His protectiveness warmed her deep in her body. “Not what I meant. I’m harboring a wanted man, if I’m to believe what you’ve told me, which given the handcuffs I’m inclined to do. I’d really like as few more surprises as possible. So do you want me to pass along a message to them?”
“I don’t want them to get involved.”
But involving me was no problem? Not sure how I feel about that. “I see.” Aida focused on her food.
“Look at me, Aida.”
She refused, instead keeping her gaze on her plate. Her breath hitched when she heard a chair slide back across the floor. In her peripheral vision, Aida saw him crouch down beside her.
“Aida,” he murmured. Dane moved her head so he could see her eyes. “Don’t think for one second I value your life less than theirs and that’s why I’m willing to involve you and not them. Your life is the most important thing to me. My family can be…difficult at times for me to deal with.”
The stark honesty in his words made her shiver slightly. Never had a man said such things to her before, let alone with such conviction. “I don’t understand you, Dane.”
He sighed. “What can I explain better?”
Everything! Aida realized something in that moment. He must truly believe what he said for he didn’t seem like a man who shared much. Getting to her feet, Aida walked outside to her hammock and sat in it, needing a minute to compose herself. Do I really want to go down this path? I feel already like my life has changed just from my first meeting of him.
A large shadow blocked the evening sun, and she looked up to see Dane. She sat up. Aida worried her lower lip when he sat beside her in the hammock. He lay back and drew her down beside him. Her cheek rested on his shoulder, and her hand settled familiarly on the warm skin of his naked chest. She took a deep breath as contentment flowed over her.
“Tell me how I can explain it better, Aida.”
Start from the beginning and use smaller words, maybe. I haven’t a clue, none of it makes sense to me. “I don’t understand why you think I can help.”
“You keep me grounded, Aida. I don’t fear losing myself with you near.” His fingers lightly skimmed her shoulder. “I didn’t lie when said I was a simple man, Aida. But at the same time, I am also a complex one. Putting forth many personas. I don’t want my family to see me until I get through them to the brother they know and trust. Does that make sense?”
“Yes. In an odd way, it does.” And it did. Sounded like he had lost who he truly was somewhere along the way. “So what kind of man are you really, Dane?”
“Quiet. Reserved. I love building things. I play the piano. I love the wide open spaces nature has.”
She could feel the honest warm emotion when he spoke of these things. The small smile on her face faltered when she realized something. “Your family sees you differently?”
Chapter Six
Dane stared down at the woman lying in his arms and thought about her question. Yes, they saw him differently. For a long time, people assumed he was one of the more easygoing of all the Sidorov siblings. So not true. He’d become so guarded, even his family wasn’t privy to the real him anymore, and when you’ve been around as long as he had, some things, some mannerisms were forgotten. And, part of the time, he felt they believed he should be home more. Not away from Savoy.
“It has been so long since I have truly been myself around them, I think they have forgotten. They act as if I am fun, outgoing when in truth, I am the quietest of us all.” He paused because for all he knew they could have changed too. “Or at least I used to be.”
Although since meeting you, Aida, I smile so much more. Solnyshko moyo.
“They love you, right? Don’t you think they would still love the you you used to be?” She burrowed closer. “I mean, surely they have to know that people change, especially a man who does what you do, sees what you see. Being faced with so much is bound to change a person.” Her tone was fierce.
You’re already protecting me, Aida. He loved the notion. “Yes, they love me, and I’m sure they would. Will it make you happy for me to tell them I’m okay?”
“Family is very important, Dane.”
The mild reproach in her tone made him nod while the pain in it made him wonder. “I’ll send word to them.” Briefly, he opened a link to his siblings and told them he was fine. Then he closed it off again, no further explanation given, and reinforced his barriers. He tried to slip into Aida’s mind but was again rebuffed instantly with a powerful force. If she noticed his attempt, she made no mention of it.
“Now, tell me how I can help you.”
Promise me you’ll never leave me. Dane sighed and closed his eyes. Inside him, he was calm. Even his tiger had relaxed, curled up in a ball, the beast, too, soothed by her presence. “I need to get to the Northern Cape area. Roggeveld Mountains.”
“Okay. And once you’re there, then what? It’s not like the area’s merely a mile wide. That’s a big area. How will you find him?”
“I’ll find him,” he rumbled, opening his eyes.
Aida rose up and stared down at him with a slight frown on her face. “You know, you can really be pretty intimidating when you do that.”
He gave a slight grin and touched the side of her face. “You don’t seem scared.”
“I’m not,” she said softly. “I probably should be, but I’m not.”
“You never have to be scared of me, Aida. I swear I’ll never hurt you.”
She gazed down at him, her eyes searching his for something only she could see or find. “That may be true, Dane Sidorov, but I think I could get hurt anyway.”
He narrowed his eyes, instantly disliking the implications that phrase could lead to. He had no intentions
of letting her go. “So being around me you could get hurt?”
A small strained smile filled her face, and she lay back down beside him. It will hurt when you leave me, Dane.
His eyes flew open wide, and he jerked his head toward her when her thoughts flowed through his mind. He checked the guards he had in place and found them all to be intact. Her tone had been just as warm as if she’d spoken to him aloud. Unsure of how that had happened, he rested his cheek against her hair. A subsequent prod back into her mind brought him up short again. Interesting.
He looked deeper and found another strand running behind their mating bond. It was thin and nearly invisible, but he knew it hadn’t been there before. It came from her toward him, and when he tried to touch it, it moved away only to resettle back in its original position. A few more attempts until he managed to skim along it before it danced out of his reach then he retreated totally, planning on going back later to see if he could figure it out.
“When do we need to leave?” she asked quietly.
“Why would you agree to go with me if you believe you could be hurt?” he questioned in the same low intimate tone she had used.
“Because you need my help.”
Her words were simple, straightforward, and meant so much to him. He nuzzled her hair, his hands beginning to tug up her formfitting shirt. Her body shuddered but she stopped his hands. Dane dipped his head and nipped her ear.
“I’m assuming,” she said drolly, “being detained didn’t allow you to grab any condoms, so you need to not do that.”
He rumbled in her ear. “No condoms. I told you to get some protection if you wanted it.”
She smacked his chest and rose up to glare at him. “No way.”
A contented emotion filled him. Tilting his head to the side, he reached up with one hand and touched her face before winding it into her hair, watching her from beneath lowered lids. “Why don’t you have them, or any form of protection?”
“Why don’t you?” she retorted.
