This was a bad idea. He needed to get away from her. She tempted him like no other woman ever had. Kate gave off mostly positive energy. And that drew him to her, because most people had negative energies that repelled him: fear, anger, hatred, desperation. He sensed Kate had been through a lot and he couldn’t deny he was curious to hear her story. But he wouldn’t push her. If and when she wanted to talk, he would listen. He sensed a kindred spirit in Kate. She was good. She was pure. She wasn’t tainted by evil, no matter what had happened to her. She’d kept her goodness, her decency, even in this harsh, cruel world. And damn if that didn’t pull him toward her, lure him in. Instead of being repelled by her energy, he was drawn to it. Mitch had never experienced that before. It confounded him. His attraction to her went beyond the mere physical. Everything about her called to him, pulled at him, made him want to get closer to her. Mitch hadn’t wanted to get close to another creature after Lisa died. Her death had been too much for him. He wouldn’t be able to survive losing another person like that.
Mitch tested the water temperature. It was slowly heating up, but not quite ready.
“It’ll be ready in a few minutes. Be careful when you first get in. The bottom of the tub might be a little hot.” He rose, stepping away from the tub. He pointed to a small shelf on the wall next to the tub. “There’s soap and shampoo there.” He needed to get away from her before he lost himself in her energy, in her emotions, and gave in to the need to lose himself in her body. Her positivity. Her goodness.
Kate grabbed his arm before he could stride out of the room. “You go first. I promised I’d wash your back, remember?”
Mitch hesitated. The energy coming off her now wasn’t fear. It was a mixture of curiosity and desire. He felt himself growing hard, his pants tightening in response. While he generally avoided touching people, he couldn’t deny the thought of Kate’s soft hands on him—anywhere on him—filled him with anticipation. And a hot, all-consuming lust.
He cleared his throat. “If you touch me, I can’t guarantee I won’t touch you back.”
Her face filled with color. She held his gaze. Swallowed. “I thought you didn’t like touching people.”
Damn, she was going to pull the truth out of him whether he wanted her to or not.
“Most of the time that’s true. Negative energy repels me. But I can’t help but be snared by your positive energy. It pulls me in for some reason, draws me closer to you.”
Her face went a darker shade of red, then she turned her back to him, giving him privacy. “When you’re in the tub, let me know.”
She was seriously going to go through with this? Mitch held back a groan. Emotions in general were a trap. Ever since the drifter attack that had turned him into an empath, he’d struggled with his own feelings, refusing to acknowledge them, instead becoming overwhelmed by the energy of other creatures, humans in particular. Mitch wasn’t sure what would happen in the next few minutes, but he couldn’t deny he desperately wanted to find out what would happen when she touched him. What he would feel when her soft hands stroked down his back with a washcloth or her fingers rubbed his scalp, rinsing his hair.
Mitch stripped off his filthy clothes and left them laying in a heap on the floor. He tested the water temperature again, then stepped into the tub. It was lukewarm, but the water was still heating. Even boiling hot, the temperature wouldn’t bother him. His body heat was already hotter than normal, courtesy of the drifters. He and Gabe both shared the mountain’s heat. They would probably never die of hyperthermia, because their core temperature never dropped to a dangerous level. Mitch suspected Ethan was the same way, though he’d never discussed it with Ethan, because he hadn’t realized Ethan was the third cone until recently. Ethan had been keeping secrets from him. Mitch intended to confront him about it when he found him.
But he had no idea where Ethan was.
Not that he cared right at that moment. He was naked. And Kate was about to put her hands on him. A shiver of anticipation surged through him.
Mitch settled back into the tub. “Okay.” His voice came out huskier than he’d intended, betraying her effect on him. “I’m in the water now.”
Silence.
“Kate?” He turned his head toward her.
She was gone.
Well, hell. He must have frightened her away. Disappointment swept through him. Oh well. Anything that seemed too good to be true usually was. Kate was definitely too good to be true.
Mitch reached for the bar of soap and began scrubbing himself clean. When he was finished, he set the soap aside and lay back, washing himself clean. When he came back up, Kate was kneeling against the edge of the tub. He jerked in surprise, splashing water over the sides.
“Shit, Kate! I thought you left.”
She kept her gaze averted from his body, staring determinedly into his eyes. “I did. I was scared to touch you. I don’t even know if you’re human. I don’t know what you are. But then I told myself to stop being a wimp, that the only way to find out what you are was to come back here and ask you.” She glanced down briefly, her gaze skimming over his chest, then darting back up. The water hid the rest of him from view, though Mitch wasn’t shy in the least and would gladly stand up if she wanted to see all of him.
“You want to know what I am?” His voice was soft, husky.
Her face turned bright red. She swallowed, then nodded. “Yes.”
Mitch handed her the bottle of shampoo. “Here.”
She hesitated, then took it from him. Popping the top, she poured some into her hand. Her gaze met his again. “You want me to wash your hair?”
His breathing quickened. He was perfectly capable of washing his own hair. But it had been a long time since a woman had touched him. And he wanted Kate’s hands on him. His pulse picked up, pumping wildly with his increased heart rate.
“Yes, please.”
She leaned forward and rubbed the shampoo into his hair. He felt guilty for taking advantage of her sweetness, her innocence and gullibility, but not enough to make her stop. Mitch let out a soft moan and closed his eyes. She scrubbed his scalp vigorously, cleaning away the dirt and grime. Her touch relaxed him, soothed him, her curiosity and desire floating over him.
“Scoot forward,” she whispered. “And lie back so I can rinse the shampoo out.”
He obeyed.
She rinsed his hair, her fingers gently stroking through the wet strands. Desire coiled in his loins, pumped through his veins, making him swell and harden with need.
She leaned back. Mitch opened his eyes, his gaze immediately locking on hers. She looked away, her gaze skimming down his body.
She blushed furiously and turned her head away.
Mitch glanced down. Lying back as he was, he wasn’t completely covered by the water. He jerked upright, hiding his lower half from her view. Shit, he’d just given her an eyeful, and judging by the nervousness that floated from her, it made her uncomfortable.
Awkwardness bounced between them.
She surprised him by reaching for the soap. “Lean forward now so I can scrub your back.”
Mitch hesitated, then did as she suggested.
She leaned over the tub again and gently washed his back.
“Harder,” he murmured. “I can hardly feel that.”
She paused. “It…doesn’t hurt when I touch you?”
“Hell no. It feels fucking good.”
She made a choking sound and leaned away.
“I’m not fragile, Kate. You can’t break me, even if you draw blood. Scrub harder, please.”
She leaned over him again and scrubbed harder, her fingernails raking his skin and sending shivers of desire up and down his spine.
“What are you?” Her voice was soft, filled with curiosity and a hint of fear. The fear pulled at his predatory instinct again, urging him to catch and subdue.
Mitch sat up, turning his head until his gaze locked on hers. Her hands fell away, the soap dropping into the bottom of the tub. “Right
now, I’m just a man in a tub having his back scrubbed by a pretty woman.”
She blushed, her eyes widening. Mitch’s superior senses enabled him to hear her heart pounding furiously. He reached over the edge of the tub and pressed a palm against her chest.
She froze, swallowing hard.
“Your heart’s beating as fast as mine, sweet Kate. Why don’t you climb in here with me and let our hearts race side by side?”
She gulped. “What?”
Their gazes held, their hearts pounding. “Come ride me, pretty girl.” His voice turned husky. “I promise you won’t regret it.”
Her heart galloped faster beneath his palm. Her breath grew shallow. Mitch jerked to his feet. He grabbed her around the waist and hauled her into the tub with him before she could protest.
Kate gasped, her hands pressing against his chest as he fell back into the tub with her on top of him. Water splashed over the sides, dousing the coals beneath the tub.
Their gazes locked. Silence stretched while they stared at each other.
Then she giggled. “That wasn’t very nice. Now I’m soaking wet.”
Mitch chuckled. “That was the idea.”
She sobered. “It…doesn’t hurt to have me touching you like this?”
“No.” Mitch took her hand and pulled it into the water. He dragged it lower, pausing just above his raging hard-on. “Touch me there,” he whispered, his gaze holding hers. “I dare you.”
She jerked her hand back. “I…can’t.”
Mitch groaned. “God, woman, you’re killing me. You do realize that when you offer to wash a man’s hair and scrub his back, you’re telling him you want to do more than just wash him, right?”
Color filled her cheeks again. Kate was bold, strong, and willful, yet she blushed whenever the air filled with sexual tension. Mitch was beginning to suspect she was innocent when it came to sex, though he wasn’t sure how that was possible in this day and age. If a woman didn’t have a man to take care of her, her chances of being raped and abused were pretty high, especially with Ronin’s army overtaking all the colonies. Yet he suspected Kate had somehow managed to ward off any overeager males thus far. She was a true rarity.
“What are you?” she asked again, her gaze probing his. “Really?”
A hint of fear rolled off of her, infusing into him. This time it doused his desire. He didn’t want Kate afraid. He wanted her hot and aching for him, the same way he ached for her.
Mitch sighed. “Are you asking if I’m human?”
She nodded. “Are you?”
Telling the truth right now would only frighten her even more. So he lied.
“Yes, I’m human.” Or, I was. Once upon a time. He wasn’t really sure what he was anymore. But the drifter in him was powerful. Sometimes it was all he could do to control it.
She stared into his eyes, her gaze searching. Did she believe him? “You were bitten by the drifters. You have powers or gifts or whatever you call them. You can do things that aren’t normal. Are you a drifter disguised in a man’s body?”
Mitch snorted. He’d never thought of himself that way. It was true he had drifter in him, but he wasn’t pure drifter. He’d still retained his humanity. At least, most of it. “I don’t think so. I’m still human, Kate. More human than drifter. I may have taken on some of the drifters’ traits, but I’m still just a man underneath. And that man, the one underneath, he’s very attracted to you, and believe me, it’s been a long, long time since I’ve been attracted to a woman.” And that was the truth.
The breath hitched in her throat, the sound drawing his gaze.
“You affect me in ways no other woman has before.” He pulled his gaze back to hers. “Like I said earlier, most people repel me, but not you. You’re different.”
Her gaze searched his. “What about your wife?”
“What?” Confusion swept through him. “I don’t have a wife.”
“But you did,” she went on. “What did Ronin do to her?”
Mitch sat up abruptly. “I’ve never been married.”
What had Ronin told her, that son-of-a-bitch!
Kate scrambled backward, her eyes wide. Water splashed around them and over the sides of the tub. She jerked upright, rising from the tub, water dripping down her body. Her T-shirt clung to her small breasts, neatly outlining the hard nipples underneath. No bra interfered with his view. Mitch’s nostrils flared, his desire returning in a hot flash of longing. Did women even have bras anymore? As far as he knew, people made their own clothing, or traded with someone who knew how to sew. Mitch got his clothes from the seamstress Ronin hired to make clothing for his soldiers. Mitch’s gaze latched on to her perky breasts. He wanted to strip that wet shirt off her and lick his way up her torso, kissing every inch of her. He wanted to latch on to her rosy nipples and suck while she writhed and moaned with desire.
Kate stepped out of the tub, turning away from him and jerking him out of his lust-filled trance. She turned back to him. “Ronin said something about doing what he had to do to get you to see things his way, that he’d gotten rid of the woman you loved. I just assumed he meant your wife. What did he do to her?”
Coldness crept under his skin. Mitch vaulted out of the tub. Damn Ronin. It was probably a good thing Kate had reminded him of his ultimate goal, or he might have gotten too caught up in her, and that could be bad. He couldn’t let himself be distracted by her. What the hell was he thinking? Never had he let lust control him. But just now, he’d almost let it sweep him away.
Lifting a towel from the small stack on the shelf, he wrapped it around his waist.
Kate touched his arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Mitch sighed and turned around. “No. I’m sorry, Kate. I can’t…do this. It’s probably best if you go now. Leave. Find a nice little colony to live at. Get far away from me. I’ll bring you nothing but misery.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You promised you would teach me how to use a bow and arrow, that you would teach me how to hunt and how to defend myself.”
Shit. He certainly had.
“And I can’t go find another colony to live at. Ronin is hunting me now because I was stupid enough to help you!”
Mitch groaned. She was right. It was his fault she was in this situation.
She planted her hands on her hips. “You owe me, dammit! You ruined my vegetables, remember? And I intend to collect what you owe.”
Mitch couldn’t stop his gaze from dropping to her breasts again. If she had any idea how clearly her nipples were outlined in that wet shirt, she would probably cover herself, but he was enjoying the view and didn’t want it to end. He longed to tell her how beautiful her breasts were. And how much he wanted to touch them. He would happily repay her by giving her lots of mind-numbing orgasms. He was certain he could keep her satisfied in bed for hours on end and that it would be sufficient repayment. Mitch was a man who enjoyed a woman’s body and who enjoyed seeing a woman come undone from his touches, his kisses. Some guys were all about going for the gold, plunging right in without giving any thought to a woman’s pleasure. Not Mitch. He preferred to enjoy the moment, make it last, draw it out and make it memorable for both of them. Any woman who shared his bed went away satisfied. He made sure of it.
But the empath in him made it impossible for him to become physically intimate with a woman without feeling something for her, so he chose his bed partners wisely. For Mitch, sex was never casual. Sex was a highly emotional experience for him and something he didn’t take lightly. He could fall for Kate all too easily if he gave in to his body’s wants.
You’re getting distracted.
He cleared his throat and jerked his gaze back to hers. “I wasn’t saying you had to leave, just that it might be best if you did. If you want to stay, hang out with me, then fine. I’ll teach you how to use a bow and arrow. But I should warn you that I’m used to being alone. There are times when I need to be alone, when I need to get away from everyone and their emo
tions so I can center myself. If you’re okay with that, then you can stay.”
She nodded slowly, her gaze drifting down his torso, his towel-clad waist, then lower, down his legs and even his feet. Did she like what she saw?
She flushed, jerking her gaze back to his.
“Yes, I’m okay with that. I need alone time sometimes too.” She glanced down at his chest again. “You look…human. And when I washed your back, you felt warm, like a man.”
Mitch quirked a brow. “I am a man, remember?” Mostly.
She shook her head. “I don’t believe you. You’re not all human. There’s drifter in you. I see it in your eyes. There’s violence in you, a beast lurking underneath the handsome exterior. You’ve been violent in the past. And I think you will be again in the future.”
Mitch stared at her. How did she know that? She couldn’t possibly know the things he’d done in the past. Or what he might do in the future. He didn’t even know that. But she was giving him an out, a reason to stop this before it went any further.
“Yes, I’m a beast and you’d be smart to remember that.”
He strode past her into the tunnel. He didn’t look back.
Falling in love with Kate was not an option. He had an agenda that didn’t include Kate. He would have to ignore his strong attraction to her. He couldn’t get caught up in a fantasy that could never be. He’d once believed Lisa was his destiny, but Ronin had squashed that belief, smashing it like a bug beneath his boot when he’d ended her life and stolen Mitch’s dreams. Mitch now had one goal in life. To kill Ronin. To make him pay for what he’d done.
So he would teach Kate how to use a bow and arrow, then send her on her way.
He couldn’t get involved with her. Couldn’t let himself love her.
Because the last time he’d loved a woman, he’d lost her.
And it had nearly killed him.
Drifter Page 6
