Aim For Love (14 page)

“Dangerous, yes,” Obaa said as she rose and began to clear the dishes from the table. “But there are so many ways to be blind.” She sent Kaz a slicing look. He lowered his gaze and stared down at the teacup in his hands.

Whatever hung between Kaz and his grandmother, Sabrina couldn’t guess at. But there was power there. A power as foreign as the lunch she’d just shared with them.

Chapter Eleven

After lunch Kaz excused himself and went off to tend to orchard chores. The work needed to be done and Sabrina needed to rest. And he needed to get his head back on straight. Just being around Sabrina shot a disorienting spin into his usually ordered world. After several hours his grandmother brought him a
bento
in the field.

He opened the first container and lifted a piece of smoked fish to his lips.

“See to your friend, Kazi-san. She’s been reading, pacing. I don’t like it. She has the signs of
inen
,” she said, using the old word for possession by a hungry ghost.

“I’ll be in.”

“The
inen
will demand payment,” she said as she walked away.

Hungry ghosts
.

Just what he needed.

When Kaz returned to the house, it was late. Both his grandmother and Sabrina had gone up to bed. He shuffled the tax papers, but thoughts of Sabrina toyed at the edges of his awareness, like wolves wanting to come in and feed. He shouldn’t have kissed her. But he’d be lying if he told himself he wasn’t glad he had.

He spread the papers in front of him and opened a file on the computer. Hurling fastballs was a hell of a lot more satisfying than pushing papers. And no matter what column he put the numbers in, they weren’t going to add up to the farm being in the black.

After two grueling hours he was satisfied with the report. Their accountant could prepare the tax forms and send them in. He stretched his arms over his head, releasing some of his tension. Then he grabbed his phone and checked his messages.

Two calls from Stacy, calls he’d return later. Seeing her again had been the worst sort of shock. He’d hoped to have seen her looking strong and healthy, then he wouldn’t have had to worry about her, worry that she was back with the wrong crowd or back on drugs. Whatever she wanted from him, now was no time to step onto any kind of path with her. It’d taken years to close the wound that loving and losing her had opened. Years to come to terms with the fact that her family had considered him below their status.

Everyone knew that her father had sent her away to prevent Kaz and her from becoming too serious as a couple. Her father wanted better prospects for his daughter than what a Japanese-American farmer or a minor league baseball player could offer. He’d pulled out all the stops to separate Kaz and Stacy. He’d sent her off to boarding school and then to some sort of program in Europe. And the separation had worked.

But seeing her with Martin had disturbed him more than he wanted to admit. And Ortega’s presence that night had ratcheted up his unease. Stacy had a history of meth addiction; she’d had a drug problem when they’d dated. A problem he might’ve been able to encourage her to overcome.

He could only hope that she’d stayed clean since she’d left and that being back wouldn’t sink her into old habits.

Then he listened to a message from one of the guys who’d been called up to spring training from the Triple-A team, a left fielder. He’d face the same challenge Kaz would in two weeks.

He checked his calendar. Not two weeks. Nine days.

The messages ended. There was no call from his agent.

Giants’ management was savvy. They’d wait to see what he brought to the mound before making any offer. He’d have done the same.

A shuffling sound on the graveled path just beyond the double doors put Kaz’s body on alert.

He opened the doors and peered out into the back garden.

Nothing.

He listened a moment, but heard nothing else. He returned to the desk.

Finding the remnants of the meth lab had put him on edge. Crime in the Valley had shot up in the past three years. Crimes that farmers weren’t used to or ready for in any way. He’d done some research and discovered that tweakers stole and then sold anything they could get their hands on to buy a fix. Some meth addicts started labs like the one he’d discovered to make their own.

Kaz hadn’t mentioned finding the site to his grandmother; she had enough to deal with while his parents and brother were away. When she’d chosen not to go with them, Kaz had questioned her. Her friends were dead, she’d said. And going to Japan would just stir unhappy memories. But he suspected she’d known he’d need help. If she hadn’t cooked and tended to the garden, he’d have eaten crackers and noodles for three solid weeks. Someday he really would have to learn to cook.

The shuffling sounded again, louder.

He grabbed a bat from beside the desk and ran outside. A figure moved near the hedged roses. He tightened his fingers on the bat, raised it and circled the hedge from the opposite side. A bat wouldn’t do much against a gun, not in the dark. He lunged toward the figure and the person turned. It took all his force to keep the bat from coming down on Sabrina’s head.

“What the
hell
are you doing out here?”

She didn’t react, didn’t look startled. And then he realized she wasn’t awake.

He’d heard of people walking in their sleep, but had never seen a sleepwalker in action. His mind raced, sorting through what he could remember. Abruptly waking a sleepwalker could be dangerous—or was that just an old wives’ tale? He didn’t want to traumatize her, but if his shout hadn’t awakened her, what would?

He dropped the bat to the ground and put his hands on her arms.

“Sabrina,” he said gently, hoping that hearing her name might wake her.

“There you are, Kaz. I was wondering where you were.”

Relief swept him. She was awake; he didn’t need to worry about startling her.

“They’re chasing me,” she said.

He heard a faint singsong in her voice.

“I need your help. They want my body. They want to live in my body.”

His relief hardened into alarm. She was definitely not awake, but talking in her sleep. Yet her eyes were wide open. It appeared that she could see him, but as he bent closer, he saw a faint glaze in her eyes.

“I’m here, Sabrina.”

He took her by the arm, turned her toward the doors. She stopped, planted her feet.

“I knew you would be. But we have no time, Kaz. It’s over. They’ve already planted the seed in me. I’m
dying,
Kaz.”

“No, you’re safe. I’m here.”

“But you have no power. It’s over,” she repeated.

She lifted her arms and wrapped her hands around his neck. He resisted as she tried to pull him to her. A sad look came to her face.

“This is the only way, Kaz. They said so. A kiss. A kiss can free me.”

If he hadn’t been sure she was asleep, the situation might’ve been comical.

“Kiss me. It’s the only way.” She pulled his lips to hers.

He tried not to sink into the slow, mesmerizing kiss, not to be aroused by the delicious, sensual taste of her, not to be carried away by the slamming force of desire that ripped through him. But his lips and his body had minds of their own. Her hands roamed down his torso—and landed on the erection he couldn’t hold in check. Through the fabric of his jeans, she ran her hand down his shaft and then up, deepening her kiss and moaning softly against his lips. When she reached the throbbing tip and pressed her palm against it, he couldn’t suppress a groan.

“This is it, Kaz,” she murmured against his lips. “Touch me. Break their spell.” She rolled a finger across the tip of his shaft. “Mmmm,” she moaned. “It’s breaking. I feel the seed dissolving. You’re saving my life.”

Though pleasure rocked through him and he would’ve liked nothing better than to lay her down on the grass and have her, that wasn’t right, not right in any way. It took every bit of control he had to draw her hand away.

“Sabrina—”

She reached for him again and smothered his next words with her warm, amazing lips.

For a moment he savored the feel of her body against his, her lush breasts pressing against his chest, her hand stroking him, but he had to end the encounter and end it now. Still, he wanted to remember the feel of her. The heat of her.

“Sabrina.”

He pulled her arm from where it was wrapped around his neck and then took both her hands in his. “Will you come with me? To the bedroom?”

She nodded.

He guided her through the house, amazed that she could navigate so assuredly while fast asleep. The whole damn event amazed him. And he tried to ignore that the thin nightgown she wore did nothing to hide the curves of her body. If she’d been naked, the sight couldn’t have been any more erotic.

When they reached her bedroom, he pulled back the covers on the bed.

“Get in, Sabrina. They can’t reach you if you’re under the covers.”

“But they
can
, Kaz. You don’t know them. They’ll plant another one, another seed. They’re desperate. They need us for life.” She took his hand. “Stay with me. Please stay with me. They can’t harm me if you’re with me.”

The situation was beyond absurd. He considered clapping his hands or shouting to jolt her awake, but his grandmother’s room was two doors down. He didn’t relish explaining what he was doing in the guest room with Sabrina at midnight.

She held up the covers and motioned for him to join her. He kicked off his shoes and crawled in beside her. She frowned. “Too many clothes. Too many layers. You have to take them off.”

“Sabrina, I doubt that it matters. I’m here, aren’t I?” He said it smoothly, gently. Who knew what deeper drama the dream might prompt if he did something that jarred her?

“Their rules are very specific.”

She knelt on the bed and pulled her nightgown over her head and tossed it to the floor. He sucked in a breath. He’d been wrong—naked, her body was beyond beautiful. He had no word for the exquisite way her breasts curved, round and perfect, or for the gentle slope of her hips. He lowered his eyes to the dark triangle of hair between her thighs and willed himself not to come just looking at her.

“You
have
to be naked. It’s the law.” She lay back against the pillow, her nipples puckered, aroused. “They’re coming, Kaz. We only have a little time.”

He shed his jeans and T-shirt, but kept his briefs on. She might not remember any of this, but he needed some shred of dignity. Some shred of control.

“No, you have to take those off,” she said with a wave of her hand and a very serious look. “Naked means naked. No clothes.”

He pulled his briefs down his legs, and his erection sprang free. He bent over the edge of the bed and laid his briefs across his jeans.

“You have an amazing ass,” she said as she leaned over and traced a finger across his buttock. “One thing about baseball, the players always have great asses.”

He tried to ignore the jolt of desire her touch fired and checked to see if she really was still asleep. The odd look in her eyes told him she was.

He crawled under the covers. And hoped that he could coax her into a deeper sleep before they both did something they’d regret. Hell, something he’d regret. She probably wouldn’t remember any of it.

And that’s why he’d regret it.

She pulled his arms around her and snugged up against his erection. His breath caught, harsh and burning in his throat.

“That’s good,” she said in a throaty voice as she spooned against him.

She smelled of flowers. And heat, if heat could have a scent. Or maybe it was his heat. His pulse hammered as she wiggled closer, wedging his erection between the tops of her thighs. He felt the slick wetness there, and his shaft pulsed hard.

Desperate, he pulled one arm free and tapped the top of her head, tapped gently in the rhythm he’d come to trust. She stopped wiggling. Thank God. If she’d moved one more time, he would’ve lost it. He ached with the wanting, but it wouldn’t be right to take advantage of her. He wasn’t one of those guys. He closed his eyes as lust roared through him. Damn, he hoped he wasn’t one of those guys.

Her breathing settled as he kept up the tapping rhythm and soon he heard the breath that told him she’d drifted deeper. But now he faced a dilemma. His other arm was still under her waist, her hand tucked in his, and brushing up against her breast. Slowly he raised himself, as much as he could without jostling her. He freed his fingers one by one. Then, inch by inch, he tugged his arm out from under her, watching her face as he did. He’d almost freed his hand when her eyes flew open. She gasped and sat straight up in the bed.

“What are you doing here?”

Her surprise was genuine. He sat up. She stared at his bare chest. And then lower, to his full-on erection.

“You were sleepwalking.”

“Evidently I didn’t get very far.” She pulled the sheet up under her chin and eyed his briefs and jeans piled beside the bed.

“We didn’t do anything,” he said, not liking the defensive tone in his voice as he grabbed his briefs and jeans.