Blaze of Fury (4 page)

“Look,” he said in a more agreeable tone
while kneeling beside her. “Last night shouldn’t have happened but
I wasn’t using you. I can’t explain myself to you right now.”

A mix of trepidation and anger shadowed her
face. “I really don’t have a choice in the matter, right?”

“We did make a deal.” He brushed her cheek
with the back of his hand. “I have been alone a very long time.
Like I said last night, I was not prepared for you. But now that
you’re here and we already crossed the line, perhaps we can explore
our options. I really can’t get into this with you until after the
job is done.”

“Why?”

“I just can’t.”

“I don’t understand how you can go from sweet
and passionate to cold and closed off so quickly.” She stared up
with a soul-searching gaze that had already begun to melt the walls
of ice from his heart. “Do you think I came into this expecting to
feel anything for you? Did it ever occur to you that I might have
trust issues, too? You might dominate your
territory
, as you
called it, but that doesn’t give you the right to toy with people’s
emotions.”

“Have you always been this brave?” He raised
pointed brows, impressed yet again by her straightforward
disposition.

“No,” she replied, turning away. “I told you
my story.”

“Yes, you did.” He stood up. “And maybe one
day I will tell you mine. But for now, I have to go. Stay here. Use
the gun if you must, but you shouldn’t have any trouble during the
daylight. I will be back before sunset, you can count on that.”

Rolling back over, she caught his eyes with
hers. He saw the sting of betrayal lurking in those sultry
pools—the mistrust, heartbreak, fear, and a glimmer of hope that
she could count on him. He wanted more than anything to sweep her
into his arms right then, wipe the hurt from her heart and never
let her go. However, she didn’t know anything about him yet. He
needed more time. This sweet and courageous woman had already
broken through his first layer and he didn’t like feeling emotion
when he had a mission at hand.

If he did let her into his guarded heart, his
days as a hired killer would be over. He couldn’t balance two
separate worlds.
If she does turn out to be the one to fill my
empty heart, I won’t place her in danger by living a double life.
Too many variables
, he thought.

“Stay here,” he told her again.

“I have no choice. I don’t know where I
am.”

He wanted to grin but didn’t. Her feathers
were already ruffled enough. He’d try to smooth them later.

Once out of her line of vision, Ice focused
on shifting into his animal form—a red-tailed hawk. Within minutes
the shift began. He stretched his neck then his wings as various
shades of reddish brown feathers sprung from his skin and talons
replaced his feet. Seconds later, he was soaring high above the
majestic redwoods while doing a visual scan of the forest. No sign
of hunters so he headed east to seek out the first target.

Sasha had paid close attention to his contact
and completed every detail to perfection. He wondered if she’d have
more questions tonight, but decided to take this situation as it
came. Typically he didn’t indulge clients in the right to inquire
as to his methods or any other matters. They paid. He killed. Both
parties went their separate ways with the understanding that if
they ever spoke of him, they’d be next.

Spreading his wings, he called upon the
spirit of the wind for supernatural speed. A forceful jet stream
rushed under him from behind. He glided on the current, using his
keen eyesight to search the landscape.

He’d been flying for about an hour before
coming to the general location of the first subject. After hearing
Sasha’s story, Ice realized that the one with the most money and
years of experience under his belt had most likely been the
instigator. He would be the first to go. With the visual memory in
his head of her notes on each man, he began circling high above the
suggested area of location. A group of fishermen were scattered in
various positions around a lake. In his animal form he could swoop
down and around to take a close look. Nobody would think anything
of a hawk dropping in for lunch.

He cocked his head while doing laps around
the lake. None of the men resembled the man in her photo. He’d
hoped to catch him alone during his morning sport of fishing as
relayed by Sasha’s notes. Rising above the trees again, he flapped
his powerful wings to gain speed. Movement on the ground on a dirt
path caught his attention.

There you are!
Ice smiled inside upon
recognizing Sasha’s ex-father-in-law. The old man was walking
toward a pickup truck while carrying a string of large fish.
And
you brought me a nice meal. Too bad I won’t be sharing it with
you.
As easily as he’d taken flight, Ice landed on the cab of
the truck. A surprised expression flashed across the man’s face.
Quickly he tucked the fish behind his back and began waving madly
at Ice.

“What the hell?” He scowled. “Get outta here,
bird, these are my fish.”

Instantly Ice shifted to his human form and
slid off the cab with an easy hop. “Are you Matthew Smith?” He
looked like the man in the photo but Ice wanted to be positive.

“Who wants to know?” He glanced about in open
shock as if searching for the bird.

Ice grabbed his arms, spun him around then
slammed him into the side of the truck. Keeping him pinned with one
hand, he searched for ID and found it in a pocket. He swung Matthew
back around to face him. Panic filled his beady gray-blue eyes.

“Sasha sends her regards,” Ice said low and
cold. He wanted this bully to experience at least some of the
horror he’d inflicted upon an innocent woman.

Matthew let out an arrogant laugh. “That
crazy bitch, I thought we’d heard the last of her.”

“You have.” His hand shot out, clutched the
bastard’s throat and held tight.

He never broke eye contact. He watched a host
of emotions shadow the man’s face as he struggled in vain. Though
big and on the muscular side for a man in his senior years, his
strength was no match—no match at all against the fury flowing
through Ice’s veins.

He had the ability to
feel
the pain of
those who came to him for help. This was how he distinguished the
pure from the evil. But she didn’t need to know about the gifts
given to him by the spirit world. Not yet anyway.

And in this case, he felt Sasha’s deep
anguish over what this man had done to her. The extreme measures
taken against her shocked him, to hear her story had been troubling
enough, but to feel in his soul the intense suffering ignited his
rage.

“Like I said,” Ice growled. “Sasha sends her
regards.” In his next move, he ripped the man’s throat apart with
one bare hand.

Matthew slumped to the ground with a soft
thud. Blood poured from his neck. Ice stared for a moment then
glanced around. Not a soul nearby. Straightening his stance with
shoulders pulled back, he lifted his face toward the heavens and
closed his eyes. A gusty wind swept through the trees. He lifted
his arms and gave thanks to those who empowered him then instantly
transformed back into a fierce hawk.

After picking meat from the fresh fish to
satisfy his feathered form, he took flight and headed back to the
redwood forest where he hoped Sasha still waited. His adrenaline
rose just at the thought of her. He couldn’t force the kiss from
his mind or the way she’d eagerly responded to him. The delicately
fresh scent of her hair, her full round breasts soft and luscious
in his hands, he longed to pull those nice nipples into his
mouth.

The recollection of her long sexy legs
wrapped around him flooded his mind. He burned to have her, to make
her his in every way. The longing to finish what they’d started
consumed him. But he didn’t feel confident in his ability to open
his heart. He’d hidden it so long ago that at times he felt
inhuman, numb—nothing more than a beast of nature, a killer.
What woman could possibly accept what I’ve become?
He
pondered the thoughts he’d refused to entertain for decades.

Nothing inside had felt alive since the
brutal murder of his friends—until now. Sasha had reawakened a part
of his soul he’d deemed dead and buried. Could he really open that
door again? He just didn’t know.

Chapter Four

Sasha tucked her feet under and sat back on
bent knees, waiting anxiously for Ice to return. The sun had dipped
low, making the forest seem darker than the actual time of day.
Every snap of a twig or growl and shriek of an animal made her
jump. Her nerves had been on edge all day. She wondered if Ice had
successfully found her beast of an ex-law. Mixed feelings over
actually hiring a man to kill the men who’d tormented her settled
in the pit of her stomach. For years she’d feared them, waited for
their next move and lived on the edge.

What will it actually feel like to not
have that threat anymore?
She found peace hard to imagine as
the greater part of her life had been dominated by their attacks.
Her thoughts drifted to the previous night. Ice had gone from cold
and scary to hot and passionate then back again in a flash. His
actions didn’t help ease her nervous tension. She wanted him, but
did she? How she could even be attracted to a man like him baffled
her.
He kills people for money. I must be mad.
Yet her lips
still felt raw from the intense kiss-fest they’d shared and the
ache between her thighs throbbed for relief. She ran one finger
gingerly over her lips, bringing to mind their wild passion.
I
could never trust a man like him. He’s crazier than I am.

She jerked her head toward the sound of
crunching leaves. “You came back.” He looked hotter than ever bared
to the waist wearing skintight jeans, threadbare in all the right
places.

He tilted his head as if surprised by her
remark. “You’re still here.”

“Where would I go?”

“Why wouldn’t I return? Do you think I’d just
leave you here to be picked clean by the wild animals?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I don’t trust
men.”

“Yeah, I got that.”

“You were gone an awfully long time.”

His eyes met hers in that breathtaking stare.
“Took me a while to find him and I wanted to bathe before coming
back.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, you have one less motherfucker to worry
about.”

Her throat felt dry. “Oh.”

“Are you hungry?”

She nodded but was momentarily at a loss for
words. Her first assignment had been completed. An odd feeling
besieged her as if she never thought it would actually happen. She
found it more difficult to grasp than expected. No burst of joy. No
rush of relief. Just an uncomfortable knowledge that she’d hired a
man to kill someone—suddenly she felt no better than the darkly
alluring man staring at her now.

“How do you do it?” she asked.

“I tear their throats out with my bare
hands.”

Sasha gasped, clutching a hand to her chest.
“That’s not what I meant.”

He walked a few feet away to start a fire in
the pit. “Well now you know. Mystery solved.”

She followed him. “I meant…how do you live
with killing someone?”

“It’s you or them!” He whipped around
furiously. “Evil against good. When you cross the line from human
to animal you don’t look back.”

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult
you.”

“You didn’t. I am beyond the point of being
offended. I do what I do for a reason. I don’t explain myself or
justify my actions. People come to me…” He turned back to tend the
growing fire. “I don’t go to them.”

“I know.” She paused to find her voice. “I
just never—I didn’t think it would feel like this.”

“What did you expect when you tracked me
down?” He swung around with blazing eyes. “That I’d ease your guilt
with a flowery speech on how they deserved to die?”

“No, I’m just having a little trouble with my
conscience.”

“A little late for that now.”

“You’re a real picnic, you know that?” She
huffed away.

A strong arm reached out and snaked around
her waist, then pulled her against his chest. “You didn’t seem to
mind my method of operation last night with your legs wrapped
around me.”

In a move that stunned them both, she
backhanded him across the face. She swore fire sparked in those hot
black eyes as he glared down at her. For a moment that stood still,
she couldn’t take a breath. The muscles in his jaw twitched. His
lips drew tight together, yet still had that kissable pouty thing
going on. The hold he had on her waist tightened until there was
not an inch of space between their chests.

As terrified as she was, she didn’t look away
from his hard stare. If this imposing male wanted to challenge her,
she’d not back down. She’d promised herself and Sienna that she’d
never back down again.

Finally he spoke. When he did, his voice was
barely audible yet she heard the menacing tone. “I’m not sure if I
should kill you or kiss you.”

Sasha swallowed hard against the dryness of
her throat. “I’d prefer the latter if I have a choice.”

He crushed his lips against hers while
sweeping her into his arms at the same time. She wound her arms
around his neck and welcomed his brutal passion, kissing him back
with an urgency that surprised her. The softness of his long hair
brushed her arms as he carried her to the bedroll. She gazed up as
he stood over her. He still looked furious as ever and she wondered
what his next move would be. Her breaths came short and fast when
he began peeling the worn denim from his body. And as she’d
suspected, this male was seriously endowed with a huge cock.

Reaching down, he tore her shirt off with
both hands then shredded the denim shorts with impressive ease. She
released a tiny gasp when he ripped her panties off. As he laid
over her, his hot breath wisped her face while he unhooked her bra.
She made no move to resist. His feral approach had her burning up
inside. Never had she wanted a man to take her more than she did
right now.