Force of Nature Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4) (30 page)

He was around the house and almost to his car when he heard the first of the loud voices. Phil was too angry and too hurt to care what they did to each other anymore. He was going to find himself a woman and fuck her until she couldn’t walk, then he was going to drain her simply because he could. When he was nearly home he had to pull over and take a few deep breaths. He couldn’t do either of those things and he knew it. But he was going to wash his hands of Holly. There would be no way for him to be around the young wolf without remembering what her brother thought of him.

Chapter 9

After she threw everyone out, including Gordon, Alexis went to her room and locked the door. She didn’t do that often, but she really needed to think and she couldn’t do that with everyone coming to her.

She started to open the file when she realized she was afraid. And she wasn’t sure what was in the information, but whatever it was couldn’t be good. Alexis glared at the file when her phone rang. After she picked it up she debated on whether or not to throw it at the wall, then gave in and answered.

“Can I come over? Actually, I’m here. Can I come down and talk to you?” Gordon sounded as resigned as she felt. “We have to talk, and I want to grovel to you in person.”

She leaned against the coolness of her window, looked out into the dark, starless night, and watched the water fall over the stones a few feet away. She didn’t want to deal with him tonight, if ever again, but if she hung up she’d have to deal with the file, and thought he might be the lesser of two evils.

“Why? If you really want to know the truth, I don’t care what you have to say to me. I’m thinking you might be smart by staying away from me.” She saw a movement out of the corner of her eye and watched as Gordon came into view, naked except for the cell phone at this ear. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I left the pack house to go on a run and came here. I didn’t have anything stored here so my clothes are still back at the place I took them off.” He moved to where she was standing and put his hand near where her cheek was pressed against the glass. “I’m a fool. Worse, I’m a stupid, arrogant fool who should be shot.”

“I’m not going to argue with you on any of that.” She knew she couldn’t really, but she thought she could feel his warmth. “I didn’t know I could do that. I’ve never bit anyone before and you hurt me.” She turned away from him to wipe at the sudden flow of tears. She looked back when he said her name through the phone.

“I’m more sorry than I’ve ever been about anything. You’ve no idea how much I enjoyed you biting me. And after…I said those things because I was scared. Not of you,” he said hurriedly, “but of me. Christ, I wanted you to do it again and again, but I felt…well, I felt betrayed because you hadn’t told me, then—”

“I didn’t know. I had no idea that I could do that. The urge to bite you came over me so quickly and suddenly it seemed right. And, Gordon, you have….” She was almost ashamed to admit it so she looked down. “I came so hard and it felt so right to do it. Then you looked at me like I was a disease or something, and I couldn’t tell you anything.”

“Let me in, love. Let me in and let me make it up to you. I know what I did was horrible, and if Phil never speaks to me again or drains me it will be no less than I deserve. I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to both of you, I swear.”

Alexis looked at the only opening in her room that didn’t come from the inside of the house. She hadn’t told anyone about it and had had several contractors work on the emergency exit to ensure that the entire work was done so that no one but her knew the route. Did she trust Gordon with the knowledge, or should she just have him come into the house like a normal person? She looked back at him and nodded.

“Do you see the falls?” He nodded, turning to look at the small falls that hid the doorway. “Behind it is a split stone. When you step behind the water it will look like a solid wall, but the closer you get to it you’ll be able to make it out. And once you get into the stone you’ll want to make constant rights. I know that you’ll think you’re going the wrong way, but make all rights at every split.”

He nodded then turned back to her with a grin. “If you’re trying to get rid of me, will you please let my mother know that I loved her? She might not mourn now about my passing, but she may wonder a little later.”

“She’s mad at you, is she? Good. I hope she kicked your ass.” He kissed the glass were she still was.

“They all did. So when you see my battered body in the light, know that I deserved every one of the bruises and I should have gotten more.” He was gone before she could make a comment. His cell phone dropped where he’d been standing. She hoped that she hadn’t made a terrible mistake when she saw him dive into the icy water.

~~~

The water wasn’t just cold, but blue balls, my-blood-is-going-to-turn-to-ice cold. Gordon surfaced just below the small falls and climbed out where the water met the wall of stone. He was scaling the embankment when he saw the place he thought that she’d been talking about. He emerged behind the wall of water only to be faced with a sheer wall of rock.

Using his hands, he felt his way along the large stones. It was dark in the smallish cave, but he would bet that even in broad daylight it would be dark under there. He finally found the crevice and moved to stand in front of the opening.

It looked impossible for him to go through. His first thoughts were that she’d planned this to get rid of him. Then he took another two steps to stand to the direct right of the cliff and saw that the opening was incredibly wide. He stepped to it and slid inside.

He knew now what she’d meant when she said that he’d want to go left. First of all, the house was to the left. If he went left like he thought, he should be going toward the house, not away. Secondly, the way to the left was clearer and definitely brighter. Taking a deep breath, he started walking to the right.

The first turn opened into another small cave of sorts. There were lights coming from above and he thought he could make out a few bats hanging in the smallish alcove. He tried to ignore them, but there was just something very eerie about bats in a cave. He moved to the next opening and saw that if he went right again he’d be hitting a dead end. He started to turn around and go back, but remembered she’d told him to go right. He moved closer to the large wall and couldn’t find anything.

Gordon was cold, wet, and tired. He’d had the shit beaten out of him by his brothers and his mom was pissed at him. CJ threatened to castrate him and Austin told him if he didn’t fix this with both Alexis and Phil he’d have him thrown from the pack. And, he was beginning to realize that he could care less about any of that because, in the end, he’d hurt two people that were very important to him. He turned to go back out when he saw the opening.

It was to the right of where he’d come through. Not only was it well hidden, but the way it was situated made him think that he’d only seen it because he’d been about to slip against the wall. Had he not seen the small crease in the other stone he would have completely gone by it, and that would have made him lose his way. Clever, he thought. Smiling, he moved toward the opening and down a small set of stairs. When he got to the bottom, there stood Alexis. He stopped a few feet from her.

“I thought you’d changed your mind,” she told him softly, and she bunched a towel in her arms. “I was just about to lock up when I heard you. Aren’t you supposed to be very quiet when moving?”

“If I know I have to be.” He took a few steps toward her, took the towel, and wrapped it around his waist. He knotted it at his hip as he continued. “Why did you have this built? Are you expecting trouble?”

“Always. I learned that I should always have another avenue of escape.” She moved back when he was close and for now, he let her. “I’m still not very happy with you. Any of you, for that matter.”

“You
should
be mad at me. I am an idiot and a fool.” He ran his fingers down her cheek. “You saved my life and I let you down. Again. I’m sorry.”

She looked away and he moved closer. When she moved back again he simply lifted her chin and kissed her gently on the mouth before moving into the room. And Christ, what a room it was.

He’d been there before, but he’d been seeing her for the first time in that white towel. Now he could see what Phil had said about the room was true. It was a work of art.

The windows that he’d been talking to her through were huge and showed so much of the outdoors. The only lights were from the moon reflecting off the water and the dewy grass. He heard her shut the doorway between where he’d been and the room, but was so focused on what beauty lay before him that he didn’t turn. A half dozen deer walked into view as he watched.

“They come every night about this time. I think that the big boy, the buck, thinks I’m caged up or something and trusts I won’t hurt his little family.” She moved to his side as she spoke, but far enough away that he couldn’t touch her. “Sometimes there are more, but always these few.”

“They’re hungry this time of year. It’s too early in the spring for them to have enough food. But they look healthy and strong. They’ll be foaling soon enough, and you’ll have more than your little grove can handle, I think.” He looked over at her as he finished. “You could move a few of the pairs over to my brother’s land. They have several hundred acres there that they maintain.”

She nodded and he turned to watch her look out the window. He looked around the room, wondering what other surprises she had down there. He smiled when he saw that she’d not only made the outdoors come into her room from the glass, but she’d brought a great deal of the forest in here too.

Her bed was made of fallen timber. He could see that someone had preserved the natural wood and had done so without losing the beauty of it. The four large logs looked to be from a variety of trees, and held a mattress that had been specially made to accommodate it. The walls were made of barn siding and looked to be an old oak. When she started to move away he reached for her and pulled her into his arms with her back to him.

“I’m sorry, Alexis. What I did, what I said to you, was horribly wrong and mean. I was afraid, terrified actually. Not of you, but…well, of me.”

“I wouldn’t have hurt you.” He heard the past tense of the sentence and felt his heart skip several beats. “You should probably go. I have to look over this file that Phil gave me. He and I have an appointment in the morning.”

“I want to help you sort it out. I need to. I won’t sleep with you.” He grinned at the expression on her face. “Unless you want me to. I’m not saying I don’t want to, because I very much do, but you have to trust me and I know you don’t.”

She looked over at a small table tucked in the corner and he could see the file there. There was also a large wall unit that was closed up, and he’d bet that it held a computer and anything else she’d need for an office.

“I don’t want you here. You’re messing with….” She walked toward the door that he hadn’t noticed before. “No one has ever been down here before except for the builders. You’re messing up my karma, or vibes, or something. I’d really like for you to—”

“My wolf wants to touch you, smell you,” he told her quickly. He didn’t want her to send him away. “He’s beautiful. And he’d very much like to meet you and not rush out the door like he did before. He snarls at me every time I can scent you.”

She looked at him, but didn’t tell him to leave. Yet. “You say that like he’s a different person or something. Isn’t he just something inside of you that you let out sometimes?”

“Yes and no. He’s there inside of me, but he is a different being. He’s the part of me that is beast. As for letting him out, I do when he wants. Sometimes for him and sometimes for me. He wants to meet you. He would never harm you. You don’t have to be afraid of him.”

“I’m not afraid of either of you,” she snapped. He hid his grin by looking out the window again. He heard her move to the center of the room, but didn’t look at her yet. When she spoke again, he turned slowly. “I can change too. Myself, I mean. I can change into anything I want, but I’m partial to an eagle.”

He moved back slowly, trying to gauge when he was near enough to something to sit down or at the very least, lean against it. Gordon felt something hit the back of his legs and reached behind him to grab on. He was grateful when he realized it was a chair and that he was in the correct position to sit in it.

“How long…?” He cleared his throat twice before continuing. “How long have you been able to do that?” Thousands of questions popped into his mind while that many more tried to come to the front of the line. How? When? Why? Were only a few that he could get a fix on. He realized that she was looking at him and he tried to regain control of himself.

“You’re mad again. Whatever.” She moved to her bed and sat down. “I first changed into the eagle by accident. I’d been watching one in the backyard for a few days and wondered what it would be like. The next thing I know, I’m soaring through the sky with him. The next time, I really thought it out and felt it roll over me. The change, I mean. After that….” She shrugged. “I did it whenever I wanted to get away.”

He nodded. He could understand wanting to get away, but that still didn’t— “How old were you the first time? I mean, you make it sound as if you’ve been doing it for some time.”

“I was six. It was right after my parents married.” She stood up and started pacing as she told him more. “I didn’t know why I could do it. And I’d always known that I was…Mom never lied to me about being adopted…well, she lied, but I hadn’t realized she was lying. Anyway, so I didn’t go to her about it. First of all, I was really afraid that she’d not want me anymore, and then later I didn’t because it was something I had of my own.”

“Do it,” he told her softly. “Change for me.”

She stared at him for several seconds and he knew she was going to tell him no. She nodded once and went to the door this time. He started to follow, but she stopped him at the doorway.