Predator's Kiss (10 page)

And even though he’d begged Karen to remain discreet, she’d told folks on the mainland about the bear man she was dating. She’d opened her mouth and lost his trust. Luckily, no one believed her, thinking her story just that. A fairy tale. The community’s secret was a well-guarded one, and those in the know understood when to rally for one another.

But when she’d tried to blackmail him, the path to his heart had closed up, as if shut inside a secure bank vault. She’d used their relationship, used him out of greed. And he hadn’t quite looked at a human the same way since. He couldn’t afford to be so vulnerable again, at least not to someone who wasn’t his kind.

Ryland went to great pains to keep his life, and his nature, a secret. It was a code by which all shifters lived—don’t tell the humans because they can’t be trusted. He’d learned the truth of that statement the hard way. Sure, some shifters mated with humans, and those former humans were incorporated into the fold. They had children together. Marci was the product of a healthy shifter/human relationship. Her mom had willingly made the transition after accepting her mate, but it still didn’t mean folks like her family didn’t have to be extra careful. Shifters lived longer lives than humans did, and their mates did too by default. They took on new powers and abilities. Having human family members invariably involved spinning webs of deceit. Ryland didn’t want that.

No, he was already playing with fire. Not that he believed Lia would purposely blab about the shifter-friendly resort on Gemini Island. She was too much of a recluse to do that, and something told him he just couldn’t credit her with treachery. Still, loose lips had sunk ships before.

It was bad enough he had Soren and the paparazzi bringing him unwanted attention.

The best thing to do was help Lia with her situation, and then get her out of there to a safe place.

No. She can’t go
.

Ryland lifted his head off the desk and cursed at the bear complaining inside him, the one that wanted Lia back in his arms. The bear was somewhat more straightforward in his thinking than Ryland the man. The grizzly side of him was declaring, quite emphatically, that he wasn’t about to let Lia fade into the sunset.

The bear wanted her. The bear was practically shouting, “Me want woman!”

Ah, hell. He wanted her, too. At least, he really wanted to sleep with her.

Surely that was it.

There hadn’t been a single moment in his life as exquisite as kissing Lia Goodblood. Not another kiss, not any fuck. Nothing compared. Not even the day he opened the Ursa Lodge. That was saying something.

What am I going to do with her?

He knew what he wanted to do
to
her.

And as he enjoyed that delicious image, Marci knocked on his door. “Mr. Shnow?”

“Yes, Marci?”

“There’s a shtrange man at resheption.”

As visions of crazed stalkers and hit men plundered his brain, Ryland bolted from his chair. He unlocked and opened the door and took in Marci’s furrowed brow. “Show me.”

Ryland went out to the reception desk, planted his hands on the counter and stared. Near the entrance, loitering by one of the doors, was a guy holding a newspaper. A human. He was alone, and kept glancing up from the paper, looking around as if searching for someone.

“How long’s he been here?” Ryland asked his clerk.

“Half an hour.”

“I don’t recognize him. He hasn’t said anything about wanting to check in?”

“Nope.”

Ryland realized he was clenching his jaw and had to force himself to relax. With purpose, he walked up to the man. “Can I help you?”

The man turned to him, his gaze calculating. “No. I’m just waiting for someone. Nice lodge you have here. Real … homey.”

“Thanks. This is a private island. Who are you waiting for? I can send a message for you.”

The man stared at him for a moment and then smiled. “Private, huh? No worries, friend. I’d hate to put you out. I’ll leave.” The man curled up his newspaper, tucked it under his arm, and left the lodge.

Ryland called for Security and when they quickly arrived, he told them to make sure the man got on the ferry.

He breathed a sigh of relief the situation was back under control. He didn’t know what he was dealing with here, but didn’t like the smarmy look of that man.

Once again, the bear inside him growled, making his presence known. No matter what happened, he wasn’t letting that guy anywhere near Lia. And Soren might piss him off, but no hired assassin would get to his brother. If anyone ever killed Soren, it would be Ryland.

Determined not to act on that thought, at least not right away, he headed back to the restaurant. Foregoing the spread at the buffet, Ryland headed for the kitchen and grabbed one of the picnic baskets they often rented out to guests of the lodge. Raiding the fridge and pantry, he opted for a couple of fresh baguettes, some cold meats and potato salad, a few apples, some leftover crumble and a jar of honey. He also socked away a six-pack of Molson Canadian. Thus stocked, he headed back to his room, making sure no one followed him.

When Lia pulled away from his kiss, it wounded him. However, seeing the mysterious man in the foyer made him want nothing more than to draw her close and keep her safe.

So help him, he would. In fact, he was seriously contemplating drawing her in really close and snug. Would it really hurt the situation if he and Lia lost control and gave in to the temptation building inside? Probably. In fact, it would likely be a very bad scene.

Still…

He knocked on his room door to announce his presence and waited for Lia to open it. “Lia?” he hissed into the crack when she didn’t respond.

Maybe she’s in the bathroom
.

He gave her a few minutes before knocking again, so as not to rush her. However, Lia didn’t answer his second knock. Or his third. Still keeping an eye on his surroundings, Ryland set down the picnic basket and fished in his jeans pocket for his master set of keys. Feeling a frisson of nervousness, he stuck the key in the lock and pushed open the door. “Lia?”

She was gone.

And there were people out there somewhere, looking for her.

“Shit!” Reaching for his walkie-talkie to alert his team, Ryland pounded his way down the hallway toward reception once more.

* * * *

Forty-five minutes later, right before his nerves almost exploded, Ryland found Lia in Cabin 12. With Soren.

Ryland had yanked open the unlocked door, cursing his brother for keeping it unlocked. They were sitting there together, on the floor before the cozy fire, and yucking it up like a couple of blissful hyenas.

A slow burn of anger rippled through Ryland’s core.

Lia turned to him first and smiled shyly. “Hi, Ryland.”

“What are you doing here? With him? I’ve been calling and looking for you everywhere.”

Soren went on the defensive. “Relax, Ryland. I called to see how Lia was doing. She was getting tired of being cooped up alone in your room.”

Ryland stared at Soren, incredulous. “So you let her walk through the woods to you, alone?”

“Don’t be such an ass. Of course not. I walked her over. What do you take me for?” Soren looked at Lia and stifled a giggle. “Besides, we all know how she feels about the forest rodents.”

Lia gave him a playful whack on the shoulder, but darted a nervous look at Ryland.

Ryland began to calm down. Okay, at least Soren hadn’t left her to fend for herself. Still, he didn’t like seeing her in his brother’s cabin. God only knew what they could have been up to, given enough time. Ryland had seen Soren work his charms and reduce even confirmed lesbians to puddles of goo. Never mind someone like Lia.

Definitely heterosexual … and delicious.

Ah, fuck
.

“You should both know,” he began, swallowing hard. “A strange human dude was at the lodge. He said he was waiting for someone. I didn’t like the look of him.”

As Lia blanched, Soren grumbled, “You don’t say?”

“It could be Scott,” she said on a breath.

Soren turned to her. “It could just as well be my hit man. It could be anyone.”

“He was no good. I’ll tell you that much,” Ryland confirmed, sitting on the couch with a sigh. He ran his hands through his hair. “I could smell it on him. Something about him wasn’t right. Anyway, I had Security escort him onto the ferry.” He turned to Lia. “I’m sure it wasn’t your stalker. He looked too sane. He didn’t look like the sort of person to rifle through panty drawers.”

Soren sat up taller. “Panties? Whose panties?”

“Never mind.”

Clearly deciding he was at the end of his rope, Soren stood and stretched his arms. “This is bullshit. I’m not hiding from some hired thug, and I’m definitely not going to let any more nonshifters run rampant on my brother’s resort. I’m not cowering in here like a girl.” He turned to Lia. “No offense.”

“None taken,” she replied, frowning a little.

“What do you propose to do, Mr. Music? Get all Phil Collins on us?” Ryland asked.

“Ha-ha,” Soren replied. “It’s about time we got badass on these sons of bitches. You know, Ry? I kind of enjoyed shifting with you. I think I’m going to do it again. I’m going to run recon around this place and see if I can sniff out any more of the enemy.”

“Would you like some help, Rambo?”

Soren’s lip curled in distaste. “The only thing worse than that pathetic diss is how dated it is. Watch some new movies, Ry. See if you can tear yourself away from your old VCR tapes.”

Ryland merely grinned.

He stopped grinning when Soren began to take off his clothes, his rakish gaze homed in on Lia. Her eyes widened in what seemed to be embarrassment and she averted her gaze, staring into the fire.

“Soren” Ryland warned. “Could you strip in the other room?”

Soren was blasé as he replied, “Lia’s already seen me in my splendor. Don’t get your big boy pants in a twist, bro.”

Of course Soren wouldn’t be shy taking his clothes off in front of Lia. However, Ryland reasoned with himself, he’d never known any shifter to be shy about getting naked. If they did, no one would ever shift. Still, Soren could be a little less obvious about it.

His brother was doing his best to go slowly to catch Lia’s attention. And she was doing her best to be fascinated by the flames in the fireplace. Soren flexed his muscles, the horny twit, but Lia just looked away. She didn’t look at him once during his garish display even though he was clearly performing for her like a desperate, aging stripper, hankering for that last dollar tip.

Instead, Lia finally turned to Ryland. And grinned.

And in that moment, Ryland realized he liked the nonshifter woman. Flaky as she was. Even though she’d pushed him away. He liked her a lot. He grinned back.

Clearly realizing he was getting nowhere in his perverse seduction routine, Soren huffed and puffed and finished undressing. He yanked open the door and stepped outside. “Don’t wait up,” he muttered to Ryland. Then with a roar, he shifted into a huge wall of white fur and disappeared into the woods.

“Dumbass has no clue he sticks out like a sore thumb with that polar bear fur,” Ryland said.

He looked at Lia when she didn’t respond. She was as pale and limp as a month-old button mushroom after witnessing Soren’s departure. Damn. He’d forgotten how scared she was of animals. He moved to the floor and sat next to her. He reached for her hand and she turned to him, biting her lip.

“Lia, I know we’re not exactly the family pet, but why are you so scared of animals?”

She breathed in deeply. “When I was ten, my mom sent me outside to take out the trash one night. I was bitten by a raccoon hiding out near our trash cans. The thing was rabid, they said. I still have nightmares about all the shots I had to receive. Ever since, I’ve been terrified of animals. Their unpredictability scares me. Even the pets of friends, little cats, would send me running. It’s irrational. I know it’s stupid, but I can’t stop it.” She touched her white cheek, as if to warm herself. “My parents took me to the zoo a lot as a kid, hoping I’d lose the fear. They had no idea that they were torturing me. I don’t know how you live here. I could never stay in a place like this lodge, out in the woods.”

Ryland gazed into her fearful eyes. For some reason, her last statement saddened him to a startling degree. In fact, it bothered him so much he was tempted to do something drastic to fix the problem. “Lia, if I tried something, would you trust me not to hurt you?”

She leaned back a little, as if deciding. She shook her head, and spoke, almost as if to herself. “I’m not so good with trust these days.”

He touched her shoulder and rubbed it. “I’m telling you that you can trust me.”

She stared at him. “What are you going to do?”

Ryland didn’t answer. He just stood up, smiled, and started to strip.

Chapter 8

He was stripping. Another one of the Snow brothers was disrobing for her! Only, for some reason, the sight of Ryland slowly doffing his clothes was much more awe-inspiring and terrifying than Soren doing so.

Perhaps because the look in Ryland’s eyes was much more focused. Soren had been showing off, looking for attention, as he had been since she first met him. But Ryland was serious. Concentrated. His gaze, breath-stealing.

And this time, Lia couldn’t be distracted by the dancing flames in the fireplace.

She had to watch.

He undid the last button on his shirt and it fell open, exposing a perfect six-pack and hard pecs. His chest was a bit hairy. She liked that. Her last boyfriend, now a ridiculous memory, had waxed his chest, and she’d always found it too metrosexual for her taste. She liked men to look like men. And Ryland was all man.

“You said you don’t like how unpredictable animals are,” Ryland said softly as he worked on his belt buckle and unfastened his jeans. “However, an animal will always give you a warning about how it feels. Dogs will show you their teeth. Cats hiss. A bear will make a low moaning sound if it’s giving off a mild warning. In courtship, it will huff.” He kicked off his boots, yanked off his socks, and then pulled off his jeans and tossed them onto the couch.