Predator's Kiss (6 page)

“Argh,” she grunted at her laptop. “Just write something, dammit!”

Lia pushed away from her chair and stared around the comfortably appointed room as if it were a prison cell. Surely that was it. She was having trouble because she was away from home. It made sense. There was nothing wrong with the room or the lodge. In fact, it was rather homey. She liked the thick carpets and overstuffed upholstery and often found herself wondering how involved Ryland had been in choosing the furnishings.

She found herself wondering about Ryland a lot, period.

Lia bent down to the little minibar fridge and opened the door. She reached inside for a Perrier water, wrenched off the cap, and took a long swig. Then she took another. And she realized her thirst was in no way being quenched by the designer water.

She thought of Ryland again, pondering the powerful curve of his shoulder muscles, flexing through his shirt as he gestured. She contemplated the fine lines around his mouth, how she’d seen them transform into crinkles of happiness when he talked to his staff, but how they always tightened when he was near her. She wondered how it was that even the set of his strong jaw seemed to call to her.

She sipped some more water, shook her head to clear her thoughts, and sat back down at her laptop.

Lia put the Perrier down on the desk and once again peered at her computer screen. “Her swollen nipples … her swollen nipples.”

Lia remembered how Ryland had come to her room on her first day there and personally stocked the minibar with all sorts of treats he claimed were on the house. She thought of the conversations they’d shared since she’d arrived, short but frequent conversations in which he inquired into her stay. He was always asking if he could make things more comfortable for her, if she needed any supplies from the mainland. And although his eyes were just about always narrowed with suspicion, he never once balked when she asked to stay another night and then another. She didn’t mean to put him out. She just didn’t know where else to turn.

There was something about him that was instinctively nurturing, even though he operated under a distinctly surly vibe most of the time. He didn’t like her, she understood that. Still, he was being nice to her. She didn’t know what to make of it.

All she knew was she couldn’t get him out of her mind.

She gazed at the passage she was writing and was startled as her fingers resumed their position above the keyboard as if of their own volition.

Her swollen nipples were aching to be touched. By him. And yet this was not the place, nor the time. Lady Ebberley’s ballroom was certainly not a venue for their passion, and definitely not while they were dancing with all of society’s eyes upon them. Even still, as Claudio twirled her around the expansive room, his gaze swept over her breasts, lingering on each one. Adelaide’s nipples chafed against the fabric of her bodice. Even the delicate silk felt like sackcloth against her tortured skin. She fought against the urge to tear away her already plunging neckline and bare herself to him, the rogue who had claimed her soul.

“Claudio,” she begged, her voice barely a whisper. “Please.”

Her lover pulled her tight against him and she felt his almost obscene length against her stomach. “Not yet, my love.”

“But Claudio, I can’t be near you like this and not want you.”

She saw the vein in his temple throb, as if he too were laboring under severe temptation. His jaw clenched. “You are a little hussy, are you not?”

Before Adelaide could respond, Claudio’s right hand sneaked toward her breast and tweaked her aching nipple through the silk. She bit down on her bottom lip so she would not cry out in ecstasy.

He leaned in, his voice deep, his breath hot on her ear. He grinned like the demon he was. “Madam, you try my patience. You are a naughty wench.”

He danced her toward the balcony and out onto the stone patio. It was a chilly evening, but the cold air only served to heighten Adelaide’s anticipation. He stopped before the patio railing. Without even checking to see if anyone was watching, Claudio turned her and bent her over the railing. He held her there with one hand, while freeing himself from him breeches with his other hand.

“Are you going to take me here?” she struggled to say. “Someone might see.”

He laughed behind her and slapped her buttocks, making them sting. Without preamble, Claudio prodded her pussy with his engorged cock and sank deep inside her. “Well, then, my darling,” he uttered through clenched teeth. “We shall give them a sight to remember.”

Lia reread her work, and felt warmth spread across her cheeks. She smiled at the new passage. It was a rough draft and would need editing, no doubt, but she’d written something and it made her happy.

Until she realized the Claudio in her mind had Ryland Snow’s face, and the woman bent over the imaginary railing was her.

Once again, Lia reached for the Perrier but forgot to drink. She simply held it and stared into space, completely lost in the thought of Ryland’s strong hands on her backside.

After a few moments of this torture, Lia decided she had enough. Obviously she needed to step away from her laptop and stretch her legs. Perhaps if she wandered the lodge for a few minutes, she’d return with a clearer head. Unsure where exactly to head, knowing only she didn’t want to run into Ryland, Lia avoided the reception area because his office was there. Instead she turned down a hallway she hadn’t previously seen and checked out the posted signs. One indicated a pool and exercise area. Feeling like a snoop, she made her way toward them.

As Lia approached the exercise room, a strange noise halted her progression. She paused outside the closed door and listened.

The last thing she’d expected to hear was a low, animal snarl. It was a familiar noise, the same sort she’d heard from Ryland. She jumped, but was too curious to walk away. Was he pretending to be a bear again? She peered in the door window.

Her eyes made contact with Ryland’s rounded ass, clad as it always was in jeans that fit him so well they should be outlawed. She swallowed and watched the proceedings.

Ryland was standing at the front of the weight room, facing a group of teenaged boys. They were talking about shifting. Fascinated, Lia continued to listen, even though the topic was frightening to say the least. She watched as Ryland moved a little, moving his perfect ass out of her line of sight, but giving her access to his gorgeous face.

One of the boys was gesticulating at Ryland, clearly upset. “I hate having to hide what I am! It makes me feel like a freak.” The boy made a rumbling noise in his throat and hit a punching bag in frustration. And then, before her eyes, the boy changed. She watched as his body seemed to grow, bursting through the seams on his jeans and T-shirt. The same body quickly sprouted hair everywhere. The bear he became let loose a horrible roar, but she couldn’t help but notice the fearsome sound was tinged with sadness.

Gracious
, thought Lia. Ryland had been telling the truth about the shape-shifting thing. Her eyes hadn’t deceived her at all.

These people were animals. Her heart began to palpitate with the nervous need to run.

Ryland put a hand on the teen’s massive bear shoulder. “Carter, breathe. Remember what I taught you. You can control this.”

Lia watched, rapt, as the bear boy opened and closed his giant mouth as if snatching air into his lungs. After a tense minute, he took a deep breath and shifted back. The naked human boy looked pale, ashamed. He shivered and Ryland reached for a towel hanging on a nearby treadmill. He tossed it over the kid’s shoulders, and then the boy wrapped it around his lower half.

“Carter, you’re not a freak,” intoned Ryland in a sympathetic voice that indicated he’d had to repeat his message many times. “None of us are. Sure, we’re different. Hell, I know that. But I promise you, a time will come when you accept those differences. You need to be proud of who and what you are.”

Lia felt queer listening in but was so drawn to Ryland’s voice, and so touched by his comforting words to the distraught boy.

One of the other kids spoke up. “Mr. Snow, did you ever feel like you were a monster?”

Ryland grinned in understanding. “Yeah. I’m still working on getting over that,” he joked. “Look, I won’t lie to you. We all have good days and bad days. And sometimes I wish I were human too. It would make life easier.” He paused. “But easier’s not always better. And being a shifter has its perks. We live longer. We heal faster. We’re stronger.”

“We’re more attractive to the ladies,” Carter interjected, obviously trying to harness his sense of humor. All the boys laughed.

Ryland laughed too. “Yeah, there’s that, too.”

Lia frowned as a frisson of jealousy tickled her spine. Exactly how many women found Ryland Snow attractive? She tried hard not to pout at the idea.

One of the boys eyed the door. “Speaking of ladies, there’s one at the door.” All their heads turned.

“Hey,” Carter said. “She’s hot.”

Ryland turned and glowered at her.

Oh, boy, here we go
.
I’ve been spotted by Mr. Congeniality
.

He yanked open the door. “This is a private session. It’s not gonna end up in one of your books, is it?”

She raised herself to her full height, which was nothing compared to his. “Of course not! I wasn’t snooping. I was just looking around and was wondering what you guys were up to, that’s all.”

“In other words, snooping.”

Lia shook her head, her mouth open, at a loss for words.

Ryland looked chastised. Sort of. “Sorry. Look, I’d appreciate if you wouldn’t share what you heard. The boys rely on me to keep their confidence.”

“Don’t worry,” she replied, a little peeved herself. How could he think she’d blab about the shifter counseling session? Okay, she was listening in when she wasn’t supposed to be, but still, she wasn’t a blabbermouth. Lia figured she should try to fix the situation. “You’re very supportive to those boys. It’s good of you.”

Ryland’s sexy mouth formed an O and then he pursed it altogether, obviously rethinking his next statement. “Thanks,” he muttered.

Lia felt disappointed, although she wasn’t sure why. It seemed her every interaction with Ryland left her reeling, even the small, insignificant ones. Perhaps because there was something inside her that was declaring there was no such thing as an insignificant moment with him. “Anyway,” she mumbled. “I’ll leave you to it. Sorry to disturb you.” She turned and walked down the hall.

“Lia,” he began.

She didn’t give him a chance to finish. She wanted to return to her writing and consider the amazing things she’d seen. And suddenly, she felt like forcing Claudio and Adelaide to have a real, thrash-it-out fight.

* * * *

Saturday evening. On his way to the fish fry, Ryland still felt guilty for being so abrupt and gruff with Lia the last time he saw her, outside the exercise room. And since then, she’d been ensconced in her room. The one next to his, the one he’d put her in, not that it mattered. She was always busy at her laptop, which he supposed was good. It was why she was here. But every time he spoke with her, it seemed he said the wrong thing, or said it the wrong way.

Truth be told, she intimidated him. The woman wrote porn, okay,
erotica
. Not that he understood the damned difference. What on earth must she be getting up to in that room? He was way too intrigued to be happy about it.

And he’d never lost sight of the fact some strange man had played in her underwear drawer. The whole situation didn’t sit right with him. The woman had a stalker. How creepy was that?

Soren kept asking about her too, which made him even sorer. And who was he kidding? He’d seen Lia’s initial reaction to his brother. He’d seen the clear attraction there, and all his old grudges were issuing forth because of it. Soren made a pass and Lia had responded. Hell, he could barely even blame his sibling. Baby brother had been laying it on so thickly with the ladies all his life Ryland doubted Soren even knew when he was flirting half the time. Charm just oozed out of him, like pus from a sore, infecting all those it touched.

Damn.

Not that he had any reason to feel this way. Hell, Ryland had done all right with women. A lot of women. Sure, they flocked to his charismatic brother whenever he was in the vicinity, but Ryland had had his share. Carter hadn’t been stretching the truth when he said the ladies were drawn to shifter men. He knew on some level the animal in a man like him appealed to many women, shifter and nonshifter alike. He saw it as his responsibility to temper that magnetism, not revel in it like Soren did.

Anyway, it wasn’t about the women. It was about the fact Soren felt he could take anything he wanted.

Forget Soren. Just ask Lia if she wants to go to the fish fry
. She was likely hungry and tired of room service.

Ryland turned the corner, heading toward Lia’s room. As if on cue, Soren appeared in the same hallway. He called out. “Ry!”

He turned. And groaned. Soren was head to toe in black leather and sunglasses at night. Black leather pants. Black leather jacket. And no shirt. Ryland caught a glimpse of rock-hard abs no musician should possess and swore under his breath. “Where do you think you’re going in that ridiculous getup, Soren? Freaking Studio 54? We’re in the goddamn woods.”

Soren inspected Ryland’s outfit and huffed. “You have issues with my outfit? What about yours? I see you’ve graduated from red plaid to red and blue plaid. You look like you’re the keynote speaker at a lumberjack graduation.”

Ryland grunted in warning. He glanced at his clothing. He’d chosen his best, cleanest jeans and most expensive, okay,
plaid
shirt.

Maybe Soren had a point. Not that he’d ever admit it out loud.

“There’s a fish fry tonight, right? Marci told me.”

Ryland’s blood pressure kicked up a notch. “I told you to stay away from Marci. Her parents will kill me if you corrupt her.”