Predator's Kiss (7 page)

Soren put up his hands. “I didn’t touch her. She volunteered the information.” He elbowed his brother playfully. “Aw, come on, Ry. Relax. You know I love seafood.” He pouted, sticking out his bottom lip.

Ryland resisted the urge to yank on that protruding lip. “You should stick to your cabin and order in. Aren’t you worried about the…” He looked around to make sure no one was listening. “…hit man?”

Soren waved the idea off. “No one knows I’m here. It’s all good. Besides, with my shades, I’m incognito.” He lowered his glasses and eyeballed him suspiciously. “Where’s the lovely Lia?”

Ryland’s already high blood pressure now skyrocketed. “None of your business.”

Once again, right on cue, Lia opened her door. She looked around it, saw them, and breathed in a sigh of relief. “Oh, it’s you two. Thank goodness. I heard raised voices and wondered.”

She stepped around the door and into the hallway and Ryland’s breath caught in his throat. She was wearing a simple cotton shirt and the same tight jeans she’d arrived in, but the repetition of the outfit did nothing to diminish its charms. She’d clearly just showered and her light brown hair glistened under the corridor lights. Her skin glowed, even without a stitch of makeup, and he could catch a faint smell of sweetness on her. She’d used the resort toiletries, but on her, they smelled like some exotic French perfume. It was nice.

There was another fragrance clinging to her as well. Feminine arousal.

Dammit.

Ryland cleared his throat, and then remembered Soren was also standing there, grinning like an idiot. Where the teasing scent of Lia’s desire had first made him hungry, now it just made him angry.

Clearly she wanted his brother. Perfect.

He was about to stalk away when Soren’s voice cut into the tension. “Lia, Ryland was wondering if you’d like to accompany us to the fish fry down at the lake. Perfect evening to appease our hunger, don’t you think?”

Ryland gawked at him. Was
this
the sort of garbage talk that made the women quiver over Soren?

Unable to help himself, he looked at Lia. Her tentative gaze flitted from Soren to him, lingering on Ryland, questioning. “I don’t want to get in your way.”

“You’re not,” Ryland barked. And then he frowned at how barbaric he sounded. No wonder Soren was always taunting him. “I mean, we’d be pleased if you joined us.”

She smiled, and every blood vessel in his body seemed to shoot red-hot fire straight into his dick. Cursing his weak, male body, Ryland struggled to smile back. He hoped very much that he didn’t resemble a cranky, constipated old man.

“That depends,” she said, with what sounded like a hint of flirtatiousness in her tone, “what happens at a fish fry, aside from fish being fried?”

He seized on the topic, hoping to distract himself from his hard-on. “Everyone staying at the lodge usually comes. We not only have fish, we roast corn on the cob and sausages. There’s apple cider and pie. And some music. A local band. It’s fun.” He coughed. “You should come.”

Her brow creased with worry. “It does sound fun, but I don’t know if I should go out.”

Against his better judgment, Ryland took a step toward her and a grin forced its way onto his face. “Don’t worry. My security team is aware of your situation. And I’ll keep any marauding chipmunks away from you.”

She began to blush. Right on cue, Soren swooped in and wrapped an arm about Lia’s shoulders. “There you go, Lia. Two big, burly bear men protecting you. What more could you want?”

As Lia shivered at the word “bear.” Soren danced her down the hallway. Ryland stood there, frozen to his spot, quietly lamenting his rotten sense of timing and hesitation.

Shaking his head, he slowly followed. As he made his way down the hallway, another bedroom door opened and he saw one of the cleaning carts emerge, being pushed by Donna Moore. Donna was a bear shifter who’d gone to school with Ryland and Soren and was a little down on her luck, thanks to a husband who drank too much. She’d come to him a few weeks ago, begging for a job and he’d found her one. From what he heard, she was doing well. She was quiet and kept her head down, never complaining.

She started when she saw him. “Mr. Snow.”

He smiled. “Donna, what did I say?”

She blushed. “Ryland. Sorry about that.” She was distracted by the sound of Soren’s laughter down the hallway and turned in time to see him and Lia disappear around the corner. She blanched. “Was that…?”

“Soren? Yeah.” He’d forgotten Soren and Donna had a thing years ago in high school. They’d been an item for a couple of years until Soren dumped her, unable to fit her into his burgeoning schedule. There was no time in a musical prodigy’s life for hometown sweethearts. Donna had been devastated at first, but moved on and had a couple of kids with her husband. “He’s just visiting. You won’t tell anyone you saw him, will you? He’s trying to keep a low profile right now.”

Her tired eyes creased with a smile. “Of course. I understand. Superstardom and all that. Have a nice night, Ryland.”

“You, too.” Ryland stared into the empty hallway his brother and Lia had just vacated. “I’m sure mine’ll be just grand.”

Chapter 5

As Soren walked her into the Northern Ontario darkness, much darker than Toronto ever was in a power outage, Lia’s mind reeled. She was on the arm of a musical giant of the ursine variety, while his hot bear brother followed on their heels, steam coming out of his ears. She darted another look back at Ryland, only to be met with the penetrating gaze of his black eyes. Even in the dark, she felt its debilitating force.

She swallowed, blinked, and slowly turned back around. Why was he always so mad?

And why couldn’t she stop thinking of him? He was so much on her mind she was even forgetting her fear of being in the woods.

They turned a corner on the pathway and suddenly the view ahead was illuminated by a thousand fairy lights. Lia smiled in spite of the emotional churning in her gut.

So this was a fish fry.

The beach near the lake was packed with happy families eating and laughing, sitting on picnic benches and on towels right on the sand. There was a covered booth set up near the sparkling water’s edge, and under it a couple of men were frying up some very fresh-looking fish in a large fry pan. In another booth, a lady was doling out heaping mounds of the creamiest coleslaw she’d ever seen. In the middle of the beach there was a fire pit with a steaming cauldron. People were boiling corn on the cob in it and then dunking their cobs in pots of melted butter. There was a grill, and the delectable smell of cooking sausages made Lia’s mouth pool with saliva. To say nothing of the table of sinful desserts: pies, crumbles, and cheesecakes. A band was playing a fusion of country and Celtic music down the beach, and the sound of rousing fiddles made her want to dance.

For a moment, Lia wondered if she’d stumbled into heaven. After enduring the rat race in the big city, it certainly felt like her version of the celestial place, creepy-crawlies aside. In that moment, she was happier than she’d been in weeks.

Soren and Ryland came to stand on either side of her. Even from behind his sunglasses, she could feel Soren’s frank gaze. “So, what’ll it be?” he asked. “Fish or sausage?”

She breathed in and all the wonderful fragrances hit her at once. “Would it be too greedy to say both?”

Soren laughed out loud. “I love a woman with an appetite. Come with me. I’ll make sure you’re fed.” He maneuvered her away from Ryland and toward the food.

Not wanting to resemble a desperate dolt, Lia tried not to look back at Ryland more than once. Still, she felt his eyes burning into her as he took the opportunity to talk to one of the guests.

Soren brought her over to the table where the fish was being served. “Don’t mind my brother,” he said. “I know he’s a bit of an ogre.”

“I never said so.”

Soren turned to her and removed his sunglasses. He grinned, but his gaze was calculating. “I can see Ryland makes you nervous. It’s okay. I understand. Hell, he makes me nervous too.”

She struggled to find the right words. “He’s just very … intense.”

Soren put his arm around her and stared, as if deciding whether or not to trust her with vital information. “You’ll have to excuse Ryland for his rough exterior. He put up a lot of walls after … well, after what happened to his last girlfriend.”

Lia felt her heart sink at Soren’s ominous words. Had Ryland been hurt in some way? The thought bothered her more than she would have expected. “What happened?”

Soren paused, took a deep breath, and spoke in a hushed voice. “She, uh … died.”

Lia’s stomach bottomed out in empathy. “Oh, that’s horrible! She must have been so young. How did it happen?”

Soren gazed at a spot somewhere next to her head, his eyes glazed. As if he wasn’t quite sure how to say it, or wasn’t sure what exactly to say. For a moment, Lia almost thought he was trying to come up with a good story. “Uh. She fell off a … trapeze. Yeah. She was an acrobat in one of those Cirque du Soleil shows, and had an off night.” He shuddered. “It was horrible.”

Lia watched as Soren chewed on his own words. Why did she get the sensation he was having a bit of fun at her expense? “She fell off a trapeze?”

“Yup.” He nodded, clearly satisfied with his tale. “And Ryland’s emotions are still really raw. He might lash out in anger sometimes, but inside, well, inside he’s weeping. I’m sure he’d really appreciate it if you showed him some affection. He needs that right now.”

Lia didn’t know what to say, so she remained silent as they were served some fish. However, she couldn’t stop mulling over Soren’s information. Surely he was jesting. She got the impression Soren Snow liked a good laugh. Something told her it would be like him to plant a kernel of juicy gossip only to watch it pop in her face.

Still, the idea Ryland could have suffered such a loss was heartbreaking. She’d have to tread carefully in case any of it were true.

After a few minutes, Soren brought her back to where his brother stood and dropped her off while he went over to the sausage stand on his own. As he sauntered off, at least ten female heads turned to watch him leave.

Lia couldn’t help but laugh when those females began to whisper excitedly. She turned to Ryland. “Boy, does Soren always get that reaction from women?”

Ryland was deadpan as he stared ahead. “Always.”

Lia observed Ryland quietly. There was something in the hardness of his eyes that told of more than simple sibling rivalry. And suddenly she found herself desperate to know exactly what was bothering Ryland. She made it her mission to find out. After all, he’d been kind enough to let her stay at the lodge.

Ryland was on edge, not that she expected him not to be. After all, given her bizarre tale of stalker strife, he’d be worried about undesirables showing up. Or was it possible he was still grieving his flexible circus girlfriend? No, surely Soren’s story was fabricated to tease her.

A nervous tremor tickled her gut, one that had nothing to do with hunger pains, and she felt bad for giving her host such a burden. “Look, Ryland. I appreciate what you’re doing, but I want to reassure you I won’t stay here long. I’ll figure out my plan tonight, and head out tomorrow morning.”

He turned to her, his eyes wide. “Why? I mean, what’s the rush? If you’re still figuring out your plan, let’s at least make sure it’s a good one.” He stared at her. “What about family? Is there someone you can stay with?”

Lia let out a huff. “Right. My parents made it clear I’m not welcome at their house any time in the next millennium. They’re too busy dealing with a bad case of disappointment in their children.”

“Why?”

“Well, my brother started things off a year ago by announcing he was gay and was marrying his interpretive dancer boyfriend.” Lia frowned, remembering the nasty scene. “That didn’t go over well. And when my book, explicit as it is, hit the shelves … well, let’s just say my parents’ country club membership has been revoked. Which is ironic, because I’m sure all their hypocrite friends have copies stashed in their bedside tables. So, no, I can’t really go home again.”

Ryland touched her elbow and a shock of awareness shot up her arm and right into her sex. Lia bit her tongue so she wouldn’t blurt out something stupid, like asking the big bear man to throw her up against the nearest tree so he could search out her pot of honey.

Could a man like him even have his way with someone like her? Was it physically possible? Perhaps it was different with shape-shifters. Would it be different with someone like Ryland Snow? It would be interesting to find out. She wasn’t sure romance novels and late-night cable shows could be relied upon as resources. She’d have to do some research. For a future plotline, of course.

He offered her a sad smile. “I’m sorry to hear that. I know what it’s like to be separated from family.” He squeezed her elbow with a gentleness she wouldn’t have expected from one so large. When he let go of her arm, Lia fought the urge to grab it back.

“What about the rest of your family? Are they still around?”

He rolled his eyes and let out a soft laugh. “Oh, they’re alive and well, just doing their own thing. My folks are ‘discovering themselves’ in a hippie commune in Victoria. They sell homemade jam at organic fairs, but between you and me, I think it’s a cover for their thriving weed business. I expect a call from the police any day now.”

Lia brought a hand to her mouth and stifled a belly laugh.

Ryland smiled. “It’s okay. Let it out. It’s funny as all hell.”

They shared a laugh and she was so happy to see his dark eyes dance for that moment. In fact, it far exceeded the joy she felt upon seeing the fish fry for the first time.

Ryland continued, his eyebrow arched at a naughty angle. “Soren thinks I dress funny. You should see our dad. He doesn’t dress at all. I feel so sorry for his neighbors.”

They laughed so hard people began to look at them, but Lia didn’t mind. Their laughter eventually quelled and they both sighed, looking at each other. And that look swiftly grew more intense, more laced with eroticism as Ryland’s gaze dipped toward her mouth and down to her neck. She saw him swallow, and the soft glow from the fairy lights highlighted his features, casting a glow over his chiseled cheekbones and strong jaw.