Reaper's Vow (15 page)

As if reading his mind, she said, “I miss them. More than that, I miss them for Wendy.”

“A kid should have books.”

“I'm working on it.”

She seemed to be working on a lot of things.

“Isaiah said he'd try to get some for the children.” Tilting her head she studied his lip. “I actually think this will heal without a stitch.”

“Good.” He growled under his breath. “I'm going to have to stop thinking of Isaiah as a monster, aren't I?”

She nodded. “Especially as there aren't that many Reapers that care about good.”

He looked around. “But some do.”

“Yeah.”

“And Isaiah is gathering them up, trying to make something out of nothing.”

“Yes.”

“In a society that doesn't have much value for him.”

“Yes.”

Shit. That was such a human thing to do. Every town that'd sprung up here in the West was a case of someone trying to make something decent out of chaos.

“How did you end up with him?”

She blinked and jerked. “He found me.”

He winced for real this time. “Found you?”

She nodded and resumed her dabbing at his scrape. “Our wagon train had been attacked. I was taken prisoner.”

“Indians?”

“Rogues.”

“Rogue Reapers or humans?”

It was scary how he was beginning think of Reapers as normal.

“Reapers.” Her fingers touched her scarred cheek the way they did when she felt uncomfortable. Addy had her worry stone. Miranda had her scars. “I wasn't well. He brought me here and took care of me.”

“What about Wendy?”

“When I was better, he fetched her for me.”

“From where?”

She looked at him and didn't answer. Just rinsed the soap from his arm.

“I asked you a question.”

“And I don't want to answer.”

That was blunt. “What if I insist?”

She looked up. “Then I'm not going to give you lunch.”

“You strike a hard bargain.”

She shrugged and inspected the scrape for any bits of dirt. Her fingers lingered on the puncture wounds from his own battle with the Rogues.

“This isn't from today.”

“No. I got that before I got here.” Her nail caught at his skin, and he winced.

“I'm sorry”

“No problem.”

She looked at him. “Are you staying for lunch?”

He nodded, accepting the price. “I'll stop poking about.”

Not because she ordered him to but because he kinda liked the way she fussed over him. Liked the way her hair smelled. Liked the way her fingers lingered on his skin in a subtle caress. He'd never been one for being fussed over, and quite frankly there'd never been much of an opportunity for anybody to fuss. If stitching needed to be done and he couldn't do it himself, he went to the nearest town, or his brothers took care of it. But it was different being cared for by a woman. Her touch was gentler, soothing, less offhand. He could see how a man could get used to it.

He couldn't resist adding, “For now.”

That “for now” got another wary glance.

He reached up to brush her hair off her cheek. It was a thoughtless gesture backed by nothing more than instinct. She jerked back. His senses snapped to attention at that flick of fear. He wanted to ask what exactly happened on that wagon train, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what could have happened to a beautiful woman after the lust of battle.

“I'm sorry,” he told her, keeping his voice as gentle as he could. It still sounded pretty rough to him. “You've got flour on your cheek again.”

“Oh.” She rubbed at it with her shoulder.

He took the cloth from her hand; picking a clean corner, he dabbed at her face, and then he handed it back.

“There.”

Her skin was white and creamy, not tanned like he would expect. He wondered if that was because she was a Reaper or if she just didn't do much in the sun.

“What's it like for a woman to be a Reaper?”

She shrugged. “What's it like for anyone to be anything?”

“You're evading the question.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Why?”

She wrung the rag out. “I don't want you to get to know me, and I certainly don't want to get to know you.”

“Why?”

“Because you're a threat to everything I've planned.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

He did, but he wasn't above a lie when it served his purpose. “No, I don't.”

“Because we're attracted to each other, and if we act on that attraction, you're going to get killed, and then after they kill you, they're going to come after me.”

“You're attracted to me.”

“That was not the important part of my statement.”

He dismissed that. “Someone's always trying to kill me.”

She huffed and dropped the rag on the table. “I can see why, but in this case it's better you just let this go.”

“What if I don't want to?”

“What part of they're going to kill us did you not understand?”

“They won't touch you.”

“Says you?”

“Yeah.” He'd kill everyone and burn the fucking compound down around the corpses if anyonee tried to hurt her.

“And when you leave?”

“I'll take you with me.”

Her breath caught, and her energy flickered with a hope that was snuffed out as soon as it flared. “That won't be safe.”

“For whom?”

“You.”

This time he did brush that tendril of hair off her cheek, and he didn't pull his hand back, just let it rest against the softness of her skin, absorbing her heat and her tension. “China doll, I'm in the back of beyond, living in a nest of Reapers, half of which would like to kill me, learning to fight a whole new way because I get the impression there are other Reapers coming to threaten mine. What of any of the facts you know about me makes you think I'm interested in being safe?”

She shook her head. “I can't explain.”

“You can say anything you want to me.”

Her energy pushed with the desperation of a cornered animal. “There's no taking back some things once they've been said.”

“Who's asking you to?”

“Addy will.”

“This doesn't involve Addy.”

She dropped the rag into the basin, and water splashed over the side. “I owe her. You're her cousin.”

“You owe me more.”

Grabbing the rag back up, she slapped it dripping wet into his hand.

“Clean the rest of your cuts yourself. I'm going to put the biscuits on the fire.”

She marched outside, biscuit pan in hand. He thought about following, but he hadn't gotten this far in life by pushing past the point of results, and it wouldn't be productive to push Miranda any more. She was clearly a woman at her limit.

A woman who was attracted to him. He smiled and scrubbed his knuckles. A man could work with that.

* * *

After a tense lunch Cole grabbed up his saddlebags.

“Thank you for the hospitality.”

Beyond a “You're welcome” Miranda didn't say a word. Pretending a grumpiness he didn't feel, hiding a smile he couldn't quit, Cole strode out the door, taking the right to Addy's house. With any luck Isaiah would still be there.

As soon as he reached Addy's, he knew Isaiah was home. The energy from inside the small building was intense, sexual. The ass was bedding his cousin. Cole knocked on the door harder than he needed to.

“Addy?” he called out.

There was some swearing and then a “Go away” from Isaiah.

Cole had no intention of going anywhere. “I've got a question to ask.”

“Ask it later.”

The hell he was going to ask it later. There was too much satisfaction in asking it now.

“Can't wait.”

“Why not?”

“Because apparently not knowing the answer is going to get me killed.”

He heard a gasp, distinctly feminine, and a curse, distinctly masculine. He'd figured that would work. From the thump he bet Addy had all but pushed Isaiah out of bed.

“Just a minute.”

Leaning against the side of the house, he smiled and asked, with a touch of feigned unease, “Think I got that long?”

The door opened. Isaiah walked out, his jeans pulled up but not buttoned, his cock clearly shoved hastily inside. The exact image of a perfectly frustrated man.

Cole grinned.

Isaiah closed the door slowly.

“This had better be good, or I'm going to kill you myself.”

“Is that any way to talk to your new cousin?”

“My soon to be dead cousin if he doesn't get on with it.”

“What kind of attraction could a Reaper woman feel for a human that would get him and her and her daughter killed?”

The question landed between them like a bomb. Isaiah's energy came to a pinpoint. Cole felt a tickling in his mind. With everything in him, he thrust back. Isaiah's eyebrows went up.

“You're an interesting man, Cole Cameron.”

“I'm not interested in being interesting to you. I want an answer to my question.”

Isaiah looked around and stepped slowly away from the door. With a flick of his fingers he motioned that Cole should follow.

“Where are we going?”

“Out of earshot.”

Cole looked around. He couldn't see anybody nearby.

“Reaper earshot,” Isaiah explained.

They went to the edge of the woods. Isaiah stopped just inside the trees. Cole felt Isaiah's energy spread out. He'd always wondered if the man could read minds. He no longer doubted the answer to that was “yes.”

“Who are we talking about here?” Isaiah asked.

Cole turned slightly so the sun wasn't in his eyes and leaned against a tree. “Who do you think?”

“Miranda.”

“And what makes you think she has an attraction for you?”

“She asked me to leave, and when I dawdled—”

“If you forced her—”

“You want to be eating your teeth?” Cole interrupted.

Isaiah straightened in that deceptively slow way he had. “You think you've got what it takes?”

Cole pushed off the trunk. “Yeah, I do.”

Isaiah tilted his head to the side as if assessing Cole's potential. This time when Cole pushed against that tickle, it wasn't so easy to eject. With a nod Isaiah broke the connection, “I believe you just might. Someday. But today is not that day. So just answer my question so I can get back to my wife.”

Cole wanted to snarl at that.

“Miranda implied her attraction to me wasn't an ordinary attraction. That it was something Reaper.”

Isaiah whistled under his breath. “Mating potential.”

Cole blinked. “Which is?”

“A bonding that is so elemental it goes beyond what the humans call love. Valued not only for the strength of the bond but because only bonded couples are believed to have the potential to produce children.”

Cole knew the attraction he felt for Miranda was deep, but that deep? “What happens if Miranda and I have this mating potential?”

“Things get interesting.”

“Why?”

“We thought that mating potential was a onetime thing.”

“And?”

“If Miranda isn't lying, that was a mistake.”

“You're saying the attraction she feels for me is the same attraction she feels for Clark?”

“I don't know. We would have to analyze it.”

“Analyze it how?”

Isaiah ran his hand through his hair before buttoning up his jeans.

“I don't fucking know.”

Cole was getting sick of “I don't knows.”

“What
do
you know?”

“Apparently less every day.”

Despite himself Cole had to feel for the man. His frustration consumed his energy. “How did you become Reaper?”

“I was kidnapped, and somehow they made it happen.”

“Somehow? They?”

With a wave of his hand, Isaiah dismissed the questions. “That's not important. I'm more concerned about this attraction Miranda feels. You haven't encouraged it?”

“I haven't exactly
dis
couraged it.”

Isaiah's gaze snapped to his. “You feel it, too.”

“She's a beautiful woman.”

“She's average looking at best.”

“She's fucking beautiful.”

Isaiah shook his head. “This is going to complicate everything.”

He didn't look unhappy. “What?”

“Clark has petitioned to have you removed.”

“The boy doesn't like humans?”

“The man doesn't like
you
. I was wondering why, but now I know. Without you here he had a clear shot.”

“Life is rough.”

Isaiah ran his hand through his hair again and shook his head again. “Hard to believe, but you just might be the answer to a prayer, Cameron.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. No one wanted Miranda marrying Clark, but my hands were tied.”

“Because of the mating attraction.” Cole hated the thought of Miranda being attracted to that brute.

Isaiah nodded. “But what you may not know is she didn't have one to him.”

“Then how the hell did that get approved?”

Isaiah shrugged “The council thought a one-way thing was enough, but if your attraction is mutual, that decision can be challenged.”

“It shouldn't exist in the first place.”

“But it does.”

Cole ground his teeth. “So she has to marry Clark, whether she wants to or not, put up with his moods, and share him with another woman because a bunch of men decided a one-way attraction fit the law?”

Isaiah shrugged. “Reaper law is far from perfect.”

“If it's anything, it's permanently flawed.” The thought of Miranda with another man pissed Cole off.