Centaur Rivalry (Touched Series Book 3) (3 page)

I gripped him tight
ly, refusing to let him leave.  I didn’t need to argue with him; he heard my silent message.  Drake rested his chin on the top of my head.  “Okay.  I’ll stay until the others return.”

I didn’t like the idea of him by himself in the woods, but arguing the point now would accomplish nothing.  I caressed his shoulder
, “You’re tired.  Why don’t you get some rest?  I’ll stay awake so you can sleep.”

Drake shook his head, but I cut him off before he could speak.  “
You haven’t slept in almost two days.  How are you going to protect me if you pass out on your feet?”

His hands
glided from my shoulders to my elbows.  “I’m fine, Love.”

I walked over to the head of both beds and
threw all the pillows onto the floor.  I motioned to the space on the floor between the two beds.  “If you won’t sleep, will you hold me?”

Drake’s expression was pained.  His chest spread wide as he inhaled deep
ly.  “Cami, I. . .”

I cut him off before he could argue. 
“I miss how close we were in Ireland, waking up each morning to your eyes looking back at mine.  Your arms around me. . . I just miss it.”

Drake eased over to where I stood.  His
hand rose to cup my jaw.  His thumb lightly caressed my chin while his eyes fell from mine.  “We need to think practically.  Ireland was a long time ago.”

My voice was quiet
, but I kept it from shaking.  “Not so long.”

The sorrow in his eyes dug deeper, “It was a lifetime ago.”

“Only if we let it be a lifetime ago.  I know
this
,” I let my hand run along the horse part of his body, “is only temporary.  Don’t let it come between us.”

“Cami. . . it’s who I am now.”

I had held it together since the first moment I saw him in the moonlight.  The joy of finding him alive outweighed the pain of discovering his transformation.  I hadn’t shed a single tear that night or any of the nights after.  I hadn’t considered turning my back on him.  But more than his body had changed that night –he no longer saw me as
his Centauride;
he saw me as his responsibility.  I wanted him to look at me the way he did before –like I was his whole life – like the world would stop spinning if I weren’t in it.

My voice barely more than a whisper,
“You’re still you.”  My chest tightened and my eyes threatened to let loose.

“Open your eyes, Cami.  Things have changed.”

The first tear streaked down my cheek without any warning.  A second and a third rolled free.  I turned my back to him, burying my face in my hands.  I wouldn’t have been able to see Drake through my tears anyway, and my voice wouldn’t work enough to argue.  I wanted to escape, to find a dark corner and hide – to give myself over to the loneliness.  I bolted toward the door, but Drake grabbed me before I could turn the handle.

He
pulled me tight against him, my back tucked snug to his chest, his arms anchoring me in place.  Drake’s chin rested on the top of my head as he whispered, “I’m here, Love.  I’m right here.”

I tried to pull away, but his arms wouldn’t budge.  I didn’t want to hear things had changed or everything we’d gone through had been for nothing.
I’d lost Mom, my family had to go into hiding because of me, I had a twin brother I might never meet, and I would be hunted every day for the rest of my life.  Even if Drake stayed with me, I would live out the rest of my life alone.  All of this was my reality, and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t strong enough to accept it.

His words tried to sooth
e me.  “Shhhh, I’m not going anywhere.  I’ll be here as long as you need me.  Don’t cry.”  They had the opposite effect, and I cried harder.  I had held everything in for too long.  I tried to remember the last time I’d cried – it had been when Zandra told me Drake was dead.  The idea that I had lost him nearly destroyed me.  As I stood in this motel room, maybe I had lost him after all.

The life I saw for the two of us –
was it really gone?  He couldn’t stay like this forever.  I choked out between the sobs, “It’s only temporary.  It’s not forever.  Say it’s only temporary.”  He couldn’t have understood my pleas through the sobs.

His arms gripped me harder; I felt his lips on my ear.  His gentle kiss
warmed me.  If I closed my eyes, I could pretend things were normal:  Drake holding me tight – the plans for our future.

After several minutes
, my own private implosion began to subside.  I wiped my cheeks dry but couldn’t turn around.  If there were pity in his eyes, it would break me, and I would never recover.

I needed him and
, whether he knew it or not, he needed me, too.  Drake tugged my shoulders to turn me to face him, but I refused to move.  He lifted me off my feet and cradled me in his arms.  I buried my face in his chest as he eased me onto the awaiting pile of pillows on the floor.  I wound my arms around his neck while I felt his breath against mine.

I finally found my voice, “Say it.  Say it’s only temporary.”

A heavy sigh escaped Drake, but no words.  I pulled my face away from his chest.  My eyes were swollen and his face was blurry, but I stared into his eyes, forcing him to hear me.  “It’s only temporary.  You won’t be like this forever.  We have a future.”

For the first time in weeks
, the smolder in his eyes was back.  He had the same desire burning through that first made my knees buckle.  When Drake found his voice, it was clear and confident, “I’ll take any future I’m given, so long as you’re in it.  No regrets.”

Drake’s lips found mine
; not the tentative kisses we’d shared since his transformation – a kiss that screamed of his love for me.  His lips crushed hard against mine.  His fingers wove into my hair as my body’s raw desire responded to his touch.  We lay on the floor wrapped up in each other’s arms, both reminding the other of the love that would trade anything, be anything, endure any amount of pain for the love of the other.

(
Camille, Small Town in South Dakota
)

The bar had a brick front with two small blacked-out windows.  It was nothing special to look at sandwiched in between Murray’s Grocery Store and Vic’s Laundromat.  From the outside it looked dark and empty inside.  A few people passed by it on the street without even giving it a second look.  I questioned whether Katherine had sent us on a wild goose chase when she’d told us to meet her here.  She had mentioned Deadwood earlier, but that was forty miles away.  Had she mixed up the address?

I sat in the
truck, teetering on the edge of returning to the motel.  This was the first time I’d been away from Drake since we’d decided to meet at Cameron’s house almost three weeks ago.  My whole life, I’d never felt like I needed protection from anything or anyone, but here, now, with just Brent, I couldn’t help the uneasy feeling.

Two nights ago
, when the Centaurs had stormed Cameron’s house, was the first time it had sunk in that we were in real danger.  That was at least ten towns from here, but what if those Centaurs were searching for us?  I still didn’t know who they were, who had sent them, or what they wanted.

Brent was oblivious to the fear I felt, his
voice brimming with excitement, “Look, there’s Katherine’s truck.  She must already be inside.  Let’s go.”  My gaze followed his extended finger.  Her truck was parked one side-street over on the far side of the little grocery store.  As I sat in the cab of the truck, I couldn’t shake my uneasy feeling.

When Brent came back from his shopping trip with
Katherine, he was much more relaxed around her.  After dinner, Brent and Katherine were rarin’ to go to town for an impromptu poker game.  I wasn’t all that interested in going, but we couldn’t let Brent go with just Katherine.  If anything happened to him, I’d never forgive myself.

After
Katherine’s warning earlier, Gage and Bianca decided not to take any unnecessary chances if we needed a fast escape, so they traded in their compact car for a full-sized four-wheel drive pick-up.  They insisted Brent and I take their truck into town tonight, which left them with Brent’s rental car at the motel.

Bianca and Gage opted to stay at the motel.  Gage handed the truck keys to me for the trip into town
, and I thought Drake was going to have a melt-down.  Despite Drake’s protest, Brent reasoned that if we didn’t go, Katherine would be suspicious.  We googled the sleepy little town on Bianca’s phone; its population was fewer than a thousand people:  two bars, a restaurant, a bank, three churches, and two gas stations – not exactly a thriving metropolis.

Drake’s words to me as I walked out the door, “I can’t lose you again,” were on a constant replay in my mind.
  The look in his ice blue eyes as I closed the motel room door haunted me.  I was tempted to turn around and go back to the motel, but Brent was already waiting outside the passenger side door of the truck where we had parked on the quiet street.  I took a breath and murmured to myself, “Hopefully he loses quickly.”

When I
volunteered to go with Brent, it was because Gage and Bianca wanted to plan a strategy with Drake for our trip to Africa.  I was even a little excited because this would give me some quality time with Brent.  When I’d first arrived in South Carolina, Brent was the brother who was closest to my age, met me at the airport, and spent the most time with me.

I’d grown very close to Beau in the short time we’d spent together in South Dakota.  His absence left a hole
in me.  Having Brent here was like having a small piece of home.  Home.  What was that, anyway?  All those years I’d grown up with just Mom.  After her death, I was lucky enough to learn about the rest of my family: Will, Beau, Bart, Ben, Bruce, Brent, even Gretchen.  Given everything that had happened since finding them – I wondered just how lucky I was.

The last couple months had felt like a runaway roller coaster
.  I had just barely gotten to know my brothers when Zandra yanked me away from everyone and held me hostage.  Phineas helped Drake and me escape Zandra’s house, and Will helped us get to Ireland.  It took us a week to find my great-uncle Zethus, only to find out that the whole trip was for nothing because he didn’t have Hercules’ arrow, and he sent us empty-handed to South Dakota.  I got kidnapped a second time – strangely enough by Phineas, the one who had helped me escape Zandra.  I was able to free myself only to come back and to find Drake was a Centaur.  For added fun, the father of gods, Zeus, reiterated a millenniums’ old death decree on my family.

The odds had been stacked against me from the moment I made that first phone call to Will.  I needed a break
– to catch my breath.  Brent was waving his hand in front of the windshield where I sat, “Hello, earth to Cami.”  It worked – he’d popped me out of my own little pity party.  A night out with Brent could be just what I needed.  I reached for the door handle and froze.

Across the street, the door to the little bar where
Katherine had told us to meet her opened.  Light flooded out from the bar illuminating his face.  He was on the sidewalk holding the door handle. I couldn’t help myself.  I would know that face anywhere.  Scrambling to open the door, I yanked the handle hard and threw all my weight at the door when I screamed, “Daniel!”

He stopped and looked behind him
, but we were a block away, and he didn’t see me.  He must have decided he’d been hearing things because he went inside the bar, allowing the door to shut behind him.  Brent was in mid-sentence, but I didn’t care.  I jumped out of the truck, sprinted the block to the bar, threw open the door and searched the faces in the smoky room.  His back was to me, but I recognized his silhouette immediately.

Creeping up behind him, I wrapped my arms around him
and buried my head against his shoulder blades.  The words were out before I even gave a thought to them, “I worried I’d never see you again.”

His body turned
stiff under my touch.  Daniel didn’t move, but his voice questioned, “Cami?  Cami?!”  I squeezed him tighter from behind.  Daniel whipped around and drew me in a tight bear hug.  When I was ready to beg for air, he lifted me up off the floor then brought me back hard into his chest.  I might as well have been a rag doll.  It was Daniel.  He was here.  In the middle of this frozen tundra, he had appeared just when I needed him the most.

My Centauride senses kicked in as the hair
s on my arms stood on end.  There was a Centaur here. . . wait, not a Centaur . . . a Centauride.

Behind the bar stood
the tallest Centauride I’d ever seen.  She might have been an Amazon – she was well over six feet tall.  Her hair was platinum blonde – the color you can only get from a box.  Her make-up was meticulously applied with dark smoky blues on her eyes and a rich red on her lips.

Every Centauride I’d met
had a conservative, almost demure look about them – this Centauride looked nothing like the Centaurides I’d seen before.  She had a “celebrity-look” about her as if she were on loan from Hollywood.

Brent was oblivious to the tall blonde Centauride behind the bar
; he was too focused on the man with his arms around me.  The Centauride was watching me carefully, and Daniel. . . well, Daniel kept squeezing the air out of me.

Katherine
emerged from a wall of people surrounding a billiard table.  She, too, was paying closer attention to me.  That nervous feeling started cinching tight on my stomach.  I could count on Daniel and Brent if it came to it, but after my second kidnapping, I caught myself being much more aware of my surroundings.  A Centauride tending bar for humans was unexpected and set off warning bells in my head.

Katherine
’s curiosity got the better of her, “Ya know Daniel?”

Her question caught me off-guard. 
How did Katherine know Daniel?  What was he doing here?  Why hadn’t he gone back to California when Beau left?

I was exposed
.  Drake had a knack for knowing exactly what was going on in my head.  In the few weeks we’d been together, I’d grown accustomed to our
non-verbal
conversations.  I felt vulnerable because neither Brent nor Daniel could hear my thoughts.  How would I tell them I had a bad feeling about this place?  If I said it aloud, would we be overheard?  My eyes darted between the two men, and they were oblivious to my worry, still sizing each other up.

Katherine
was the first to speak, “Daniel, either ya already know Cami or yer a magnet for women.”

The smile on Daniel’s face stretched from one ear to the other,
“What?  Cami, who?  I thought you brought me that stripper you promised me!  You know I won fair and square.”  Without missing a beat, my hand swatted at his head as he ducked and my hand whizzed past just missing his ear.

Katherine
beamed, “Can’t hide anything from ya!”  Katherine, Daniel, the Amazon-looking bartender, and I laughed; Brent scowled.

I thought for sure
Daniel and Brent had met before, but the way both eyed each other – I wasn’t so sure.  Daniel eased up on his grip, but kept one arm wrapped around my waist while he held out his hand to greet Brent.  “Name’s Daniel.  Which brother are you?”

Brent’s voice was less than welcoming
, but he extended his hand and answered, “Brent.”  Despite the introduction, his glare at Daniel didn’t diminish.

I was proud of Daniel for ignoring Brent’s reaction
.  He must have realized Brent was less than thrilled to see him, so in typical Daniel fashion he jumped right into conversation as if they were old pals.  “How’s Beau doin’?  Haven’t heard from him since he and Lacey boarded a plane bound for South Carolina.”

Brent shook his head, “I don’t know
.  They didn’t stay long.  He packed up his things and both were gone a few hours after they showed up.”  Daniel’s question about Beau seemed to calm Brent a little.  I guessed that Brent was still not comfortable with a male touching a Centauride who wasn’t betrothed to him, but at least he stopped glaring.  His stare fixated on Daniel’s arm still wrapped around me, but he didn’t look like he was ready to tackle him – it was an improvement.

I
was baffled as to why Daniel was still here.  I was sure he had gone back to California when Beau and Lacey left for South Carolina.  Why would Daniel be in this bar?  Why tonight?  Was he supposed to stay a part of my life, even after I’d turned my back on my
human
existence?  Apprehensively, I asked, “So, you were sick of the beach or what?  You didn’t go home?”

“Naw.  Wasn’t anything for me
there.  Pops and I have been on the outs for a while.  I got fired when I took my unannounced, extended vacation here to look for you.  I didn’t have anyone to go back to, and some card shark took me for everything I had my first night here.”

Daniel shot a teasing
look toward Katherine as she oozed pride over her obvious exploits.  I cringed when he said he’d been fired.  Katherine didn’t comment when he said he’d been here looking for me.  I hoped she’d let it go without any questions.

When he said there was nothing for him in California – that
was a lie; at least the part about not having anyone to go back to.  Daniel had always had any number of women who were as close as a smile or a wink away.  From the two women looking at me, his charms weren’t left in California.  Katherine playfully punched Daniel, “A card shark?  You can’t hold me responsible for yer lack of skills.”

“
Katherine, no woman has ever accused me of being short on skills.”

She cocked her head to the side
as a sly smile emerged, “There’s a first for everything.  Let me know if ya want ta sign up for some tutoring.”

The Amazon-sized Centauride behind the bar
watched their exchange.  She’d wiped the same spot on the bar at least a dozen times.  Her eyes caught mine, and it looked like she tried to cover up her interest, “Nice reunion.  What’re you drinking?”  She gave a condescending look, “I know, Sweetheart, you’ll have a pop.”  She looked at Brent, “Escorts drink these days?”

Brent’s mouth opened,
his pupils dilated and quickly dwarfed the whites of his eyes, while his Adam’s apple slid down his throat as he swallowed.  “Eagle-eyes” Brent realized in that moment that our bartender was a Centauride.  He was speechless.

The bartender looked at me, “What?  You don’t let him talk?  Okay, fine,
you
tell me what he’s drinking.”

I snickered when I looked over at Brent
who still hadn’t recovered.  Centaurides were revered.  Few if any had jobs, and none would stoop to serving humans.  At least that was the world Brent was from.  Amused at Brent’s inability to regain his speech, I ordered.  “We’ll both have whatever light beer you’ve got on draft.”

She reached into a freezer and pulled out two frozen
mugs.  As she was pouring, Brent leaned into my ear and whispered, “She’s a Centauride.”

I smiled, but before I could respond
, she’d put both glasses on the bar a little harder than was necessary.  Beer spilled up over the lip of the mugs and slid down the side.  She looked straight at Brent and with a menacing tone said, “And
she
expects her tip to be representative of the fabulous service you just received.  That’ll be six dollars.”  Either she had dog-hearing, or she was psychic.  What did I know – maybe she belonged to a herd that had both.