Coveted (9 page)

 Chapter Ten

A
iden drove through the
bailey, hyper-aware of the woman at his back. Shayla had gone deathly still when
his wolves howled their greeting of welcome. He should be happy. Relieved. He
had no business allowing this attraction to continue. As soon as they entered
the bailey, everything between them would change, end brutally when she learned
she couldn’t leave.

Unless he could
convince her that staying was her idea.

As he surveyed the
keep, the once-familiar buildings felt foreign. The surrounding walls of the
castle towered over him. His breathing became shallow as he struggled to suck
in enough air. The handlebars of the ATV creaked under his grip as they halted
in front of the entrance hall. His wolf stilled, ready to spill out of his skin
at the thought of being trapped behind another set of walls.

“Are you all right?” She
ran her fingertips lightly down his arm, the hesitant touch making the world
slide away until there was only her.

He inhaled sharply,
her citrus scent washing over him, and the tightness in his chest slowly
dissipated. “I will be.”

He dismounted and studied
her, his heartbeat slowed to normal as he met her blue eyes. Panic receded
under her calm, and some of his composure returned. Those sharp eyes of hers
passed over the castle, and pride puffed up his chest when he saw them widen
appreciatively, ridiculously pleased that he could impress her. Once he was
back on his feet, she’d see him as a different man.

Someone worthy of
her.

“You grew up here.”

“Yes.” It wasn’t a
question, but he answered anyway. He gripped his hands behind his back to keep
from stepping to her side and tucking her back up against him. Shayla turned,
her attention finally coming to rest on his men.

“Those men are like
you.”

When she continued to
gawk at them, Aiden narrowed his eyes, battling the raging jealously that
prickled along his skin. “Like me?”

Then he noticed her gaze
had landed on only a specific few.

His
Firsts
, the
strongest of his wolves, warriors who could shift into the fabled two-legged
werewolves.

Her focus couldn’t be
an accident.

The world narrowed
down to her. Sounds faded. His heart thumped twice in denial before the alpha
in him took control. All his concern for her feelings shredded as ugly
suspicions rose. Could he have been wrong and invited his worst enemy into his home?

* * *

As silence descended,
Shayla quickly replayed what she said and wanted to curse her overly
superstitious mind. She turned to find Aiden dissecting her. The chill around
her intensified, and it was all she could do not to redden at her slip. It was
one thing to listen to fairy tales as a child, it was another to actually
believe them.

This was not a
fortress, but a modern residence.

There were no such
things as werewolves.

“Yes, you know,
security.” She waited expectantly for him to confirm her guess so she could put
this nonsense behind her. “That is what you said, right?”

“You might say we’re
more like private security.”

Shayla listened hard.
He didn’t lie, but it wasn’t the complete truth, either. A huff of frustration
escaped at the purposefully vague answer. It left her exactly where she’d
started…with no clue who Aiden really was. She was in the middle of nowhere,
her whereabouts known only to Aiden and his men, and no way to communicate with
the outside world.

Shayla refused to be
a victim, not again. She just had to be smart and play her cards very
carefully. Though getting back to town was her first priority, she couldn’t
help admire what Aiden had built.

The castle was hauntingly
beautiful, but an underlying sadness clung to the gray walls like a ghost she
could almost see. There was definitely something strange here beyond the
decided lack of females. She just couldn’t pinpoint why she was so sure.

“Come.” Aiden held a
hand out for her.

She didn’t want to
touch him, abruptly convinced that his touch would seal her fate. “Uh, maybe I
could catch a ride into town?”

Aiden dropped his
hand. “That will be impossible.”

He lied.

Shayla swallowed hard,
not liking that he so easily backed her into a corner one bit. “I have an
appointment with my employer in a few hours. If I miss—”

“Employed to do
what?”

She clamped her mouth
shut, unwilling to reveal the true nature of her business. “I find things.”

“Things?” Aiden
narrowed his eyes, his intensity ratcheting up her suspicion level to
supernova.

“You know…” she waved
her arms “…things that have been lost.” Shayla narrowed her eyes, not caring
for the interrogation, and liking even less how Aiden treated her as the enemy.

He strode toward her,
his movements liquid, a smile that was more teeth than friendly. He stopped barely
an inch away. His warmth stole over her, kicking up her heartbeat, but she
refused to reveal any reaction, especially the way she craved his nearness.

“Like you found me?”

Shayla gulped,
unsettled at his suggestion. He couldn’t know about her unique ability. He was
fishing, but his accusation gave her pause. Had her gift led her to him? All she
had been thinking about was finding
the one
.

Heat instantly
flooded her face, along with a big dose of panic.

No, not him.

Fate couldn’t be so
cruel as to bind her to this caveman.

Her chest tightened,
threatening a full-out panic attack until she remembered that her gift never
worked on her. Finding him had to be chance, a bizarre coincidence, that’s all.
So why did her heart continue to pound against her ribs like a moth’s wings
against a light?

Anyone could’ve fallen
through the earth at a haunted castle and land in a dungeon that just happened
to be occupied nearly a thousand years later by a man torn right from her
fantasies.

Her chest constricted
at the unlikely scenario.

“Who hired you?”

She dismounted the
ATV with as much dignity as possible, ignoring the mud that flaked off with every
move, and lifted her chin. “I suggest that you take me to town and find out.
Otherwise, I have nothing to say.”

“Not a problem. Give
me a day to clean up, eat and settle things here first.”

Mortification turned
her face hot. Of course Aiden needed time to recuperate. The excitement around
him was addicting but exhausting, and she’d been tired for a long time, even
before her stalker came into her life. What could it harm to stay here for a
little longer? She actually liked the big jerk a little. A tiny thrill coursed
through her at the chance to spend more time with him. It would also give her time
to snoop, maybe uncover some of the secrets that darkened his eyes.

“One day. That’s it.”

Aiden narrowed his
eyes at her ultimatum, the danger of it sending a shiver through her, before he
gave an abrupt nod.

Without waiting for
him to make up a bunch of silly rules, she turned on her heel and marched
toward the castle. The baily was dead silent, the men in her path parting for
her. The big lug who’d rescued them opened the door and gave her a slight nod.

“We have incoming!”

The bellow stopped
Shayla short, and she whirled, sure that they’d been found. Her first instinct
was to grab Aiden and run. Aiden immediately came to her side, standing
protectively in front of her. Menace swarmed the air. Before she could put her
thoughts into action, the whole baily came alive, a hive of activity as every
man in the place charged toward the gates with lethal grace.

Weapons appeared in everyone’s
hands, weapons that she hadn’t noticed when she’d first entered. She balled her
hands into fists, feeling naked and vulnerable without one of her own.

“They’re two of
ours.”

Two machines raced into
the bailey before stopping their machines feet from Aiden. Both men dismounted
in stereo, so dark and handsome that Shayla could only blink. She glanced
between them, noting they were so similar they could pass for twins. Until she saw
the wicked scar encircling one man’s throat that made him look more dangerous
if that was even possible.

Only when they turned
to greet Aiden did she noticed the dead body.

One man lifted and
cradled the small man, gently laying him on the ground. “We pulled him from the
sea just at dawn.”

The body was dressed
in torn clothes, a style only a teenager would wear, but starvation had aged
him so he looked closer to eighty then the twenty she suspected. Shayla
swallowed hard and forced herself to look, because if what Aiden said was true,
this would be her own fate if something wasn’t done.

There was a gray
tinge to the flesh, his skin sagging like an oversized suit. Scraggily hair was
so thin his scalp showed through in spots. His nails were jagged and split,
while the fingers on both hands had been repeatedly broken until they healed
like gnarled claws. Dozens of wounds marred the kid’s hands and face.

“He put up a fight.” Her
throat ached at the ordeal he’d survived before he finally died. The skin over
her cheeks tightened, burned hot as anger threatened to consume her. She wanted
to find the bastards who did this.

Aiden’s head snapped
toward her, his eyes almost seeming to glow. “You should go inside.”

“This was done by the
same men who had you.” It wasn’t a question. Shayla met his scowl, trembling at
the truth…how close she’d come to losing Aiden even before she met him.

“You don’t need to
see this.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her to the door. “I’ll
be in shortly.”

She noted that he
hadn’t denied her accusation.

And those men were
now after her.

Shit!

Her legs trembled by
the time she entered the castle.

Her chaotic thoughts
faded a little at the sight that greeted her. She’d expected something dark and
oppressive. Instead, natural light spilled into the large hall, revealing the
old keep in all its glory. The room was gigantic with benches enough to seat an
army. Aiden and his giants fit right at home.

It was like stepping
back in time until she noticed the modern amenities hidden artfully around the
room. The cost of remodeling must have been astronomical.

A whisper of magic
brushed against her skin as if in welcome. She almost expected to see the
ghosts walking in the halls.

And someone wanted to
destroy it.

Brought death to
their door.

She shivered, feeling
abandoned, which was silly. Aiden had more pressing concerns. She couldn’t
expect him to be at her beck and call.

Aiden appeared as if she’d
conjured him. He strode through the door and scanned the interior, stopping
when those green eyes found and devoured her. Any remaining chill thawed under
the heat of his gaze. He filled the space until she swore she felt him all
around her.

Which was stupid. She
should be arranging her return to town to finish her last job, not stuck in a
gorgeous castle, surrounded by hunky men, every one of whom would make any sane
woman drool.

Shayla almost did a
face-palm.

Yes, she was
officially an idiot for wanting to escape every woman’s greatest fantasy.

Well, that was if she
ignored the dead bodies and threat of danger.

Aiden didn’t break
eye contact, didn’t smile. There was no softness in him. He spoke to some of
the men clustered around him, and they scurried off to do his bidding.

Besides a few curious
stares, no one bothered to watch her.

That’s when she
understood. They didn’t need keep an eye on her. Where would she go? She wasn’t
equipped to travel that kind of distance to town on her own, even if her gift
led her straight there.

And, based on the
men’s reaction just a few minutes ago, this was a fully working castle, easily
able to repel any attack. She was safe here. It would give her time to figure
out who the hell wanted them dead.