Deadly Chaos (17 page)

He was looking at her like that again, like he wanted her. She wasn’t imagining it. It made her deprived heart bloom a little. She squashed it like a shoe on a spider. “Nothing is going to happen between us,” she said. “Nothing.”

Chapter Twenty-One

This Bed is Bigger

They drove in silence to his home. He should have taken her to her hotel but he thought he’d feel a bit more in control in his own space. He’d be able to protect her on his terms and maybe, just maybe, figure out why she posed a threat. She seemed harmless enough. And looks can be deceiving, he reminded himself. People thought his dad was a nice guy too. They were wrong. Sliding out of the Jeep, she followed him up the steps to his front door.

Walking to the door he felt her presence beside him as if there was something solid connecting their bodies instead of empty space. It happened, he noticed, whenever she was near. Like her energy was reaching out to touch him. It probably happens to everyone, he thought. He was just aware of the sensation and most people didn’t notice it. He’d have to ask Linda about it. Until then, he’d try to keep his distance from Chaos.

Dakota opened the door and gestured for her to go in first. Why he was being chivalrous, he didn’t know. He felt on edge around her. Conflicted. He wanted her with him and he wanted her gone. If only he could figure out that damn dream. Why was she so dangerous? What did the coyote mean?

He followed her inside and closed the door behind them. It felt weird having her in his space. She filled up the room though she hadn’t stepped out of the small foyer. Everything smelled like her. Since the cleansing this morning he hadn’t been able to get her out of his system. It was like she replaced the bad stuff with herself. She ran through his veins and kept him alive. Sunshine, he thought. She’d said she filled him with sunshine. He wondered how long it would last. Would it disappear, slowly fade away like a summer tan or would it stay with him? Would she always be part of him now?

“You awake over there?”

He looked up and realized he had been completely lost in thought. Also not like him, he realized. He preferred action to idle thoughts. Pointless thoughts. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit tired. I have an extra toothbrush and I can get you a t-shirt to sleep in, if you’d like. We should be in the same room. Just in case Bill makes an appearance. You can have the bed. I’ll sleep in the chair.”

“Um…okay.”

She wasn’t really listening to him, he realized. She was looking around his home. He wondered what she thought. His home was sparse, comfortable but sparse. A few framed landscapes hung on the wall. The furniture and the walls were neutral. Linda had given him a few protective items, which were tucked away in the four corners of his home. He didn’t spend much time here and he didn’t have a need for material things. As he saw it, he’d come into this world with nothing, he might as well leave the same way. They stood silently assessing one another. Future combatants or future lovers?  “Follow me. I’ll get you those things.”

He led her into the spare room. He wasn’t taking her into his bedroom; that was too personal and besides there wasn’t a chair in that room. Only a bed, a really big bed. “I’ll be right back.”

Grabbing the toothbrush and t-shirt as quickly as possible he returned to find her sitting on the bed.

“You’re not sleeping in that chair,” she said pointing to the armchair in the corner. “You won’t be able to walk for days. I can sleep in it. I’m smaller.”

“You’re my guest here.” He should have just taken her back to her hotel room. They could have gotten a roll-away or something.

“Well I won’t be able to sleep with you sitting in that chair staring at me all night.”

“I won’t be staring. I’ll be sleeping.”

“Right. Not in that thing.”

“Fine. What’s the solution?” He crossed his arms and waited for her to answer. She looked confused. He wasn’t sure why, but the perplexed look on her face aroused him. Hell, everything she did aroused him. She was downright naïve, he thought. It was in direct conflict with the image she tried to put forth. She tried to look tough. She’d spent her entire life separating herself from people, avoiding relationships and putting up walls. But the walls were coming down between them and she didn’t know what to do.

“Wipe that stupid look off your face.”

He scowled at her. “Is this better?”

“No.”

“You still haven’t told me your solution to our sleeping problem.”

“Do you have a bigger bed?”

“No,” he lied. The bed in his bedroom was bigger but he had no intention of letting her sleep in his bed. It’d be the end of him and his resolve. He’d had too many dreams about her in that bed.

“Fine. We managed before; we can do it again. We’ll sleep in this bed.”

“I barely fit in it by myself. It’ll be tight.” He wasn’t sure he could handle it. Being that close to her again with her running through his veins was going to be tough.

“I can handle it. I resisted you the first time,” she laughed.

Barely. He could still see the heated look in her eyes as she studied him. He could tell she was still a little drunk. “What would you have done if I hadn’t been there to drive you home?” he asked, changing the conversation.

“Walk it off or sleep in the Jeep. I don’t drink and drive.” She crossed her arms defensively over her chest.

“I wasn’t accusing you. Just asking.” It worked. His question stopped them both, a verbal cold shower. She shrugged as if it didn’t matter but he could tell it did. He was learning to read her a little better. Not that she hid her thoughts or feelings very well. It gave him a measure of comfort.

She snatched the t-shirt and toothbrush from his hands. “Where’s the bathroom?”

“Next door. Can you leave the door open a crack? Linda said it was important that you weren’t alone tonight.”

She nodded and left. Looking around the room he tried to use some of the techniques Linda had taught him to protect the space. It felt awkward and clumsy but he had to try. Linda had asked him to protect her tonight. He’d do everything in his power to protect Chaos, that’s what he was reborn to do - protect. Of course, he didn’t know who was going to protect him from her. With any luck Bill wouldn’t show up tonight and tomorrow they’d get rid of him once and for all. Linda had a plan. All he had to do was get Chaos through tonight and then she could go home. And that’s what he really wanted, right? Linda theorized that every time Chaos saw and interacted with Bill it made him a bit stronger. They didn’t want him strong. It’d make him harder to get rid of tomorrow.

Chaos emerged from the bathroom wearing his t-shirt. Sure, it hung to the middle of her thighs but it left ample space for his imagination. He dug the heels of his hands in his eyes. He needed space. “I’ll be right back,” he said without looking directly at her.

He glanced over his shoulder just before walking out of the room and saw Chaos bent over the bed tugging the covers back. The hem of her t-shirt rose to expose her rear and white lace panties. “Shit,” he grumbled.

Leaving the door to his bedroom open a crack, he grabbed a pair of sweats out of the closet and headed into his bathroom. Dakota splashed cold water on his face hoping it would do something to cool his blood. He stripped off his t-shirt and removed the holder from his hair. Please let her be asleep, under the covers. Taking a deep breath he emerged from the bathroom.

Dakota stopped short. Chaos stood in the middle of his bedroom. “Did something happen?”

“No.”

“Then what are you doing in here?” he growled.

“We needed some more pillows,” she shrugged. “I knocked.”

“I didn’t hear you.”

“Apparently.” She turned and looked at his bed. ‘What are these?”

Dakota stood, numb and unable to move as Chaos walked over to his bed and picked up his drawings. He’d forgotten and left them scattered on his bed. He should be able to move, to stop her, but he was frozen. He watched as she looked at the drawing in her hand.

“It’s me, right?” she asked, not looking at him.

He didn’t answer her.

“Why are you drawing me? Why do I have a dog?”

Chaos turned to look at him. Dakota shoved his hands in the pockets of his sweats. “It’s a coyote.”

“Okay.”

She looked at him, waiting for more. “I had a dream.”

“About me?”

“Yes. Before you came to town. Before we met. It was a warning from my ancestors.”

She set the picture down on the bed and brushed her hand across the others, as if she was looking at them with her fingertips. Dakota had had enough. He didn’t want her in his room and he didn’t want her in his thoughts. He scooped up the drawings and set them in a drawer. He shouldn’t have left the drawings out. He’d been trying to figure out what the dream meant. To find a better clue. He should have known she’d find them.

“Why would your ancestors warn you about me?”

“You tell me.”

“I should go.”

He watched her walk through the bedroom door and step into the hallway. “If you go, keep going. Drive home or to Montana or anywhere but don’t come back here. Don’t bother Linda with your ghost.”

“Or what?” she said. Turning, she pinned him with a defiant stare.

He could tell he’d hurt her feelings. He’d done it intentionally, hoping she’d go home. But the other half of him wanted to test her. To see what she’d do. She was a fighter; he could see it in her eyes. “Or stay,” he said. “Let me do my job.”

“Your job is to protect me, right?”

“Right.”

“But you don’t trust me.”

“I can’t afford to.”

“You shouldn’t.” She stepped back into his bedroom. “I don’t trust you either. You lied. This bed is bigger.”

“And we’re not sleeping in it.” He grabbed the pillows off his bed, walked past her and out the door.

He didn’t look at her when she walked into the guest bedroom. Ignoring her, but acutely aware that she was climbing into the bed; he opened the closet and pulled the extra blanket down. Dakota looked at the clock and then looked back at her. It was 2:30. Still plenty of time for Bill to make an appearance. “Scoot over.”

He felt the bed sink as he sat down on it. It was too small. He should have insisted on sleeping in the chair. At least there he wouldn’t have to feel her body pressed against his. He lay down, pulled the blanket over him and closed his eyes. “Good night, Chaos.”

“Night, and Dakota?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. I know you don’t like me very much and I don’t know what your dreams mean but thank you.”

Dakota didn’t know what to say so he didn’t say anything. Instead, he lay there listening to her breathing as she fell asleep.

Large black clouds rolled in the sky. A coyote barked a hysterical warning. Dakota looked up to the sky. His hair whipped violently around his face. As he looked to the sky the clouds took shape. A skull. It looked down on him with empty black eyes. It bore no human expression and yet he could tell it was smiling at him as if it had won a victory. A body lay on the ground at his feet. He looked down. Chaos lay motionless in the dirt. Her golden braids dimmed as the life left her. Dakota screamed in fury at the clouds, shaking his fists at the now empty sky. His rage spent, he leaned over and picked up her limp body. He’d failed. The most important time in his life and he’d failed. He walked down a seemingly endless highway that stretched out in front of him as far as he could see. The world around them was grey. A coyote followed behind them.

Dakota rolled over and felt her against his body. Pulling her close he inhaled the fresh scent that he’d so quickly associated with her. He pressed his face against her. Her lips were warm and soft. She moaned in her sleep. The sound of her pulled him from his sleep. A dream. Relief filled him. She wasn’t dead. He hadn’t failed. Still holding her tightly to him, he didn’t release her. He couldn’t bring himself to. He felt her breathing increase. She was awake. Tipping her head back, Chaos looked up at him. Dakota, unable to breathe, waited. Her lips, just millimeters from his. His heart hammered in his chest. He wanted her badly. The dream, he reminded himself, but the thought slipped away as Chaos pressed her lips against his. Her mouth opened and possessed his with a fire so intense he was helpless to resist.

Rolling toward her he held her head in his hands and kissed her. He controlled the interaction and she didn’t complain. Pressing her body into his, Dakota responded. His hand dipped beneath her blankets. He needed to touch her skin.

His fingers caressed her stomach. She felt like liquid silk beneath his calloused hand. Gently, he brushed the top of her nipple. Reality rivaled his dreams. More. He wanted more of her. He wanted to be inside her. On top of her. Around her.

“Oh god,” Chaos groaned. She moved against his body, licking whatever skin came her way. His neck, his shoulder, and his bicep. It was as if she couldn’t stop tasting him. He didn’t want her to. “More.”

Dakota responded. His hand caressed her bare thigh. He cupped her hip then pushing her t-shirt up, he traced his fingers from her hip across her stomach to her neck. He felt Chaos’s body stiffen beneath him. A chill zipped down his spine replacing hot pleasure with a deep cold fear. Dakota turned his head and looked over his shoulder. Bill stood over them with a look of dark hatred on his face. As Bill vanished, Dakota pulled Chaos closer to him, trying to stop her from trembling.

Chapter Twenty-Two

She’s Looking At Him Like Dinner

Chaos awoke tangled in the blankets and curled up against Dakota. For a few brief seconds she enjoyed the fantasy of normal life, a life where men and women hooked up, fell in love, and lived a long time, but it didn’t last long. Memories of what they’d done last night filled her with shame and guilt. Dakota was in danger if he was with her. Any moment a tree would fall through the roof and crush him. Maybe a burglar was slinking around the house right now, as they were lying here. He would burst into the room and shoot Dakota in the head. A hundred horrid scenarios ran through her mind until her heart was racing and she felt like ants were crawling over her body. She had to get out of here. She had to go. She should leave town and forget about the Spirit Savers being able to help her. She’d figure it out herself. Chaos knew that the moment she saw Bill hovering over them with pure hatred in his eyes, they’d pissed him off and perhaps made Dakota the target instead of her. Dakota didn’t deserve that.