In a Dark Embrace (18 page)

She stood there, still breathing heavily in her anger. “What if I really piss you off? What if you hate me after we’re through? What if you catch me fucking some other guy? Will you still be willing to put your life on the line for me?”

He winced noticeably at her words and the knot was back, tighter than before. “Yes. Because no matter what I feel about you it’s my responsibility. I let you see what I am. It was my doing.”

“So at least I get the satisfaction of knowing you’re already dead,” she said sarcastically. “Before they come to kill me.”

“It won’t happen. They’ll probably leave you alone. Unless you turned on us, were going to tell people about me… Then I’d have to…”

Anguish poured out of him. She narrowed her eyes. “Yes, Jeremy, what then?”

“It won’t happen. You have as much to hide as I do,” he said curtly. “Which is what I thought my father would understand.”

Lee stared at him in silence. If she threatened his pack would he be the one who came to kill her? It made sense in a twisted kind of way. The anger drained away and she felt like crying.

“This is such shit, Jeremy.” She sat down and buried her face in her hands.

He knelt in front of her and pulled her hands away. “I’m sorry, Lee. I still think, if you two met… He’s damn smart and if he could just get to know you I think he would change his tune.”

He wanted this so badly. She looked into his earnest blue eyes and said, “Okay. I’ll meet him if he is willing to give me a chance.”

“Thank you,” he said softly and stroked her face.

She reached out and tugged his head down. They shared a soft, exploratory kiss. She dropped her burdens of anger and fear as she experienced the tender joy he was feeling. His pulse quickened and the kiss became hungrier. She ran her hands down his chest and around his back, pulling him closer.

“Lee, I…” She heard the rest of his sentence in her head but he changed it before he spoke.

“I want to see you naked,” he murmured in her ear. “I want to kiss every curve and hollow on your body.”

“I think I can arrange that,” she replied, both relieved and a bit saddened by what he chose to leave unsaid.

She got up and walked toward the bedroom, dropping clothing as she went. She lay down on the bed and smiled an invitation up at him. He slowly pulled off his shirt and jeans, all the while looking at her with a burning intensity. Desire spiked in her, hard and hot. She raised her arms and grabbed the bars of the headboard as she spread her legs. An answering surge of powerful lust shot through him and she laughed.

“Come, my darling wolf, worship me.”

He started by kissing her left wrist, making his way to the inside of her elbow and then to her rounded shoulder. By the time he got to her breasts both nipples were rigid and aching for his mouth. When he reached her crotch her hands were gripping the bars as she forced herself to hold still. She longed to pull him on top of her but she wanted him to continue his leisurely exploration even more. His hands gently but firmly moved her legs farther apart so he could swirl his tongue in the hollow behind her knee. He nibbled on her calves then kissed both sides of her ankles.

Lee moaned. “Oh god, Jeremy. That was wonderful.”

He lifted his head and smiled at her. “I have a whole other side to explore. Roll over, little witch.”

“I don’t know how much longer I can wait.”

It was his turn to laugh as he tossed her onto her stomach. The hot mouth and probing tongue continued, moving slowly up from her feet. She was panting well before he licked the crack of her ass and then lifted her up slightly to bury his face in her cunt.

“You smell like sex, hot and delicious,” he said hoarsely.

She felt him rising up and whimpered in anticipation. His cock entered her with a hard, deep thrust. She hung on to the bed rails and bit into the blanket. His fingers dug into her thighs as he held her ass up to fuck with furious passion.

“Scream for me,” he urged between quickening breaths.

Lee lifted her head and let out a small cry.

“No, damn you. I want to hear you scream.” Jeremy plunged into her even harder then held still as he hissed. “Do you want me to keep fucking you?”

She moaned a yes.

“Then stop holding back. To hell with the neighbors. I need you to lose it.”

He pulled out and thrust deeply again. Lee gave up all attempts at controlling her voice and allowed the wild screams to come with her climax. He grunted and howled along with her. All the tension of the day seemed to drain out of both of them as they orgasmed with noisy enthusiasm.

“Talk about scream therapy,” she said with amusement. “There are some clients I need to recommend this to.”

“As long as their shrink isn’t involved in the therapy I would support that advice.”

“Never fuck a client. Therapist’s first rule.”

“Good. Then there are a few guys I’d like to send to your practice.”

“Yah, well, if they’re sexy young studs I’ll pass them on to one of my partners. A girl’s gotta keep her options open.” The quip came automatically. Lee regretted it as soon as the words were out of her mouth. When would she stop forcing this distance between them?

* * * * *

Lee jotted down some final notes and closed the file. Her belly rumbled. It was a quarter past seven and she was starving. Usually she scheduled in a break around four but everything had run late today and her half-hour break got eaten up by clients.

She pulled on her GORE-TEX jacket and went to find her favorite deli. It was a miserable day out. The weather had shifted from summer sunshine to cool and wet. The deli was nearly deserted, those looking for a quick, cheap dinner having long ago filed through. She sat on a stool and looked out at the few people who passed by, huddled under umbrellas.

By the time she left for home the rain had eased to a light sprinkle. Lee hurried along the street, just wanting to get to her apartment. At least tomorrow she could sleep in. It was Friday, her day off, and she had absolutely no plans. She was looking forward to a lazy day hanging around at home. Jeremy probably wouldn’t come see her until dinner. Thinking about Jeremy, she remembered her promise and the spell planted next to the flowers. With a sigh she turned away from the apartment and trudged back to the park.

Lee put her hand over the soil where she had left the girl’s hair and called up her spell again. Immediately she sensed the connection. Her head jerked to the east. The girl had touched the earth in that direction. It was not a fixed point, which meant the girl had moved around and then gone inside somewhere. Hope that the girl was still alive flared in her. Lee dug out her cell phone and dialed Jeremy’s number as she walked toward home. No answer. Maybe he was getting some sleep. She knew he planned to work through the night again. Lee left a hurried message, already making plans.

Fifteen minutes later Lee was pulling out of the underground parking garage on her motorcycle. The drizzle and road spray made for wet riding and poor visibility. It was on days like these when she regretted not having a car. If Alicia had been home she would have asked to borrow her Volvo. Unfortunately Alicia worked ‘til ten on Thursdays. Lee wasn’t going to wait when there was an eleven-year-old girl out there somewhere.

She made her way onto the Trans-Canada highway heading toward the Port Mann Bridge. It was past rush hour but there were still a lot of cars on the road. The bridge was a terrible bottleneck and plenty of people worked late just to miss the worst of the traffic. She turned off the highway just before the bridge, going east toward Mission. Her eyes fixed on two jagged peaks jutting into the clouds. She was sure the girl was somewhere back there.

Lee followed the memory of the girl’s presence down progressively more rural roads. Feeling a need to check her direction again, Lee pulled off the road and parked her bike. The wet leather glove clung to her fingers as she tugged it off. Lee crouched down and put her bare hand on the ground. A fuzzy patch of light blossomed inside her head and she stood to stare straight ahead. She was going in the right direction.

Before she got back on the bike she checked her phone for messages. There were none. She frowned. It was after eight. Jeremy should be at work by now. Maybe he got held up with something or was following but hadn’t bothered to try to call her back. She eased the motorcycle onto the road and continued along the ethereal trail laid down by her spell.

Lee turned off onto a rough gravel road and winced as she hit the first pothole. Her bike wasn’t meant for off-road riding. Every bump jarred her arms and the slick rocks jolted the front wheel, making steering difficult. She kept on, stopping only once at a juncture to confirm which track to follow. A few miles later the thread she was following tugged her to the right into the untracked bush. Lee parked the bike and touched the ground again to be sure her mental trace was still leading her the right way. The girl was somewhere ahead, through the trees. She tugged the glove back on. Her hands were chilled from the ride and even wet leather was warmer than nothing.

Wet mulch squished beneath her boots and branches brushed droplets of water into her hair and down the back of her jacket. She shivered. Not much farther, maybe just over the next small rise. Lee hauled herself up over a slimy boulder and staggered a few steps before she jerked to a halt. There was a trail here, faint and getting crowded by the lush greenery but still a discernable track. It made sense that there would be an easier way in. The kidnapper probably hadn’t beat his way through the soggy undergrowth.

Her head snapped up. Someone was hurt, crying. Lee hurried along the trail, not sure yet what she would do but knowing that she had to get there. Ducking under another thin, water-beaded branch, she froze. The light was fading into the gray of a long northern summer night but the cabin was an obvious dark patch through the trees. She could hear the crying more clearly now but her other senses told her far more. The girl was caught up in such pain and fear that she yearned for release. And a man was getting very excited, sucking up the girl’s pain like a pitiless black hole.

Lee crept closer to the cabin, wondering what her next move should be. She could open up the earth and break the small wooden shack but that might hurt the girl as well. The windows were boarded shut so she couldn’t see inside. There was nothing for it. Either he had to come out or she would have to go in. Lee took a deep breath.

“Hello. Is someone hurt? Can I help you?” she shouted. Her voice sounded shockingly loud. The crying stopped. A spike of fear and anger then the door banged open.

“Who the hell are you?” A balding middle-aged man scowled at her. He was shirtless and his belly showed soft rolls of pale flesh above dirty jeans.

“I-I was hiking in the area, heard someone crying. Is everything all right in there?” she asked and moved slowly forward.

He glared at her for a few seconds then answered, “My daughter fell down and hurt herself is all. Damn fool kid always crying over nuthin’. None of your business anyway.”

“I’ve got a first-aid k—”

“I said, none of your business.” There was clear menace in his tone.

“I don’t know. She sounded really hurt.” Lee took another step and started to tug off her right glove. If she could only get close enough to touch him. That naked chest provided such an easy target. “Let me take a look at her. I’m a nurse.”

She froze, the glove still stubbornly clinging to her fingers, and stared at the gun in the man’s hand. Her gaze shifted up to his face. The man was grinning at her, his teeth showing faintly yellow in the dim light.

“I think maybe you’d better come inside then. Seeing as you’re so curious and all.” He gestured with the gun and stepped aside so she could walk past him. “Hold your hands out where I can see ‘em.”

She couldn’t think of anything to do except follow his instructions. If only she’d thought to take her gloves off sooner, or better yet her boots so she could draw on the earth’s full power. Too late now. Lee stepped through the doorway and gasped. The girl was naked, strung up against the back wall. Shallow cuts oozed blood all over her flat chest and belly. A bruised face peered at her through a tangled mess of long blonde hair.

“Now hold those hands closer together so I can tie them up properly. I’ll have to string you from the beam…seeing as I’m already using my wall hook.”

Lee turned and looked at him, shaking with the horror of what was in front of her. Taking advantage of her unsettled state of mind, he grabbed her hands and crushed the wrists together. A nylon rope expertly bound her hands before she could react. Stupid. Bloody stupid of her not to take advantage of that moment when he put his weapon down.

“A nurse, eh? I’ve never had me a nurse before. And you’re pretty enough. Too old for me but you’re here and I might as well make use of you, eh?” The man was babbling with a sickening good cheer as he tossed the other end of the rope over the central support beam. He yanked on the rope and her arms were jerked up into the air, almost pulling her off her feet. She let out a yelp of anger and pain. Excitement and desire stirred in him.

“Now then, let see what’s underneath all this leather.” He unzipped her jacket.

She urged him silently on, waiting for the moment when he touched her bare flesh. But he just pulled the flaps of her jacket apart and turned away. She let out a small hiss of surprise.

“Hey, missy, you watch this now,” he said to the bruised girl, brushing the hair away from her face almost gently. The child winced away from him but didn’t say anything. “See what I can do when I’m not being nice, like I am with you.”

He looked over his shoulder and grinned at Lee. “You like sharp knives, nursie?”

He gestured and she could not resist following the line of his arm to a small table next to the sagging cot in the corner. The table held half a dozen knives of different sizes and shapes.

Lee’s knees almost buckled and she knew that an audible whimper had escaped her lips. Pleasure surged through the man at her frightened noise. He left the girl and approached the table. He made a show of examining first one knife then another.