Live It Up (4 page)

God, this made her head ache. She leaned her face against the window until the cold of the glass seeped into her cheek, cooling her overactive imagination.

She must have dozed off again because when she opened eyes she couldn’t remember closing, the two men had gone and Andy stood in front of the open door by her feet. “Come on, little kitten. You’ll be more comfortable in my bed.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

He didn’t answer, simply hauled her out of the car as if she weighed nothing. Again. He carried her into the house, shouldering the front door wider and making sure not to jiggle her too much at the same time.

He really did take care of her well, she thought, watching her surroundings as he strode through the house.

It was only one level, but it was a sprawling house with nooks and crannies everywhere and wood paneling as the main décor. The living room seemed utterly comfortable, and as she passed the wide sofa, she felt a keen yearning to just lie there and close her eyes.

Instead, he took her to the main bedroom or so she guessed as she stared at the massive mahogany bed that took up most of the space. “Isn’t there another bedroom?”

“Yes and no. You can sleep here.”

“But what about you?”

He laid her down on the smooth coverlet and stood back up. His eyes locking on hers, he said, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

He turned around and showed her a door on the right. “That’s the bathroom if you need it. The other door will take you outside. There’s a patio with a few chairs if you feel like some sunshine. I’ll go get your stuff then we can have lunch.”

She watched him leave again, feeling utterly lost. The place was nice; that wasn’t the problem. But he kept making decisions for her, and it felt very odd. She’d been on her own for so long now that handing control of her life to someone else was starting to irk her. And that wasn’t her, damn it!

She was the most easy-going person on the planet, or so her dad had once claimed. The thought of him brought tears to her eyes, and she blinked them away.

Andy had brought her home to recover from her ordeal, and that was really nice of him. Yes, it was. So what if she had no idea what was going on? She’d soon learn. She just had to be positive. She could do that.

She totally could.

When Andy appeared a few minutes later and asked her if she wanted to eat in the kitchen with him, she jumped on the opportunity and followed him, albeit slowly.

Her legs were shaking so much when she got there, he had to help her sit down. But it was worth it. As she watched him move around the large sun-drenched room, she felt more at peace than she’d ever been that week.

There was something about him that called to her.

Maybe it was the way he kept looking at her just to make sure she was okay. Maybe it was how he acted as if he knew what she wanted before she could even formulate it to herself. Whatever it was, it made her feel a lot better, and she was really grateful to him just for that.

So when he put a plate covered with a thick bleeding steak in front of her, she made a huge effort not to choke. He must have heard her anyhow because he instantly asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Hmm, thanks for cooking and all, but…I’m a vegetarian.”

“You’re a vegetarian?” he repeated as if she’d just told him she had two heads.

“Yes. I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner but I got distracted and uh…would you have vegetables or something I could eat?”

“You want to eat vegetables.”

He was clearly astounded. She bit her lip in an effort not to laugh out loud. The look on his face really was quite comical. “If you have any. Otherwise I could have pasta or cheese or… I don’t know. Whatever you have.”

“You need meat. You need protein.”

“I don’t eat meat, Andy.”

“But…” He blinked. “Shit. No wonder you didn’t eat the burgers I bought you over the week. I thought you were just too weak to eat them.”

“You got me burgers?” She couldn't remember eating anything apart from breakfast that morning. The scent of blood tickled her nostrils, and she grimaced, pushing the plate away. “This is making me nauseous. I’m sorry.”

She wouldn’t think of the last time she’d smelled blood. She wouldn’t. She wouldn’t…
Damn it!

“Shh…” Andy was there in a second, his arms wrapping around her so she could lean her head against his hard chest. “You need to stop thinking about it.”

“That’s easy for you to say.”

“I know,” he acknowledged, his palm settling atop her head. It slid down her hair in a slow motion, the soft caress making her close her eyes.

She clung to him and let him console her.

Again.

Chapter Four

“This is my brother, Nate, and his ma—uh, girlfriend, Kellie.”

Sunny blinked groggily at the couple smiling down at her. She’d lain down on the sofa, and she guessed she’d fallen asleep again. God, she really had to stop doing that.

After she’d eaten the few tomatoes he had found in the fridge together with a hunk of cheese, Andy had helped her relocate to the living room.

That sofa was really as comfortable as it looked, she thought as she struggled to sit up straighter while smiling at the two strangers at the same time. “Hi. I’m Sunny.”

“Very nice to meet you. Too bad it’s under these circumstances. I’m sure Andy’s told you I’m a doctor. Kellie’s my nurse.”

The woman with the curly brown hair giggled a little at that. “You wish. He means we work together at the town’s practice. How are you feeling, Sunny?”

“Weak,” she replied, watching them look at each other.

They both nodded and turned to Andy, signaling him out of the room. He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.

“You know the drill, bro,” Nate said.

“I’m not moving. She’s my responsibility.”

The other man sighed. “I’m a doctor!”

“And I’m the Enforcer.”

They glared at each other, and even though Andy was more muscular than his brother, it was clear from their all-too-similar clenched jaws that they were related. Their attitude, their posture…they were exactly the same.

“What’s an Enforcer?” she asked, trying to cut through the tension rising rapidly inside the room.

“Shit.” Andy closed his eyes for a brief moment. “Ignore I said that.”

“You do realize that now you’ve said that she’s gonna think about it even more?” his brother commented, dropping a bag onto the coffee table. “You suck with women. You really do.”

“Shut up, Nate!”

“Do you need to go out, boys? Remember Sunny here isn’t feeling too good and you’re upsetting her.”

Sunny didn’t mind actually. It was the most entertainment she’d had all week. Of course, she’d been asleep pretty much all of it. “They’re not upsetting me. So, what’s an Enforcer?”

Nate rolled his eyes at his brother as if to tell him “
Told you so!”
Sunny took one look at Andy’s stony expression and couldn’t help but giggle. He turned his dark gaze on her, and after a moment, she watched his lips twitch into a smile.

Something flickered inside her.

She’d made him smile! Before Sunny could ponder her own reaction to something so small, Kellie moved to sit beside her. Over the next ten minutes, Kellie examined her while the two brothers stood to the side and talked in hushed voices.

“You’ll be stronger in a few days,” Kellie finally said as she patted her hand. “You’re still weak now, but once you’ve rested and eaten a few good meals, you should start feeling the difference. You lost a lot of blood, but you’re a strong human. You’re gonna be fine.”

Sunny felt her smile freeze. What a strange thing to say. Of course, she was human. What did Kellie think she was?

The image of Mary’s distorted face popped inside her mind. The things she’d said… The things she’d done…

Sunny whimpered and drew back from the other woman, or whatever the hell she really was.

“What’s wrong?” Andy turned toward her. “Kitten?”

“Why do you call me that?” she heard herself ask, her voice breathy. She started to wheeze, hyperventilation not far away.

“What’s wrong?” he repeated, rushing toward her. “What did you tell her?” He glared at Kellie.

“Nothing!”

“You need to breathe, Sunny.” Nate had moved closer, too.

She looked up at the three of them, and she couldn’t help her reaction. She started screaming. “Get away from me! Get away!”

“What the fuck?” Andy grabbed her by the shoulders.

“No.” Nate forced him to unhand her. “You’re making it worse.”

And even as Sunny started to lose control, she clearly saw something move in Andy’s eyes. She fell into his gaze, and it was as if someone else looked at her from deep within him.

Yes, I am seriously losing it
, she admitted to herself, her breathing worsening until she felt darkness creeping in from all around her.

“Breathe, Sunny!” Nate said, almost pleading with her.

She ignored him and stared at the person inside Andy. She’d never believed in aliens, but maybe she should have. In a corner of her mind, she wondered if he’d brought her here to experiment on her. Maybe they wanted to see how human females were made.

God, she really had to stop watching those old movies when she stayed in highway motels.

“Come on, kitten. Stay with me,” Andy said, his voice gravelly.

“What are you?” she heard herself ask, and just because she really wanted to hear his response she forced herself to breathe. Forced herself to relax long enough to see him take a step back, his eyebrows merged together into a frown.

“Don’t do it,” his brother said, taking a step toward him. “Remember what you are.”

“She’s already gone through enough.”

“She’s not one of us!”

“Let him,” Kellie said, grabbing her boyfriend by the arm and tugging him back. “It’s his decision.”

“Fuck, baby, you know how Dad—”

Sunny tuned them out as soon as Andy knelt in front of her.

His right hand rose, hesitated over hers almost as if he wanted to take it but wasn’t sure he should. He let it fall back down to his side and sighed. “We’re shifters.”

She blinked. “Sh-shifters? What does that mean?”

“Shape-shifters. We have two forms, lion and human.”

“And Mary…”

He nodded. “She was one, too. That’s why I had no choice but to kill her. She was too much of a risk.”

“Why am I here?” Her breathing had slowed down. She still felt faint, but she was clinging too hard to her sanity to let it happen. What the hell was he talking about? Were they all nuts?

“You know about us now, kitten.”

“No.” She stood up and would have fallen if he hadn’t been there to grab her arm. “Don’t touch me!” She slapped his hand away. “You kidnapped me!”

“I took care of you,” he growled back, the sound so much like an angry cat she gasped in surprise.

She looked up into his eyes, and that’s when she realized what she’d seen before was his other half. Now that she knew about it, she could clearly see it—him—staring back at her. “What do you want?” she asked him. “What do you want from me?”

“I just want you to get better.”

“No.” She shook her head. “Not you. Him.” She leaned up on her toes and asked again, “What do you want from me?”

“She’s talking to his lion,” a female voice whispered.

“That’s not possible. She’s human.”

“Look at her!”

She ignored their hushed comments and instead focused on the animal staring at her as if he had all the time in the world. He had a massive mane so completely opposite to Andy’s lack of hair that she would have laughed if she hadn’t been so scared. She still wasn’t too sure how she could see him, but he was suddenly clear as day.

“Answer me!” she finally snapped.

He opened his mouth and roared. A bright light appeared in front of her, nearly blinding her. She protected her eyes with her hand, and when she looked again, a lion stood in Andy’s place.

He was as tall as her chest. He was also so wide she heard the coffee table squeak further down the wooden floor when he sat down on his haunches.

“Fuck. Wait until Dad hears about this,” Nate commented as he rubbed his chin.

“Hey. I’m gonna look good in comparison,” Kellie added, wrapping her arm around his waist. “I think we should leave them now.”

“Oh no. What if something happens? He’s in lion form!”

“He’s the Enforcer and your brother. He obviously changed for a reason.”

“I hate it when you do that.”

“When I do what?”

“Make sense,” Nate commented as they slowly walked to the front door.

Sunny ignored their conversation after that and turned toward the lion. She’d never been so close to a wild animal before. Her parents hadn’t condoned zoos so she’d never been to one, not even as a kid.