Nighttime at Willow Bay (12 page)

His arms tightened around her. “Naomi, calm down.”

“I am calm.”

H
e kept a tight hold on her. Then spoke. “Seer or not, darling, we’re in this thing together and you’re not going anywhere without me. Remember, when I tell you to move, you move. When I tell you to be still, be still.”

Naomi swallowed
hard. The man was so damn difficult.

“We belong together,” he murmured,
finally assuaging her fears.

She tilted her head back to stare at his handsome face. Crystalline blue eyes stared down at her.

“Apologize,” she whispered.

“What?”

“I said
apologize.”

A weary sigh escaped him. “I’m sorry, Naomi.”

“Sorry for what?”

“I’m sorry for making it seem as though I don’t like seers or that I didn’t trust you.”
             

“And will you do it again?” she prompted.

His jaw tightened. “You just love busting my balls, don’t you?”

“I said, will you do it again?”

“No, Naomi, I won’t do it again.”

“Fine!” She pushed herself out of his embrace and marched back to his brothers. “That goes for you guys
, too. Drop the seer act. If anyone mentions something disparaging about a seer, you’ll be signing your own death certificate.”

The men immediately lowered their gazes. 

“Understand?”

“Yes
, ma’am,” they answered in unison.

Naomi took a step toward the woods. Somewhere in the darkness an owl whooted
its approval.

“Now
, boys,” she gritted, “lead the way.”

Chapter Fifteen

He’d hurt her, thought Ryder, winding his way around his father’s property. Hadn’t meant to, but the thought that Naomi might be a seer had been shocking news. Of all the things she could
be—a witch, a shapeshifter, fae—a seer hadn’t been on his top list. Seers were a rare bunch, more powerful than a psychic; they could raise the dead for short amounts of time and cast awful spells. He’d only seen one in his lifetime, as a boy, when he and his brothers were visiting an old witch in the neighboring county with his grandpa.

Ryder took a deep breath. Life with a seer would definitely be interesting. One thing for sure, Naomi would always keep him on his toes. Ryder turned to glance at her.
She already did. God, she was beautiful. Fucking her in the meadow had been unexpected, but needed. Discovering she was as hot as ever in the sack had been…interesting. How had her ex allowed her to get away? A possessive heat overtook him. Well, at least the dude was out of the picture. At least Naomi was his for the taking. 

He chuckled a little
, stealing sideway glances at her. At the sound, she looked up. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Don’t mind me.”

She bit her lip.  “I wouldn’t mind you, if you would stop looking at me like that and laughing randomly.”

“What else am I supposed to look at?”

“Hmm, I don’t know, the path ahead of you.”

“You guys fight like an old married couple,” mumbled his little brother,
Ezekiel, the geeky one in the family. Ryder glared at the blond.

“Shut up, Zeek.”

“You do.”

“Yeah,” added his brother Uly. “It’s so fucking cute. Reminds me of mom and pop.”

“Remember that time when mom and dad argued for two days straight over who was going to do the dishes?” added another brother. “Who won that one?”

“I don’t know. I think mom.”

“No, it was dad.”

“Nope, pretty sure mom got it.”
             

“Yeah, it was mom because she had dad write that apology letter.”
             

“Oh yeah!”

“All right,” said Ryder finally, quieting them all with his booming voice. “Can you dipshits shut the hell up…your voices are giving me a headache.”

This time, Naomi was the one laughing.

“What so funny?”

“Nothing…” she replied, smiling shyly.

“What is it?”

She eyed him carefully.  “It’s just funny—seeing you with your brothers.”

“They’re all idiots,” he mumbled.

Ezekiel
laughed. “You’re the one who flunked Algebra, bro.”

Ryder frowned and turned.

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Did too!”

“My goodness, you guys love chewing each other out,” she said, her voice laced with amusement.

Determined to prove her wrong, Ryder shut his mouth. He didn’t have time for his brother’s taunts.  Sometimes when they started up, they went on for hours, and it took all of his effort not to beat the shit out of them.  Plus, the Spades were still on their trail. They needed to concentrate. The sooner they settled in their parent’s
old house, the better. It would be morning soon.

A few minutes later, he came upon his parent’s home, a brick house that stood on twenty acres of land, surrounded by tall oaks and even taller gates. Legend had it that his great, great granddaddy had put them up to keep out shapeshifters.

Carefully, Ryder walked around the property, checking to see if any creatures were lurking in the shadows. Coast clear, he entered through the tall black gates, the others following behind him slowly. As he drew nearer to the house, he winced at the sight of cracked windows and ugly staccato walls. It definitely wasn’t a traditional house—a bit old fashioned, in fact—but it was home, and he couldn’t imagine growing up anywhere else. Despite its disrepair, the old building held tons of charm.  There was a barn, swing sets, and two outhouses around back. Highway 57 sat two miles away.

Naomi stepped up to him. “You live here
, Ryder?”

“No, grew up here. I live in
downtown Jacksonville. I already told you this, darling.”

Silence stretched between them. What was she thinking? Did she hate the house?

“Yeah, I know, I thought you said it was your brothers’ property though.”

“It is—sort of. Keden and Zeek stay here mostly.
Dad and mom in the city. They’re on vacation, Naomi. So, it’s just me and my brothers holding down the fort.”

When she said nothing, he looked back at his brothers and shrugged. They all chuckled—except
Ezekiel who winked. Ryder walked on. 

Finally, Naomi spoke
. “Ryder, it’s beautiful.”

Relief rippled through him. She liked it. That was nice.
“Naomi, it’s ancient.”

“No! I mean—I really like it. Don’t talk about your ancestral home like that.”

The man in him found her comment amusing. The boy in him however, was blissfully happy that she liked the surroundings. She would see it often enough.

“I like her,” announced
Ezekiel loudly.

“Me too,” added Uly.

“Well…too bad,” muttered Ryder.

You can’t have her. She’s mines
.

Once again, his brothers laughed.

Even Naomi giggled.  “You guys are a trip,” she whispered, eying them carefully, then the house. Tension entered her voice. “But will the demons find me here?”

He gestured to the walls. “They can’t enter this property, baby. Ancient spells surround the grounds.”

“Well, remember what happened at the caves?”

He stopped and looked at her. “This is different
, Naomi. If a Spade steps on this property, he’ll fry. We’re safe. Come morning, this will all be over.”             

And you’ll be back home…without me.
Disturbed by the thought, he gathered her in his arms.

“You can relax now,” he told her. “We made it.”

When he moved in for a smooch, she rolled her eyes and playfully slapped his chest. “Ryder. Not in front your brothers.”

Laughing at her shyness, he let her go, while she cut her eyes at him.

He bit his lip to keep from smiling.

“Not here
, kids,” mumbled Uly.

“
Shut up,” mumbled Ryder, watching Naomi as she walked away. He couldn’t just let her go tomorrow. She belonged with him. After everything that happened, he couldn’t let her go. She was his.

“Come on
, Ryder,” she hollered, motioning for him to catch up. “We don’t have all damn day.”

Ten minutes later, he sat in his parents
’ former kitchen, watching Naomi finish up a turkey sandwich. Once again, she gobbled down the sustenance with gusto.

She caught his gaze. “Uh…excuse me for eating like a pig.”

“I like it.”

Naomi glared. “You’re not supposed to agree with me.”

He only shrugged, while she rolled her eyes and muttered, “
Werewolves.”

After a while, she complained about being dirty and tired, and he showed her the upstairs bathroom.  He found clean jogging pants for her to wear and showed her where to sleep. Then he returned downstairs to find his brothers lounging in the family room.

“Thought I told you dipshits to stay outside…”

Uly frowned. “Do you believe her vision, Ry?”

He sat next to his brother and shrugged. “Not sure. But it can’t be true. Maybe she didn’t witness my death—only me getting the shit kicked out of me.”

Concern entered his brother’s voice.  “Either way, you need to be careful
, bro.”

“I agree,” said Keden. “Whatever happens, keep an eye on her
, Ry…and yourself. Seers can read the future.”

“Yeah,” offered Quincy. “We hate you
, big bro, but we don’t want you to die.”

“Thanks.”

“Are you going to take her home tomorrow?”

“Yes,” he said automatically, realizing something.  After everything that had happened, Naomi needed to be surrounded by a familiar setting…at least for now. She’d been through too much. Waking up in her own bed would do wonders for her mood
and her level of trust for him.  If their relationship was going to work, he needed to give her some breathing room, not smother her, something his overprotective animal instincts found difficult to resist. 

So, tomorrow he would take her home.
Give her some time to recuperate. He still had the license he’d stolen from her bag, so he knew where she lived.

Twenty minutes later, he found her fast asleep in his old bed.

Ryder lay beside her.

“Ryder?”

“Shhh, get some rest.”

“Is it morning?”

“Soon, love. Soon.”

Chapter Sixteen

Naomi slept like a log. It hadn’t been hard. Her body was exhausted and Ryder’s arms felt so good wrapped around her. Sometime in the morning, she rose to use the restroom and then wandered downstairs where all of the lights in the house were dim and a gentle morning light peeked through the blinds. The space reminded her of her parent’s house, and she smiled at the light quietness. Ambling toward the dining room, she came up short when she spotted one of the Ryder’s brothers sitting in a large chair in the living room.

It was the spooky one. Keden. The one who had supported her when all of the brothers were ganging up on her. Naomi knew she should utter her thanks, but she wasn’t quite sure what to say. He was staring at her so clos
ely.

“Where is everyone?”

“Sleeping,” he murmured, leaning back in the chair.

“Okay.” She felt stupid for not saying anything else. She’d been chatty with Ryder for most of the
night, but her conversation was coming up short. She looked back at the hallway, longing for Ryder.

“Hungry?” asked Keden.

“No, I had a turkey sandwich earlier. Thanks.”

“Why are you up?”

“I don’t know. I usually get up early.” A sudden question came to her. “Keden, if you believe me, what can we do to protect Ryder? I’m scared for him.”

“He’ll be okay.”

“How do you know?” The wolf seemed to know things… He rose and crossed the room, invading her space. “We’ll all be watching his back. Most seers’ predications come true within a day or two, so we’re keep him under close watch.”             

“
Oh, that makes sense.”

He stared at her a bit, scratching his jaw. “Ryder must really like you. He’s never brought a woman home before.”

“He saved my life.”

“You’re not
…” he paused, “going to run out on him, are you?”

Had he and his brothers been wondering this since she’d first arrived? Jeez, they were so protective of each other.