Unbound (5 page)

***

Annabelle woke up with a jolt, forgetting for a moment where she was. Pushing herself to a sitting position, she swung her legs over the side of the couch and rose carefully to her feet, her body still sore from yesterday. Looking around the room, everything came roaring back into focus and it took her a moment to realize she was holding something in her hand.

Her entire body stilled as the dream from last night came rushing back one piece at a time. Zachary had been in the dream with her and told her he was Amoveo…and that they were mates. But that was crazy. This entire experience made Annabelle feel like Alice in Wonderland, and with every minute, she was sliding farther down the rabbit hole, with no end in sight. Lifting her hand, she slowly uncurled her fingers. What she saw lying in her palm made her heart skip a beat.

It was the shell Zachary had given her in the dream.

Annabelle ran her fingertip over the smooth surface of the brown-and-white shell that did indeed look like half of a heart. She swallowed back the lump in her throat and curled her fingers around the tiny gift once again. Holding it against her chest, Annabelle felt her heart beating a mile a minute, and she squeezed her eyes shut as the world started spinning.

“How is this possible?” she whispered through trembling lips. A million different ideas swirled through her head at once. In the dream, Zachary said she was his mate. Didn't he? She was human. How could she possibly be the mate of an Amoveo? It didn't make any sense.

Not only was she human—she was Caedo.

“Annabelle?” Zachary's voice interrupted the quiet, and Annabelle let out an undignified squeal before turning to face him.

Standing to her right, wearing only the same pair of gym shorts he'd had on in the dream, he looked dead sexy. His hair was adorably messy and reminded her of a little boy with bed head. He moved closer, stalking toward her with a predatory look in his eyes. She knew she should run. These shifters were dangerous, weren't they? At least, that's what she'd been told. The Amoveo killed humans. They were savage, vicious creatures that would sooner tear your heart out than look at you.

Zachary smirked, bringing out one of the dimples in his cheeks, and she almost laughed at the ludicrous notion. The Amoveo she'd heard about were nothing like this man. He was kind, sweet, sexy, and doting, and as she stared into those smiling hazel eyes, Annabelle didn't want to be anywhere but here—with him.

Clutching the trinket to her chest, she looked at him through wide eyes, uncertain of what to do or say. With a dimpled smile, Zachary reached out and took her hand in his. The heat of his flesh against hers made her breath hitch in her throat, and memories of their kiss in the dream realm filled her mind. While holding her stare, he gently uncurled her fingers and placed something in the palm of her hand. He covered his hand with hers and whispered, “
Verto
.”

An odd tingling sensation rippled through Annabelle's hand and up her arm. It wasn't painful; it felt like static electricity surrounded her for a few seconds.

“There.” Zachary dropped his hands to his sides, but remained just inches away from her. “Now you have my whole heart.”

Annabelle flicked her gaze to the contents of her palm and let out a sound of wonder. The shell was no longer in two pieces but merged into one. Lying in her palm was a perfectly shaped heart, just like the one from her dream last night.

She was about to batter him with about a hundred different questions, but before she could, everything around her spun and a tidal wave of images filled her mind.

Annabelle
and
Zachary
making
love
in
a
lagoon, with a waterfall behind them. Their naked bodies were intertwined, and she heard her own laugh when Zachary swept her into his arms and dunked her under the rushing water.

This wasn't a vision of the past, as she'd always had—it was a vision of the future.

As the vision faded and the room came back into focus, Annabelle swayed on her feet and would have fallen over if Zachary hadn't grabbed her. Everything was becoming more confusing by the second.

Her cheeks heated with embarrassment from the erotic images, and even as she tried to push them aside, her body continued to respond to him. Of course, being plastered against Zachary's rock-hard torso wasn't helping either. Her hands were pinned between their bodies, and the muscles of his chest rippled against her enticingly. Her nipples peaked into sharp points and heat pooled between her legs as she stifled a moan. Annabelle's body felt totally and completely out of her control and all she could do was feel.

“You had a vision, didn't you?” he asked quietly. Zachary's fingers pressed into her upper arms as he held her against his body, which was hardening by the second. He swept his thumb along the curve of her bicep and kept his voice just above a whisper. “What did you see?”

Annabelle blinked. “How did you know about my visions?”

“Last night.” Zachary tightened his hold on her as his gaze skittered over her face. “You told me about it in the dream realm. Remember?”

Annabelle's body quivered from a combination of fear, lust, and confusion. Holy shit. It had been real. The dream. She
had
told him about her visions last night in the dream that wasn't exactly a dream. She squeezed the shell she held in her hand and returned his heated stare.

Thank God she hadn't revealed her true name or that she knew about the Amoveo. The cold hand of fear trailed up her spine, and she swallowed hard as she stared into his face. He was looking down at her with a concerned expression.

What would he do when he found out who she really was?

“I—I'm not sure what's going on.” Her tongue flicked over her lower lip, and she struggled with how much she should tell him. “Last night…the dream…that was all real? You know about my visions and…?”

“Yes.” Zachary nodded and rested his forehead against hers. His hands loosened their grip on her arms before drifting over her shoulders and trailing down her back. “And I told
you
that I'm an Amoveo from the Lion Clan…and that we are mates.”

“This is crazy,” she whispered in a quavering voice. Annabelle shook her head and pushed him away, effectively extricating herself from his grasp. “I can't be your mate, Zachary.”

“Oh really?” He narrowed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest, giving her a lopsided grin. “So it's totally okay that you are a psychic human who dream-walked with a shapeshifter last night, but it's not acceptable that we are mates?”

“No…I mean…yes.” Annabelle let out a growl of frustration and backed farther away from him. “I don't know what I mean. Everything's all mixed up and I don't know which end is up.”

“That's okay…I do.” Zachary's grin broadened just before he whispered, “
Verto
.”

Annabelle's hand flew to her mouth as she watched Zachary shimmer, as if he were underwater. Static filled the air, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished into thin air. She'd heard about this particular Amoveo ability but didn't really believe it was real…but, boy, oh boy, was it ever real.

A split second later, his strong arms linked around her waist and his hard body pressed against hers as he materialized behind her. She let out a squeak as he nuzzled her neck and murmured, “There's still so much to show you.”

Her hands settled over his, which were resting on her lower belly, and her head lolled back as he sprinkled kisses along her neck. Annabelle's eyes fluttered closed and she let herself sink into the intoxicating mix of sensations. The warm, wet feel of his lips on her throat was as enthralling as the hot length of his rigid cock pressing against her lower back.

Soft met hard. Steel met satin, and her head spun.

This was crazy. Everything she'd ever been told about the Amoveo was terrifying, and yet everything she felt for Zachary was exhilarating. He was Amoveo. She was Caedo. They were sworn enemies with nothing in common—except for the way they made each other feel.

Annabelle knew she couldn't stay and that there was no future with him. All she had was the here and now. And the here and now felt pretty freaking great.

She spun in his embrace and linked her arms around his neck before pulling his face to hers. He groaned, his tongue seeking entrance into her mouth, and she opened to him willingly. He tasted like sin, seduction, and sex, and Annabelle couldn't get enough.

One hand cradled the back of her head and his fingers tangled in her hair as he angled her head, taking control of the kiss. He licked and suckled, taking all she had to give and more. Annabelle whimpered as little zings of pleasure whipped over her and the delicious flare of lust tightened between her legs.

Clinging to him, Annabelle arched back, giving him clear access to the sensitive flesh of her neck. She wrapped her leg around his, seeking some relief from the throbbing pressure that only he could satisfy. While he licked and nibbled his way down her neck, one hand settled under her knee and hoisted her leg higher. Annabelle gasped as her clit rubbed against him and sent ripples of pleasure through her body.

He brushed his lips over hers as he tangled his fingers in her hair, scraping them along her scalp in a slow, seductive stroke. Zachary urged her to look him in the eye while he continued to rock her against him with one undulating pass after another.

With her body on fire, her mind raced with a hundred different reasons why she shouldn't be doing this. Here she was dry-humping a man she'd known for less than twelve hours…and not just any man. An Amoveo shifter who would probably kill her if he knew who she was. But all of that, every shred of doubt, each shaming whisper, was drowned out by the tsunami of sensations her body was experiencing beneath Zachary's touch.

However, every thought was driven from her when she found herself staring into a pair of glowing amber eyes. The eyes of the lion.

“This is who I am, Annabelle.” Zachary's voice was tight with desire. His hand curled around the crook of her knee, he lifted her leg and rocked his hips against her while his other hand pressed against her back, holding her to him. Annabelle's body quivered with lust, need, and anticipation, making her feel like a rubber band that was pulled too tight. One wrong move and she would snap. He placed a kiss at the corner of her mouth and whispered, “Now tell me. Who are you running from?”

Annabelle froze in his embrace, and her body went from hot to cold in a split second as reality came crashing down around her. Shaking her head slowly, she pressed her hands against his chest and pushed him away from her as her leg slid down his. He didn't try to stop her, but his eyes continued to blaze brightly at her with that predatory stare.

“I can't do this. I can't be with you,” she said in a surprisingly steady voice. Annabelle opened her hand, removed the shell, and held it out to him. “And this is not mine to take.”

Zachary took the shell from her but said nothing as she turned and ran out the sliding glass doors to the beach.

Zachary swore under his breath and stuck the shell in his pocket before running after Annabelle. He was cocking this whole situation up in a big fat way because he had no idea what he was doing. All he knew was that he had to stop her before she ran off and got herself lost or worse. She had no money and no identification. Where the hell did she think she was gonna go?

The heat of the early morning sun fired over him the instant he stepped foot on the sand, and panic filled him when he found the beach empty. He ran past the privacy fences that lined the sides of the property, and as he approached the water's edge, a wave of relief flooded him when he spotted her. She was about thirty feet down the beach to the left, sitting in the sand with her face buried against her knees. His sense of relief was swiftly replaced with concern when he realized she was crying.

Shit. He'd made her cry.
Nice
move, asshole
.

He ran one hand through his hair and approached her cautiously, trying to figure out what the fuck he was supposed to say or do. The woman was obviously in some kind of trouble and on the run from someone or something, and he went and dumped all the shapeshifter and life-mate stuff on her.

Wait
a
minute
.

Zachary's eyes narrowed and he studied her more closely. Running over everything in his mind, it dawned on him that she hadn't seemed terribly surprised about the revelation that he was a shapeshifter—an Amoveo. Annabelle was more upset—or shocked—about being his mate than anything else. Could she already have known about the Amoveo? No way. The only humans who knew about the Amoveo were the Caedo, and there was no chance she was Caedo. He'd encountered plenty of those jerk-offs over the past year and they were nothing like Annabelle.

All of his thoughts were swept aside when the sadness edging her energy signature rippled over him in jagged strokes. Her long hair fluttered off her back and the red highlights glinted in the sun as her shoulders shook. Her arms hugged her legs and she kept her face buried against her knees. The woman looked utterly and completely alone, and in that moment, he made himself a promise.

No matter what happened, regardless of whether or not she wanted to be with him, he would help her. That had to be his top priority. Hadn't he just told Dominic that it wouldn't be fair to bring a human woman into the Amoveo world? He had to help her with whatever mess she was running from. Then, after that, they could deal with the whole life-mate thing…or not.

From this point forward, Zachary's number one concern was to help Annabelle. But to do that, he had to get her to tell him what kind of trouble she was in.

He stopped about three feet away and looked around, grateful that no one else was out on the beach this early. There were more people farther down by the town beach, but it looked like most of these houses on the strip weren't occupied at the moment.

“Annabelle?” Zachary kept his tone gentle, worried that he'd upset her enough already. “Look, I know I just dumped a bunch of crazy stuff on you, and I'm sorry. I guess finding you here like this just caught me off guard. I never really believed I had a mate, and to be honest, I wasn't even looking for mine. So if you don't want to pursue it, that's fine. But you can't sit here all day. Come on.”

She didn't answer and kept her face turned away from him. She sniffled and her shoulders shuddered with a deep breath, as though she was doing her best to get her tears under control. Damn it. He could take anything, absolutely anything, except hearing her cry, because it made him feel helpless and out of control.

As a Guardian and Amoveo warrior, there wasn't anything worse.

“Listen, come back to the house and let me make you some breakfast.” Zachary stepped closer and extended his hand. “Come on. I promise I won't say another word about the mate stuff or being an Amoveo unless you ask me about it.”

Annabelle sniffled and turned to face him. His heart squeezed in his chest when she looked up at him with a tearstained face and watery eyes. She swiped at her cheeks and glanced at his extended hand, obviously weighing her options—which weren't many.

“I won't ask you about it,” she murmured. Her pale green eyes latched onto his and her voice took a serious tone. “I
can't
, Zachary.”

Zachary nodded. He wouldn't push her on the subject, but he sure as hell was going to get her to tell him what kind of mess she was in. In order to do that, he had to get her to trust him.

“Understood.” Zachary waggled his fingers at her and jerked his head toward the house. “Come on. Breakfast first, and then I'll take you into town. We'll file a report about the robbery and you can find a phone. Maybe someone found your bag or wallet or something and turned it in. Hell, it could be down at the local police station right now.” He put one hand to his heart and made the sign of an X over it. “I promise I'll behave myself.”

“You're going to cook me breakfast?” Annabelle shielded her eyes from the sun. “And then we go to town? That's it?”

“Scout's honor.” Zachary held up one hand and waved the other at her. “Deal?”

“Deal.” Annabelle placed her hand in his and held his gaze as he pulled her to her feet. Her body brushed his briefly, and he fought the driving need to pull her against him while keeping her fingers wrapped in his. A smile played at her lips as she leaned close and murmured, “Were you ever actually a Boy Scout?”

“Nope.” Zachary smirked and started walking backward, pulling her with him as he moved toward the house.

“I should have known.” Annabelle laughed and shook her head as she withdrew her hand from his. She folded her arms over her breasts and sliced a sidelong glance at him while they walked. “You don't strike me as the Boy Scout type, but you did a fine job of helping a wounded stranger.”

“I wonder if there's a badge for that?” Zachary stuck his hands in his pockets and captured the shell between his fingers. She laughed softly, and the sound of it whispered through him like a warm breeze, instantly putting him at ease. Damn if that wasn't the sexiest sound in the world.

As they rounded the corner of the privacy fence along their section of the beach and went into the house, Zachary knew nothing was ever going to be the same. When he turned around to shut the slider, he spotted a few bikini-clad women strolling along the beach past the house. Normally, he would be making a beeline out there in an effort to get one or more of them into his bed…and now the idea of it seemed ludicrous. The notion of being with any woman other than Annabelle was off the table.

“Would you mind if I took a shower?” Annabelle's voice brought him out of his thoughts. “Even if I have to put this dirty dress back on, at least my body will feel clean.”

“What?” Shaking his head, he spun around, feeling embarrassed for even looking at those girls. “Oh, yes. Sure. The bathroom is off the bedroom, and there are clean towels on the shelf.”

“I'll be on my way soon enough.” Annabelle had a knowing smile on her face as she looked past him to the women at the water's edge. Her pale green eyes flicked back to him. “And you can get back to your vacation.”

Without another word, she went to the bathroom, leaving Zachary standing alone in the living room feeling like an awkward teenager. He swore under his breath and headed into the kitchen to make breakfast, wondering if he could manage to fuck up anything else.

While Annabelle showered, Zachary whipped up two omelets with tomato and cheese, fried up some bacon, and managed a few slices of toast too. He was plating all of the food when he heard the bedroom door click open, but he didn't have to turn around to know she was there. Her energy signature drifted through the room and wrapped around him like a blanket with oddly familiar ease.

“Have a seat.” Without turning around, he tossed the pans in the sink and grabbed two glasses from the cabinet before pouring them both some orange juice. “I hope you're hungry, because I made plenty.”

Glasses in hand and with a smile on his face, Zach turned to face her but was rendered speechless by the sight before him. Annabelle's long hair was wet and wavy and spilled over her bare shoulders temptingly. Her lush, curvy body was clad only in one of the green towels from the bathroom, showing off her gorgeous legs in the most cruelly seductive way. Her creamy, ivory skin glistened with moisture, and she nibbled her lower lip in an adorably shy gesture as she clutched the top of the towel with both hands.

Zach's entire body went rigid, and for a second he forgot how to speak. She looked like a Greek goddess. Fresh faced, beautiful, and sexy as hell.

“I—I washed my dress in the shower and hung it up to dry. I looked around for a bathrobe, but I couldn't find one.” Her cheeks flushed and she lifted one shoulder. “Maybe I could borrow one of your shirts or something? Just until my dress is dry.”

Zach blinked and shook his head, realizing he was standing there staring at her with his mouth open like a fucking moron. “Shit. I'm such an idiot.” Laughing, he placed the glasses of juice on the breakfast bar next to their plates. “You don't have to do that. I can get you something to wear.”

“Oh no.” She shook her head adamantly. “I don't want you to go to any more trouble.”

“It's no trouble.” Zach winked. A sense of excitement fired through him. He could use his visualization ability to conjure up something for her to wear and kill two birds with one stone. Annabelle would get clothing, and he would get closer to earning her trust. He stepped around the counter while looking Annabelle up and down. She clutched the towel tighter and inched away as he moved closer, until she backed into the wall. Zach leaned close enough to feel the heat wafting off her gorgeous skin and whispered, “Trust me.”

“Wh-what are you going to do?” Her eyes widened and her gaze flickered over Zach's face.

“Well, even though you look gorgeous in that towel, I'm going to give you something else to wear.” He tilted his head and held her stare while he tucked a long strand of wet hair behind her ear. He felt her shiver beneath his touch and his grin widened. “I think a little dress in the same shade of green as your eyes would be perfect.” A smile played at Zach's lips as he stepped back and held out his arms. “
Verto
,” he whispered.

A split second later, the room filled with static electricity and a pale-green sundress appeared in Zach's right hand. Annabelle's eyes grew as big as saucers, and for a moment he worried she was going to cry, but his fears were abated when a huge smile cracked her face.

“Oh my God,” she murmured. She reached out with a quivering hand and grasped the soft fabric between her fingers before turning her eyes to his. “How did you do that?”

“Since you
asked
…it's part of being an Amoveo.” Zachary stepped closer and placed the garment in her hands. “It's called visualization, and as you can see, it comes in very handy at times.” He stepped back and raised both hands in a sign of surrender before going back into the kitchen. “But like I said before, I'm only telling you stuff if you ask me.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. Staring at the dress in her hands, she shook her head and let out a slow breath before turning her face to his. “You are
unexpected
.”

“Yeah, well, so are you.” Zachary gave her a curt nod and went to the sink and started cleaning the pans. He needed to do something to get his mind off the way she looked. What he really wanted to do was strip that towel off her and spend the rest of the day making love to her. He flipped on the faucet and let the cold water run, hoping it might put out the fire brewing in his gut. “Now, go get dressed so we can eat, because if you keep hanging around me wearing only that towel, I can't promise that I'll continue to behave myself.”

The door of the bedroom shut, and Zachary let out the breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding. His entire body was stretched tighter than a drum, and it took Herculean strength not to devour her right then and there. One thing was for damn sure: the next time he used his visualization skill, it was going to be to get her naked, not to get her dressed.

A few minutes later, she emerged in the dress that, quite literally, had been made just for her. The fabric clung to every curve and showed off her full breasts, narrow waist, and ample hips with torturous perfection. Zach gave her a tight smile, trying not to think about peeling the dress off her. Giving him a shy smile, Annabelle sat on the stool and dug into the omelet. They ate in silence for a few minutes before he finally broke it by acknowledging one of several elephants in the room.

“So are you going to tell me who you're running from?”