Under His Skin (12 page)

“A trust fund baby, most likely,” Brec murmured. He shook his head in disgust. “Probably explains why she has no empathy for the lives she’s ruined. I doubt she thinks beyond herself in any matter.” He glanced at the pixie, his eyes widening slightly when he found Nu perched on the back of the
Aningayou
statue. “Maybe she’s using the skins for decoration.
Or as trophies.”

Nu frowned. “There weren’t any in her room.”

“Except for mine,” Brec reminded him. Unable to resist looking at the spot where his skin was hidden, he shuddered at the thrill of fear and anger that sparked inside of him. He could still feel the burning fury that had scalded him when he entered Ana’s bedroom and found her sleeping under his skin. The miserable thief had actually been
smiling
in her sleep, nestling under his skin as if it were an expensive blanket she’d bought with mommy and daddy’s money.

He stared at where his skin lay hidden. He wanted to go back to the sea.

“She’s not all bad. Look at this.”

Brec turned and saw Nu inside the drawer to the little end table. He was lifting the front cover of a large black book, staring down at some sort of photo and newspaper clipping. Brec walked over and peered inside.

“‘Ana
Vulpe
Donates $50,000 to the Sierra Club,’” he read aloud. He shrugged. “So what, she throws some of her fortune at charity. Maybe it makes her feel better about what a lousy person she is.”

“Don’t be in such a hurry to judge her,” Nu snapped. “You don’t even know her.”

“But you do, is that right?” Brec challenged. He stepped up to tower over the pixie, studying the little fey’s indignant face. Nu’s earlier words echoed in his mind.
“I have a debt to repay and I’m not leaving until I’ve repaid it.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?” The pixie’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as Brec turned his full attention to him.

“You said you owe Ana a debt. You also knew about the other skins she stole. Now you’re trying to convince me she’s not a bad person. Exactly how do you know Ana? How do you know about what she did?” His eyes widened as a thought occurred to him and he darted forward so fast Nu squeaked and leapt into the air, flying out of reach. “You know where the skins are, don’t you?”

Nu crossed his arms, his eyes looking sad despite his defiant posture. “I’ve sworn not to reveal their location.”

Furious, Brec swiped at the pixie, growling as the little fey darted further out of his reach. “You little pest,” he hissed. “You could end a lot of misery and you choose instead to align yourself with a thief who just barely escapes the label of murderer. How could you leave those people to suffer?”

“Keep looking, Brec,” Nu said quietly. “You don’t know the whole story. When you discover the truth of the situation, you won’t judge Ana so harshly.”

“There is nothing that would excuse what she’s done,” Brec insisted, struggling to speak through his anger. “I’ve experienced the loss of my skin. Any longer and I would have gone mad.”

“You would have done anything to get it back?”

“Anything.”

The pixie paused as if waiting for Brec to say more, but he could think of nothing more to say. The miserable insect wouldn’t budge and he didn’t have time to waste interrogating him.

Whirling away from the source of his agitation, Brec stalked through the living room and down the short staircase to the lower split level. When his foot hit the thinly carpeted floor, his gaze locked on the left side of the room and he froze. Surprise raised his eyebrows as he stared at a large circular area completely surrounded by candles, incense, and rows of herbs. The scent of chamomile teased his senses, soothing away some of his anger, and he slowly walked closer to what looked like a magic circle.

Two large pots on either side of the circle contained aloe
vera
and red geraniums. He recognized other herbs around the circle as well. Chamomile,
gotu
kola, chaparral, tea tree oil, oats, plantain, and
tamanu
oil, some in dried form, some sealed in small vials with neatly printed labels. A simple silver knife glinted beside some of the herbs along with long matchsticks, and a mortar and pestle. Brec shook his head in disbelief.

“She’s a witch.”

“Not necessarily,” Nu spoke up, flying over to the circle and landing in the geranium pot. “Look at all this stuff. Name one thing here that you don’t use for healing.”

“You’re trying to tell me she’s a healer?” Brec sneered. “Bullshit. No healer would do the kind of harm she’s doing by stealing those skins. A black witch, however, might steal skins to use in
shapeshifting
rituals.”

“You think she’s a witch?” Nu echoed.

Brec pressed his lips into a thin grim line.
“Only one way to find out.”

The morning sun was an unwelcome sight.
Ana glowered at the light shining in her window and tried to turn away.
The little slack Brec had allowed her to help her sleep wasn’t enough to let her properly avoid greeting the new day. The mattress creaked beneath her and Ana cursed to herself as footsteps echoed on the floor outside her bedroom.

Great, he knows I’m awake.

Ana fought to keep her face impassive as Brec entered her bedroom again.
The selkie had a determined set to his shoulders and his gaze seemed shaper, more alert. He glanced around her room as he approached the bed. Was it her imagination or did his gaze linger on her dresser and the little bowl with her waiting spell? Her pulse quickened. Now he was looking at the row of books on the shelf just above the dresser.
Get away from there!

“What I said earlier about being lonely wasn’t a lie,” she spoke up, desperately hoping to distract him from his examination of her things.

Brec’s gaze immediately ceased its perusal to fix her with a withering glance of annoyance. “Don’t even try that one again. The whole ‘I just stole your skin because I wanted a selkie husband’ ship has sailed.”

Despite his obvious rancor with her, Ana felt a small wave of relief when Brec stepped closer to the bed, her spell on the dresser clearly forgotten. As he moved, she couldn’t help but notice that he’d removed his jacket. The green shirt she’d spotted under the coat earlier turned out to be a long-sleeved thick cotton garment that hugged his muscles.
Momentarily distracted from her spell, her mind spun over her earlier thoughts about seducing the selkie.
Warmth wove through her muscles as she pictured running her hands over the muscles under that shirt, feeling the strength that lay underneath.

It had been a long time since she’d taken a lover. Her misery had been complete and all consuming. She’d had no time for anything that didn’t put her closer to regaining her skin, no time for relationships with people who would never know the real her. Now, looking at Brec while her naked body squirmed underneath the blanket, she couldn’t help but feel an ache between her legs that reminded her of how much she missed that one basic human need.

The feeling intensified as Brec stepped up to the bed and began working at her bonds. Surprise raised her eyebrows even as she found herself staring at the snug fit of his jeans, so close to her face. She could feel the heat from his body and the sensation fed the fantasy building in her mind. Images of his body without the restrictions of his clothing filled her mind, teasing her with thoughts of holding the heat of that body between her legs and pressing her breasts to that muscled chest.

Tingles danced over her skin at the thought and she quickly warmed to her new plan. He was untying her for some
reason,
it was the perfect time to begin the seduction. The fact that she was already naked made it seem too easy. She smiled, reveling in the satisfaction that came with the confidence she’d gained through years of watching desire light men’s eyes when they saw her. In no time at all she would have him eating from her hand.

As the last of her bonds fell away, she took a deep breath, preparing herself for her performance. She shook her hair back, letting the natural wave in the silvery blonde strands bounce her hair against her bare shoulders. The caress of the silky strands added a feeling of sensuality to her movements. Her sensitized skin tickled as she slowly drew her legs closer to her body, enjoying the slide of the soft comforter against her flesh. She raised her eyes to Brec’s face, watching him from underneath a layer of thick lashes. Slowly, she swung her legs over the bed and stood.

“Thank you,” she said softly. She raised her wrists, using her arms to press against her breasts, pushing them together and up. Brec’s gaze flicked down and then shot back up to her face. She smothered a smirk.
Typical.

She opened her mouth to say something suggestive, but the scowl on Brec’s face froze the words on her tongue.

“Seducing me isn’t going to work either. I don’t find thieves who take pleasure out of destroying lives the least bit attractive.”

Shock pulled her jaw down before she could compose herself. Cursing Brec with every fiber of her being, she quickly rallied as best she could. “I am not the
least
bit interested in seducing you,” she hissed, letting her anger feed the image of indignation. She glared at him. “I was just going to ask you if I could use the bathroom, now that you’ve been
kind
enough to untie me.” She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to give in to the embarrassment trying to burn the skin from her cheeks. “But thank you
so much
for the insinuation. After all, what woman doesn’t like being called a whore?”

She took a moment to treasure the startled expression on Brec’s face. His eyebrows rose slightly and his lips parted. If he was the considerate gentlemanly healer she thought he
was,
that comment should have put him on the defensive. No gentleman could just brush off the insinuation that his behavior was
so
offensive as to give the impression he’d unwittingly made a woman feel like a whore. Disappointment pulled down her spirits when suspicion colored his face.
Either he’s not quite the gentleman I thought he was or he’s not as gullible as I hoped.

He stepped back without taking his eyes off her. When he was about five feet away, nearly pressed against the wall beside the bathroom door, he glanced into the bathroom. He didn’t look for too long, his gaze flickering back and forth between her and the interior of the harmless looking room. Ana rolled her eyes. The bastard was no doubt checking to makes sure she couldn’t escape through a window.

“As you have no doubt noticed, there is no window in the bathroom,” she snarled. “Now if you don’t mind, I have to pee.”

Brec raised an eyebrow and waved her in, throwing his arm out like a gentleman ushering a lady into her opera box. Ana narrowed her eyes.
Arrogant bastard.

Just to piss of her cocky captor, Ana locked the bathroom door behind her. After relieving herself, she stalked over to the shower and turned on the hot water. As long as he was going to be an ass, he could damn well wait until she was good and ready to be tied up again.

A sigh escaped her lips as she stepped under the soothing spray. Her arms and legs ached from the position they’d been tied in and the hot water was a glorious relief to her sore muscles. She put her face in the spray, relishing the heat for a moment before turning to wet her hair.

A loud crash shattered the peace of the small room and Ana shrieked as her heart seized in her chest.
All the nerves in her arms spasmed at the same time, sending waves of pain over her skin.
She jerked the curtain aside and stared in outrage at Brec.

The selkie stood in the doorway, the look on his face a strange combination of anger and confusion. The bathroom door lay flush against the wall and Ana had a moment to seethe over the likelihood that the doorknob was probably lodged in the plaster. The doorframe was splintered, broken when her captor used brute force to overcome the lock.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she ground out. The anger burning inside her felt good, a welcome distraction from the embarrassment that had been eating at her minutes before. She put the full force of her ire into her eyes as she glared at him. “My reference to myself as a whore was merely a way to point out your less than gentlemanly behavior,” she snapped. “It wasn’t an offer to join me in the shower.”

“You said you were going to pee, you never said anything about a shower.”

Despite his strong entrance, she was savagely pleased to hear a note of hesitation in his voice. He stared into her eyes. The tension in his face suggested he was fighting to keep his gaze from wandering to other areas. A small smile crept over her lips. Apparently, the selkie wasn’t as comfortable breaking in on a woman in the shower as he would have her believe.