Unforgettable (6 page)

“Protect me? From what? From the people I was running from? Is that what you mean?” Eden could hear her voice rising but couldn’t stop herself. “Damn you, talk to me. You can’t just spring this all on me and then give me nothing. If I’m truly in danger I have a right to know.”

“You were taken from our ranch where you should have been completely safe. By who, I don’t know. But Rick was protecting you. He made sure that I wasn’t a threat before contacting me. That’s why he didn’t tell you.”

“How did he know how to find you? How did he know about our relationship?” she asked, groaning when he remained stubbornly silent. “How did I end up here? Why would someone kidnap me? Who would want to hurt me? What have I done to someone to make them want to harm me?”

“Nothing,” he growled. “And I won’t have you thinking about yourself that way. I don’t know how you ended up here or who is responsible. I do know it wouldn’t have been our fault. I’m sure they wanted to hurt me by getting to you.”

“You won’t have it!” She shook her head and rose to her knees, pointing her finger at him. “I’ll think what I like about myself, buster, and you have no say over it.”

“You are mine,” he growled. “And I will not have you putting yourself down.”

Eden rolled her eyes.

Galen latched on to her wrist. “Careful, kitten or you’ll be getting another spanking sooner than you might want.”

“Let me go, you’re scaring me,” she told him, tugging at his hold on her.

“No, I’m not,” he said with an arrogant smile. “I’m turning you on.”

“Urgh.” She tried to rise, held back by his hold on her. “Let me go. I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

No, she wanted to get over to Rick’s office and give him hell. And maybe get a few answers while she was there.

Galen stared at her thoughtfully. “I’ll walk you back to the diner.”

“I can walk myself back,” she said stubbornly.

Galen shook his head. “No, you won’t. I know that look, you’re going to try and hassle Rick for information. You’re wasting your time, kitten.”

She scowled at him. “I’m a big girl, Galen. I can look after myself. I don’t know how things were between us before but I do not appreciate being treated like a child.”

“Oh, honey, just because I may spank your butt on occasion does not mean I think you’re a child.”

She stared at him suspiciously. “Were we into some crazy sex shit?”

Throwing back his head, Galen laughed. “No more than the usual person I think. Honey, I know this is a lot, that’s why I’m trying not to overwhelm you further. I’m not holding back just to annoy you, it’s just that there are things about me that I’d rather you remembered on your own. How about we take this slowly? I’ll try to answer what I can without overwhelming you.

“I know I come across as completely overbearing. I am used to getting my way, I admit it. However, you’ve always gone head to head on any matter you didn’t agree with me about. I would never try to harm you or crush you. But I will protect you. No matter what. And if that means spanking your butt to show you how serious I am about that, then I will. And sometimes, you might like it.” He winked at her.

“Urgh. You are so exasperating.” She gave up on trying to free herself.

He chuckled.

“I need to go back to work. I’m late.”

Galen’s face grew dark. “Why don’t you quit that job?”

“Ahh, cause I need it,” she said incredulously. “Rosie gave me a chance when no one else would. Not everyone will hire someone with no past you know.”

“You don’t need it. Whatever you need, I’ll provide.”

She narrowed her gaze, looking at him. “Yeah, I don’t think so, buster. You tell me we were in a relationship, but you can’t tell me everything. Somehow, Rick knew to contact you and who you were, but you won’t tell me how. You tell me someone kidnapped me, but you have no idea who or why or if they’ll come back. I’m sorry for this, but I can’t just instantly trust you and it seems I can’t entirely trust Rick either. Yes, there is something between us, that’s easy to figure out. But I don’t really know you. I have to take care of myself.”

“I understand, kitten,” he said with reluctance.

 She relaxed slightly. “What did I used to do as a career?”

“You wrote children’s stories.”

“Oh, really?” She was shocked. A writer? Wow.

“Yes, and you’re extremely talented. Believe me, you contribute plenty to our
joint
accounts.”

Sadly, she couldn’t remember even one of her stories. She sighed. “I can’t remember doing that and at the moment the diner keeps me going. If I sat at home, I’d go crazy.”

“If you sat at home, I could protect you better.”

Alarmed by his tone of voice, she glanced around as though expecting someone to jump from the trees and attack. “You really think I’m in danger? That someone kidnapped me?”

He nodded. “Yes. I know someone took you from me. And they’ll be worried that you’ll tell me who they were. And then I will kill them.”

Galen talked about murder so casually and yet she knew he meant every word.

“So why haven’t they come for me already? I mean, I know where I was found is nearly a hundred miles from here but surely it wouldn’t be that hard to find me.” She gulped in fear.

Galen pulled her close. “I won’t let them hurt you,” he vowed. “And it may take them a while to find you. Rick did everything he could to hide you.”

“He insisted we use the back entrance of the hospital and he was driving a friend’s car when he picked me up,” she said with understanding.

Galen nodded. “They’d need time and patience to find you, neither of which I believe they have. If they’re close to me, any absence would be noted by me or my en-friends.”

She frowned. That seemed a bit odd.

“We’re not involved in a cult are we?” she asked.

Galen gaped at her then burst into laughter. “No, baby. We’re not. Come on, help me pack this up and I’ll get you back to work.”

He gave her a stern look that nearly had her squirming. “And just remember what I said about obeying me when it comes to your safety. Just because they haven’t found you yet, doesn’t mean they won’t.”

Eden folded her arms over her chest. “Just because I agreed to follow your rules before doesn’t mean I will now.”

“Then you’re going to end up with one very sore butt.”

“You-you, urgh!”
Great, fantastic comeback, Eden. You go girl.

“Eden, honey, I’m sorry I have to push you like this. But I can’t allow anything to happen to you. You’re my life. When I learned you were gone, I was inconsolable. Beyond panic. If you had died, honey. I would have too.”

She stared at him, temporarily lost for words. “How do I know you’re not lying about all of this?”

“You know, kitten.”

Goddamn him. She did.

Chapter Five:

He felt the instant something happened to her. Fear slammed into him as he felt her terror through their link.

Then silence.

He raced from the meeting, ignoring the startled looks and shouts of alarm from his packmates. He searched everywhere for her. Through the house, the ranch. Everyone joined the search.

She was gone.

Galen sat up with a gasp, his body sweating and shaking. Immediately he glanced over at the cottage. It was quiet, undisturbed, the only thing moving in the dark depths of the night was him.

He stood, stretching. He’d been sitting on the damp ground too long. Rick had offered him a bed at his place, but there was no way Galen was leaving his mate alone at night, unprotected. So he’d slept outside her cottage each night since he’d arrived, watching over his mate without letting her know. Once he’d found her again, there had been no way he was risking anything happening to her.

Christ, who was after her? He simply didn’t know. He’d checked in with Sage, his second-in-command, earlier in the day to see how things were back at the pack.

Everyone was still shaken by Eden’s disappearance. They knew he had gone searching for her, but they didn’t know he’d found her. He’d told no one that, not even his mother.

He’d spent the last few days working on building Eden’s trust in him. Understandably she was hesitant around him. He and Rick had done their best to reassure her, but she remained unsure. Galen knew he could be full-on and he’d pushed things the day of the picnic, probably moving too fast. The next time he’d seen her, she’d been a bit distant, trying to keep him at arm’s length. Not that he’d put up with that. Taking things slow, he’d talked to her, soothed her, made her laugh.

Although he didn’t want to upset her, he refused to back off entirely. She was his to take care of and that is exactly what he would do, whether she remembered him or not.

He changed, letting the lion overtake him so he could scent any intruders, clearly spot any disturbances. In human form his sense were heightened, but they were even better in animal form. He ran the perimeter around the cottage, carefully scouting out his territory, keeping his mate from any harm.

When he was satisfied all was well he returned to his perch and changed back, putting on his clothes. Although he didn’t feel the cold like full-blooded humans did, the night was chilly enough for him to dress warmly.

The lion paced, restless inside him. That short change hadn’t been enough, the lion wanted to run. And he wanted to reclaim their mate. The beast couldn’t understand why they weren’t inside the cabin right now, wrapping their mate up in their love and protection. But the man still retained control. He knew she wasn’t quite ready for that yet.

He could feel the pack calling to him, wanting him home. As Alpha, he couldn’t leave them for too long. His second in command, Sage, was strong and a good leader, but Galen was Alpha. They needed him.

Yet so did his mate, and until he found out who was threatening her, he couldn’t return home. And he certainly wasn’t going to leave her. Ever. Only he could protect her. Until her kidnappers were found, no one in the pack could be trusted. In fact, the only person he could trust right now was Andrews. And wasn’t that galling?

Galen growled softly. If anyone had told him a month ago that he’d have to put his mate’s safety into the hands of a wereleopard, he’d have laughed his head off.

Leopards didn’t live in packs the same way that lions or wolves did, their packs were usually small, maybe one or two families who stuck together and looked after one another. Single leopards usually roamed, looking for a mate. Only once they found a mate did they settle down.

It was unusual for a single male like Rick to be so settled and to mix with humans in such a public job. Not that humans had a clue what he was.

Leopards and lions didn’t normally mix well, so Galen was grateful Andrews hadn’t left Eden to her own devices, many others would have. And he may never have found her.

He stared at Eden’s bedroom window. And there she was. Almost right on schedule. She rose from the bed and padded out into the passage. The first night he’d watched over her, he’d been horrified that she slept with all the lights on. Then he’d realized the reason behind the well-lit house. She was too afraid to sleep in the dark anymore.

Damn it.

He should be there, holding her, keeping her safe. She wouldn’t need the lights blazing if he was there, she wouldn’t be getting only a handful of hours sleep each night, he’d make sure of that. He’d exhaust her until she couldn’t move.

He sighed. The sooner he found these bastards threatening his mate then they could both return home where they belonged.

*****

 Exhausted, Eden pretty much stumbled into the diner for her afternoon shift. She tugged her apron on, her body moving on auto-pilot as she took orders.

Four hours later and she was ready to collapse. Her feet hurt, her back ached and the nightmares that had kept her awake all last night kept replaying in her head. Why couldn’t she see who was after her? Mixed in with the nightmares were dreams of Galen. She longed for him, wanted him close and yet even though she was attracted to him, even liked him, she still couldn’t remember him.

Her gaze down, she moved around her tables, taking orders.

“What can I get you?” she asked without looking up from her pad.

“You okay, kitten?” The thick molasses of Galen’s voice soothed over her shattered nerves, spreading heat throughout her body.

“Galen,” she breathed out his name.

“You look tired, are you feeling well?” He frowned up at her from where he was sitting in the red booth. Grabbing her hand he pulled her down to sit beside him, not moving along the seat as a gentleman might. Instead she ended up plastered against him.

She grabbed his thigh to balance herself, trying to sit up. The hard muscle beneath her hand bunched then relaxed as tingling warmth filled her palm. A low whimper escaped before she firmed her lips and drew herself back. He grabbed hold of her arm gently, ensuring she couldn’t go far. Galen placed the back of his hand on her forehead.

“You’re not hot,” he said with a frown.

“Because I’m not sick, but I am at work and it’s not time for my break, so will you please let me up?” she said with frustration.

He let her go, reluctantly, she knew. “You look like you should be home in bed, asleep.”

“Thanks a lot. If you must know I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

She’d tried pumping Rick for information about Galen, but he’d remained frustratingly tight-lipped. Damn it, she felt as though she were drowning, her life swirling around her as drifted around aimlessly.

Could she believe everything that Galen had told her? Her gut said yes. And so did Rick. He’d told her Galen was an upfront, honest guy. Of course this was coming from a guy who’d lied to her.

All she really had to rely on was her instinct, though. And if she started doubting herself she’d go completely insane. She’d even tried to do her own investigating into who Galen was. But she’d had little time and no real luck.

He was an enigma.

She should try to resist him. But it would be like resisting a really decadent chocolate dessert. She really shouldn’t take a bite, but she simply had no control over her reaction.