Kayley couldn’t breathe. Her lungs simply wouldn’t work. She gasped, desperately trying to get enough air into her body. Images from her nocturnal adventures flashed through her mind. There could be no doubt that the two men she’d just met were the men from her dreams. How could it be? Christ, she really was losing it. One man looking like one of her dream lovers might be a trick of her imagination, but the two of them? Together in the same room! Such things weren’t possible.
When the blond had touched her, she’d felt the most incredible zing of connection as if she could see inside his very soul. It shocked her so much she’d rudely pulled her hand from his.
“You okay?” Will looked at her, brows drawn down.
She mentally shook herself and plastered on a smile, not wanting to worry Will. “I’m fine.”
Part of her, a really big part, wanted to call Adam’s cell. Beg for him to come pick her up. But she couldn’t leave, not yet. She needed to speak to Will first.
She turned to her cousin. She trusted him and had to hold onto that. He’d always been there for her. Even living so far apart, they’d kept in touch via phone and e-mail and yet…something was so very different about him, and she couldn’t figure out what.
“God, Kayley!” His voice broke as he pulled her in tight. “Four years. Four years! I’ve missed you so fucking much.”
When they moved apart this time, both their cheeks were wet.
“Listen, Kiki, I need you to sit down. I need to talk to you. I don’t want it to wait any longer. I asked the guys to give us some privacy when you first got here so we can talk.”
So that’s why the two men had taken off so abruptly, and here she’d been thinking maybe they’d felt the odd connection, too. Will took hold of her hand and led her into the huge living space, toward the large white couch where she sat beside him.
“It’s Dane.” Will spoke and confirmed all her worst fears. Still not recovered from the shock of seeing her dream lovers in the flesh, her heart started a new galloping beat, robbing her of breath all over again. Will licked his lips. “He’s, ah…he’s dead.”
“He’s what?” She couldn’t take it in, couldn’t comprehend. She wiped clammy hands on her jeans. “Dead?”
“Yes. I didn’t want to call or write. This is too big, too important. I needed to be here to tell you in person. It’s over, Kayley.” He grabbed hold of her hands, sheltered them both in his larger ones. “You’re safe.”
She blinked rapidly, mind racing to catch up. Dead? Dane?
“Seems like his lifestyle caught up with him. Someone stabbed him outside of a bar. The police think it was a rival gang and the murder may have been linked to the drugs trade.” Will rubbed her hands as he spoke. “I found out from a buddy of mine who is on the local police force. He spilled a bit too much over beers one night. It turns out, Dane had been involved in all sorts of criminal activity. Since his death, his gang has pretty much dispersed. Some joined rival outfits, but many fled the area altogether. The police think they might have been in danger, too.”
Kayley had been young when she’d met Dane, known his reputation as a bad boy, but never understood the depths of it until he’d viciously attacked her. The memories hit hard and fast as they always did when she thought of Dane, and she physically shook herself to throw them off. It couldn’t be true. He couldn’t be dead, gone. She’d be free. It held such vast promise it scared her. Free from the night terrors and the fear of leaving the little safe zone she’d carved out in the world. Maybe even free to return home?
Will carried on stroking her hands as he looked at her, love in his eyes. “I want you to come back with me. Come back to Alaska.” He held a hand up at her sharp intake of breath. “I don’t mean forever, Kiki. I know you have a life here now. But for a while at least. See Grams, my mom. Your friends!”
The reality of his invite hit hard. The nebulous idea of returning home became too terrifying in the stark reality of Will’s words. “Dane’s gang, or what’s left of it…his family…they could still be out for my blood. He told me…he told me he’d come for me. His friends too.” Her hands reflexively squeezed his larger one. The scar on her belly tingled as if in warning, and its presence reminded her why she needed to be so very careful.
Will gave a short, sharp laugh, more like a bark. “You don’t need to worry. With Dane gone, the head’s been cut off the snake.” He smiled at her, a full on beam of happiness. “I’d planned to come see you anyway in the next couple of months. Then I got the call about Dane and knew it couldn’t wait. You see, the people I work with? The guys you met today? They’re family to me now and no one messes with them. For the first time, I know I can protect you. The team I’m with, they’d eat Dane’s crew for breakfast, even if they hadn’t scattered.” His voice took on a dark edge, and once again she marveled at the changes in him.
“I’m not sure I can come back.” She lifted her head to meet his eyes. “I haven’t left Miami in four years. I get a panic attack if I have to take the bus, and I don’t do well in crowds, or with people I don’t know. I’m not sure I can travel all the way to Alaska even though I want to. I can’t tell you how much. I’m just not sure I can.” She paused and licked her dry lips. “Plus, I’m so ashamed.”
“Ashamed?” He pulled back, eyebrows raised.
“I gave in. I panicked and didn’t believe the police could help me because Dane got to me first, got into my hospital room, and threatened our family. I lied, told them I didn’t know who did it. But they knew, Will. Everyone did. And then…I ran.”
His face hardened. “You are not to blame in any of this. And know this, nobody thinks ill of you. Dane was the piece of shit for attacking you, and his actions since have won him few friends.
“Anyway, I don’t live in the old area anymore. I live with the guys. We have a base near Coldfoot. You could come stay with us. Spend some time and think about what you want for the future. I think a visit home might provide the closure you need, sorry for the shrink speak and all, but it’s true. Just think it over.”
She sighed and rubbed at her jeans with one finger, dipping her nail into the frayed edge of denim over her knee.
He grinned as if he knew he could win her over. “For now, though, take some time off work, spend it with us, and get to know the team. You’ll love them when you do, I know you will.” His eyes lit up, almost as if he were talking about his mom and Grams.
“You’ve met Sean and Luke, and Julie and Taylor will be down shortly. Give them a chance, and think about coming back, if only for a while. Gram’s misses you so bad. She’s got no one else to talk spells, and angels, and spirits and all that with since you left. And she reckons she’s had a vision that you’ll come home. Oh,” he paused and chuckled. “She also says that she’s seen you find your soul mate. She sees love in your future, and you back home.”
“Grams also predicted I’d be a famous singer,” she argued. “Her visions are a bit off. Although, she sometimes hits the nail on the head.” She nibbled at her nail, the idea of home scaring and elating her at the same time.
“You’ll be safe. I trust Luke with my life, Kayley.” He tipped her chin up and held her gaze. “More importantly, I’d trust him with yours. If you wanted to come back home to visit, I know he’d not let anyone harm a hair on your head.”
Kayley didn’t know what to say. Will seemed so sure of these people, people he’d known for such a short time. It worried her. She didn’t even want to think about the two men and the odd connection she’d felt at Sean’s touch. It scared the crap out of her.
“I’ll try to stay, at least for the weekend. But no promises.”
“Okay. No promises, we’ll see how it goes.” He smiled at her as he curled his little finger around hers in their childhood pinkie shake.
“I really am so glad to see you.” She bit down on a sob.
“God, me too, Kiki, me too. Would you like a drink? Glass of wine?”
She could use something to calm her down, so nodded her acceptance.
As Will crossed to the kitchen and opened up the huge fridge, she looked around her and took in the stunning space. Flashes of color stopped the crisp white décor from being too clinical. A huge photographic close-up of a deep pink rose dominated one wall, its petals beaded with moisture. Large glass vases in bright jewel shades had been artfully dotted around, reflecting the light thrown from the window. A dark brown, sheepskin rug lay in front of the hefty couch, and beyond, endless windows ran the length of the room.
“You must be Kayley.” A stunning redhead entered the room, her hair a halo of warmth around a strong face. “It’s so lovely to meet you at last. Will told us so much about you.”
Kayley shook the offered hand as nerves swamped her once again. “Julie, right? Will’s told me about you all, too.”
“Oh Lord.” Julie rolled her eyes. “And yet you still came.” She giggled and took hold of Kayley’s arm. “Let’s get you a nice glass of wine before the boys come down and disturb the peace.”
“Already on it,” Will called from the kitchen. “Do you want one?”
“Yes, please.”
Kayley watched the redhead as she moved about the open plan room, adjusting some of the objects scattered around with a nudge of her slender fingers. As she flitted about, Julie lit a few of the lamps, and Kayley turned to the windows to see the sun sink into the ocean as the light faded.
Footsteps made her glance toward the curved staircase.
“Julie, you seen my blue shirt? I swore I packed it and now I can’t find it anywhere.”
Kayley could only stare at the blond, tanned vision strolling down the stairs. Sean wore no top, and his long limbs and golden skin glowed with health. He could probably light the room if she turned the lamps out.
“That’s right. Ask the woman, because only she could know where the missing shirt might be! This is Sean.” Julie gestured with a wave of her delicate hand.
“We’ve already met.” Sean shot Kayley a devastating smile. Wearing a pair of worn jeans and not much else, he strolled over to where Julie stood.
A flash of her latest dream caused heat to flood Kayley’s face, and she shook her head to dislodge the image. Losing it! She was losing it, had finally cracked. What if this were all a dream? The thought scared her so badly that she pushed it from her mind.
The room swayed around her, as if she stood on the deck of a ship and didn’t quite have her sea legs. How the hell could a man she’d dreamed about for weeks on end be standing in front of her? Kayley forced a deep breath into her lungs and told herself there’d be an explanation. She’d experienced déjà vu before, and read how most of it could be explained away rationally. Grams thought she had ‘the gift’ but Kayley didn’t think so. Not anymore. She used to hope she did, but then Dane came along. No one with any kind of preternatural ability to sense the future would have allowed themselves to become involved with an animal like Dane.
“Taylor, come meet Kayley,” Julie shouted down the long corridor leading from the lounge. Moments later, a large man appeared out of the dark into the light of the living space. Julie beckoned him over. “This is Kayley, Will’s cousin. Kayley, meet Taylor.”
“Hey there, Will’s cousin.” Taylor gave her a casual wave and a beaming grin. As he reached Julie, he stroked her long hair briefly before wandering away, and Kayley wondered if they were a couple.
Kayley couldn’t stop herself from stealing glances at Sean’s incredible body while he moved about the kitchen, muttering about his missing shirt and poking through a large bag on the tiled floor. Lust battled for first place with the encroaching panic, all of it serving to up her adrenalin to unbearable levels.
“This is an amazing place.” She moved to the window, drawn by the stunning view. Palm trees swayed in the breeze and the twinkling lights of condos and detached homes lit up the long stretch of sand, shining silvery gold in the gloom. The last of the sun’s rays had disappeared moments before.
“It is something else.” Taylor nodded in agreement. “Luke did good when he settled on this.”
Her heart jumped at the mention of the team leader’s name. When she’d looked into his incredible gray eyes, he’d reached into her very soul somehow. And God, the way he’d stared at her, as if he wanted to eat her alive. She shivered.
“Here you go.” A smiling Julie thrust a large glass of red wine into her hands, and she took a grateful mouthful, wanting the gentle burn to make the damn butterflies in her stomach quiet down. As soon as the liquid hit her taste buds, they did a dance of joy. It was good, extremely good. The best she’d ever tasted, in fact.
“Wow, this is seriously good.”
“Sean’s a total wine buff,” the other woman answered. “Total foodie, too. He likes the finer things in life. He’s even converted Luke to fine dining, which is funny, considering Luke’s a big bad alpha…” She flushed for a moment before continuing. “Erm…alpha male.” She gave a short laugh and looked away, face still red.
Great! Kayley hated alpha males with a passion. Her experience at the hands of Dane meant overbearing men were anathema to her these days. Alpha males thought they were God’s gift and never understood that most of the world simply saw them as swaggering idiots.
“Found it!” Sean held up a blue shirt and pulled it over his head, wriggling into it as he did so. Once he’d messed with the hem and the sleeves, he grabbed a beer and headed into the lounge. “So, you’re a tattoo artist?” Sean smiled at her, breaking into her thoughts.
Kayley looked over and experienced such a strong flashback to her most recent dream, she couldn’t speak at all for a moment. Mouth flapping open like a fish on a hook, she tried desperately not think of Sean on his knees, those pretty lips wrapped around Luke’s cock. It simply couldn’t be the same two men, and that way lay madness.
“Yes.” She collected herself with difficulty. “I’ve been doing it for the last four years since I moved down here. Adam, my roommate, took me under his wing, trained me up. I’m still learning, you never stop really and four years isn’t all that long.”
“I love your ink.” Julie reached over from the chair next to Kayley’s and gently took hold of her wrist. “It’s really beautiful.” She stroked a finger over the design. “Complex. I love the way it’s both delicate and strong at the same time.”
Gentle heat suffused Kayley’s cheeks. “What a lovely thing to say, thank you.” She liked how Julie understood the deeper symbolism in the way the design married fragility and strength. The ink represented Kayley’s feelings about her own recovery from the trauma she’d experienced. Deep down Kayley understood she’d done well to physically survive the attack, but despite all her work, the mental scars remained, leaving her vulnerable in so many ways.
“So if I wanted a tat, you could do it for me?” Sean asked.
“Sure. Although my boss Adam is better than me, if you want the best.”
“Don’t put yourself down Kiki,” Will said. “I bet you’re great.”
“Oh, I’m good,” she said. “But Adam is fantastic.”
“I’d like for you to do it,” Sean said.
“What were you thinking of having done?” She’d need a Valium before she’d be able to spend time alone, working up close and personal with Sean’s hot body, but she’d cross that bridge when she came to it.
“A wolf, it’s a tribal design. The team all have one. Except for Will and I.” Sean tapped Taylor on the arm. “Show her.”
Taylor stood and peeled off his T-shirt, revealing huge muscles. He turned around and presented his broad back. A wolf tattoo covered his right, upper shoulder. It wasn’t one of the more familiar tribal depictions, the design too stark and fierce. Intrigued, she forgot her nerves and walked over to Taylor to take a closer look.
“It’s beautiful. Unusual. Is it Inuit?”
Julie smiled. “I think it’s actually Inupait in origin.”
The black and red ink and strong lines made it a bold piece of artwork.
“Can I trace yours?” she asked Taylor. “Not now, but before I leave? Then I can make a template and make sure I get it right. I wouldn’t want to risk freehand with a style I’ve never done before.”
“Of course.” He shrugged his shirt on and sat down, his thick fingers doing the buttons back up.
As she took her own seat once more, she turned to Julie. “So have you got one in the same place?”
“Luke, Taylor and I all have them, and now Sean can get his. Will, too, we hope at some point. It’s kind of like our team insignia.”
“Why a wolf?” Kayley asked, thinking of her own artwork. Another weird frisson ran over her, tingling her skin and shredded her nerves further.
“It fits our team.” Julie shrugged.
“Ah.” See, Kayley, a rational explanation! She berated herself at her flights of fancy. “Because of the work you do? You hunt people, I suppose, as bounty hunters? Like wolves hunt?”
“Something like that.” The redhead gave a smile, took another sip of her wine, and stretched long, bare legs out in front of her. “It’s about the team dynamics too. The structure of the group.”
“Not that wolves are all about the hierarchy,” Sean spoke up. “It really annoys me how so many people have the wrong idea about wolves. They’re much more democratic than we used to understand. Our knowledge of them came from wolves raised in captivity until very recently, so things got skewed.”
“So there’s no alpha pair?”
“There is an alpha pair, but they’re not the vicious pack rulers we used to think. Most packs are small and made up of family, in the wild at least.” Sean’s eyes lit up as he warmed to his subject. “In captivity wolf packs were large and full of unrelated wolves. They became based on rigid hierarchies enforced by violence, because of having no real familial bond, not because it’s their inherent nature. In the wild that’s not how wolves live. They’re much more cooperative, and the hierarchy is…innate, natural, not enforced by violence. Wolves are cool.”
“Interesting perspective.” A deep voice resonated through the room. Sean glanced behind him, and Kayley followed the movement of his eyes.
Luke came down the stairs and approached them, and Kayley marveled at his incredible looks, despite her nerves and unease. The guy possessed so much magnetism it seemed as if he sucked the very air out of the room with his arrival.
He stopped in front of her and held out his hand as her gaze roamed his face, seeing him close up for the first time. His angular jaw and blade of a nose were softened by the way the full slope of his mouth held a hint of sadness. It stopped him from appearing cookie cutter handsome and made him something much more akin to truly beautiful. But his eyes captured her attention the most. The velvet gray of his irises stood out in a startling manner against his tan skin and dark hair.
His warm hand took hers in a firm grip and held it for a heartbeat. She bit back a gasp as the contact caused her palm to tingle. There it went again, the strange zinging sensation assaulting her senses.
“Kayley.” He spoke her name as a caress, voice low and rough. “I’m sorry if I seemed somewhat rude when you arrived. I’d some unfinished business on my mind. It’s lovely to have you here. If you want anything at all while you’re our guest, please let us know. Will’s one of us now, a member of this team and, therefore, part of our family, which means you are too.”
“Thank you.” His warm words and apology surprised her, softening her idea of him as some hard ass, with no mind for the feelings of others.
“I’ve told Kayley we’ve got her back if she does want to visit home.” Will looked to Luke.
“Absolutely.” Luke nodded his head. “If you want to come back home for a while, you can stay with us. You’d be safe. I promise you.”
She’d often heard similar platitudes from people, friends telling her they would keep her safe, or men who wanted to be her lover coming over all tough guy, telling her no one would touch her if she got with them. Well meant as they were, those words had often made her less secure, not more. They’d reminded her of the threat she faced and how no one could really protect her from her vicious ex-lover and the gang he surrounded himself with.
Luke though? His simple words found their way inside somehow, to a place she normally kept closed off. Like tendrils of smoke, they drifted over and through her, and wrapped themselves around her, protecting her. It might not last but right then she knew complete calm. Instead of fearing Luke, she found herself drawn to him.
“Thank you.” It came out as nothing more than a whisper.
“Do you want a beer, Luke?” Taylor jumped up and headed over to the kitchen area, breaking the strange atmosphere. “I’m grabbing another.”
“Beer would be great.” Luke flashed a megawatt smile. It softened the planes of his face, dimpling his cheeks, and stealing what remained of her breath as he turned to follow Taylor.
Julie started to speak with Sean about a case she thought they ought to take when they returned home. As they talked business, Kayley tuned out and let her racing heart slowly return to its normal rhythm.
She turned around and stared out the window, watching an ocean liner pass by, stately and slow. She wondered how many people were on board and where they were headed. Its bright deck, festooned with trailing lights, stole through the dark night, warming the black depths.
Despite the rental’s location on the beach, a pool shimmered to one side, eerie green in the dark. The people within the room were superimposed over the dark skyline and twinkling lights beyond, and she found herself surreptitiously watching them interact.
Julie, Will, and Sean held a heated debate about the best tracking system to use, and Luke had joined Taylor in the kitchen, where they talked in a low murmur. She focused on the liner again before reflected movement behind her caught her attention once more.
Luke stalked over to Sean; there could be no other word to describe the way he moved across the floor. When he reached his quarry, he stood behind Sean and placed a large hand on each shoulder, then bent his head and dropped a gentle kiss into golden hair.
Still observing through the glass, she looked on as Sean tipped his head back and bared his throat for Luke to kiss. The gesture held a submissiveness that had her wondering about their relationship. Arousal flooded through her, tightening in her belly and pooling lower, its ferocity shocking her. Lips dry, she took a large drink of wine.
Across the room, Luke’s eyes snapped up, meeting hers in the glass, even as he continued to nibble at golden skin. Horrified she looked down, not wanting him to think of her as some cheap voyeur.
Kayley’s hands slipped around her wineglass, clammy and hot. She couldn’t deny the two men were the same as visited her dreams night after night. She couldn’t deny her strange connection with them, terrifying as it may be. It surged within her. A sort of low-frequency noise, whispering these men meant something. None of it made any sense and Kayley thought she might have to call her shrink.
“Okay.” Luke clapped his hands and they all turned to look at him. “Shall we order in? Go out? Cook?”
“Order in,” Sean stated firmly.
“Sure, Sean.” Luke smiled and walked over to a drawer to pull out a pile of take-out menus before making his way back to the sofa and handing them to Sean. “Why don’t you pick?”
“Oh, he’s so gallant.” Sean mimed fanning his face as laughter rumbled around the room. Luke bared his perfect teeth at the blond in a rather predatory grin.
God! Kayley wanted to be Sean for a split second. Wanted all that hungry male attention focused on her. Then again, she kind of wanted to be Luke, too, and have someone as fun and gorgeous as Sean crazy about her. They were lucky men…and they were in love. She needed to remember that and put an end to her stupid swooning.
It sucked, to meet two such beautiful men and find herself so strongly attracted to both, when they were unequivocally together. Since the attack, she’d not met anyone attractive enough to her to overcome her innate distrust of men.
Until now.
Luke and Sean stirred her up. They made her want, and yearn, and crave in a primal way.
“Everyone okay with pizza?” Sean interrupted her thoughts with his question. His slight accent struck her, not for the first time. She couldn’t quite place it. Not the clipped English vowels of her father, but not quite American, either.
Julie groaned, “I’ll get fat.”
“As if!” Sean flipped open his cell. “I’ll order some salads, just for you.”
“Okay, great.” Julie nodded.
“Pizza okay with you?” Sean turned to Kayley, eyebrows raised in question.
She grabbed onto the normalcy of eating choices with grim determination. “I love pizza.”
“Order some olives as an extra topping,” Will said.
“Get artichokes, too.” Luke licked his lips, and her eyes followed the slow, almost lascivious movement. “In fact, why don’t you order two or three different pizzas and a variety of salads and sides? So there’s something for everybody.” Once again his eyes flickered to meet hers across the room. He held her gaze for a beat, then lowered thick lashes and looked away.
“Why don’t we eat in the cinema and watch a movie?” Julie jumped up from the sofa and clapped her hands together, looking for the entire world like an overgrown child. “It seems a shame to rent a place with its own mini cinema and not use it.”
“This place has a cinema?” Kayley could not believe the razzle-dazzle rental.
“A small one,” Sean said. “It’s even got a mini popcorn machine. Do you fancy a movie?”
“I love movies.” The dark would be good; the dark would mean she could hide away, and not fear her face giving her crazy-lady thoughts away.
For some reason, Sean and Luke turned her inside and out, and she wanted time out to collect her emotions. With a sad shake of her head, Kayley reminded herself not to dare fall for them. They belonged to one another.