“Are we friends now?” he asked finally.
She smiled. “Yeah. We’re friends.”
Chapter 13
There hadn’t been much for Kane to leave behind, which said a lot about his life. There were people who would miss him, but Vadim had assured him someone from the Crew was working on explanations for everyone. It wasn’t like going into the witness protection program or anything. He wouldn’t have to miss going to his mother’s house for Christmas.
He did need to decide if he was going to stay on and work for this group, though. It seemed like a no-brainer, based on the salary Vadim had offered. The benefits. The work itself didn’t seem much different than what he’d been doing before. Researching cases. Putting pieces together. Proving or disproving things. It was just that now, instead of figuring out who done it, Kane would be tasked with figuring out what done it.
He’d never been a man to believe in aliens or werewolves, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t ever thought about the possibilities. If anything, he was more likely to accept the existence of what he’d always thought of as monsters and Vadim had called cryptozoological creatures. Chupacabra, Kane thought with a small laugh. Sasquatch.
Still, he hadn’t yet confirmed he was going to sign on. He wasn’t scared of the danger. He wasn’t worried about not being able to talk about his real work, or living with secrets. No, the only thing holding him back was her.
Persephone.
He was so far from understanding all of her, but at least he’d gotten a good look at the background. Vadim had given him access to all the files they had on Collins Creek. The rumors and stories Kane had found on the internet had been only half-true. What had gone on there had been horrifying, from the active use of psychedelic drugs and other tortures in order to create what they thought would be superchildren... It had turned his stomach, but it explained so much about the woman who’d so intrigued him for the past year.
Kane didn’t like thinking that Persephone had gone to bed with him out of some misguided sense of gratitude, but he knew it was the most likely explanation. She’d been a little distant since then, and because she’d been cleared by the staff doctor in this Crew facility, there had been no real need for him to continue sharing her room when he’d been given his own. He might not know her entirely, but he did know her well enough not to push the offer of his protection.
He wanted her to want him. He wanted her to need him. He did not want her to feel obligated to him.
Phoenix had disappeared, no trace, but Persephone didn’t seem worried. She said she could sense that he was still alive, at least. Vadim had said they were tracking him down, trying to find out if he’d been taken to Wyrmwood or had indeed managed to get away.
There was one set of files Kane had not yet read, and they belonged to Persephone, personally. There were a few dozen documents labeled with her name, but although Vadim had given him permission to view them, it hadn’t felt right. He wanted to ask her if it was okay.
He didn’t find her in the cafeteria or the rec room, and she didn’t answer her door when he knocked. He went to the library next, a vast room lined with floor-to-ceiling shelves and more books than anyone could ever read in a lifetime. She was curled up in an overstuffed leather chair with a hardbound volume on her lap, her brow furrowed in concentration and the pink tip of her tongue peeking occasionally from between her lips. She was so beautiful it made his heart hurt.
“Hey,” he said.
She looked up, her gaze at first wary and then softening when she saw him. “Hey.”
“Can we talk?”
She frowned, probably thinking he was going to try to have some big-deal discussion about “them” or something, he thought and almost laughed. Having been on the receiving end of a number of those talks, he understood her trepidation. She put her book aside, though, and sat up.
“Sure,” she said hesitantly. “Here?”
“Here’s fine. I just wanted to know if it would be all right with you if I read the files Vadim has on you.”
Persephone’s strawberry blond brows rose to meet the edges of her hairline. “I guess so?”
“You knew he had them, right?” Kane lowered his voice out of deference to being in the library.
“I figured, but I just thought you’d have already looked at them.” Persephone’s lips pursed and her eyes narrowed for a moment before she blinked rapidly and looked away from. Her shoulders lifted and fell, and she cleared her throat before looking back at him with glistening eyes. “I assumed you would have already looked.”
“I didn’t want to do it without your permission. All of this has been weird. I didn’t want to make it any stranger,” Kane said.
She got to her feet then, the book forgotten. She had to stand on her tiptoes to get to his mouth, but the soft kiss she brushed over his lips made him smile. She smiled, too. She touched his cheek for a second or so, her gaze searching his, but what she saw inside it didn’t seem to reassure her.
“Sure. Read the files,” she said. “I’ll be in my room when you’re done.”
She kissed him again, a little harder this time, and on the corner of his mouth. She pushed past him, her book in hand, and left him in the library. He watched her walk away without looking back. Then he went to one of the computer kiosks and typed in the credentials Vadim had provided for him. In seconds, Persephone’s files were on the screen. He started to read.
The criminal activities didn’t surprise him. Neither did the sex work. It didn’t bother him, even if it should have because his job had been arresting people who broke the law. None of that seemed to matter now, and besides, with a history like hers, he was surprised she hadn’t turned to worse vices.
When he learned what she could do, however, he sat back in his seat with a thick feeling of unease in his throat. He’d felt firsthand what it had been like when Phoenix had used his talents to send him out of the motel room, so he could believe everything he’d read in the files was true. He didn’t want to believe it of her, but he knew Persephone had also used her talents on him.
* * *
The knock at her door had her heart leaping into her throat, and Persephone considered pretending she hadn’t heard it. That wouldn’t make him go away, though. She opened her door to let Kane step through it, then closed it behind him.
“It was you—all of them were you,” he said in a low voice. Not looking at her. “For how long?”
She didn’t try to lie about it. “Almost a year. The first time was at a dance club. I’d gone out with my friend Leila and saw you there. And I...”
“You what?” His voice deepened, hard. So did his gaze, turning intense and cold, spearing her. “You thought I’d be another mark? You targeted me? Were you disappointed when you found out I don’t have any money or anything to steal?”
“It wasn’t for that reason,” she told him. “I hadn’t been to bed with anyone for a while and I was... I liked you. I liked the way you look.”
Kane’s lip curled a little bit. “But why trick me? Then and every time after? It was a dozen times, wasn’t it? My God, was it you every single time?”
“I have no idea,” Persephone snapped, knowing she had no real right to be irritable with him but feeling defensive, anyway. “I didn’t keep track of all the women you brought home. I’m sure there were more than just me.”
“Maybe. But at least none of them lied to me.”
She snorted derision. “They all probably lied to you, Kane.”
“Not the way you did.” He said the words as though he meant them to sound angry, but they came out rich with disappointment.
That was worse. Fury she could deflect. Looking into his eyes and knowing that she’d hurt him was a much heavier burden to bear. Persephone swallowed the lump of emotion trying to strangle her.
“How did y
ou know?”
“It was the way you tasted. Here, in your bed. You were the brunette that last time. I remembered.”
“The one you kicked out,” she said, remembering how his mouth between her thighs had made her lose herself so hard she’d let the mirage waver. So he had seen it. “Why?”
“Because I wanted her to be you,” Kane said. “Damn it, Persephone, from the first time I saw you, I wanted it to be you.”
“It was me!” she cried. “No matter what face or body I was showing you, Kane, they were all me.”
“But why trick me? Why lie? Why not just...you knew I wanted you. And you just kept shoving me away!”
She backed away from him to pace. “I couldn’t trust you. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I hope you can understand why.”
“Damn it,” he said and trailed off.
She looked at him. “I’m so sorry, Kane. That first time was on a whim. I was lonely and horny and you looked so good to me. Every time I saw you, I wanted to see more of you.”
“Do you still feel that way?”
She drew in a breath, one after another, until she could answer him without her voice breaking. “Yes.”
“Do you trust me now?”
Her laugh glittered with sobs. “Yes. Of course I do now. You know everything about me. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to have anything to do with me.”
“That’s just it. I want to have everything to do with you. All of it. I should be angry with you,” Kane said. “I should feel like you played me for a fool. I should walk away from you and never bother with you again.”
“You should,” she agreed, risking a step closer. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”
With a low growl, Kane reached for her. She let him grab her, gladly. She let him kiss her. When he scooped her up and took her to the bed, she let him do that, too. They were naked in minutes.
“I have condoms in the drawer,” she gasped when his hand moved between her legs.
“Not just yet,” Kane said with a wicked grin. “I’m going to taste you first.”
She groaned, arching beneath his touch. “So you can be sure it’s me?”
“I always knew, somehow,” he said against her skin, his lips teasing. Tongue tasting. “I’m not sure how I knew, but I think I must have always known it was you, every time.”
Persephone arched, writhing in his embrace. Her fingers threaded through his thick dark hair, tugging his head until he looked up at her. She pulled him up to kiss her mouth. “I can be whoever you want, Kane, you know that? Any time you want. It will still always be me.”
“Good,” he said as his fingers continued to work the magic his mouth had begun. “Because you’re the only one I want.”
* * * * *
Unexpected Passion
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 1
Willa Ambrose was absolutely not in the mood for crap from anyone. She’d spent the first twelve hours of her day on her feet at the library and the last forty minutes trying to get home through terrible traffic, construction and the sheer stupidity of people who couldn’t figure out how to drive in bad weather. By the time she got to the grocery store, she’d had it up to her eyebrows with humanity. Therefore, of course, she’d bumped into—literally—someone guaranteed to set her teeth on edge.
Babs Miller. Perfectly coiffed, exquisitely attired, particularly bitchy. She stood blocking the cereal aisle while she scrolled on her phone. Babs needed to move her sculpted butt cheeks out of the way or Willa was going to have to throw down in the middle of Pappy’s Market, and it was not going to be pretty.
“Excuse me,” Willa said.
Babs didn’t notice. She laughed at something on her phone and took her sweet time typing out a reply, all the while still with her cart completely blocking the way for anyone who needed to get to the Captain’s Cocoa Bits. Typical Babs, who probably wouldn’t have been caught dead eating sugary cereal, Willa thought as she eyed the contents of the other woman’s cart. Bunch of pricey grains and flavored coffee creamers in there, but not much that looked like it would taste very good.
“Excuse me,” Willa said again, louder this time.
Babe glanced up. “Just a sec.”
“No more secs,” Willa said. “I need to get past you!”
Babs looked up then, gracing Willa with a glare that showed she was clearly disgruntled at being asked to consider the needs of someone else. Willa braced herself for the cutting comment the other woman looked ready to deliver. Before Babs uttered a word, she let out a small, surprised oof.
She moved the cart.
“I’m so sorry, so sorry,” she said in a strained voice not at all like her usual tone. “I’ll get out of your way right now. And here, I have this gift card in my purse, why don’t you take it. It should cover the cost of your order, plus some extra. You’re not buying that much. Let me give it to you as an apology for being so inconsiderate.”
Willa was stunned into silence as Babs did indeed reach into her bag to pull out a small plastic card emblazoned with the Pappy’s Market logo. “You don’t have to—”
“I do, I certainly do, I’ve been blocking the aisle here for the past twenty minutes while I answered messages on this dating app,” Babs said. “Not that it’s working. The only guys who message me are losers. I’m going to die alone, with nothing but a dozen cats and a collection of vibrators that do strange things to my ass.”
With that, Babs stepped aside to give Willa room to pass. There seemed to be something Willa ought to say to all of that truth tea Babs had just spilled all over the place, but words escaped her. She gave the other woman a firm nod and pushed her cart toward the bins of bagged cereal. She gave a glance over her shoulder as Babs pushed her cart away, muttering. With a shake of her head, Willa plucked out a bulk bag of Captain’s Cocoa Bits to toss into her cart.
When she looked up, a tall, lean man with a mass of red-gold hair tied at the nape of his neck was smiling at her. He looked into her cart. Then at her.
“It’s the last one,” Willa said. “But they have plenty of Snappy Crisps or Cinnamon Squares.”
The man laughed. “I don’t really need any cereal, thanks. I was just getting what’s-her-face out of your way so you could get what you wanted.”
“Uh-huh.” Willa eyed him, ready to back up quickly if she had to. “You did that? Sure.”
“I did,” he said in a low voice, leaning a little closer. “You’re welcome.”
She laughed, strangely not put off by him even though she should’ve been. “How’d you manage to do that?”
“I have a way of getting people to do what I want them to.” He looked into her cart again. “You could give me those Captain’s Cocoa Bits, if you wanted to.”
Her hand was on the package and lifting it before she stopped herself with a self-conscious laugh. “And if I don’t want to?”
“Then you won’t, obviously.” The man smiled again, although this time it seemed more as though he were studying her. Like she’d done something interesting, and he was trying to figure her out.
The sensation was a little unsettling. She studied him right back, noticing again the red-gold fall of hair, longer even than her own shoulder-length dark brown cut. He had greenish eyes with dark lashes and crinkles at the corners, and a slightly crooked front tooth. Broad shoulders. Lean build. He wore a pair of faded jeans and a long-sleeved thermal shirt. No coat. Lace-up leather work boots, battered. She hadn’t seen him around town, and in a place the
size of Penn’s Grove, that meant he was from out of town. A stranger—unusual. Intriguing.
“You’re one who pays attention,” he said, catching her eye when she looked up at him.
Willa laughed. “Yeah. Sorry. You’re not from here.”
“Passing through, that’s all. Stopped here at Pappy’s to stock up on toaster pastries and granola bars. The usual food for bachelors.” He shrugged and held out a hand. “I’m Phoenix.”
“Willa.” His fingers were strong, his grip firm. Despite the flirty way he’d been addressing her, there wasn’t anything creepy about the way he shook her hand. “Phoenix is an unusual name.”
“So is Willa,” he said with a grin. “Aren’t we a pair?”
She realized he was still holding her hand, and she took it gently away. “It was nice meeting you. Thanks for getting Babs out of the way.”
“Sure. My pleasure.” He took a couple steps back so she could move around him.
He was watching her as she got to the end of the aisle; she could feel it. Something made her turn before she rounded the corner. He was still there.
“Let’s say you could make people do what you want them to do,” she said lightly. “Why on earth would you have done that for me?”
“I heard you say ‘no more sex,’” he said with a tilted grin, “and I knew there was no way I could let that happen for you.”
In a world of catcalls, lewd gestures and unsolicited dick pics, his words were still verging on the edge of unacceptable—and yet Willa laughed. Loud. Hard. A short, sharp burst of hilarity wiped away all the anger and annoyances she’d had that day, leaving her with a grin that almost but not quite matched his.
“Thanks for looking out for me,” she told him, and with a tip of her chin, she headed off to the register to pay for her groceries.
* * *
Penn’s Grove was not quite the armpit of America, but it was close. Phoenix had heard of one-stoplight towns before, but he’d never actually believed they existed. Penn’s Grove was such a place, one traffic light in the center of Main Street. It had a grocery store. It had houses and farms and a school. It didn’t have much else, but that’s what made it a perfect place to hide.