Garrett was quiet for a few moments. “Sometimes I forget what a bastard you can be,” he murmured.
Sam double-checked his injured shoulder and then sent healing cells deeper into the muscle. “What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean. You’re cold, man. Methodical and exact, just like a knife.” Garrett turned on the heat.
“She’s gotta learn,” Sam said, his leg itching now. What kind of creature had bitten him?
Garrett cleared his throat. “Learn what? That she can’t get away from you? That’s going to scare her.”
Sam opened his eyes. “She needs to be scared.” He sat up as Seattle flew by outside the vehicle. “I don’t have the luxury of coddling her right now. She’s in danger, and not just from Bear and the shifter nation. Her power is strong, and probably even more so since we interacted and she caught the fire, for lack of a better explanation. She needs to be protected, and I can do that. It’s that simple.”
“Are you going to mate her?” Garrett asked.
The words shot straight to Sam’s groin. It was a question he hadn’t allowed himself to ponder. Mate? “No mating mark.” He held up his right hand. The marking that showed when a demon had met its mate was absent from his palm. It was surprising and oddly disappointing.
Garrett snorted. “Please. Your system is all screwed up, thanks to what’s happening to you, and besides, you’re such a control freak that a marking won’t appear unless you allow it. Now answer the question.” The youngest Kayrs warrior looked large and formidable in the truck, and right now, he was in a good mood.
Sam eyed the kid who’d become as close as a brother to him. “She has to be willing. Currently, she’s not. So I’m not going to worry about it.” He couldn’t think about mating right now. If the woman would just stay where he wanted her, they’d both have time to sort things out.
“Fair enough.” Then Garrett grinned. “This is going to be a good ride. I can feel it. I think I might’ve found her, Sam. For sure this time.”
Sam barely kept from wincing. “You’ve thought that about twenty times during our stay with the Grizzlies.” Each time, when Garrett was proved wrong, that he hadn’t found his mate, the fallout had been ugly. “How are the dreams?”
“The same.” Pain and uncontrollable anger rippled through the cab. “I’m on a bike, on a ride, and she’s behind me. I feel her. She’s wild and strong and so solid it hurts to breathe. Then she’s ripped away, and I’m alone with a knife in my heart.” He grunted. “Sometimes I don’t sleep for weeks, and I know that’s bad. Since I met Juliet last week, I have hope.”
Sam wasn’t going to take that hope from his brother. “Just keep in mind that the dreams might be false. It’s entirely possible that an enemy, and we have many, has found a way to drive you crazy.”
“That’s not it,” Garrett said softly, his voice hoarse. “I can’t explain it, but I know that’s not it. This is real. The dream is as intense as if I experience the reality of it every time. It’s like having the most important person in the world, the one who holds your soul, ripped away from you with great pain. Each and every time.”
Sam’s gut hurt. He’d do anything to protect Garrett from that pain. Right now, all he could do was support him and be there when things turned to shit, as they usually did. “Okay.”
“Okay.” Garrett turned toward the Grizzly property. “So. Honor. Is she going to wear your colors on the ride?” Different clubs had different colors, and a woman wearing a color was left alone by males.
“Yeah, Garrett. She’s definitely going to wear my colors.” That was as much as Sam would admit right now.
Garrett grinned. “You might as well just plant your mark on her ass the first night. You’re already lost, and you don’t even know it, brother.”
“I know exactly where I am,” Sam said evenly. That was part of who he was as the sounding board for his brothers as well as their allies.
He always knew exactly where everybody was at any time. He glanced at his phone again, reading the screen. Including Honor.
Chapter Twelve
Honor was feeling mildly triumphant, if a little sleepy, as the driver dropped her off at the quaint bed-and-breakfast on the coast. At least she’d caught a couple hours of sleep during the bus trip to town. The Pacific Ocean rolled loudly below the cliffs, while blazing red and yellow leaves fluttered all around the front area of the white clapboard building with a wraparound porch. Now all she needed was about eight hours of sleep, some meditation time, and a piece of paper to create lists. Then she’d be able figure out what to do with Sam, with her new knowledge about the world, and with her life.
Electricity ran down her arms—again. She caught her breath, trying to control the sparks. A flash of fire burst from the nearest bush, burning quietly. God, she couldn’t control it. What should she do? Moving over, she stomped out the fire. It was the third one of the day, although so far, she’d been able to rapidly extinguish each fire.
A rumble echoed down the quiet street that rapidly turned into a roar. She pivoted to look at the road and saw a multitude of motorcycles headed her way. Mostly black cycles, all manned by riders in leather.
What in the world?
Oh, crap. Her skin tingled and her ears rang as she caught sight of Sam on his bike, leading the procession of more than a dozen other motorcycles. Then the rest of her tingled as well.
He looked big and dangerous on the cycle, his green gaze cutting across the distance to land on her. His black leather jacket was open, revealing a dark T-shirt stretched tight across his powerful chest.
Her legs wobbled with the urge to run, but his expression froze her in place.
In that second, she realized two things. First, he’d obviously placed some sort of locating device on her. And second, he could’ve caught her at any time but had decided to wait until she thought she’d found safety. Anger filtered through her along with a desire that almost hurt. Her breasts felt heavy and her thighs soft, and she’d never in her entire life felt more feminine. More female.
He stopped at the curb, only a couple feet away from her. Then his gaze caught on the few remaining embers among the burning leaves. Anger exploded within his eyes, turning them a surreal silver streaked with emerald. “Get. On.” Fury rode his tone.
She blinked. Her mouth opened and then shut. She lowered her chin.
He shifted his weight, and the motion was a threat. She couldn’t swallow. She couldn’t breathe. He looked at her, so much command in his gaze that her body moved without her mind kicking in. If she didn’t get on that bike, he was going to put her on that bike. She knew that with everything she was.