Scarlet Woman (11 page)

“Three of them?” Jo sounded faint.

“Yeah. They sounded perfectly happy. Sly asked if he and Joe could look after the house for you. I presume Maggie would be involved in the house sitting.”

“Three of them together?” Shock colored her words, and her eyes were big and round. As was her mouth.

Saber tapped her sagging jaw with his forefinger. “My younger brothers like a ménage. It appears that your friend is inclined that way, too.”

Jo held up her right hand in a clear stop signal. “Too much information. They…

Maggie…” She shook her head. “Maggie never gave any indication. You don’t—”

“I’m strictly a one-woman man.”

“Well, thank goodness for that.” Jo gave a self-conscious laugh.

“The house?” he prompted, hiding his amusement. “Can Sly and Joe housesit? Or you could charge them rent.”

“I guess,” she said, but she didn’t look that convinced. “Would they agree to a trial basis?”

“Good idea. I’ll start on your fridge while you pack.”

“You’re going to help?” Intense astonishment touched her face. Of course he intended to help. The ex had done a real number on her confidence and given her a poor perception of males in general. He chuckled suddenly. “I do have an ulterior motive. I’d like a date. Dinner out together. Maybe a movie before we drive back to Middlemarch. What do you say?”

“I can’t remember the last time I went to a movie.”

“Better get moving then,” Saber said. In truth, it was a first for him, too. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on a date. He hadn’t wanted to get to know a woman or considered how she felt. In the past, it had been about sex. Disappointment and finally acceptance that there was no mate for him had made him this way. Saber glanced at Jo as she opened a drawer and pulled out black lacy underwear. With Jo, it 78

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was different. With a sense of wonder he realized he really wanted to know what made her tick. The Scarlet woman had not only triggered his mating instincts, but he was coming to care for her, too.

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Chapter Seven

Despite the late night, Emily was up early the next morning. She slid from beneath the covers, trying not to wake Saber. A tanned hand snagged her hand and hauled her back.

“Jo, kitten. It’s early. We have plenty of time to wake up in a civil fashion.”

Emily eyed the tented sheet covering his groin. “I don’t think down and dirty sex equates with civil. Civil is tea parties and cucumber sandwiches.” She had to tell him her name wasn’t Jo. When she’d thought it would be for one night, a false name was sensible. Things had changed the minute she met Saber Mitchell.

“Come back to bed.”

“Not now.” His sleepy green eyes were a temptation hard to resist. If ever a man possessed bedroom eyes, it was Saber. “I need to find somewhere to live. I can’t stay here with you.”

“What?” The word came out at a roar. Saber dropped her hand and leapt from the bed. “Jo, stay. I want you in my life.”

“Saber, I want my own space. Everything is going too fast. I want to slow down.”

His fierce glare told her what he thought of her reasoning. Didn’t men like easy sex with no commitments? No strings. Michael certainly had. Yes, she liked Saber a lot but she wasn’t ready to commit to a man again. She wanted independence, to run her own life and make her own decisions. And…and… She was scared. There! She’d admitted it, even though it was only to herself. “I
need
to slow down.”

Saber scowled. “I thought things were going well between us. That we might have a future.”

A future. Emily swallowed nervously. She was hurting him and she hated herself for it. But better now than later when the damage could be even worse with her heart 80

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involved. She really liked Saber, but the things Michael had done, her past history, kept intruding, feeding her fear and making it difficult to trust. Was it so wrong to want time to think and make sure she wasn’t going to make another mistake?

“I really like you, Joanna. Please stay.”

Emily closed her eyes for a second. Each word was a body blow, weakening her resolve, even though she knew she was doing the right thing in waiting. Delaying. Pain throbbed behind her eyes. She wished she had her glasses to hide behind, but they were out in the kitchen where she’d left them last night. A part of her wanted to walk into his arms and never leave, but she had to face Maggie and Maggie’s parents soon. Despite her current differences with Maggie, she refused to walk away and end their long friendship this way. Over a man, or men in Maggie’s case. She cast a quick glance at Saber and noted his clear expectation, the impatience with her fears in his unyielding jaw. It rattled her temper and loosened her tongue. “Oh, for goodness sake! My real name is Emily. I didn’t even give you the right name. Our whole time together has been based on a lie. Don’t you see? I’m not capable of a relationship with a man. I couldn’t keep my husband’s interest. Give me time, dammit.”

“Emily? But why did you tell me your name was—never mind.” Saber gave an impatient shrug. “It’s not important. I can’t believe you’re going to walk away without even giving us a chance.”

“I’m not exactly walking away. I’m stepping back to take stock.” No. She wasn’t going to lie to herself. Terror filled her at the idea of giving her total trust again. Yep, no doubt about it. She was a scaredy cat, and she needed distance to make sense of what was between them. Emily had to be sure.

“Coward,” he taunted. “You’re scared.”

Jeez, was she that transparent? Too bad. It was obvious he was irritated with her, but she wasn’t going to be pushed into a hasty decision. She wasn’t going to risk it, even though her heart skipped a crazy beat each time she looked at him. Emily suspected she was halfway in love with the man then she scoffed at the notion. Love at 81

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first sight didn’t exist, but this feeling felt suspiciously close to the faithless emotion. It terrified her.

“Can I use your phone? I’ll call a cab to take me to the café. I’ll find somewhere else to live as soon as possible.”

“This is the country. We don’t have a cab service.” His voice held an angry edge, but Emily didn’t feel the slightest fear of physical violence. Saber stalked toward her.

“I’ll take you to the café, but there aren’t many houses available for rent in the town.”

“I’ll stay at a motel until something turns up. Charlotte will help me.”

He stopped a body’s width away from her, his naked chest close enough to tempt. As she stared, his chest expanded. Emily swallowed again and chewed on her bottom lip. Touch. She badly wanted to run her fingers across his muscled body, close the distance between them and slant her lips over his masculine nipples. There were so many things she still wanted to do to him, with him. Explore her sexuality. Different positions. Even try some of the toys she’d seen on the Internet. Taking a simple walk together on a summer’s evening. The list was endless. But dread and worry were there, too. The worry that the blame lay with her and history would repeat. She turned away, gathered up her clothes and wadded them into a ball, trying to avoid looking at the bed. Her gaze hit the floor and the tangled mess of covers instead. A shaft of pure longing zapped through her heart, but she ignored it, knowing to give in was a mistake. Emily walked away, taking her fear with her.

Saber thought about trying to talk her into staying but discarded the idea. He needed to think.
Think, dammit.
He came up with a big blank. Shit, he’d never had this sort of a problem with a woman before. They usually chased him—they didn’t run away. “I’ll drive you to the café.”
Great solution, Mitchell. Offer to help her leave.

“Thanks.” The firm set of her mouth told him she was prepared for an argument, so he bit back the orders that tickled the tip of his tongue. Firm set—huh, she looked plain 82

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mulish. He needed to do some serious thinking and come up with a sound strategy to change her mind.

“Half an hour okay?” At her nod, Saber padded into the bathroom and turned on the shower. There had to be a way to convince Jo—no, Emily—to stay with him. It was too early for talk of love, but she had an innate integrity and goodness that would make her a good mate. They were sexually compatible. And it wasn’t as if they had any say in the matter. Emily Scarlet was his ordained mate. It was there in the way she called to his feline blood. Even though she didn’t know it now, she would soon, and she’d just have to get used to the fact they were meant to be together. He should have pierced her skin and let their enzymes mix to make their relationship permanent. Once his enzymes crawled through her body, she’d understand. Saber grunted without humor and stepped under the warm water, grabbed the bar of soap and scrubbed it across his chest. Should have. Too late now. He’d thought he’d acted with restraint and honor, not binding them together. Pride made him want a willing mate, not one who was forced…

* * * * *

The drive to the café was conducted in silence. He pulled up outside the stone building. “Thanks.” She fumbled with the door and hustled from the car with enough haste to dent his masculine conceit. Emily Scarlet walked away without looking back. Saber’s gut churned with tension, and he badly wanted to stomp into the café and drag her off to the nearest bed. Once in bed, he’d keep her there until she agreed to stay. He’d seduce her into staying. And this time he wouldn’t be so restrained in binding them. His hand thumped against the steering wheel and a low, pithy curse escaped. He glared out the window and swore under his breath. That bloody reporter woman again. The woman was questioning everyone in the area, being systematic about it by starting at one end of Middlemarch and gradually working her way through the town and surrounding district. She hadn’t arrived out at the Mitchell station yet, but it was only a matter of time. Saber slipped a pair of sunglasses on and slid down in the driver’s seat, hoping she wouldn’t notice him.
No such luck.
The woman glanced up and down the 83

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street, a grin stretching across her face when she saw his vehicle. No doubt, she’d memorized the number plate. She changed direction, heading straight for him, determination written in every step of her petite body. Saber straightened abruptly and started the vehicle. He planted his foot on the accelerator and burned rubber as he took off. A glance in the rear vision mirror told him he’d pissed her off.
Good.

No reason why he should be the only one out of sorts. Saber drove down to the end of the road. The reporter woman stamped from sight. One down. Back to the problem at hand.

A plan.

If ever a man needed a plan it was him.

He’d go back to the farm and spend some time in feline form. Do some thinking and format a plan. Emily Scarlet was worth the fight, and he didn’t intend to let her go without a struggle. This was his mate.
His mate.

* * * * *

Saber screeched to a halt outside the house. He stomped inside and headed straight for the kitchen. Felix and Leo were sitting at the table eating breakfast. Saber grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee.

“What?” he snapped when he glanced up to see his brothers watching him. Felix sighed and shook his head from side to side. “Sad. Pitiful really.”

“Never thought I’d see the day when the great Saber Mitchell was stymied by a woman.” Leo leaned back in his chair and smirked without trying to hide his amusement.

Leo’s glee made Saber’s hands curl to fists. Brothers or not, they needed to stop prodding at his temper. If they knew what was good for them they’d button it. “Oh, yeah. You wait until you meet your match. See how much fun it is for you.” Saber’s glare didn’t make the slightest bit of difference to the size of their smirks. “I’m going to 84

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shift the sheep in the west paddock. The weather forecast this morning said it might snow.”

“It feels cooler,” Felix said.

“We’ll help.” Leo let his chair settle on all four legs with a loud thump. “I could do with a long run.”

Felix picked up his mug and took a sip. “Do you think it’s safe to shift with that reporter creeping around Middlemarch?”

“Like you were worried yesterday,” Saber snapped. “Bloody idiots. I told you after the first story appeared in the newspaper that you’d have to take more care. Each time you fool around like that you put us all in danger.”

“Nah, not a problem,” Leo said with a careless shrug. “We’ll smell her coming. She wears this god-awful perfume. It’s enough to make a good, self-respecting shifter sneeze. Believe me, she won’t creep up on us even if the wind’s blowing in the other direction. Besides, she only skulks around between nine and three. No one sees much of her outside these hours. Weird, huh?”

An hour later, Saber parked his SUV on the gravel shoulder of the road, near the gate into the west paddock. There was a set of sheep yards just inside the fence and an old wooden woolshed. “We’ll split up and herd the sheep down to the yards,” Saber said. “Might as well drench them at the same time.”

Felix and Leo climbed out of the vehicle and Saber joined them. Once they clambered over the fence, Saber opened the main gate leading into the yards. Felix and Leo were already stripping their clothes off and stuffing them in a watertight container they’d placed at the back of the yards for storage while they were in feline form. Habit made him glance in all directions before he stripped. He formed a picture of a black leopard in his mind and automatically the change started. In his peripheral vision he was aware of his brothers shifting, too.

Bones lengthened, teeth grew and his jaw rearranged. The sense of disembodiment occurred as bones and sinew reshaped. A long tail grew and short black fur formed on 85

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his body. Saber dropped to all fours. His tail swished. A grunt came from deep in his throat and he prowled over to the nearest tree to mark territory. A low cough from Felix signaled his brothers’ readiness, and Saber raced toward them in a mock charge. A friendly scuffle, punctuated by growls broke out until Saber ended it with a snarl. They split up, each going in different directions to search out the sheep.