Shira (2 page)

They were on a quiet back road. She had no idea how close they were to his house as it was too dark, and she wasn’t familiar with this area. Now was her chance—do or die. She flipped the lock and threw the door open. The ground came up hard and fast when she unbelted herself and jumped out. The fact that the side of the road was mud and grass helped break her fall, but the impact still hurt.

Behind her, tires squealed.
Get up and run, Shira. Come on. Do it!

She staggered to her feet and started off in the opposite direction from him, but her movements were sluggish at best. He grabbed her arm, and she swung at him. He backhanded her, and she landed in the mud once again. Shira cried out. Above her, Sam raised his fist. She stared at him in terror. He looked like a demon with his dark hair plastered to his forehead and water running off his angry face.

“Please,” she begged.

He raised his arm higher. The growl seemed to come from all sides, and the cat that followed from nowhere. The beast was huge, and Shira thought it might be a leopard. If it was, it was the biggest one she’d ever seen. The thing was all muscle, highlighted by the flashing lightning and rain slicking off its smooth physique. She scrambled backward on her hands and feet, but the cat wasn’t coming at her. Sam screamed at a high pitch she’d never heard before when the leopard leaped at him. He hit the ground, letting out a cry of pain. She watched unable to move when he flipped over and scrambled back to his car. The cat gave chase, but Sam was able to jump into his jag and slam the door. Shira couldn’t believe he actually threw the car in reverse, did a one eighty, and sped off down the dark road. He’d left her there.

The rain continued to come down with lightning flashing at intervals. Shira sat stark still, peering into the darkness. She had no idea where the leopard went, but she couldn’t see or hear it. After some time, her fear eased, and she struggled to her feet. She swayed but managed to stay up.

Were you a figment of my imagination? You saved me either way, and Sam believed you were real.

Sam had taken her bag with him and her ID, but it didn’t matter. He was gone.
I’m free.
She took a step in the direction he hadn’t been heading when he left. As if on cue, the rain let up and then stopped. No matter how bad she ached or how far she had come already, she wouldn’t die out here. A better life was coming somehow. She was determined to make it true.

Not twenty minutes later, a car came along the road. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she stopped. Whoever it was, was moving fast. Shira whimpered. She took a step toward the ditch. Goodness if she fell down there, she wasn’t climbing out.

The car slowed and rolled to a stop. She had to be thankful at least it wasn’t Sam. When the man stepped out, she didn’t know if she should be relieved or scared all over again. “It’s you,” she said.

The light from the interior of the car illuminated his face. He was breathing hard as if he’d been running. She frowned at him.

“Max,” he said. “My name is Max. Would you like a ride?”

“I…” All of a sudden the weariness of what she’d been through came over her, and she couldn’t have said no if she wanted to. She nodded, and he guided her to the passenger side. Shira dropped into the seat. Her arms wouldn’t obey her to buckle herself in, so when Max got in on the other side, he reached across to do it for her. “Th-Thank you.”

He grunted in response and started the car. They were off down the road, but Shira saw no more than that. Exhaustion would not be denied any longer, and she fell into a deep sleep.

* * * *

Max propped his feet up on the railing and leaned back in his chair. He pondered the day. The rain had stopped, and the air was clean and fresh. That only served to annoy him. The day didn’t need to be this nice, especially with his mood.

He caught the sound of her movement as soon as she woke. Her scent had been disturbing the entire night before. She smelled sweet like candy, and she stirred his hunger—but not for food. That pissed him off, too, so he decided to keep his distance from her. She could get going now that the storm was over and she’d gotten some rest. He didn’t know why he’d brought her here of all places anyway.

“You were the man at Whisper’s apartment,” she said from the doorway behind him. Max didn’t turn around.

“So? I was checking on her things like she asked me to.”

“It was such a big coincidence that I ran into you on the road.” Now she was making conversation. Why couldn’t she just go? He closed his eyes, because what he really wanted to do was turn around and stare at her.

There was no coincidence of their meeting the second time. He’d seen the devastation in her eyes when he told her about Whisper being out of town. That expression had hounded him until he tracked her. Not a big deal for his kind, even in the rain.

Rather than answer, he shrugged.

“I-I could cook you breakfast,” she offered.

He glared at her over his shoulder. “In other words, you’re hungry, and you want me to feed you.” He didn’t know where his light-heartedness had gone. The entire time his brother dated Whisper, he’d joked around, even if he was fighting despair and depression.  Now, he couldn’t muster a smile to save his life. Maybe it had to do with the parade of stupid women Whisper had marched by him, trying to tempt him into falling in love again. She couldn’t know being human that he mated once and that was it.

She frowned. “Is this attitude a morning thing, or are you always an ass?” After the words left her mouth, she slapped a hand over her lips. When she winced, Max’s anger flared again.

“
He
do that to you?”

She dipped her head and redirected her gaze anywhere but at his face. “No. Um, I should go.”

“Three eggs, bacon, and sausage. I like them fried hard, and don’t be skimpy with the meat. Also toast and coffee!”

She spun away and marched back into the house. Max let his gaze drop to her ass. Despite how slender she was, there was a roundness there that he found sexy. His cock twitched in his pants, but he forced himself around in his chair and closed his eyes. A woman like that didn’t need someone like him for a bed partner. He would have to be blind not to recognize the signs of abuse—and anything but a leopard shifter not to smell her fear.

When she called him in to eat, Max walked into the kitchen to the scent of food and coffee. He breathed deep and noticed the full plate waiting. She’d taken his charge seriously not to skimp on the meat. Four slices of bacon and three sausages sat on his plate with more in the center of the table. He hid his approval from his expression and took a seat across from her.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Shira.”

Pretty
. “That’s unusual.”

“I was named after my great-grandmother on my father’s side. I don’t know where she got the name, but I’ve always liked the uniqueness of it.” She offered a slight smile, and Max blinked against the sunshine in it. Irritation rolled along his spine. He focused on her plate rather than her face. She’d given herself one egg and one slice of bacon with a half a piece of toast. He grabbed the tongs and piled more meat on her plate. She squeaked in protest like a little mouse.

“You’re too thin.”

“Sorry.”

He thought he’d insulted her and searched his mind for a compliment he didn’t mind giving, but none he could think of wouldn’t give her the impression he was interested. He most certainly was
not
.

“You have a beautiful house,” she said, distracting him from his thoughts. “I can see where this place was once amazing and where it can be again.”

Max muttered his thanks. “I didn’t put much effort into choosing it. My brother moved and threw all of my stuff out.”

Shira blinked at him, eyes wide. The cute wrinkle in her nose told him she thought he was poor and a bum. He decided not to enlighten her to the fact that he and his brother had amassed a small fortune in real estate, and he bought this house with cash. Let her think what she wanted. None of it mattered anyway since he’d lost Sarah. Not the money, not his life.

Shira licked bacon oil from her lip, and he found himself staring. His cock was so hard it was painful, and he shifted in his chair. Her hair was cut to her shoulders and straight, and it framed her soft features. Slender, she had small breasts, that scarcely caused a rise in her blouse and yet, he’d never seen a more beautiful African American woman. The large chocolate eyes were so full of innocence and pain, he almost winced from their affect on him. She couldn’t know how vulnerable she appeared, he thought, which was why he couldn’t have anything to do with her.

Not that he was looking for a lover. Since Sarah died, there had been no one. Despite the fact that a leopard shifter experienced a more aggressive sex drive, and he was no exception, he allowed his desires to go unsatisfied since her death. He would rather suffer than find solace in another woman’s arms, least of all this tiny human.

“Do you know if there’s any place hiring nearby?”

He looked up from his plate. “What are your qualifications?”

She hesitated. “Well I used to work in child care, at a center. Not a long time, so I don’t have that much experience. The place I worked at was managed by a friend, and she did me a favor. I don’t expect any other facility to hire me without a reference.”

He was about to ask her wouldn’t the friend give her a glowing reference even if it wasn’t true, but she beat him to the punch.

“My friend and I had a falling out,” she explained. “But I’ll take anything. I need the money.”

“You can be my housekeeper and cook,” he blurted and then kicked himself for the impulse. He was a fool.

Her mouth dropped open. “Are you serious?”

He frowned. “If you’re too good for that…”

“No! I’ll do it.” Her smile blinded him once again, and Max gritted his teeth. “I guess you need someone to get this place in shape. I mean have you ever cleaned it?”

“Does your mouth always run away with you?” he growled.

She jumped and shrank back as if she expected him to hit her. “I’m sorry. I never learn. You’d think I’d know how to shut it by now. I’m too blunt. I’m so sorry.”

“Relax.” He rose from his chair and took his dishes to the sink. Keeping his back to her, he drew in breath after deep breath, trying to calm down. On one hand he wanted to draw this woman he didn’t know into his arms and ease her fears. On the other, he longed to beat the man to a bloody pulp who had made her feel like she had to apologize for everything she said. “You have clothes?”

“Um.” She hesitated. “I lost my bag, but I can pick up some more things later.”

He ignored the explanation. “You can wear another one of my T-shirts.”

“Another one?” she squeaked.

He peered at her. The silly woman had just realized he’d changed her clothes the night before. He couldn’t put her to bed wet. “I didn’t look.”

Her brows lowered like she didn’t believe him, but she didn’t pursue that line of conversation. “Thank you. I’ll wash my clothes out and then clean yours when mine are dry.”

“Whatever.” Max had to get out of there before he did something he would regret. He left her in the kitchen doing dishes and walked outside to get into his car. Something told him he made a big mistake offering her a job, but he couldn’t take it back now. The engine roared to life, and he peeled out of the driveway, putting as much space as possible between himself and Shira.

Chapter Three

Max.
Shira chided herself for repeating his name. She was attracted to her new boss. She could admit that. The man was sexy as hell and so tall. After what she’d been through, she had no business thinking about another man, but she couldn’t help it. Max was like a big teddy bear. She didn’t know why she felt like that, but he didn’t scare her. Not too much. She smiled to herself as she dried and put up the dishes. He was gruff and rude, and she’d ended up sassing him. His roughness around the edges didn’t offend her. Shira had been hurt, so she knew another person in pain when she saw one. Max was like a wounded animal, and when a beast is injured, they tended to strike out at whoever was nearest. That meant her. Still, he hadn’t scared her off.

Staying in the area wasn’t ideal, of course. If she wanted to start a new life, she needed to get as far away from Sam as possible. That would take money. She would stay with Max long enough to make bus fare and some extra to live off of until she found a job in whatever city she chose. The housekeeper gig would be good, too, because it meant she could hide out in Max’s house most of the time. There was less chance of her running into Sam. The night before, she’d fallen into a deep sleep when she got into Max’s car, so she had no idea how far he drove from where he picked her up. She didn’t imagine it was the next state over. That would be too good to be true.

She pushed the curtain back at the kitchen window and peered out. There was nothing to see except beautiful trees. From what she’d seen from his front porch, he didn’t have close neighbors. That meant when she had to do grocery shopping, Max would have to take her. He could protect her for that time, even if neither of them preferred it.

After she was done straightening up the kitchen, she wandered around the house. Max’s place had four bedrooms, and none of them were supplied with even a stick of furnishing, except the master bedroom. She stood in the doorway of that room staring in.
He put me in his bed last night.

Nervousness tightened the muscles in her stomach, but she was pretty sure he’d slept elsewhere the night before. Where, she didn’t know because he didn’t even own a couch. The kitchen set was no more than a table and two chairs.  They had looked like they were meant as patio furniture rather than a kitchen, but she wasn’t one to judge. Could he even afford to hire her?

Shira sighed. They hadn’t discussed salary. Max was a big man and a stranger. For all she knew, she could have fallen out of one bad situation and landed into another. Yet, she had no choice. She had to hope that Max was the decent person he seemed to be.