SkinwalkersWoman (5 page)

Her instant denial dissolved on her lips. It made perfect
sense, now that she thought about it.

Wait! You aren’t seriously buying into this Native
American mumbo-jumbo, are you, girl?

Her inner wisdom was madly prodding her to say yes. Her
brain was prodding her to tell him to go fly a kite.

No. Absolutely not!

“That’s utter nonsense. There is no such thing as fate or
being born to be anything. We all make choices, and nothing is predestined. I
made the stupid mistake of thinking I could run away from something, and ended
up here. There’s nothing magical or…mystical…” Her voice dwindled to a whisper
as she heard her own words.

The lady doth protest too much…

Her inner wisdom was laughing at her. It was rolling around,
holding its damn sides.

Shut the fuck up before I put a muzzle on you again.

Watching her host as he carried the last three pieces of her
copious amount of luggage into his tiny cabin, she felt completely stupid. He
had stashed it behind the tiny bed, shoved her cases of bottled water under the
sink into the home-made cabinet and stuffed her expensive, Arctic-quality
sleeping bag under the bed. Who the hell took most of their closet with them on
a trip into the wilds?

Um…you, oh paranoid one? Scared of not packing everything
you own in case you might need it.

It was dark. He had lit one of the wall-sconce lanterns to
alleviate the pitch blackness inside the cabin. And here she lay, huddled into
a tight ball on the edge of his narrow bed, hugging herself with shaking arms
like a child lost in the dark. Her belly was growling. She hadn’t eaten a thing
since stopping in some tiny truck stop for lunch…and
he
must be starved.
Cooking something for them was out of the question. She had never cooked on
anything but a modern, porcelain-top range. That old iron stove
needed to be
lit
. And helpless city-girl Michelle Abernathy had never even learned how
to properly light the gas-log fireplace in her den! If a switch didn’t turn it
on, it didn’t get turned on.

Unable to resist the call of nature any longer, she rolled
up from the fetal position she had adopted and smoothed down her blouse before
shoving both hands through her wildly mussed hair. “I need to use the
bathroom.”

He set her vanity case beside the bed and straightened to
his full height, glancing down at her. “Privy is out behind the cabin. Toilet
paper is on a peg in the wall. Sorry—it’s probably not what you’re used to, but
it’s pretty useful in an emergency. If you want a bath, you can use the tub out
front. No one will see you. Water’s usually cold, but if it sits in the sun a
while it warms up a bit.”

Wincing at the very thought of using an unsanitary, smelly
outhouse, she nodded jerkily and shimmied past him to head for the door. She
paused, looking over her shoulder. “Can I take one of the lanterns on the shelf?”

Without replying, he stepped over to the wall, lit the one
she had nodded to and handed it to her.

“Um…are there any wild animals out there? Snakes?”

“None that will bother you. You want me to walk you out?”
His voice was low.

“Um, okay. I’ve just never had to go outside to use the
bathroom. In the dark.”

Oh God…

He closed his large hand over the handle of the lantern and
took it from her. “Come on. It’s safe. I promise you won’t get bitten, eaten or
pounced on. Unless it’s by me…”

She barely caught his comment. The sudden insanity of it all
struck her and she burst into hysterical laughter. His face was suddenly close
to hers as he bent down and brushed his lips across her forehead. “Don’t be
afraid of me.”

“I’m not afraid of you.” Her lips trembled with those words.
“I just…never did anything this crazy before in my entire life. I’m afraid of
myself
.”

Zeke gently pulled her close to his body and kissed the soft
hair at her damp temple. “That makes two of us, woman. I’ve never done this
before either.”

Her soft intake of breath made him smile against her hair.
He wanted desperately to make love to her again, but this wasn’t the time.
Instead he led her out onto the porch, down the wide steps and around to the
small wooden outhouse that stood about eighty feet down a gradual slope from
the cabin. He hung the lantern on a peg on the wall across from the toilet
paper, then closed the door as she stepped inside.

The muffled sound of her horrified voice came to him as she
whispered, “Oh my God.”

For the first time in his life, he saw his home the way she
must see it. And for the first time in his life, he wished it was better than
it was. For him, it had always seemed to be just fine. But seeing it through
her eyes? He frowned at the primitive look of it.

The first shock of seeing the smoothly sanded wooden toilet
seat perched atop a plank bench of rough wood that suspended over an open pit
almost made her decide to go out and find a bush to pee behind…but the scent of
pine and sage filled her nostrils rather than the smell of what she had
expected. She glanced down into the dark hole under the seat before unbuckling
her belt. He must have piled crushed boughs in the open hole to lessen the
offensive odors usually found in outhouses. The fear of having a rattlesnake
slither out of the hole eased as she glanced at the rugged walls and realized
that this was as good as she could expect, being nearly eighty miles from sewer
lines and phone poles.

It was clean, at least. And the toilet paper was a nice
touch. She had expected a Sears and Roebuck catalog. A soft breeze moved
between the slats of the outhouse, slats that she realized were actually thin
cut saplings fitted just close enough together for privacy but also to allow
light and air to get in. Her own bathroom fan…she wanted to giggle
hysterically. And the floor of the hut was like the floor in the cabin, smooth
boards.

The horror of being forced to use the outhouse changed to
humor as she realized how utterly unrealistic her expectations had been.
Suddenly, the idea of filling that old claw-foot tub out in front of the cabin
from the well pump and taking a bath didn’t seem quite as scary as it had when
he’d first mentioned it. In fact, the idea of seeing her host strip off his
jeans and boots and shirt to climb into the tub with her made her shiver with
anticipation.

Wow. I must be going insane.

Finishing her business quickly, she took the lantern from
its hook and pushed open the door, glancing around a bit nervously as she
stepped out into the cool night air. She had expected to see him waiting
outside for her, but the circle of light from the lantern showed nothing but
sage and rocks and the blank rear wall of the cabin about fifty paces away.
“Um…are you still out here, Zeke?” She wanted to laugh out loud at her fear of
walking alone back to the cabin.

After hesitating for a long moment, she scurried back toward
the solid log walls of the cabin, ashamed of her silliness. She did her best to
ignore the rustling of small nocturnal creatures lurking in the shadows of the
starkly outlined brush as she made her way along the narrow path that led from
the cabin to the outhouse. Biting her lip hard to keep from shrieking when a
coyote howled in the distance, she almost ran the last few yards, her heart
hammering in her chest.

She didn’t see the gnarled root of the ancient juniper that
caught her spike heel and sent her sprawling forward with a little scream of
terror. She certainly didn’t see the man standing in her path until she
collided with his heavy body and his arms steadied her. “It’s only a coyote.”
His rough voice was the most beautiful thing she’d ever heard as she clutched
at him and buried her face in his shirt front, allowing the terrified sobs to
break loose.

Zeke heard her call out from the door of the outhouse and
stepped off the porch to assure her he was there. He watched the circle of
light from the lantern bob along as she hesitantly picked her way along the
path from the privy to the cabin, then old
ba’ts’osé
howled to call his
mate, and the innocent sound sent the woman into a headlong flight of terror.
He barely reached her as she plunged forward, having tripped over her own feet
in those deadly stilettos she chose to wear. He removed the lantern from her
trembling fist and wrapped his free arm tightly around her as she clutched his
body and sobbed against his chest.

He didn’t try to calm her. He simply buried his lips in her
soft hair and breathed in her sweet, city-girl perfume and the scent of vanilla
shampoo. He allowed her to calm herself with her tears, and when she’d
collected herself enough to release her stranglehold on his body and step away
a bit, he eased his arm from around her and lifted her chin gently with his
free hand. “B
a’ts’osé
wouldn’t hurt you. He protects this place while I
sleep. He knows you are mine, as do all the small creatures you are so afraid
of. The mouse digs a new burrow for her family. The owl and the fox go about
their nightly hunting. Nothing in the night will harm you, except maybe those
shoes you’re wearing.”

She stiffened and moved away from his hand on her face.
“Don’t make fun of me. I’ve never been in a place like this. Unfamiliar things
can scare a person. But I suppose nothing scares you.”

She couldn’t see the smile that curved his lips. “I fear
many things, sweet thing. Especially you…”

Chellie blinked, her eyes searching the dark shadows above
her that she knew hid his face. The lantern light didn’t give her any clue to
what he’d meant by that. “You’re afraid of me?”

“Damn right.” The deep voice and his warm breath stirred her
hair. “You are the only thing out here that can harm me.”

“How could I possibly hurt you?” she scoffed. “Have you ever
taken a good look at yourself in a mirror? You outweigh me by a ton, and you
dwarf me…not to mention that you’re built like a brick wall.”

She could feel the heat of his body, despite being several
inches from him. She could smell the intoxicating scent of sage, juniper, pine
pitch and man…as well as the dampness of her own tears.

Holy shit!

Her senses had never been so sharp…so alive before. The
terror she’d experienced moments ago was gone. His presence and his aura had
swept them away like a strong breeze.

His aura
… Her inner voice told her to trust him.

Oh sure…but can I trust myself around him?

She slowly lifted her hand and placed it on his chest at the
level where she knew his heart beat slowly and comfortingly. What drew her so
completely to this stranger? Why did her inner voice purr softly inside her in
his presence? Why did she crave—yes, that was the word—his closeness? Why was
she no longer afraid? And for Pete’s sake, why the friggin’ hell couldn’t she
even touch him without visualizing fucking his brains out?

Had her fury at Karl set free some inner nympho demon? She
had never been so wanton, so utterly horny, in her entire life. It almost
reminded her of that perfume ad on TV that bragged about the product containing
human pheromones. Was that even possible? Did human beings even
have
pheromones? The idea had intrigued her, but she hadn’t gone out and bought any.
She inhaled his scent again and wondered if maybe Zeke had gone out and bought
himself some, because she sure as hell got all wobbly inside and her pussy
clenched and her heart beat faster every time she got close to this guy.

The feel of his heart beating faster under her palm left her
breathless. Her nipples beaded and her breasts grew heavy just thinking of his
big hands on them, slowly kneading and adoring them. Did she have the same kind
of effect on him? It sure seemed like it. Of course, that was ridiculous.
Michelle Abernathy wasn’t the type of female to make men go nuts with lust. But
as the big man’s breathing grew ragged and he growled softly under his breath,
she wondered if maybe she’d have to revise that opinion.

Maybe being out here in the desert too long can do that
to a guy.

But at that moment, he stepped away, holding the lantern up
to light the rest of the path back to the cabin. “You can have the bed. I’ll
sleep out here.”

She followed him, her body and mind clamoring for something
she didn’t want to acknowledge. Something hot and needy lodged in her throat.
She barely stopped herself before she blurted out something stupid about him
sharing the bed with her.

You are being ridiculous. You were a momentary itch that
he scratched…but he isn’t interested in that again.

Too bad, because she sure as hell wanted to scratch that
particular itch again…and again…and again.

Zeke had kept watch until the light inside the little cabin
went out, and he heard the sound of her agitated breathing relax into sleep. He
closed his eyes and stretched out his long legs as he reclined on the hard
earth next to the well. It had been awhile since he’d bunked out on the ground
except at his sacred place. He was getting soft. He hated that lumpy old
mattress, but the thought of sharing it with that glorious woman made him ache
to get up and join her on it. His thoughts were X-rated as he ran his first
time with a woman over and over through his mind, unable to believe it had
actually happened. His cock was hard and aching as he recalled the way it had
felt as he had slid, slick and erect, into her hot, tight cunt. It was as if
he’d come home. There was no other way to put the feeling. It had felt like
he’d flown on the highest currents of the wind into Heaven itself.

He listened to the sounds of the night…the same sounds that
had sent her racing back into his arms earlier. She was an enigma to him, a
Native American woman with all the fears and foibles of a city girl born and
bred. He had clearly seen her pedigree when he’d first touched her face…he had
seen her as the man she was running from could never possibly see her. He hoped
the bastard would try to get her back—he would love to take him apart, piece by
piece.

Her spirit was innocent and pure. So was her heart, but she
guarded it closely, afraid to accept what she felt inside…that they were meant
to be together. And it would be his honor and deep pleasure to bring her back
to her roots, to the beautiful heritage she had lost with her parents. But he
understood now why she had been sent to live among the Anglos. They had kept
her safe from the evil ones.

When the sun rose, Zeke would begin the job of reeducating
her spirit.