Betrayed: Days of the Rogue (16 page)

Chapter 11

Rafe stopped in his tracks as soon
as he realized Eve was standing in his backyard. A slight shift in
the breeze allowed him to catch her scent as he rounded the corner,
need for her hitting him like a physical assault. She was just feet
away from him, the sun shining on her fairness, making her appear
to glow like a fairy from a child’s story book. Nerve endings
tingled as he recalled the sensations that had filled him when last
they met, the waves of pleasure as their empathic minds had met.
His body hardened and he wondered how much of his need was revealed
by his track pants. And yet within seconds of that thought, he
noticed Damien was present as well. That fact doused his desire as
effectively as ice water and uncalled for jealousy had taken its
place.

It made his tone sharper than he
intended.

“What are you doing here, Eve?” His
question rumbled over the distance that separated them.

She hesitated, casting a look in
Damien’s direction before moving closer. “I need to talk to
you.”

“You could have called.” He threw
the comment over his shoulder as he headed inside, needing some
space to cool down. Using the breathing techniques he taught his
clients, he tried to achieve a calm outer facade.

He’d purposely avoided her these
past three days, using the excuse that he had to keep an eye on
Damien. In reality, he knew he just didn’t trust himself around
her. They had to talk, but the memory of their kiss still made his
body tighten with desire, and the need to experience connecting
with her again clawed at his control.

She trotted after him, following
him into the kitchen. “Call you? How could I? I was driving.”

Driving. While a rogue werewolf was
in the neighbourhood. It was a slight step up from sitting on the
porch but… Mentally, he counted to ten. Even though he knew Damien
was busy doing repairs, she didn’t. In her mind the wolf was still
roaming the area. How did she justify leaving the house? Did the
woman have a death wish? He struggled to hold back the reprimand
that hovered on his lips. Instead, he went to the sink to get a
glass of water. Leaning his hip against the counter, he glared at
her over the rim as he drank.

She stared at him for a moment, her
gaze obviously fixed on his bared chest. Her interest in him was
pleasing, but not appropriate for the moment.

He prompted her. “You said you had
to speak to me?”

Blinking, she dragged her eyes to
his face and began to explain. By the time she was done, he was
gripping the glass so tightly he was surprised it didn’t crack.

Setting it down with a thump, he
turned to look out the window, glaring at Damien. The man was
repairing the fence, never once glancing towards the house. To look
at him you’d think he’d been working here the whole time. “And this
wolf encounter happened when?” He fought to keep the anger from his
voice.

“About an hour ago, I guess. Like I
said, I fell asleep waiting for you and—”

Rafe clenched his jaw. Damien must
have taken off right after he left to go for his run. A part of him
clung to the hope that she was mistaken though. “Are you sure
Damien wasn’t working out back when you got here?”

“No. At least, I don’t think he
was.” She wrinkled her brow as she tried to recall. “But I was in
such a panic that I might not have seen him. Does it matter?”

Rafe cursed silently. For the past
three days, Damien had worked steadily. He hadn’t exhibited any
signs of aggression. In fact, his manner had suggested he was
almost…content. Why the sudden change? What had caused a display of
aggression towards Eve? Was Damien fixating on her? A chill settled
over him as he contemplated what could have happened.

With great effort he sought to keep
his voice steady so his fear and anger wouldn’t be apparent. “What
did he say to you when you were talking just now?” He nodded
towards where Damien was.

“Not much. Um…his name’s Damien. He
wanted to know if we were…friends.” She stumbled on that last word
for some reason, and then ended with her overall assessment. “He’s
not very talkative.”

“Stay away from him.”

“Damien? Why?”

“He…” Rafe compressed his lips,
frustrated that he could say so little. “He has a reputation.”

Eve snorted. “A reputation? You
sound like an old lady warning me about the evils of men.”

Turning to face her, he narrowed
his eyes and spoke in a low warning tone. “I’m not kidding, Eve.
Stay away from Damien Masterson.”

Her face blanched. “Sure. Whatever
you say.” Eve took a step back, bumping into the edge of the table
causing the salt and pepper shakers to tip over. By the time she’d
righted them she appeared more composed. “But shouldn’t you be more
worried about the wolf?” There was a hint of reprimand in her
words. “It seems to me that’s a bigger problem than your hired help
hitting on me.”

A growl almost slipped from his
lips at her comment. Damien had better keep the hell away from Eve!
Reining in his temper, Rafe quickly tried to create a plausible
explanation. “I
am
worried about the wolf. In fact, I’ll be
contacting someone about it tonight.” And that wasn’t a lie. Reno
would be getting an earful about his former partner.

“Good. I hope they can trap
it.”

“They’ll do something, but in the
meantime I want you to stay here.” Rafe knew the folly of what he
was saying, but short of chaining Damien up or moving into Eve’s,
he didn’t know what else to do.

“Rafe, we’ve already had this
conversation—”

“That was before, when it seemed
like the wolf wasn’t going to stay around. But it’s still here and
it’s…” He paused, trying to find the right word. “Becoming
aggressive. You said yourself how scared you were. Do you really
want to be alone tonight, knowing that it could be right outside
your cabin? Maybe even under your bedroom window? An animal that
size could easily—”

“All right! All right! You’ve
convinced me.” She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.
“Geez, Rafe, now I’m going to have nightmares.”

“Better bad dreams than the real
thing.”

She looked at him, her eyes
widening as the implications sank in, and nodded slowly.

Damien used the garden hose to wash
off the dirt and sweat from his labours. The fence was done and he
was satisfyingly tired from the workout, his leg only aching
slightly from the extra use. Sluicing water over his face, he
enjoyed the coolness before shutting off the hose, and stretching
out in the sun to dry. The warmth of the sun’s rays felt good
against his now chilled body and he tilted his face to the sky
appreciating the sensation.

It felt good to relax, not to be
constantly looking over his shoulder, wondering if the Trackers
were on his heels. There’d been few moments like this in his life.
Times he could relax and let his guard down. With Beth, of course.
And with Reno.

He sobered at the memory of that
short time span. Reno and himself as partners, sharing a drink,
joking, saving the halves… He’d felt he’d finally found his place
in the world. And when he’d met Beth, life couldn’t have been any
better. Tightening his lips, he pushed those memories to the back
of his mind. That had been another life, another Damien. He was a
rogue now. Nothing else.

Melancholy threatened to overtake
him and so he poked at the embers of rage that lived in him, going
over all the wrongs, the slights, all the evil that festered in the
world. He had a purpose, a goal. He’d neglected it these last few
days, establishing himself as Rafe’s handyman, but he needed to
stay focussed, ready to act. He stretched out his muscles, easing
the slight stiffness in his leg.

“Damien!” Rafe exited the house and
stalked towards him. He seemed pissed off, and Damien got to his
feet ready for a fight.

“What?” He glowered at the man, not
about to take any shit from him.

Rafe stopped a few feet away, a
muscle working in his jaw. After a pause, during which he appeared
to be trying to control his temper, he spoke. “I see the fence is
done.”

“Yep.” Damien waited. That had been
an obvious statement. What did the man really want?

“I thought you would have had it
done by the time I got back and be started on the next job.”

Not liking the implied criticism,
he scowled. “I had to go get more boards. Is that a problem?”

“No. No problem.” The muscle ticked
in Rafe’s jaw again. “I see you met Eve.”

He nodded. “Yeah.” As an
afterthought, he added, “she was looking for you.”

Rafe grunted. “So she said.” He
glanced towards the house and Damien followed the direction of his
gaze. Through the window he could see Eve watching them. “I’m
driving her over to her house to pick up some things. She’s staying
with me for the next while.”

Raising his brows, Damien wondered
why Rafe was telling him this, and why Eve had denied the
relationship earlier. Something didn’t add up. His wolf perked up
its ears as well, suspicious of the man before them. Damien pushed
the animal aside, having no time, or use, for its mutterings. He
needed a clear head, not one clouded with an animal’s
perspective.

“Stay away from her.” Rafe growled
the warning, and from the expression on his face Damien had a
sneaking suspicion the man had surprised himself by saying it.

“Why? Is she yours?” A sick feeling
twisted in his stomach at the thought. He widened his stance and
curled his lip in a subtle challenge. Exactly why, he didn’t care
to examine.

“No. Just…stay away. I don’t want
her hurt.”

“And you think that’s what I’d do?”
Damien relaxed his aggressive posture, not surprised by Rafe’s
response. The man might claim he had friends who were rogues, but
when it came right down to it, prejudice against his kind always
raised its ugly head.

Rafe looked at him steadily, his
face completely serious. “Quite frankly, I don’t know what you’d
do.”

Damien was silent for a moment,
thinking of the deaths that had occurred at his hands, of the Fae
who had died because of him, and then nodded slowly. “Neither do
I.”

Chapter 12

Eve set down her paint brush, a
satisfied smile spreading across her face. She’d completed the
first of her ‘The Pines’ series of paintings and it was good.
Really good. The hues of the sky were perfect, the shading on the
trees was exactly as she’d envisioned, and the mountains in the
distance were misty and beckoning, drawing the viewer deeper into
the scene. It was as if she’d been able to tap into nature itself.
If the rest of the series turned out even half as well, she’d make
them the centre piece of her exhibit.

She was working from photographs
she’d taken, Rafe having forbidden her from returning to her cabin
alone. Normally she would have protested but, truth be told, she
wasn’t too keen on being alone with the wolf still on the loose.
The image of its snarling jaws and hate-filled eyes had completely
erased any bravery she might have had in that area. Rafe said he’d
talked to someone about the beast and there’d be a team of animal
control experts coming within the week.

A week living in Rafe’s house… At
first she’d been leery of the arrangement, however, she had her own
room and somehow they managed to avoid each other these past few
days, though she wasn’t sure how. Wherever she was, Rafe wasn’t. If
she was entering a room, he was on the verge of leaving it. It had
to be purposeful on his part, yet it was done so smoothly she
almost felt he could sense her approaching and choreographed his
own movements accordingly. Oh well, it made things run more
smoothly and that’s what she wanted, wasn’t it?

Well…not really. After her initial
reservations about staying with him, she’d begun to hope that it
was partly a ploy on his part to spend more time with her, that
there’d be a repeat of the kiss. Frustratingly, that wasn’t the
case. They hadn’t as much as brushed arms in the past three
days!

It wasn’t like he left her totally
alone or made her feel unwelcome. Casseroles appeared in the oven
for her to eat, space had been made in the bathroom cabinet. If she
was outside, he was always within shouting distance, working on
repairs or exercising. She’d done some amazing sketches of him
doing chin ups and push ups. For a counsellor, he kept himself in
fantastic shape. And she’d discovered he had a scar on his lower
abdomen; a hint of it showed when his track pants slipped low on
his hips. The urge to trace it, and even explore lower, was hard to
deny.

“What are you doing?” Damien spoke
beside her and she gave a start. The man walked so quietly he’d
snuck up on her more than once. She turned her attention to him
thinking here was another man that she couldn’t figure out. At
times he’d be brusque and ignore her, while on other occasions
she’d catch him watching her with a strange look on his face;
puzzled, attracted, and angry all once.

Right now, he held a bottle of
water in his hand and was leaning against the porch railing where
she’d set up her small portable work station.

Eve quickly glanced to the side.
For once, Rafe wasn’t watching, though she could hear him working
in the small shed near the back of the property. Usually if Damien
was around, Rafe would stop what he was doing and stand guard
whenever the man approached her. Exactly why, Eve wasn’t sure. It
wasn’t as if Rafe could be jealous. And Damien, while prone to
being sullen and taciturn, didn’t really bother her.

“Just finishing a painting.” She
turned the canvas so he could see. “What do you think?”

“It’s good.” He studied the piece
for a few minutes before looking her way. “You’re very
talented.”

“Thank you!” The compliment was
unexpected coming from him and she felt her cheeks flush.

A smile hovered around the edges of
his mouth. He started to reach out his hand as if to touch her face
but then drew back. Eve noticed how he slowly clenched his fingers
into a fist before letting his hand fall to his side. A pained look
crossed his face.