“I agree that perhaps you should leave, but the problem is that you
can’t
leave.”
He wasn’t making any sense. “Why?”
The way back to Spirit is though wolf territory. Neither Kellum nor I are strong enough should the wolves want to stop you from trespassing.”
Her legs nearly gave way. She barely made it over to the sofa before collapsing on it. “There has to be another way. Maybe not via the path, but perhaps another road.”
“There’s only one way in and one way out.”
Before she could argue, he headed out and disappeared from view seconds later. Stunned, she looked out the window. This was ridiculous. Maybe she could go to another town and call for help from there.
“I can help you leave, but not now.”
She jerked her head back. Damn, but these men moved as quietly as a wild animal stalking its prey. She refused to conclude that they were really animals. Only a human man would be as tender and loving as Taryn had been.
She squared her shoulders and turned toward him. His face had softened considerably, almost as if he were in pain. “Are you all right? Are your wounds acting up?”
“Yes and then no. My health is improving. Within the next few days, I will be back to full strength.”
As if some evil spirit willed it, her head began to throb. It was almost as if someone was hitting her head with a hammer. She rubbed her temples to ease the ache. “I thought I was completely cured, but I guess I’m not.”
“The
diltha
only lasts a few hours. I should have picked more. I’m sorry.”
“If I recall, you got a little distracted by some wolves.”
A small smile crept on his face. “You are correct.”
“Don’t you have
diltha
in your territory?”
“Most likely, only I don’t know where it is.”
Her stomach churned. It was almost as if that herb had an
on
and
off
switch. It was now in the
off
position. “I guess I better rest for a bit.”
“You can always try to leave tomorrow.”
She liked that idea. She wanted to see Taryn again though. Leaving him was going to be difficult. “You seem to like it here. Why do you stay?”
“This is my world. Where would I go?”
He was talking silly again. For a change, she’d pretend that she was in his alternate reality. “Surely, there are other towns in Anterra.”
His mouth opened then closed as if he wanted to correct her. “My family is here.”
That was nice that both he and Taryn were so devoted to them. “Did you always want to be a border patrol man?”
He slid onto the chair opposite her. “When Taryn and I were growing up, the damned wolves killed our hens, and they disrupted our lives. For centuries, the wolves have been our enemy. We tried to coexist with them, but they wanted nothing to do with us, so we built our cities underground. In the end, it has turned out for the best. We don’t pollute our environment, like you people do.”
Like you people?
“I admit that we could improve on our carbon footprint, but look at the progress in solar energy, hydroelectric energy, and use of nuclear power.”
“It’s your cars that cause a lot of the problems. From what little I’ve seen of earth, you’ve paved most of it.”
Kellum truly believed that he lived in another reality. The scary part was that she was beginning to believe it, too. “That’s true. Clearly, you love living here, but don’t you ever get lonely?” They lived all alone in the middle of a forest.
“We often go underground to shop and visit. We have a social life, but there were times when we yearned to see what else there is. When that happened, we visited Spirit.”
“Do you date?” She wasn’t jealous, as she’d be leaving soon, but she wondered if Kellum allowed himself such pleasures.
“On occasion. It’s hard. We must be prepared to fight at a moment’s notice. Keeping the troops ready takes discipline and hard work.”
“So lion shifters don’t long for a family of their own?”
This time his chest did cave a bit. Perhaps she shouldn’t have asked such personal questions, but this man intrigued her. His loyalty and devotion were commendable. He was the consummate protector.
“Yes, but for Taryn and myself, it is difficult. Who would want to live like this? The others live underground while we expose ourselves to occasional danger.”
That was a bit sad. “You never want children then?”
“I’d love to have a household full of them, but my wife and children would want to live underground with the others. It would break my heart not to be with them.”
She connected with his sentimental attitude, but even if she wanted to stay, which she had no intention of, it was clear she’d have no place here. “I’d greatly appreciate it if you did take me to Spirit. I’m sure you’d love to get me out of your hair.”
“As soon as I can, I will. It might be another few days.”
She was tired of the runaround. Her head pounded and she inhaled, waiting for the ache to subside.
He jumped up. “I will get you more
diltha
.”
“No. I don’t want you to go back near those wolves. It’s too dangerous.”
He smiled and his whole face lit up. “You’re worried about me?”
“I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. Don’t you have a vehicle that you could drive there? That way you’d be protected from the wolves.” Taryn said they fought with their hands, but surely they owned more substantial weapons. “Don’t you own a gun?” He was, after all, Mr. Security.
“We do have some vehicles, but they are not to be used for a whim. As for guns, we do not like using them. There is enough killing.”
He did have a point. “Fine. You said you would take me to Spirit in another few days. Why do we have to wait? Do you need to heal?”
“There are many reasons. For one, you need to be healthy.”
She wasn’t sure what he meant by that. Even if her head hurt, she was fit enough to go a few miles into town, even if she had to walk. Before she could question him, Taryn returned. Once more the men communicated silently. At least Taryn hadn’t gotten injured this time. Now every time he went outside, she’d worry about him being attacked.
He faced her. “It’s getting late and we need to be up early. Come to bed.”
She could ask to sleep on the sofa, but snuggling up next to him might be nice. Taryn had a bag in his hand. “I went to the store and got you a toothbrush, toothpaste, and face soap. The woman there said it was something you’d like.”
She took the offered package. “That’s so kind of you.” People never did things like that for her. His generosity impressed her.
“Come.” She followed him down the hallway. “Why don’t you wash up and then come to bed.”
Her pussy was still vibrating from the sex they’d had. Part of her wanted to make love to him all night as she’d never had a more considerate lover, but if she was going to leave in a few days, getting more attached would only making leaving that much more difficult.
If she lived in Spirit, it would be a different matter. She’d drive over every night and make passionate love to him. But she lived in Denver and was about to embark on a fabulous adventure in Monaco. If she thought Taryn would even consider coming with her overseas, she might suggest he hand over the protection detail to someone else and join her.
Her mind buzzed with all the possibilities as she brushed her teeth. The toothpaste had a grittier consistency than what she used at home, but after she finished, her mouth tingled. The soap he’d bought for her made her face glow. Perhaps she ought to work harder at using organic products. They probably didn’t contain any harmful chemicals like what she was used to.
When she entered his bedroom, Taryn was sprawled on the bed with his hands tucked behind his head. No one had ever looked more inviting. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to sleep a wink lying next to someone so magnificent.
“Is there any way I can call my friends in Spirit to let them know that I’m all right?”
“I’m afraid our service doesn’t extend that far.”
“Don’t you have television?”
“Yes.”
“There you go. You get satellite then. Phones use cell towers, which get their signals from satellites.” At least she thought that was how it worked.
“We can call people, but the signal is too weak to reach earth.”
There was that alternate-reality line again. Since it was late and her head still throbbed somewhat, she’d leave it at that. While Amy and Krista would be frantic, or at least she hoped they were missing her, there was little she could do tonight. Even if she chanced escaping this tree house, she had no idea which way to go. Given her bad sense of direction, she’d land in wolf territory and be their next meal.
She might as well enjoy the comfort of Taryn’s arms. Being with someone as hot as him for another night or two wasn’t the worst fate a woman could have. Content with her decision, she crawled onto the bed.
Taryn pulled her close. “You don’t need to sleep in the dress. I like my woman naked.”
His woman?
She liked the sound of that. “You want to take it off?”
He smiled, and her dress disappeared in a flash. The moment his lips touched hers, all thoughts of shape-shifters and alternate realities disappeared.
* * * *
“Ready?” Kellum motioned she hurry.
Taryn was out on patrol and she was dressed in her own clothes.
Perfect
. These last few days had been divine as far as the sex was concerned, but she couldn’t stay in Anterra forever. Her flight to Monaco was scheduled to leave in two weeks and she had a boatload of stuff to do to get ready. There was a talk show in Denver, one in Pittsburgh, and another in New York City. “I should have said good-bye to your brother.”
“I’ll tell him you were all weepy-eyed.”
“He’ll understand why I needed to go, right?”
“I’ll make sure he does.”
This time when they took the
elevator
to the ground floor, she wasn’t as scared. As long as she looked straight ahead, dropping a few hundred feet didn’t bother her too much. Just to make sure she didn’t fall, she clung to the pole.
Kellum’s lips touched the side of her head. “You can let go now.”
She jerked to attention only to realize they had landed. She stepped off the platform and looked around. “Do wolves come this far into lion territory?”
She might not have completely bought into this whole “humans being able to shift” thing, but she did believe the wolves were a menace.
“Not usually. Where we are going isn’t in wolf territory. In fact, it’s closer to bear territory.”
Her heart dropped to her stomach. “Holy, shit. That’s worse!”
Kellum burst out laughing and her body stilled. The sound rumbled inside her and made her all tingly.
“The bears are our friends.”
She refrained from rolling her eyes. “Don’t tell me bears shift, too.”
“Yes, but they are quite different from us. They see farther than any lion, and I mean inward not outward.”
He made it sound as if the bears were peaceful in comparison to the mountain lions or to the wolves. Even if she questioned him further about his enigmatic statement, he wouldn’t elaborate. She and Kellum were on their way to Spirit, and that was all that mattered to her.
They’d walked for a good twenty minutes. “Are you sure this is the right way?”
“Pretty sure. I scoped it out this morning.”
That wasn’t comforting. “Didn’t you know the way before this morning?”
“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me. Taryn and I have tried to explain reality to you, but you are too stuck in your ways to understand.”
That comment stopped her in her tracks. Arriving in Spirit five minutes late wouldn’t matter. She halted. “Tell me what? This make-believe is bullshit. I want to know the truth.”
“Lady, you wouldn’t know the truth if it bit you, which may happen if you don’t keep walking.”
He was a jerk, but at least this jerk was willing to help her get home. For the next few minutes, they didn’t speak.
Kellum slowed. “It’s near here.”
“What’s near here?”
“Where you can cross over, but I need to be in my lion form to sense the exact point.”
She laughed. “By all means, don’t let me stop you from transforming into a lion.”
“When I do, I won’t be able to communicate with you. I might need you to climb a tree since it could be the only way to get through the alignment point.”
She ignored the tree-climbing part. “What is an alignment point?”
“It’s the place where you can go from Anterra into Spirit, but its location is constantly changing.”
His explanation lacked clarity and precision. “Can you be more specific? Is it like a highway or closer to a path?”
“A doorway would be the best way to explain it.” He huffed out a breath. “We’re wasting time. If the
door
gets out of reach, then you are out of luck.”