TherianPromise (2 page)

Before they smashed into the ground, of course.

“You feel better, don’t you? Does it matter how I did it?”

He was right. If he hadn’t touched her side, she’d still be
fighting for breath or unconscious. “You’re some sort of ‘healer’?” She
couldn’t believe she’d said the word. She was the sensible sister. Carissa was
the one who loved sci-fi movies and paranormal fantasies. Ava liked gritty
crime dramas and complicated mysteries.

One corner of his mouth quirked, but his eyes remained
serious. “Call it what you like. I can take away your pain, but the energy
won’t pass through anything inorganic. My skin must touch yours if you want me
to heal you. And it will be a whole lot easier if I can see what I’m doing.”

“You want me to take off my shirt?”

His features tensed and impatience narrowed his gaze. “Do
you honestly think I planned this entire incident so I could see you in your
bra?”

It did sound rather ridiculous when he put it that way. “I’m
not sure I can get my shirt off unless you help me.”

He chuckled, honest amusement warming his expression again.
“Which was my wicked plan all along.” He moved closer and held the hem as she
pulled her uninjured arm free of the clingy t-shirt. After easing it over her
head, he gingerly worked the wadded material down her other arm. He gathered
her hair to the side and whistled. “That is one hell of a bruise.”

His gaze remained on her injured shoulder, despite the
plunging angle of her lace-trimmed bra. She braced her hand against the ground
as the world swayed. The throbbing had become a burning ache as soon as she sat
up. Her stomach heaved and closing her eyes only made the nausea worse.
Please
don’t let me throw up on him
! She couldn’t imagine anything more
humiliating.

Infuriated by her helplessness, she allowed him to shift her
body away from the tree. “You gonna be okay like this? You’re not going to pass
out on me, are you?”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

His hands were strong, yet each motion was surprisingly
gentle. He supported the center of her chest with one hand while the other
swept up and down, across her shoulder and down her arm. Despite the mundane
nature of his task, awareness arced between them.

The forest was cool, the ground rough beneath her, which
made the heat of his hands all the more apparent. He shifted position,
carefully supporting her shoulders as his hand splayed directly over the
bruise. His lids lowered and his expression tensed.

“What are you doing?” she whispered, half afraid of
disrupting his concentration.

“Scanning.” After a pause, he added, “Healing isn’t my
primary ability. I can usually sense what’s wrong, but my healing pulses aren’t
strong enough to mend bone. I was able to stabilize your cracked ribs and ease
the pain, but you’ll need to be treated by one of our real healers once we
arrive at the sanctuary.” He looked up and Ava gasped. The golden flecks in his
eyes were glowing. “Your shoulder is slightly out of place, but the rest is an
impact contusion.”

“Which means?”

“It’s a really nasty bruise, but we’re in luck. I should be
able to ease it back into place and make you more comfortable.”

He sounded so casual, as if healing pulses and glowing eyes
were nothing out of the ordinary. His hand lowered, palm barely grazing her
skin. Heat erupted and spread, dragging another gasp from her dry throat.

“Relax,” he coaxed. “Try not to fight it.”

After one searing burst of sensation, the pain receded, but
the heat remained. Waves of soothing warmth rippled across her chest,
tightening her nipples before pooling between her thighs. Her core tightened
and her clit tingled, the feeling unmistakable and intense. She squirmed,
desperately trying to ignore the unwanted side effect of his touch.

“That’s…enough.” If he didn’t stop soon, she’d come, and the
thought of moaning and shivering was nearly as humiliating as throwing up would
have been. He moved his hand away and the heat slowly fizzled, leaving her
stunned and tingling.

“Better?” Their gazes locked and time paused. Awareness hot
and electric hung between them, humid and full of promise. His eyes narrowed,
the golden light even more intense than it had been before. His nostrils flared
and he leaned toward her, lips slowly parting.

Not ready to add sexual conquest to his list of
accomplishments, she turned to the side then pushed to her knees, quickly
reaching for her shirt.

He’d done it. Her shoulder was still discolored, but the
pain was gone. “Thank you.” She kept her back turned as she pulled the t-shirt
into place. Even so, it was too easy to imagine his lips pressed over hers,
moving and parting as his tongue explored.

“If there’s aspirin in that backpack, it might be a good
idea to take some, just in case. As I said, healing isn’t my primary ability.”

She nodded and reached for the backpack, half expecting the
pain to return as soon as she moved. “If healing is more or less a hobby, what
is
your ‘primary ability’?” The pack had landed a short distance away, but she was
able to pull it toward her without leaving her knees. She unzipped one small
compartment and then another as she searched for a pain reliever.

“I’ve had men watching your house and your store, so where’d
that come from anyway?”

Her hands froze and she looked into his eyes. Not only had
he sidestepped her question, he’d just admitted he’d been spying on her. “I
thought you didn’t work for Osric.”

“I don’t.” He stood and brushed leaves and pine needles off
his jeans. Then he slipped his hands into the pockets of his bomber jacket,
looking anything but relaxed. His gaze alternated between visual scans of their
surroundings and assessing sweeps of her.

She shifted back to her seat and folded her legs in front of
her. “Then why were you stalking me?” Despite her attempt to seem calm, her
voice sounded sharp and thin.

“I’ve been trying to protect you, but you’re one slippery
female.”

Her mother would have been pleased by the description. All
Ava felt was tired. She was tired of being afraid and tired of avoiding
relationships. Even lasting friendships could be dangerous. Carissa was the
only one— Carissa! “Do you know where my sister is? I haven’t seen her since
this nightmare started.”

“Carissa’s fine. She’s safe and she’s with my people. Now
tell me where you got the supplies.”

If her visions hadn’t confirmed his casual statements, she
wouldn’t have allowed him to shift the conversation so easily. Give a little to
get a little. She could play nice until she found a better option. At least
figured out where the hell she was! “I got the supplies from the man who owns
the cabin. I told him Carissa and I had a terrible fight and I needed some time
on my own. He’s never been one to ask questions and this is his off season, so
he gathered what I’d asked for from my store and told me I could stay as long
as I liked.”

“Nice guy.”

“He is. And there are damn few left in this screwed-up
world.”

A beam of sunlight touched his eyes and gleamed in his hair,
making him appear more hunk-next-door and less stalker-in-the-alley. He
definitely seemed less tense yet still watchful. “Your mother obviously taught
you how to hide. How much did she tell you about your people?”

“My people?” She watched him closely, hoping to determine
which impression was the real Kyle. “As in the nationality of my ancestors?”

“In a way. Have you ever heard of the Therian nation?”

She found a small packet containing two pills and ripped it
open with her teeth. Then she dug out a water bottle before tossing the pills
into her mouth. After swallowing the pills, she held up the bottle. “Do you
want some?”

“Not right now.” He kept his distance, calm and still. Like
a cat with a cornered mouse. The lion’s roar echoed through her memory. Why was
she fixated on felines? “We should be careful with all of our resources until
we have a better understanding of where we are.”

She looked around, not that she could see much from her
position on the ground. “Pine and aspen trees on steep, rocky slopes, cool
clean air. I don’t think we’ve gone far.”

“Hopefully.” He pulled out the phone again, holding it at
various levels as he slowly turned around. “But Colorado doesn’t hold the
patent on pine-covered mountains. This could be Wyoming or Montana, even
Canada.”

“And you think we teleported here?” How else could she
explain suddenly being in a different location? She’d been having visions for
weeks. Was this really so much different? Yes! Her visions were nothing more
than souped-up dreams. Teleportation was an entirely different scientific
discipline.

“If we didn’t teleport, how’d we get here?” He echoed her
thoughts as he returned the phone to his pocket.

“You’re the one with magic powers.” She gestured toward her shoulder.
“You tell me.”

“I think your Therian energy spiked when I touched you. You
felt threatened and your body attempted to remove you from the danger. It was a
defense mechanism.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” But his
explanation fit her strange symptoms a little too well.
Therian
nation.
Therian
energy. Was that word supposed to mean something to her?

“Why were you screaming right before this happened?”

Annoyed by his persistence, she sat a bit straighter and
said, “Gee, let me think. I was dragged out of my house by armed men claiming
to work for my father. I managed to outsmart them, but before I could relocate
you showed up. Makes a girl jumpy.”

“You weren’t jumpy, sunshine. You were in pain, serious pain
by the sound of it.”

Sunshine? She’d never had a nickname before, had always
thought they were childish, so she tried not to like it. Besides, he was right
about the pain and they both knew it, so she abandoned her pointless denials.
“Okay, so I felt like my brain was going to explode out my eye sockets. What
does that have to do with us ending up here?”

“A spontaneous energy spike strong enough to flash two
people would hurt like hell. Especially in someone untrained to deal with the
intensity.” His brows arched, accenting the challenge in his words. “I might be
a second-rate healer, but I can’t teleport at all.”

“But I have only your word for that.” She pushed to her feet
and planted her fists on her hips. “Maybe this was the only way you could get
me away from the others.”

“Then wouldn’t I have a car waiting or at least a couple of
horses?”

“Why didn’t this ‘defense mechanism’ teleport me away from
Osric’s men? I’ve been in danger since this mess began.”

“It might have taken awhile for your energy levels to build
up or… I don’t honestly know. Teleportation is a rare gift. I don’t know that
much about it.”

He’d healed her! She could barely absorb the reality. With
nothing more than the touch of his hand, he’d eased her pain and realigned her
shoulder. And addled her brain.

Pressing her hand over her rapidly thumping heart, she took
a deep breath and then another. This day just got weirder and weirder.

“
How
we got here is really irrelevant,” he went on.
“We need to figure out where we are.”

She looked at him then nodded. His eyes were no longer
shining with the strange, inhuman light, but no one could misinterpret his hot,
hungry expression. She wasn’t the only one who had been affected by the
exchange of energy.

Not yet ready to deal with his obvious arousal, she
automatically lowered her gaze. Which only took her on a visual tour of his
body. His well-worn brown leather jacket encased broad shoulders and hinted at
muscular arms. It was way too easy to remember how those arms felt wrapped
around her, supporting her.
Restraining
her.

She could not be taken in by a handsome face and strong
body. He could be one of Osric’s goons, for all she knew. Brute force had
failed, so they were trying a subtler approach? Her mother had taught her never
to trust anyone at face value and to independently verify everything she was
told.

Well, standing here glaring at each other wasn’t
accomplishing anything. “If we hike to the top of one of these peaks, maybe you
can find a signal for your phone.”

“My thoughts exactly.” His gaze lingered on her mouth,
hinting at thoughts that had nothing to do with hiking. “Even if I can’t get a
signal, we’ll have a better view of our surroundings.”

She glanced to where she’d left her backpack then noticed
that Kyle was wearing it. “I can carry that myself.”

He grinned. “If your pain returns, I’ll be carrying you and
your pack. There’s no shame in accepting help.”

Acknowledging his opinion with a nod, she said, “Lead on.”

They started up the nearest slope, wending their way through
pine trees and around rocky outcroppings on their way to the summit. There was
no obvious trail, no sign of human infringement on the wilderness. Ordinarily
she’d have enjoyed the pristine beauty, but today it made her feel isolated and
wary. Though an avid hiker, she was no survivalist.

“If our mothers were such good friends, why did my mother
never mention yours?” Without the pain distracting her, she became more and
more aware of her companion. His jacket ended at his waist, leaving her an
unobstructed view of his denim-covered ass and muscular thighs.

“Did your mother ever talk about her past, what life was
like before she married Osric?” He glanced back at her then paused to help her
past an especially steep rock formation.

His fingers wrapped around her wrist and he effortlessly
pulled her up to the small ledge on which he’d paused. “She told us that both
her parents were dead and she was an only child, but that was about all.” They
stood so close his body heat sank through her clothing. It wasn’t unpleasant,
just a bit intrusive.