MemoriesofParadise (6 page)

“I’m afraid I can’t answer that.” Clay looked down at her. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Are you okay?”

Riana shook her head as she stared at the porch and the door beyond. “I—I don’t know.”

It felt like the earth shifted beneath her feet as the door opened. Two men walked out, a woman between them. After a flash of light, her vision shifted.

“Go home now, dear. Your mother called. She says she needs you to help with the girls.”
An older woman looked down at her with a smile. She waved as a man pushed past her and smiled at her. He was evil. She felt it all the way down to her toes.

She knew that man. She
knew
him.

“Where
am
I?” Riana shook her head to clear it, bringing herself back to reality. Looking up at Gunter who stared down into her eyes with obvious concern, she whispered, “Have I been here before?”

He said something to her, but she didn’t understand. Shadows ringed her vision as she stared up at him for a moment just before her world went dark.

Chapter Nine

“Get the door, Clay,” Gunter practically barked the order as he caught Riana in his arms. He had to admit to wanting to feel her soft form against him again, but he would rather she’d been conscious. “I think we overdid it. We should have brought her directly here and gone out for her meal.”

He walked through the door and waited impatiently for Clay to join him. “Ring the damned bell, will you? We need to get her into a room and make her comfortable.”

Clay squeezed between him and the counter. “It would be easier to do so if you weren’t standing right in the way, you asshole!”

“Can I help you?” Gemma, the lodge owner stared at Riana with a concerned expression.

Gunter looked at her and smiled. “Yes. We’re going to need three rooms—adjoining if possible. “This little lady,” he said, indicating Holly, “and her mother were in that plane crash on the ridge. They’ll need two rooms. Clay and I will share one.”

“Okay.” She scribbled something in her registration book. “You know the rates.” Turning, she grabbed three keys. “Follow me, gentlemen.”

She led them to the elevator and entered the small enclosure. “I’ve given you all rooms on the third floor.” Reaching up, she rested her hand on his arm. “Just what I thought.” She smiled again. “I’ll put the woman in the middle room, with her daughter on one side and you and Clay on the other.”

Gunter followed her into the elevator and waited for Holly and Clay to join them.

“As you know, we serve three meals a day here, but since you’re too late for the evening meal, I’ll have something sent up.”

“No need. We stopped by the diner on the way here. We’ve all had something to eat. We just need a room where we can get her comfortable and check on her every hour or so because of her head injury.”

“You know I have to tell Merrick about this.” She smiled. “After all, the woman
is
unconscious.”

“He probably knows we’re here already. He’s been helping with the wreckage all day.”

“How many survivors were there? I haven’t heard. Do I need to worry about booking?”

“No.” Clay shook his head. “There were only three alive when Gunter went into the plane. He got all three out.” He turned to Holly. “This is Riana’s daughter.”

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am,” Holly said respectfully. “Thank you for giving us rooms. I’m so tired and I want a bath.”

Gunter was certain her mother would feel the same once she woke.

“Your mom’s name is Riana?” Gemma asked as she looked at the unconscious woman in his arms. “She looks familiar. Only I never knew a Riana.” She smiled again and stepped out of the elevator when the door opened on the third floor.

“Well,” Holly added. “Her real name is Kelly, but she doesn’t like it.”

Gemma walked down the corridor a bit before turning to open a door. “This is the lady’s room and…” She handed a key to Holly and Clay. “The room on the left is Holly’s and the room on the right is for the guys. Have a good night. Don’t be surprised if Matt or Merrick comes up to see you later.”

“We won’t.” Clay touched her arm as she walked by. “Thanks, Gemma.”

“It’s the least I can do, Clay. After all, you came here to help when I needed you. It’s about time I got to return the favor.”

Gunter knew what she was talking about though he had been out of town himself when the Rangers came to Paradise. Merrick and Matt were Gemma’s mates. When they returned to Paradise several years ago, they found her in danger. She had been the target of a serial killer. They called in their Army Ranger pals to help and most of them decided to stay.

He couldn’t say it was a bad thing. Paradise needed experienced warriors. It still did. Though the rightful alpha had managed to disband the old, sick council, there were still a lot of
tudra
out there just waiting for the opportunity to retake the town.

The
tudra
were all shifters, unlike the Rangers. They had had a huge advantage over the Rangers whom, they found out later, were all
part
shifter. They had the senses of a shifter, but not the ability to shift their shape. That is, until they found someone in Paradise to change them.

Now, most of them were full-fledged citizens of Paradise. He looked at Clay and wondered what his life would be like without the other man at his side. He didn’t want to remember a day that didn’t have him in it. For a shifter, being alone was a fate worse than death.

Over the last few years, he’d gotten used to the other man being around. He liked the company and he needed the help around the shop. That’s what he told Clay, anyway.

Gunter sighed and looked down at the angelic face of his mate. She was the most beautiful woman in the world with her green eyes flecked with brown. It wouldn’t have mattered if she’d had a wart on the tip of her nose. He would have felt the same. No woman was more beautiful than one’s mate.

Clay held the door open as he carried her into her room. Holly pulled the covers down and he set Riana on the bed. “Take off her shoes, will you, Clay?”

Gently, he leaned forward, resting her injured head against the pillow. After Clay removed her shoes, he placed her feet on the bed, beneath the covers and pulled the sheet and blanket over her.

A knock came from the adjoining room.

“This room is all mine?” Holly asked, with awe. “I’ve never had a whole hotel room to myself before.”

“Yes,” Clay said as he ruffled her hair. “It’s all yours. You can take a long bath if you want or you can watch whatever you want to on the TV. They have satellite here. Our only rule is that you keep the adjoining door unlocked.”

“Oh, my gosh! I gotta go.” She slammed the door in his face.

Chuckling, he turned back to Gunter. “I’m not sure, but I think I just heard her say something about movie channels. Should we be worried?”

“Just call down and tell Gemma to put parental controls on the R-rated movies. She should be able to do that from there, if she hasn’t already.”

He watched as Clay walked over, unlocked the adjoining door to their room and left. After a few minutes, the other door between their rooms opened. “Gemma says the parental controls are always on unless the people request otherwise.”

“Great. The last thing I wanted to do was explain to her mother why her daughter suddenly knew more about the birds and the bees than she used to know.”

“I’m not sure there’s much to worry about. Public schools usually teach them that in a health class by the time they’re Holly’s age.”

“Wonderful.” Gunter sighed and shook his head. There was no way they were going to be able to mate this woman with her daughter around. If she knew everything the way Clay made it seem that she would, she would certainly know what the hell they were doing in here. Unless…they took her to
their
room, or the child was elsewhere.

“Damn.” He’d barely known the woman twelve hours and he was already trying to figure out a way to get rid of her child so he could get into her pants. What the hell was wrong with him, anyway?

“What?” Clay asked as he set opposite him on the bed.

“Nothing.” He shook his head. He had to get out of here, get away from her scent for a bit. “I need a shower. I’ll be right back. Try to be good while I’m gone, will you?”

“Hey. It’s not
me
we need to worry about here, now is it?”

“No.” Gunter shook his head and stood. “It isn’t. That’s why I’m leaving.”

Chapter Ten

When Riana opened her eyes, she found herself staring up into an intense amber gaze. Clay’s golden–blond hair framed his face. It appeared he had a halo with the light behind him the way it was.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I think so.” She rose up on one elbow and looked around when he moved away. “Where’s Holly?”

He jerked his thumb toward the wall. “In the next room watching TV.” He grinned, then added quickly, “The parental controls are on. She can’t watch anything rated worse than PG thirteen.”

“Good. There have been a couple of movies she’s wanted to watch since they came out and I won’t let her see them. One is about a biker turned warrior preacher and I’ve heard it’s gory. I don’t really want her to see stuff like that.”

God only knew there was enough gory photography in the news. She didn’t need her daughter exposed to it with her entertainment.

“I understand.”

“You probably don’t.” She shook her head. “I’m not like most women. I’m really not a chick flick sort of girl. I love action and adventure. I just don’t like the gore of seeing someone’s legs blown off or their body torn apart.” She shuddered, just thinking about it. “And I definitely don’t want my daughter seeing it.”

“Would you like me to go get her?”

“No, thank you.” Riana swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. “I’ll go check on her.” If there was one thing she had learned over the years, it was to check on her daughter unannounced when she’d gotten childcare from people she didn’t know.

One time, Riana had walked in on a woman who had swung Holly onto a changing table by her feet. She’d hit the baby’s head on the way up. The woman would have slapped poor baby Holly for crying if Riana hadn’t rushed over and snatched her daughter up into her arms. Needless to say, she’d reported the woman, but there was no way to prove what she’d seen and the daycare had stayed open.

As nice as these men had been, as wonderful as they seemed, and as much as she
wanted
to be able to trust someone, she would
never
again give anyone blind faith where her daughter was concerned.

“That’s fine,” he said with a smile. “If she were my daughter, I would want to see how she is for myself, as well.” Taking her by the arm, Clay helped her stand and led her to the adjoining door. “We all thought it best that she have her own room because Gunter and I will have to rouse you several times over the course of the night and we didn’t want to frighten her.” He held up his hand when she would have interrupted. “It’s doctor’s orders, so don’t complain. He thinks you might have a concussion. You did take a hard knock to your head.”

“It’s just that I’m not used to having help from others—especially men.” She did have her friends back in Boston, but none of them were male. For some reason, she had always had a difficult time trusting men.

She looked up at Clay and wondered why she didn’t seem to have a difficult time trusting this man, or his friend. Was it because they had saved her life and the life of her daughter, or was there some other reason?

Whatever it was, it was strange that she didn’t feel uneasy around them the way she was with other men. She looked down at herself, still wearing the borrowed clothes, knowing that for now it was all she had. Thank goodness she wasn’t still wearing the clothes she’d worn when she left Boston. How long ago was that? She looked down at her borrowed blouse. The good thing was, it wasn’t covered in blood, but it still wasn’t something she wanted to sleep in if she was expected to wear it in the morning. Yet, she certainly wasn’t sleeping in her underwear if the two men were going to take turns waking her all night.

“I need something to wear.” Tears slid down her cheeks as she looked down at herself. “I can’t believe I’ve lost everything.”

“You haven’t lost everything.” Clay moved closer as though he wanted to comfort her.

Riana stiffened. She didn’t know what she would do if he touched her. She thought she might either scream the rafters down or cling to him as though he were a lifeline in a turbulent sea.

She was glad when he stopped and moved away. Either he read her body language or he just decided that she wasn’t worth the trouble of getting his shirt wet with her tears. It didn’t matter which. It saved her from embarrassing herself either way.

“Let’s go check on your daughter, shall we?”

“Where’s Gunter?” Riana spun around in a circle, looking for the other man. She didn’t know what she would do if she found him in with Holly.

For a split second, rage like she’d never felt before filled her. A strange, red haze filled her vision as she stared at Clay and her bones ached. With a groan, she headed for the door adjoining her room with the room Clay had indicated belonged to her daughter.