Nighttime at Willow Bay (7 page)

Pictures. Hundreds of pictures covered the
area like dated wallpaper.

“These drawings tell the story of Willow Bay
.”

Fascinated by the rudimentary pictographs, Naomi stumbled forward
, imprisoned by the awe-inspiring sight. Pictures of wolves under red moons, of children immersed in ethereal lights, of men with claw-like teeth, of mermaids and creatures that seemed to be changing right before her eyes lit up the area. There were so many. Too many to count. And then her eyes focused on a tall angelic woman. The woman seemed to pointing to a distant land. The woman seemed to be talking to her.

“Welcome home
,” she said,
“Do not push him away.
”

Naomi’s head whipped around. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” asked Ryder, taking a step forward.

“That picture. That woman was talking to me.”

He only looked at her.

Naomi turned back to the picture. Was she having another vision?

“Push who away, ma’am?” she asked, approaching the picture. The woman’s shadow grew larger.

“Him. Your mate.
Your better half. My kin.”

Once again, Naomi turned to Ryder. “Did you hear her th
en?”

“No, Naomi.”

Naomi might have let it go, if she wasn’t hunting for answers. “
I heard her
. She was speaking to me.”

“I believe you.”

She gazed at the picture once more. “Ma’am? Ma’am, are you still there?”

The picture did not reply. The communication was cut.

“Ma’am? Ma’am! Answer me!”

“Naomi, she’s gone,” whispered Ryder from behind her.

“This doesn’t make sense,” mumbled Naomi, running her fingers through her braids.

“What was she saying?”

“Something about ‘
welcome home’
and ‘
not to push him away’
.”

For a moment, they both stopped breathing as the implications of her words s
ank in. Naomi froze. Surely the woman hadn’t been speaking about Ryder. She frowned at the portrait, and took a step back. Then turned to stare at Ryder.

When
he finally spoke, goose bumps rose on Naomi’s skin.

“That’s a picture of my great, great grandmo
mma, Naomi. Her spirit only talks to Jorys.”

“But I’m no Jory,” she muttered, backing up when Ryder came upon her. At the possessive glint in h
is eyes, she took another step back. A nervous laugh escaped her.  “I’m a Johnson, not a Jory. What I said out there, with the others, that was just a lie. I don’t really
belong
to you Ryder.”

He stepped so close to her that she could see the
blond stubble on his chin. His deep voice had her shivering. The heat, the crazy arousal she’d experienced earlier, returned in full force.

“But you could…belong to me.”

Naomi trembled. Closed her eyes at the whispered words.

“C’mon, Ry-der, don’t go there,” she said softly. “I don’t even know you.”

“I gave you jerky.”

She chuckled. “That doesn’t count.
”

“Open your eyes, Naomi.”

“Stop being stupid!”

“Open your eyes.”

Her eyelids slowly opened to find him standing close. If she raised herself on the tip of her toes, she’d be able to kiss him—and she couldn’t kiss him again—not after his great, great grandmother’s words.

He studied her for a moment, head tilted
slightly, as though waiting for her to make a move. Naomi leaned against the wall. There were rules to this. To the game they were playing. And one of them was bound to get hurt.

Her.

She was always the one who got hurt.

Always
.

Angry that he
thought so little of her feelings, she pushed at his chest. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“I like looking.”

Well, hell…

“
You’re so beautiful,” he said, tracing a finger along her collarbone. “I thought so from the moment I saw you.”

Naomi stuttered miserably. “Ry-der I-I don’t
belong
to you.”

“We don’t have to use the
term ‘
belong
’.  I’m thinking you’d prefer a different word.”

“Like what?”

“Like…you’re
with
me or I’m
with
you.”

She swallowed hard. Th
e language didn’t matter. In the end, it was all the same. He wanted her, and she wanted him, and if she didn’t put a stop to this she’d be screwing the man in less than a minute. She wasn’t ready for someone like him. She might never be ready.

“You know I wouldn’t hurt you,” he said, “like he did.”

Her breath caught. Had he been reading her mind? “Ryder, it was just a vision. I’m probably lightheaded from the lack of rest and food. I’m liable to say anything without any food in my stomach.”

“But I gave you jerky.”

“Enough with the jerky jokes, Jory.”

His fingers sank in
to her braids. He was about to kiss her. A serious expression crossed his face. “Visions are real, Naomi, and everyone would be better off heeding them.”

She thought of the earlier vision
she’d had and her heart raced. He couldn’t be right. Every vision wasn’t real…because she had predicted his death by the night’s end! She clung to his arms. He was so strong. She refused to believe he’d be dead by dawn.

“Do you really believe that?”
she asked pathetically.

“Yes, visions are real, and from what I know from family outings, my gr
eat, great gran always spoke the truth. It would be best if you follow her suggestion and stop pushing me away. Believe it or not, darling, I’m a good catch.”

Her shoulder
s stiffened. Was he still discussing this belonging nonsense? For goodness sake, she was thinking about a matter of life or death! Her vision of his death! Even so, she stared at his handsome profile, and whispered, “Does every woman fall for you?”

“No
. Not the ones I really want…curvy, viper-tongue black women like yourself.”

One more kiss
, she told herself, one more kiss and she’d be able to walk away. Besides, she figured she had to kiss him, if only to prove his great, great grandmother’s ghost wrong. That she didn’t belong to him. That she was her own damn woman.

Naomi raised herself up on the tip of her toes and
kissed the man.

She was lost.

Chapter Nine

White-hot passion swept through her. If he hadn’t been holding her up, she would’ve fallen to her knees. Never in her life had she experienced a kiss so raw, so hungry. It was nothing like their earlier kiss. It was better. For a solid minute, their tongues twirled in the age old decadent dance, until she shakily came up for air, pressing her trembling body against his hard frame. Lord, he was dangerous.

“Lean back some,” he
gasped against her lips, and she did just that as he hoisted her up the wall and gripped her ass.

He
r ankles swung around his hips. Her back arched.

When he kissed her
neck, and buried long fingers into the crease of her ass, she almost came a part.

She couldn’t speak. The things he was dong to her.
Everything about him was too big, too manly. He made her feel petite and pretty. Womanly.

“I want to taste your pussy,” he
rasped, placing her on the ground and kneeling before her, a wild look in his eyes. His fingers fumbled at the zipper to her jeans.

“No!”
She shoved him back.

“Naomi, what the hell
---”

“We can’t. I…can’t.”

He remained quiet for a moment, just staring at her crotch. “Jesus, honey, my control is shot. You have to give creatures like me a warning.

Creatures?
And suddenly a burning question seized her.
Dear God, what was he?
If he knew all about the paranormal creatures of Willow Bay, than he belonged in that category.

Fear replaced desire.
She let loose a wobbly breath. “Ryder, what exactly are you?”

T
ension flooded the cave. Ryder stood, a grim expression on his face. It looked like he had some very bad news to tell her. Her hands pressed against her thighs. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it. Based on his stealth movements and big body structure, it was obvious that he was some sort of predator, some sort of killer. Hadn’t he wanted to kill her attackers on the spot? Killing was no big deal to him—he probably did it every day. She suddenly recalled all of the vile stories she’d heard about Willow Bay growing up.
He could be anything…

As if he sensed her thoughts,
Ryder leaned forward, his gaze capturing hers. She could see the tattoo on his neck. An ancient symbol beneath a full moon. She’d seen it before. Written in one of her auntie’s old books.  She froze.  My God, he couldn’t be
that
.  Please God, don’t let him be that. 

A few moments passed in silence before she spoke. “
I have to know.”             

Moonlight
suddenly fell into the cavern, illuminating his beautiful face. His pale eyes lit up like blue diamonds and his stance turned aggressive. 

“I’m a shapeshifter
, darling. I can shift into a wolf,” he muttered.  “
Lupine i
s the official name.” 

“
You can shift?”

He shrugged.
“Yeah.”

“Like transform?”

“Exactly.”

“And
you can transform into this, animal, anytime?”

“Well, sort-of.
We need the full moon to shift; we’re stronger during red blood moons.”

That explained his incredible strength
. And hot body!

“So, you have control over it, right,
this creature, your wolf?”

“
Always.”

Her gaze fell to his lips. Go
od God, was it wrong to want to kiss him again? But she couldn’t—kiss a werewolf, could she? Hmmm.

“Naomi, you have nothing to fear from me.”

“I know.”

“I’m still the same guy.”

“
I know
, Ryder.”

He grunted at that
. “You’re taking this remarkably well.”

Naomi rolled her eyes at that. What did he expect her to do? Melt into a hysterical fit? She needed this wolf’s help
. He was her guide out of Willow Bay. “Well,” she started. “Let’s just say I’ve heard rumors about werewolves living in these woods since I was a child, so it’s not like its coming out of left field.” Another question surfaced in her mind. “Ryder, those men who attacked me…were they wolves too?”

“
No. Those were demon spawn.”

“I knew it!”

“They are the worse of the lot. They prey on the helpless. Kill without mercy. They are a rotten, filthy bunch, the last of their kind in these woods, and they’ve been causing mayhem in Willow Bay for far too long.”

“Will they be back for me?”

“Most likely. Demons are pig-headed. Stubborn. Once they get a sniff of something the like, it’s hard for them to let it go.”

She took a calming breath.
Okay, so it could’ve been worse. At least she had all of the facts now. And at least she had Ryder helping her along the way. But what are you going to do about wanting to fuck his brains out and his granny’s suggestion of not pushing him away? Nothing, she answered herself. Absolutely nothing. Whatever happened, she had to keep her eyes on the prize: getting the fuck out of Willow Bay. Everything else could wait—her visions, her desire, her fear—would wait.

She
sidestepped him, and clambered awkwardly toward the entrance they’d come from. “Ryder, thanks for telling me the truth and for helping me.  But I don’t belong to you and I don’t belong in this awful place. I just want to go home.”

“Naomi
---”

“
No, just take me home.”

She
hated her harshness—especially after he’d revealed so much, but she couldn’t take the edge off.  Everything was changing too fast. She needed to establish boundaries.

“I warned you
,” he replied. “I told you that you might not like me after hearing the news.”

Then he said no more and
stalked toward the entrance.

On the return trip
, Naomi bit her lip to keep from talking.