Nighttime at Willow Bay (9 page)

Hi
s eyes narrowed.  “Do I even want to know what you’re thinking about?”

Naomi worked hard to keep her face blank.  “It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

With total ease, he carried her away from the shore and deeper into the woods.

The night carried the sounds of cackling birds and frogs. And somewhere far, a tree crashed.

“Do you know, darling,” he whispered amid the nightly noises. “I love holding you.”

“I’m fat,” she blurted, closing her eyes against the embarrassing admission.
Of all the things to be worried about at the present moment, her weight should
not
have been at the top of the list. Guess old habits die slowly, she mused, shaking her head slightly. She thought about all the times she’d been told she was worthless by Malcolm. Why had she’d been so hard on herself because of that loser?

Shyly, she looked at Ryder.

A grin curved his lips. “You’re perfect.”

At the hushed words, s
omething inside of her expanded. Something sweetly feminine.  Without saying a word, she nestled in his embrace, thankful for his presence in this strange, dark place. Beneath her ear, she heard the steady thump, thump, thump of his heart as sure as the sun. She looked up at his handsome profile.  Pressed a trembling hand to his mouth. God, she didn’t want anything bad to happen to him.  “You know, I never said thank you for saving my life—twice.”

“So say it.”

She drew back. “Not with that attitude.”

“You’re welcome, Naomi.”

She smiled and secured her arms tightly around his neck. Common sense told her to stop teasing him, but she seemed to be acting outside herself.              

“Ryder, you’re so full of it.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, that’s so
,” she mocked. “You like this Tarzan shit, don’t you?”

“What do you mean?

“I mean, you like being in charge and saving the day, correct?”

Ryder stared in the distance, before answering.  “All wolves do. It’s in our nature to protect the innocent.”

“The females, too?”

“
Especially t
he females. They’re some of the bossiest protectors out there.”

Naomi laughed at that.

A breeze encircled them, causing her to shiver. In one instant, she remembered she was soaking wet. “God, I’m so wet and cold.”

“I know, give me a moment.” He suddenly stopped in front of an oak tree and picked a glittery yellow
flower that resembled a dandelion from its branch. Then he held it in front of her mouth.

“What the hell is that?”

“This will warm you up nicely,” he murmured. “It’s a fire rose.  Eat it.”

Naomi placed the flower on her tongue and immediately was warmed from the inside out. Her jacket, her shirt, her jeans
, her underwear—everything was dry! It was as though she’d never been in the lake. It felt great! She yelped with joy, scrambling up his arms, wide-eyed and speechless. She managed a shaky laugh. “Ryder, ya’ll need to package and sell that stuff! Give a girl a warning.”

“I said it would warm you up,” he responded dryly.

“I know, but my goodness!  That stuff works.”  Her arms reached out towards the branch. “I want some more.”

“Naomi?”

“Huh?”

“Shut-up.”

Naomi chuckled and relaxed in his arms. Then fell into a deep, dry sleep.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~

His great, great grandmother had been right. He was sure of that now. Naomi was his and he’d never question it again. He hugged her close, feeling incredibly protective now that she was tuckered out. He thought about her earlier mentioning of Malcolm and growled.  Who was the twerp? A friend? Her ex?  Jealously paralyzed him, and if it was at all possible, he pulled her closer.

Fuck her ex.

Fuck the Spades.

She was his. 

No questions asked.

A sudden need to be inside of her surged through him and he focused on the trail to keep from acting on it. Ryder groaned miserably. His cock was rock hard. He was ready to fuck and her breasts sat in his face and she smelled so good—a tantalizing mix of honey and lavender.

“Christ,” he whispered. “Real gentlemanly, Ry, she’s sleeping.”

In that moment, he felt like a lecherous old man. He
glanced back at the trail they’d come from, then looked straight ahead.  Any moment he would surely come upon one of his brothers. Any moment now they would have reinforcements.  At the possibility, excitement and relief coursed through him.  Naomi needed a safe place to rest. She’d been so brave throughout the night, but it was starting to wear on her. Poor thing was as bushed as a weed whacker.

Distantly, he heard the ethereal notes of ancient lullabies.  It must’ve
been three in the morning, he figured, for it was the only time the faes came out to sing. Ryder listened to the music as he continued to make his way down the trail.  Everything about the night had been surreal. Everything had been worth it. Just to meet her. 

Suddenly a huge shadow fell on the path ahead of him.
Ryder stilled and hugged Naomi even closer.

It was a
centaur. A half man, half beast creature, looming in the shadows, as though he had nothing better to do. Other centaurs appeared beside it, emerging from shrouded trees one by one, to block the path.

Great, thought Ryder. He didn’t have time for this. He needed to find his brothers.
The Spades would’ve found their exit strategy by now, and would be following in exact pursuit or coming around the caves. Either way, they’d be there shortly. His wolf growled in irritation, and he worked hard to calm his beast.

He stopped in front of the head centaur.

“Hello, great warriors from the old world,” he called, in a customary fashion. “I ask permission to pass.”

The head centaur, a severe-looking creature with a great beard, leaned down and took a great sniff of Naomi.

“Human.” His gaze fixed on Ryder. “Unwise.”

“She is my mate, my better half.”

The centaurs only glared.

Ryder bit back a snappy retort.
Centaurs didn’t have mates; they fucked anything in sight, so he was definitely not in the mood to be judged by one of them. “We only want to pass, great warrior. My family’s land is nearby. We will be out of your way shortly.”

“
Go, but be careful, for we smell demon.”             

“They’ve been following us—her.”

“We know, for now we see that her blood smells of otherworldly things,” hissed the centaur, neighing loudly. “From where does she hail?”

“That is of no concern to you,” he gritted.  Sure, it wasn’t smart to test a centaur, but
fuck being smart. And fuck the Q&A session. The centaur was too fucking noisy. The head centaur seemed to be reading his thoughts, for he bowed slightly with knowing eyes and pointed east.  “Go. We will deter the demons.  We hate their stench. Too much destruction, they cause.”                           

“Thank you,
great warrior.”

“Be careful
on your journey, wolf. For the full moon shines bright and evil things lurk in the darkest places of the Earth.”

Ryder grunted. Fucking centaurs. They were a weird bunch. When would they get their heads out of the fucking clouds?

“Okay,” he replied dryly.

Silently, he passed the enormous beasts, and continued down the trail.

Where were his brothers?

Chapter
Twelve

Ten minutes later, Naomi awoke and asked to be put down. Ryder did as she asked. For several moments, they walked silently, side by side, until the fae music started up again. Ryder explained the night tradition.

“It’s really beautiful,” she whispered. “I wish I could sing. My vocal chords are
awful. My cousins can sing.” The pronouncement seemed to depress her, for she looked solemnly at the ground.

Ryder nudged her.
“You’ll see them again, Naomi. I promise.”

“But those demons are still after us.”

“Yeah, but someone will be slowing them down,” he announced confidently.

“Who?”

“Eh.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Centaurs.”

Wonder lit her voice.  “A centaur? Like a half man, half horse centaur?”

“Well, yeah, is there any other kind?”

Her jaw dropped. “You mean, you met up with some centaurs while I was sleeping?”

“Well, yeah.”             

“Aw
, man! And you didn’t wake me?”

“Well, no.”

“Oh my God! I’m going to kill you. First the merman and now this.”

He laughed. “
But the merman situation wasn’t my fault!”

“You’re strong,” she replied. “You could’ve tried
pulling the merman out of the water so I could see it.”

She snatched his arm and pulled it away from his chest. “What
’s the use of having these bad boys if you can’t use them?”

“Naomi!”

She burst out laughing, refusing to let go of his arm. “These ‘
bad boys
’ could’ve dragged that merman out of that lake if they wanted to.”

“My point exactly.”

“I’m going to spank you,” he whispered softly.

Giggling, she dropped his arm, and flashed him a sneaky look.  She was a firecracker.
His Naomi. A girl with a ton of moxie. He liked that.

“
You
should be spanked for not waking me up.”

“
It was for the best.”

She glared at him. “I’m still going to kill you.”

He laughed again, buoyed by her attitude. She was so darn cute. Maybe Willow Bay was growing on her.

For several minutes, she talked about her cousins and aunts. When she stopped to ask him about his family, he only shrugged.

“I have a mom and dad.  Six younger brothers.”

“Six!” she hissed, a horrified look on her pretty face. “That’s a lot of testosterone.”

He grunted.

“What are they like?”

“Well, they’re my brothers.”

She giggled. “I know that. But what are they
like
?”

“What do you want to know?”

“Do they look like you?”

“Not really.”

“Explain please.”

Ryder sighed. “All
Jorys have distinctive genes, Naomi. It’s a tradition. I favor my great uncle. He used to be in law enforcement. He was big and blond like me. Some of my brothers look like uncles, others look like great granddads. We never look like each other. My brother, Uly, has red hair. My brother, Keden, has black hair. And Eddie, well, Eddie has a bit of both.”

Disbelief crossed her face. “
Spooky.”

“What?”

“How family doesn’t look like family here.”

He didn’t know what so say to that.  Then a question popped into his head, one that he’d been burning to ask. “Naomi, why’d you go camping by yourself?”

She stared at him for a moment and then frowned. “I don’t feel like talking about it.”

“
C’mon,” he scoffed. “I shared a little, now it’s your turn.”

He thought she might ignore him, but she only looked directly forward and muttered
, “I needed time to think. I had stuff on my mind.”             

“Like what?”

“Like Malcolm.”

He snarled. Malcolm again.  “Who is he?” he demanded.

“An ex…clarification, a jerk.”

He snarled…again, and concentrated on the path.  Somehow he’d make the bastard pay for hurting his Naomi.

“What’d he do?”

She stopped walking and spun around.  “He didn’t understand that I’m my
own
woman. He tried to change me. He didn’t like my big behind or my braids. But see, he got it twisted, ’cause I’m not going to let anyone change me. Be sure that you don’t get it twisted, too.”

Of course he wouldn’t get it
twisted,
whatever that meant. He didn’t want to change her. She was perfect. To think that someone out there hadn’t seen her for the incredible, fearsome creature she was, was sacrilege.

He reach
ed out and pulled her close.              “Darling, ain’t a thing I want to change about you.”

“I have a big mouth, Ryder.”

“You surely do. I want to kiss it.”

“No, not
that
type of mouth. Like, I talk too much.”

He hid a smile
. Hell yeah she did. “So what?”

“M
ost men resent it.”