"No," Kylie insisted, accepting that this was truly a wolf. "You stay there." She held out her hand and the animal seemed to listen.
"Nothing personal, but I'm more of a cat person." Her voice rang loud and brought her awareness again to the lack of night noises.
No crickets. No birds. Not even the wind dared to blow. She looked up at the tops of the trees, which held so still they looked photographed. Even the Texas vegetation appeared frozen with fear.
She fought the sense of danger stirring in her chest and looked back at the wolf, more certain than ever that the danger didn't stem from the creature's presence. No, whatever was here was much more evil than a wild animal. Chills tap-danced up her spine, sending all her barelythere hair on the back of her neck standing at attention.
The wolf lunged up on all fours, sniffed the air, and snarled. It took a step away, then turned back around. Its golden eyes met hers almost as if to warn her of danger.
Not that she needed to be further warned. Her heart skipped a beat. The brush of cold wind passed again, only closer this time, and it left a foul odor that carried the stench of death. The wolf's snarl grew more intense.
"Kylie?" Her name echoed from the distance, the sound leaking from the thicket of trees. She brought her head around and the whisk of air shot past her again. Only this time, Kylie got the feeling that it kept going.
Whoever, whatever it was, wanted her alone. She folded her arms over her middle and tried not to shiver from the thought.
The wolf made a soft whine and she turned her head and made eye contact again. It moved its head slightly, as though giving her a farewell greeting, then it turned and, causing only a slight rustle of vegetation, it disappeared.
"Kylie." Her name came again, carried with a slight whisk of wind. This time she recognized Derek's voice.
"I'm here," Kylie yelled, and, not wanting to be alone a second longer, she took off running.
She ran toward the sound of Derek's voice. Her heart pounded as she dodged trees and jumped over patches of thorns. She kept running. As if she could escape the fear she'd just felt, as if she could run away from her problems. Oh, yes, she so wanted to leave her problems behind. With each thump her foot made against the hard earth, she felt her fear slip farther away, but the problems not so much. They hung on, but exertion of energy still felt good. Good until she smacked right into something, or rather ... someone.
Derek.
His muscled body let out a gush of air and he hit the ground with a thud. Kylie, thrown off balance, toppled down on top of him. His clean, spicy scent filled her nose at the same time his arms wrapped protectively around her.
"You sent the wolf," she muttered, still short of breath, as she just now recalled his ability to communicate with animals.
"What wolf?" His gaze shifted left then right. "Are you okay?" He rolled her over onto the ground. One of his legs still rested on top of hers and his left arm lay across her middle, while his palm fit right into the curve of her waist. Warmth and comfort pulsated from his touch. He pushed the curtain of hair from her face with his other hand. His gaze, filled with concern, met hers and she fought the lump of emotion crawling up her throat.
"Kylie, talk to me." His tone echoed the same caring she saw in his eyes, and that warm feeling she always got when he touched her spread inside her chest.
"Damn it, are you okay?"
She blinked up at him and she meant to say yes, but the truth came out. "No. I'm not okay."
"What happened?" His arm tightened around her waist.
All her problems came raining down on her like pitchforks and one made a direct hit to her heart. "I drank blood."
"We all drank blood. It was part of the ceremony," he said, and she got the feeling he was trying hard to say the right thing.
"But I enjoyed drinking it," she answered.
"I know," he admitted. "Your emotions were skipping all over the place when you drank it-passion, euphoria, joy."
She raised her head off the ground an inch. "What does that mean? Seriously, what does that mean?"
"Maybe you just like it," he answered with a cautious tone.
"Or maybe I'm vampire?" she countered, then she dropped her head on the ground and closed her eyes.
He didn't say anything for a minute, and then spoke up. "You saw a wolf? You said something about a wolf?"
"Yeah," she answered. "He was acting strange, almost friendly."
"He's not here anymore," Derek said as if his gift allowed him to check the nearby woods for animals. "It was probably just a stray dog."
"He looked like a wolf."
"Then he was probably a hybrid."
"Probably," she admitted, realizing she might be overreacting.
Neither spoke for a few minutes. Closing her eyes, she savored the feel of Derek's body next to hers and slowly relaxed. When she opened her eyes, the stars above sparkled with a fairy-tale radiance. The tall grass around them danced in the wind. Derek was doing it again, making the world around her appear utopian, too perfect. Even the air became fragranced with the spicy scent of plants, hinted with the floral aroma of wildflowers. She closed her eyes again, afraid to let herself be completely pulled into the world he created.
"Do you think you're a vampire?" he asked.
His question brought back some reality. She looked at him. "I don't know. I'm so friggin' confused."
He ran his hand over her cheek. "Does it really matter what you are, Kylie? It sure as hell doesn't matter to me."
"Of course it matters." She propped herself up on one elbow. "You don't understand because you know what you are. You've always known what you are. Everything about what I perceived about myself, who I am, what I am, who my father is, it's all been ripped away. All I'm left with is a bunch of questions. Nothing is like I thought."
Tears filled her eyes. "And-"
Derek's mouth met hers. Her eyes fluttered closed. The sweetness of the kiss sent all her emotional havoc out of her mental window. She let herself enjoy the moment. Let herself be pulled into the sensations of just feeling and not thinking. And, oh goodness, it felt good.
When he drew back she wasn't ready for it to end. She opened her eyes. No longer under the sweet sensations of his kiss, she wasn't sure how she felt about him shutting her up. She sat up. "Why did you do that?"
"Do what?" he asked.
"Kiss me when I was trying to talk."
A smile formed in his eyes. "You don't like me to use my gift to calm you down, so I thought I'd use my charm instead."