Shadows and Ruins Page 6

  to, so his offer surprised her. "As much as I can, yes."

  He sighed. "Did you hear that she was jilted at the altar many years before she

  moved to Gambit Creek?"

  She didn't say anything for a moment. "No. I'd heard she was nutty and people

  were afraid of her. Apparently she wore black all the time, as if she were in mourning."

  "She was in mourning."

  She looked up at him, intrigued by the gentleness in his usually stern voice. "For

  lost love?"

  He nodded. "Lost love."

  "That's very sad," Emma said softly.

  She could feel the weight of his stare even though she couldn't see him well in the

  increasing twilight. "It's always sad when people deceive others. Make promises they

  can't keep. Run away."

  Run away.

  She hated those two words. She'd fled too many times to count. Moving from spot

  to spot, excavating and surveying sites twelve to fourteen hours a day so that she

  wouldn't have to think about anything.

  Doug.

  Her father's disapproval.

  One night five years ago when violence had visited her.

  More than once she wished she could pull a Sadie Cutley and simply vanish.

  No. She traveled because she liked it, and because the more experience she obtained

  the more possibilities she garnered for a good position in archaeology.

  She threw up her hands in a dismissing gesture. "Past mistakes stick with us, even

  when we try to escape them."

  He tilted his head to the side, his expression curious, probing. "No matter where we

  go, we can't shake them loose."

  His words cut deep. Damn him for reading her mind.

  "But what a horrible reason to remove yourself from society. If she'd tried, she

  might have made friends and her loneliness would have been relieved. True friends

  would have been willing to help her," Emma said.

  Shane's smile flickered across his lips then disappeared like a wisp of smoke. "Do

  you think people aren't lonely just because they have lots of friends?"

  "Of course not." Once again the little devil on her shoulder made her leap two steps

  forward when she should have been sticking with the basics. "Is that how you feel,

  Shane? Lonely around other people?"

  His shoulders stiffened and he moved a step closer. She had to look up to see his

  face.

  "I get along well with most individuals. Except for those who think they know me

  when they don't." This time the softness of his words held a chill.

  "If you start a topic of conversation you shouldn't jump people when they follow

  up on it."

  He laughed, and the husky, sexy nuance made her breath catch in her throat. His

  chuckle held genuine amusement and appreciation.

  When he stopped laughing, his smile looked authentic, warm and focused entirely

  on her. "Sorry. I couldn't help it. You're…you're…hell, I don't know what you are."

  "Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"

  "A compliment."

  The luster in his eyes barely visible in the deepening of night brought another warm

  glow to her senses.

  In a moment of deafening silence she waited, unsure how to proceed, feeling like

  she stood on quicksand. Her next words came without thought. "You didn't come

  down to the site the last two days like you said you would."

  "Miss me?"

  "Hardly. I wouldn't get much done if you were around."

  "Now I'm not sure whether that was a compliment or an insult."

  "An insult."

  "Ah, I see."

  Another silence and Shane kept his gaze steady on Emma as if he wanted to read

  everything about her, within her.

  "Have you been watching me?" she asked.

  "What?"

  "Watching me. The last two days I've felt like someone was spying on my every

  move."

  He paused, as if unsure how to answer. "No. I've been busy, so I couldn't come

  down. But I'm going to see you tomorrow for certain."

  If Shane hadn't been skulking around then she must be imagining that creepy

  feeling altogether. "What really made you change your mind about allowing us to

  excavate on your land? You were so adamant."

  His eyebrows knitted. "I've got my reasons."

  "Ah, I see. So it's none of my business."

  "That's right."

  Frustrated, she sighed. "Was there something else you wanted to talk to me about?"

  The lightness in his expression disappeared, replaced by a serious darkness. "Two

  things, actually. First, you shouldn't camp out at the site."

  Annoyance, a more welcome feeling than the tight, sensual thread she'd

  experienced for the last few moments, reared its head. "Why not?"

  "The hotel is better."

  "Yes, but camping is a lot cheaper. I've got all my equipment and everything is

  ready."

  Shane jammed his hands on his hips. "Just don't do it."

  "Why? Are you afraid I'll dig at night and clear out the place? Take off with Sadie's

  treasure?"

  "Now you're being ridiculous." He ran his hand through his hair. Again, Emma

  itched to push it back…to rearrange it and tell him he was a mess.

  "I don't think so."

  "Is Wilder going to camp with you?" he asked, a hard edge clearly peppering his

  words.

  "No." She decided to cut through the bullshit. "And in case you're under any

  illusions, Grant and I have a purely professional relationship. As if it's any of your

  business."

  She'd hit a nerve. Shane closed his eyes for a second then opened them. "There's

  one other thing. You wanted to know why I eased up on your dig. It's because I have

  one more condition. I'm only giving you another week to finish the excavation."

  * * *

  Chapter Four

  Emma's breath caught in her throat, anger and surprise sending adrenaline through

  her body. "What?"

  Shane hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of his jeans. "I'm giving you another

  week."

  "Well, I'm not taking it," she said, her voice rising slightly. "We can't finish the

  excavation in one week."

  "Tell Wilder to get off his butt and help you."

  She sighed heavily and put her hands on her hips. "Even if he helps me we can't

  finish that quickly. Maybe two to three more weeks, perhaps more." She gestured with

  one hand in frustration. "Your uncle already knows this. We gave him an excavation

  plan a long time ago."

  "One week."

  To hell with politeness. Not when this man reneged on his promises. "You never

  had any intention of letting us finish the dig, did you?"

  Unyielding, his face was a mask of indifference. "Something's come up that can't be

  helped."

  "You expect us to happily pack up our stuff and we're not even halfway through

  the project? What about your uncle? He's the one who originally requested our help."

  "I can't speak for my uncle. I'm telling you that the excavation you're doing on my

  land must be completed in the next week. After that you need to be gone. If I could

  make you stop excavating on my uncle's land too, you can be damned sure I would."

  Emma couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so incensed, and she had to rein in

  the urge to yell. "Do you think it's funny to pull people's strings?"

  His eyes glittered with animosity,
his lips compressed into a thin line. "I don't owe

  you an explanation. This is my land we're talking about here. I do what I want with it

  when I want."

  Her mouth dropped open slightly and a swell of pure dislike for him boiled to the

  surface. Disappointment followed close behind. She'd actually enjoyed their few

  minutes of camaraderie.

  "Fine. You can take your damned land and…shove it. I'll get the excavation done in

  record time. All the more reason to camp there. I'll be finished before next week."

  She turned and reached for the door handle on her SUV when he grasped her arms

  and spun her about. A gasp caught in her throat as fear tried to intrude. Her hands

  landed on his chest, and she felt hard pecs flinch under her touch. Despite her

  trepidation, her fingers registered how great he felt. Solid. Dependable. Of their own

  volition, it seemed, her hands smoothed up to his shoulders and stayed.

  His grip on her upper arms didn't hurt, but the heat of his fingers seared her until

  she felt it down in her belly like a hot, invading swirl. His lethal gaze swept over her,

  and through the semi-darkness she felt it touch first her hair, then down to her lips

  where it lingered. The familiar stirring of arousal low in her belly, always at least on

  low hum around Shane, burst into full flame.

  "Let me go," she said, apprehension hovering along the edges.

  His grip loosened, but he didn't release her. "I've got a good reason for asking you

  to finish up your work."

  "Really?" She knew the word was tinged with disgust.

  "Yeah. Really. I've got more than one good reason for sending you packing."

  "Other than being a grouchy, overbearing—"

  "Like I said, I've got my reasons. Believe it or not, all of the reasons are for your

  own good."

  "I don't understand you, Shane O'Donnell. You obviously don't like me and yet

  here you are, so close to me I almost see your eye color in the dark. Why are you acting

  like this? What do you want?"

  She watched his lips twitch. In the dim light, subtle movements became blurred.

  "Things I damn well shouldn't. Things that could get us both into a lot of trouble."

  Husky and filled with intent, his sensual voice sent her primed libido into a riot.

  His warm breath on her face stirred confusion within her, and she didn't know what

  she wanted to happen next. He shifted, bringing his chest to within an inch of her

  breasts, his thighs almost touching hers. A dizzy swell entered her head as if she hung

  over a cliff, dangling into dangerous territory.

  "Jesus, you're trembling," he said softly, huskily.

  She couldn't speak.

  "Are you afraid of me?" he asked.

  Confession slipped from her before she could stop it. "Yes."

  "Don't be." The gentleness in his voice eased her apprehension. "I'm not going to

  hurt you."

  Before she could think, he slipped one hand under her hair and cupped the back of

  her neck. His other hand gripped her waist. He closed the gap and his chest came up

  against her breasts. She sucked in a breath just as his mouth came down on hers.

  A moan escaped Emma as his lips tasted, tempted, moved with an aggressiveness

  that startled her. Molding and shaping, his mouth took at the same time it gave

  pleasure. She couldn't respond at first, amazed and surprised he'd kissed her at all.

  Despite the wildfire looks he'd given her and her resulting arousal, she hadn't expected

  this when he asked to talk to her. Her fingers tightened on his shoulders, and he opened

  her mouth with one hot, deep plunge of his tongue. As his tongue rubbed sensuously

  over hers, arousal curled tight and throbbed deep in her pussy. Repeatedly he stroked

  her tongue until she responded and allowed him more access. She tangled her tongue

  with his, her lips clinging to his. The carnal kiss went on as the hand he'd used to cup

  her waist slid down and clamped with masculine self-assuredness over one of her ass

  cheeks and squeezed as he pressed her hips tighter to his.

  Oh. My. God.

  Pinned against the SUV, she felt his erect cock pressing against her belly, and an

  answering hot pull down in her loins started a perilous whirlpool between her legs. Her

  heart pounded, her senses heightened. In one solitary moment, she felt everything

  physical between them. Her heart's frantic beat, her skin's sensitivity as he caressed her

  ass, kneaded the pliant muscle, her tight nipples abrading against her bra, the heat of a

  solid, long cock pressed to her stomach. She whimpered, the sound desperate and

  wanting even to her own ears.

  He broke from the kiss instantly, his arms falling away from her as he backed up.

  His chest rose and fell with each hard breath. Even in the dim light, she saw hunger

  flash in his eyes.

  "Damn," he whispered.

  She tried for humor, confused by her feelings and already regretting what she'd

  allowed to happen. "That bad a kiss, eh?"

  He scowled. "It was a mistake."

  Her ego stung, she shifted away from him and started around the side of her car.

  "Good night, Shane."

  To her surprise, he followed her. "About the archaeology site…be careful."

  Why would he give one fig about her safety? The sincerity and softness of his plea

  perplexed her. He'd seemed so unforgiving, and now his gentleness took her

  completely off-guard.

  "Why do I have to be careful? What do you know that you aren't telling me?"

  "Don't ask any more questions," he said, his gaze steady on her face before he

  turned and walked away.

  She watched his retreating back with consternation. She half expected him to head

  into the house, but instead he walked to his ramshackle truck and unlocked it. He

  climbed inside and shut the door with a solid thud. Maybe he wanted his erection to

  ease before he walked into the house. Not that she could blame him—she could easily

  imagine how difficult it was for men to hide their arousal, while as a woman she could

  bury her excitement under indifference or a smile.

  I don't want to be attracted to him, damn it. How can I feel this way about him?

  As she got into her vehicle and started the engine, she frowned deeply. Lust. She

  had a big case of the hots for a hunk and hormones hijacked her common sense.

  She didn't wait to see if Shane left his truck and went back to the house. After

  starting the car, she drove down the driveway and into the night, questions still

  spinning around inside her head.

  * * * * *

  Night gathered around Gambit Creek, and the short man stood in the darkness near

  the bushes surrounding the house. He'd watched the young couple from the shadows,

  his skull pounding as the One had asked twice today for something he could not yet

  give. He wanted to scream that he couldn't deliver what the One wanted, but he knew

  the pain in his skull would prevent it. The pain was always there, threatening, hovering,

  just the way the One wanted.

  Bring me the necklace. Bring me the treasure we need. Bring the cursed object.

  Old Sadie Cutley hadn't understood the forces she'd dallied with, and it gave her a

  raw hand indeed. He drew in a deep breath of the cool night and exhaled in relief at his

  secret knowledge. What Sadie hadn't known, he did. He would survive what was
to

  come because the One would protect him. He smiled.

  "I will bring it to you," he whispered helplessly into the night, the cold breeze

  cutting through his form in an irritating way he couldn't abide.

  Caught in this human form, his soulless body stung, it ached, it itched. He didn't

  want it anymore. But the One insisted. Not that he couldn't smell the stench of evil

  upon himself. Long ago, he'd left any pretense that he held humanity—whatever that

  was—within his own form. No, his corporeal body acknowledged Emma's beauty,

  Shane's strength—all things that made him so much less.

  He watched Emma and Shane leave and hid within the bushes like a skunk or

  rabbit. Soon the time would come, and he wouldn't hide anymore. Emma would find

  the necklace and the time would come.

  * * * * *

  "Breakfast is ready, Charlie."

  Shane filled the large plastic bowl with food and laid it on the floor next to the back

  door. Charlie trotted into the room, her tongue lolling. Shane reached down to pat the

  dog. As the animal looked at him and let out something between a bark and a whine, he

  marveled at her expression. It was the closest a black Labrador would ever come to

  grinning.

  Before he could move to the table to eat his own breakfast, Charlie swiped his bare

  thigh with her tongue.

  "Yick." He reached down to scratch her silky head. "Was that kiss really necessary,

  girl?"

  As he retrieved a paper towel to wipe his leg, he thought of another female he

  would like to kiss. Again.

  He'd almost pulled Emma into his arms a second time last night and damn the

  consequences. As light had faded from the horizon, her gentle beauty had beckoned to

  him and all his good sense had almost dissolved.

  Fuck. Who am I kidding? From the first second I touched her, I was out of my mind and into

  a new world.

  Yeah, a world that included a desire to continue the tongue-thrusting, assertive kiss

  until they writhed together, his cock buried deep in her soft feminine heat. He'd almost

  lost his head when she'd responded, her body warm against his. Shit, he knew she'd felt

  his hard-on. She couldn't have missed it if she tried.

  Ever since Monday, when he'd confronted Emma and told her to get off his land,