Burned (Keeper of the Flame) (17 page)

I smile at him. “I have a house. You know
what I’m thinking?”

“Please tell me it has something to do with
christening this room.”

Heat throbs inside and I try to contain it.
“Actually, I was thinking I need furniture. I need to
decorate.”

He flashes a grin. “Not quite as much fun on
my end. You’re welcome to do whatever you want, though, as long as
it doesn’t involve putting holes in any walls or painting the spare
room black.”

“You’re the landlord.” I lean in and go up on
my toes to kiss his cheek. “Thanks.”

“No problem. I need to get back to the site
for a bit. You want me to take you to my place?”

“Hell, no. I live here now. I’ll stay.”

He laughs. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know…I’ll use my imagination.”

He gestures to the kitchen. “There are some
cleaning supplies under the sink‒this place hasn’t been touched up
in a few weeks. And outside in the shed, there’s some old furniture
for the deck and a few pieces for in here that I was storing for
use somewhere along the way. If you wait until I get back, I can
help you haul them out.”

I flash him a brilliant smile. “Great. Now I
just need a bed, some clothes, and a cell phone and I’m good to
go.”

“I like the part about the bed. And you don’t
need any clothes for that.”

“Ha ha.”

I walk with him to the door. He stops with
his hand on the knob and turns to me. “Be safe, okay? I’ll be able
to feel it if something is wrong but still…just don’t go anywhere.
For now.”

“I’ll stay here, I promise.”

“Good.” He drops a kiss on my lips before
heading out to the truck.

After he leaves, I get busy cleaning. Once
I’ve done the kitchen and then the bathroom, I stop and stretch. I
wish I would have thought to have Ryan bring me something to drink,
but I know he’ll be back soon.

It’s warm inside and I open the window in the
kitchen. I pull my long hair off my neck and secure it in a
ponytail.

I’m tired of cleaning and curious about the
shed out back. I could use somewhere to sit.

Peering out the back door, I consider the
distance between it and the house. Not far. It’s my house now, I
should feel comfortable in my own yard.

I don’t even rush as I walk outside into the
sunshine, pausing a minute to let the rays hit my face. Being
outside like this doesn’t make me feel trapped. It takes away the
feeling that I’ve lost my freedom.

The shed isn’t locked, but I have to pull
hard to get it open. Dust particles float in my vision and I wave a
hand in front of my face. It smells old, musky inside, like no one
has opened it in a while.

I see the outdoor furniture right away,
folded against the side of the small shed. I step inside, searching
for whatever else might be here. I find more than just tables and
chairs, I also find a lamp and a coffee table. It’s old but in good
shape.

Grabbing one of the folded chairs, I start to
haul it out the door when I feel something on my arm. When I glance
down and see the spider, I let out a girly shriek and swipe it off
of me.

“Shit,” I whisper. “Shit. Shit.”

There are vampires out there and I got myself
all worked up over a spider.

Grumbling to myself, I turn to walk back out
in the sunshine, and run hard into a wall of muscle.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Logan says.

Then he grabs me before I can run.

“Get off me!” I shout.

He only holds tighter, arms wrapped around
me, nearly cutting off my air supply. “Now, Willow, I thought we
already established I’m not going to hurt you.”

I wiggle against him, trying to hike my knee
up, but our bodies are flush against each other.

His eyes capture mine, turning dark. “It’s
time to calm down, Willow. Just calm down.”

My body relaxes against his, so much so that
he has to support my weight. His eyes flick down to my necklace and
he grimaces.

“There we go,” he says. “Now, I’m going to
let you go as long as you promise not to try and run.”

I give a slow nod, my mind fighting the
control he has over me.

He releases me and I stumble back against the
shed. My shirt catches on the wood, but I don’t move.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“I didn’t hear back from you. I wanted to
stop by and see what direction things are going in.”

“Pretty much the direction of
screw
you
,” I whisper.

He laughs. “I swear, you’re the only woman I
know who uses humor when she’s terrified. It’s impressive,
really.”

“Glad you’re amused. Please leave.”

“That’s no way to treat a guest. Why don’t I
help you with those chairs and we can have a seat?”

I shake my head. “No, thanks. Why are you
here?”

“Would you believe I came for a truce?”

“You said that before. And no.”

He backs up, tipping his chin to the sky. I
have no idea why he’s not bursting into flames right now. That must
be a total myth. Vampires‒or at least this vampire‒is clearly not
harmed by sunlight.

“Come on, it’s such a nice day. Why spend it
hating me?”

“I guess I’m bored,” I tell him with a glare.
“Don’t have anything better to do.”

He smiles. “Now you can unpack. How about
that?”

“What?”

“I brought your stuff,” he says. “Do you want
to see?”

I scowl. “What do you mean you brought my
stuff?”

“Your car. I went ahead and fixed the tires
for you. Your phone, computer, clothes. Everything you had at my
house.”

I shake my head, stepping away from the shed.
“You brought all my stuff?”

“Come see.”

He walks away before I can protest. I follow
him around the house and to the front yard where I spot my car
parked in the driveway. I peer into the backseat and see that he
wasn’t lying. All my stuff I brought to Shadow Hill is in there.
All except for my mother’s book.

“Why?” I ask.

“Why what?”

“Why did you bring all this?”

He leans against the car and folds his arms.
His blue eyes sparkle in the sun and my pulse races faster. I look
away. “You need it, don’t you?”

I probably shouldn’t be questioning his
motives, but I don’t think he did this out of the kindness of his
heart. “What do you want?”

“I told you. A truce. I give you some time to
settle in and come to your senses, and then we work together to end
this curse.” My jaw shifts and he lifts his eyebrows. “If I were in
your shoes right now, I’d say yes.”

“If you were in my shoes right now, you’d be
thinking like someone with half a brain,” I snap. “You’re asking me
to break a spell that was put into place for a
reason
.”

“I have my reasons for wanting to end
it.”

“What?” I ask, getting cocky. “So you can
massacre half the town, live forever, or maybe‒”

He darts forward so fast, I don’t even see
him. I blink and then he’s standing in front of me, so close I can
feel his chest rise and fall with each measured breath. “You have
no
idea
why I want this. You don’t know anything about me,
princess, so you’d better be real careful how you talk to me.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” I whisper, clenching
my hands into fists so they don’t shake. “You won’t hurt me.”

I feel a flare of power from the necklace and
he backs up. Pain is etched into the corners of his mouth, but I
can tell he’s trying not to show it.

“It doesn’t feel good does it?” I ask. “Not
having control?”

He scowls. “You don’t know who you’re messing
with here.”

“I’m getting a better idea.”

Focusing my energy, I feel around for the
flames. I’m used to them now. Maybe being intimate but not quite
being able to go all the way has helped me. I aim my gaze to the
grass beside Logan’s feet and it goes up in a quick flash of
fire.

He jumps to the side, and I feel a burst of
triumph at having startled him. When he looks at me, his eyes
narrow. “You missed.”

“No, I didn’t.”

He holds my gaze a moment longer as if trying
to figure out whether or not I’m bluffing.

“I’m getting better at this,” I tell him.

“Then it shouldn’t be any problem for you to
do that spell for me. You have a few days to settle in, but then I
want to see results.”

“You think this is going to work? Threatening
me?”

He strolls forward, casual this time, but
catching my chin in his grip before I can back away. “You think
that was a threat, sweetheart?”

I grit my teeth. “
Let go
.”

“You are not in any kind of position to tell
me how to play this game.”

“Logan. Stop.”

His grip loosens a little. But his eyes meet
mine. “I will give you two days. Then I expect you ready to help
with the spell.”

“Go to hell.”

“Wrong answer.”

Abruptly, he lets go. My heart starts
thumping. Now what?

But he doesn’t do anything, just backs up.
“Two days, Willow. I’ll come for you unless you come to your senses
and find me first. Then we’ve got work to do.”

My tongue is glued to the roof of my mouth. I
was so afraid for a minute that he’d explode with anger, I didn’t
know what to do except keep my mouth shut.

He leaves on foot since I’m keeping my car.
He’s barely around the corner before Ryan’s truck comes screeching
this way. He pulls to a haphazard stop on the curb and hops
out.

“Where is he?” He whips off his sunglasses
and scans the property. “Willow‒where?”

“Gone. He’s gone, Ryan‒”

“I’m going to
kill
you. What are you
doing out here?”

I slump against the car, feeling bad for the
worry I see in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

His chin drops to his chest and he rubs a
hand along the back of his neck. “I swear you’re allergic to
listening or something. I thought you were going to stay inside.
You know, where it’s safe?”

“Sorry,” I say again.

He sighs, walks over, and leans against the
car as well. “I guess there’s no sense in going inside. If he
wanted to hurt you, he already would have done it.” He pauses,
glances behind him as if noticing the car for the first time.
“Where did this come from?”

“Logan brought it.”

“He brought your car back?”

“And my clothes and my phone. My computer,
too.”

He frowns. “Why?”

“He said he wanted a truce.”

Ryan turns to me, squinting his eyes from the
glare of the sun. His sunglasses are still dangling from his
fingers. “What?”

“Two days,” I whisper.

“What?” he says again.

“He said he’d give me two days to settle in
and then he wants me to help him with the spell.”

The muscles in his arms flex when he runs
both hands through his hair. “And what did you say?”

“I’m pretty sure I said, ‘Go to hell’.”

He gives a half laugh, half cough. “And he
didn’t kill you?”

“Not yet.”

He frowns at that statement. “That’s what
we’re trying to avoid here, Willow. It would be awesome if you’d
get on board with it.”

My lips curve. “Awesome?”

“Kick ass, sweet, groovy. Yeah, all of those
things. Most people‒including smart ass women who are pretty happy
with their independence‒tend to find staying alive fairly
attractive.”

“I find you attractive. And that little
speech totally turned me on.”

He slides his sunglasses back on. “Glad you
liked it.”

“Ryan, come on. I can’t stay inside forever.
And clearly Logan isn’t going to hurt me. He
needs
me.”

“Doesn’t mean he isn’t going to hurt you
eventually. Or something else.”

“What else?”

He swallows hard and starts toward the house.
I follow behind him, frustrated. “What the hell am I supposed to do
then? Hide forever?”

He spins around on the porch, teeth clenched.
“I don’t know. But what I do know is that this whole thing is
bigger than a little spell.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, once the spell is complete, it
affects more than just us or Cheyenne and Logan. Any person out
there with vampire blood or werewolf blood or even shapeshifting in
their genes can come to Shadow Hill and get their powers back. Not
only that, vampires won’t just be born anymore, they can be
created. People can be transformed into werewolves. Everyone in
Shadow Hill will be in danger.”

My stomach churns. It’s hard to believe Logan
would do that, hurt people for the sake of it. But then again he
wasn’t exactly friendly this morning. And for all I know, he could
be one of the nice ones.

“Okay,” I say, bitterness in my mouth, “I’m
seeing the bigger picture here. That still doesn’t help with what
I’m supposed to do now. I’m stuck here. And I don’t think Logan’s
just going to get bored and give up.”

He stares out across the yard, arms
folded.

“Ryan?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t know. We have to
stop Logan somehow.”

I study my shoes as words pop into my mind.
Kill him
. The thought makes me so uneasy, Ryan steps closer
to me and asks, “What is it?”

“What?”

He tips my chin up, pulling off his
sunglasses again to meet my eyes. “That sick feeling.”

“You can feel that?”

“I’m standing right in front of you. I felt
it and saw it on your face. What were you thinking?”

“Nothing I’d be willing to do.”

I stare at the pulse on his neck, hoping
he’ll drop it. “Kill him, you mean.”

I nod. “But then that puts us in the same
category as him‒or worse.”

He sighs. “Yeah. Satisfying but pretty
immoral.”

I laugh when he smiles. As satisfying as it
would be to stop Logan, I don’t know if I’d feel the same if I
truly hurt him.

Ryan brushes a hand down my arm. “So what’s
the plan? Go over to his house and play some cards?”