Driving Force (10 page)

No one had ever kissed her like this before, with this much desire, this much intensity. Peter? It was suddenly clear that Peter hadn’t had a clue about passion.
This
was passion—this violent, demanding heat, flaring primal and imperative between them.

Her body strained against his, clinging to him, trying instinctively to meld with his. Her arms clenched fiercely around him, hands gripping, nails digging into his flesh.

He made a strange, agonized sound in his throat. Then he was just about eating her alive, his tongue searching out every corner of her mouth, devouring her. She kissed him back with equal urgency, helpless against the driving force of the overwhelming need storming through her, tongue thrusting against his, mouth sucking at his. They kissed and kissed, mouths twisting together, tearing apart briefly to snatch at breath, coming back desperately again and again, unable to stay apart.

He smelled of soap and musk and that unique particular underlying aroma that was Ian himself, his flesh, his being. She would never forget that scent now or the salty-sweet taste of his mouth or the way his heart was pounding as his chest pressed hard against hers and he bent her backward, his arms around her waist. Her own heart was pounding even more violently than his, feeling as if it was going to burst right through her rib cage. She found herself teetering on the tips of her toes, lifted almost entirely off the ground as if she weighed nothing, his casual, unthinking strength exciting her unbearably.

He took a step forward and she felt the kitchen counter strike her back. Then he was between her legs, leaning into the juncture of her thighs, his hips insistent against hers and his weight heavy upon her. She felt his cock—so hard and, oh my God, so big!—pressing demandingly against her crotch, igniting a powerful throbbing in her core. Her pussy clenched, her legs lifted without her volition, thighs closing tight about his hips, and her body rubbed and ground against his.

“Ohh!”

She couldn’t help the moan that came from deep inside her, heard him groan too, a harsh, rasping gasp hot against the hollow of her throat.

Her hands raked down his back, exploring the sinewy contours through the soft cotton of his tee, sliding down the indent of his spine, then rising again to grip the deep muscles of his shoulders. Her palms clung to him as if magnetized, stroking along his collarbones to shape his throat before slipping up the strong cords of his neck to let her fingers dig into his thick hair. He was a pleasure to touch. She had wondered for years what he would feel like in her arms. Now she knew. Amazing, wonderful…addictive.

She felt him shudder and flex as her hands ran over him. She liked that, liked feeling as though she had as much power over him as he had over her.

She was drunk on sensation, drunk on him, utterly unable to keep her body from straining and writhing against his. Couldn’t get enough of the taste of his mouth. Or the feel of his body, aroused and urgent, vibrating with intensity. Or the way his hands were moving sensuously, demandingly over her, caressing her face, thrusting through her hair, kneading down her back. They splayed across her butt and held her hard against the inciting rigidity of his cock, which was setting her whole body on fire even through two layers of denim. She was burning up with passion, losing herself in the devastating delight of the way he made her feel.

Oh my God!
she thought with a jolt.
What am I doing?
This was Ian Raeder! The guy with the rep. The bane of her life. The man she had always considered her enemy.

She came back to herself, incredulous and appalled. Tore herself away, gasping and breathless. He was struggling for air as desperately as she was. They stared at each other, still caught in that net of dark fire, urgent need and insistent desire.

Oh God, what had she just done? What had just been unleashed between them?

“No!” she said violently. “No!”

And fled.

Chapter Five

He shouldn’t have done that. Ian braced himself on the counter, arms straight, and shook.

He’d never lost control like that before. He’d only meant to kiss her. Just once. The lightest and most undemanding of kisses. Had wanted only to feel her lips against his and hold her in his arms. Just to know what it would be like. To have something to remember. Nothing more.

But then her lips had parted and his brain had gone to lunch. Sweeter than wine, more addictive than any drug, she had flooded his senses, shorted his mind right out. If she hadn’t pulled away, he wouldn’t have been able to stop, would have taken her right then and there on the kitchen floor.

It shocked him, how little control he had around her. Ian prided himself on his ability to master any situation. He always knew exactly what he was doing. He might fling himself into things impulsively and wholeheartedly, but his mind never stopped working out the odds. It looked for solutions coldly and clearly, checked everything around him to see how it might be turned to his advantage. What might seem to be recklessness to those who didn’t know better was always carefully calculated.

Tigers and lions might go berserk. Leopards never did. They were cool, crafty, cunning predators, always in control, adapting to circumstance, constantly thinking.

With Sierra, he stopped thinking. Could only feel. That had never happened to him before. He had no defenses against her except that mockery that was beyond him now. He was utterly open and vulnerable to her. She could destroy him with a glance.

He could still feel her hands moving upon him, her body clinging to his. She had responded. Kissed him back. Wanted him.

But then she had fled. She must have remembered the other side of him. The cat. The Shifter. Not full-human.

He couldn’t believe that
he
had forgotten. Everything he had been warned about since birth had gone out of his mind with the first brush of her lips against his.

One didn’t mate with humans. One could have brief liaisons with them, but nothing more serious. Sierra deserved more. Some casual affair wasn’t for her. He too wanted more. But being what he was, more wasn’t possible. Humans and Shifters couldn’t breed. He’d be cheating her of so much—of children, of a family. It wouldn’t be fair to her.

But that was a moot point. She’d never let him near her again. Not after this. She must be totally horrified by what had happened. He was…
other
. From her angle, a monster.

* * * * *

Sierra leaned back against her closed door and gasped. God, she had almost dragged him right down to the ground! She was on fire, shaking and shuddering with heat, her breath panting in her open mouth. No one had ever made her feel this way before, so wanton, so needy. She was hopelessly wet between her legs, all buttery and throbbing, feeling at once so engorged and so empty. She wanted to be filled, wanted him to fill her, wanted him inside her.

Him. Ian Raeder.

She was insane.

Ian, the guy with the rep. The one who never made commitments. Whose little black book would probably give her a hernia if she tried to lift it. The last person in the world with whom she should get involved. Hadn’t she learned anything when Peter had left her? And Peter had been the Rock of Gibraltar compared to Ian.

But God! The way he made her feel! There she had been, thinking she had a low libido, thinking there was something wrong with her because nobody really turned her on. But he turned her on, didn’t he? He turned her into a freaking nympho, wanting only to rush out there and jump his bones. Even when she knew how wrong it was!

She really, really hated the man. She did!

Sierra fled into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her overheated face. That didn’t help much. What she needed was a shower. The coldest shower possible. But he’d hear it and know exactly why she was taking another shower so soon after the one she’d just had. Probably get a charge out of her weakness, laugh his head off in triumph.

She heard Doc’s pickup grind to a halt outside, then the front door opening and Ian going out of the house. That was the chance she needed. She whipped her clothes off, dragged a shower cap over her hair and jumped under freezing cold water turned on full blast. A couple of minutes later, she jumped out again hurriedly because she was shivering so hard. But she had herself under control now.

As she threw her clothes on again, she heard Ian and Doc talking outside but couldn’t make out the words. Then the front door opened once more and footsteps headed toward the kitchen.

“You medical people always say, ‘Give it another couple of days’,” Ian said savagely. “Yeah, well, that’s getting old. I’m needed back home and that’s where I’m going today. Don’t care what you say.”

“Look,” said Doc in a soothing voice. “You’re still on liquids. You haven’t eaten solid food yet…”

“And that’s another thing!” snarled Ian. “I’m starving and there’s no reason why I can’t eat solid food. The way I feel right now, in a few minutes it’ll be your innards I’ll start lunching on!”

Doc laughed. Ian made an exasperated sound and she heard the back door being yanked open.

“Sierra told me to go hunt a deer. Well, I will. That’ll show—”

“Ian!” said Doc sharply. “Look!”

“Jesus!” exclaimed Ian, then a second later he yelled, “Sierra, get out here!”

Sierra was tempted to ignore that. Who was he to give her orders? But the note of urgency in his voice piqued her curiosity. She strolled out of her room and into the kitchen.

“What now?” she asked in a remote voice.

“Pack your things. You’re getting out of Castleton.”

Remoteness changed into irritation at once. “I am not! Why would I do any such thing?”

“Look at the door.”

She walked forward, then saw what he was pointing at. Five claw marks had been scored deeply into the wood.

“You’re targeted. He knows about you now. That you gave me shelter. You’re not safe here anymore. You’ve got to get out of Wade County. Hell, I want you out of the damn state! That woman, what was her name? Wakanda. That potter who taught you. She’d put you up for a while, wouldn’t she?”

“The last I heard, she was going to New Mexico on a promotional tour. I don’t know where she is right now.”

“Well, you must have made friends in Arizona. They might take you in. Or…or just go to Denver and hole up in a hotel for a while. It won’t cost you anything. I’ll pay.”

“I’m not accepting money from you, Ian Raeder!”

“God dammit! The Lowes, then. The Lowes will fund you just like they’re doing for all the Shifters who’ve left Castleton.”

“I don’t need anyone’s funding! I’m not leaving my home!”

He slammed his fist against the door. “Dammit, Sierra! Don’t you understand? You’re in danger! Even Shifters are running and you’re only human. You don’t have any defenses against Arrhan. And you’re one hell of an easy mark, living out here all alone with no neighbors for miles. No one would hear you even if he gave you time to scream before he tore your throat out!”

Sierra swallowed hard but didn’t give an inch. “Why should he care about me? You’re the one he’s interested in. He’s trying to drive you out, like the others. He found out that you’re here and he left that warning for you, not me.”

“Yes, that message is for me. But it’s not to tell me to run. I don’t need a warning about that. He’s already made it perfectly clear. He’s telling me that if I don’t, he’ll kill you.”

“He…he hasn’t been hurting humans.”

“And you want to be the first? The other humans haven’t a clue what’s going on. He has no reason to go after them. But you helped me.”

“Doc’s helping.”

“And Doc’s getting a bodyguard once I talk to Kurt.”

“Appreciate that,” muttered Doc.

Ian gave her a grim, hard look. “I’m not gonna be run out, Sierra. The spread’s been in our family for generations. Our livelihood is tied up with it. I’m staying and I’m fighting, just like the Lowes are, and Abel and Nick and the others. But our war isn’t yours. It’s got nothing to do with you. So just get out of the way for a while until we can take care of it.”

Sierra shook her head. “I’m not going to run and hide, Ian. This house with its pottery is my livelihood too. Sure, it’s small potatoes compared to that spread of yours, but it’s all I’ve got. I’m not leaving it.”

“God! Do you have to be so stubborn? You can work anywhere!”

She glowered at him. “This psycho’s not gonna get me running scared either.”

“Pot, meet kettle,” murmured Doc and grinned.

Ian felt like banging his head against the wall. He admired her courage, but he was terrified for her. Arrhan had no compunctions about killing Shifters. He would have even fewer about killing a human. Ian wanted Sierra far away from here. Not only to get her out of danger, but also to get her away from him, since it was clear now that he couldn’t trust himself near her.

Even tying her up and getting someone to drive her out of the county wouldn’t work. She come right back like a boomerang the minute she got free. And slap a kidnap charge on him. He knew Sierra.

“There’s malice in those slashes, child,” Doc was saying to her. “The man means harm.”

Even Sierra couldn’t deny that, but as expected, she just folded her arms and stuck her lip out stubbornly. Damn all obstinate, foolishly courageous women!

“Right,” said Ian. “You’re coming home with me.”

Her eyes shot wide. “
What?
”

“You can’t stay here. This place has no defenses whatsoever. To guard it would take several men posted around the clock. Even the cops wouldn’t have the manpower to give you proper protection in the unlikely event that they believed you if you called them and said there’s a fruitcake stalking you with intent to kill. And I sure don’t have the men to spare. But if you were at the ranch, there’d be hands around all the time to keep watch.”

“But…”

“I don’t like it either.” Not when it meant having the temptation that was Sierra around him for who knows how long. He tried to give her a soothing smile, but saw from the scowl she gave him back that it must have come across more as a snarl. “But that’s the way it’s gonna be. Either you leave Wade County or you stay at my place for the duration, where I can protect you.”

“Actually, that makes sense,” said Doc, and Sierra glared at him. “This Arrhan wouldn’t have any problem killing humans, but he must know it’d be a dumb move. Shifters will cover up Shifter deaths for fear of calling attention to themselves, so he doesn’t have to concern himself about that. Even one or two human deaths, like yours or mine, might not be noticed if we just sort of disappeared and our bodies were never found. But several disappearances can’t help but draw attention from the authorities and he can’t afford that any more than our Shifters can. Both of us are safer with people around us.” He gave her a stern look. “You know I’m right, Sierra.”

Sierra’s shoulders slumped in defeat. Of course he was right. The only reason she was digging in her heels was because she didn’t want Ian to win. It was just childish.

“But I’ve got orders to fill,” she said helplessly. “I can’t just…”

“Those orders worth your life, Mouse?” Ian snapped. “Anyway, your wheel and clay and even the kilns can be moved, can’t they? I can set you up a place to work at the ranch and send some of the hands to bring over anything you need. So just go and pack a suitcase and let’s get out of here.”

“Better to be safe than sorry, Sierra,” Doc said gently. “It’ll only be for a while and then you can come home.”

“You wouldn’t be in this position if you hadn’t helped me,” said Ian. “I know you hate being beholden. But remember. I’m beholden to you for everything you’ve done for me the last few days. I owe you, Sierra. This is just paying you back.”

He had a point. The trouble was that what she was really afraid of was being near him. She didn’t want to be anywhere around him and here she was, having to live under his roof for who knows how long. But she could see she didn’t have much of a choice.

“I’ll pack,” she said, giving in, and went to do so.

When she came back, Ian had thrown all the things Doc had previously brought him back into his own suitcase. He took her heavy case from her and went out to dump both of them in the back of Doc’s pickup while she went around making sure that everything was turned off and all the doors and windows were locked. Just like going away on vacation, she told herself doggedly.

Ian came back, looking very tense. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Doc.

“I don’t know. I’m getting a bad feeling. Anything happens, Doc, you get Sierra into the pickup and hightail it for the ranch. You don’t wait for me.”

“No!” said Sierra sharply. “You’re not really fit yet. We’re not leaving you.”

“I can take care of myself, but you two can’t. Not against a lion. You burn rubber and you don’t stop for anything, not until you’re at the ranch. Arrhan turns up in the road in front of you, you floor the gas and drive right over him. You don’t do like in the damn movies, stop and get out of the car and run screaming into the woods like idiots for the monster to chase down and rip apart at his leisure. Couple of tons of pickup is a great defense against anything.”