In Plain Sight (2 page)

Cullen scoured the ground below him, awash in sensation as the cold air whipped over his feathered body. He screeched in response to a cry of greeting from a bald eagle passing by and asked after Sarah.

To his relief, the male had spotted her. The bird went on to mention a large skirmish just over the next rise, with very bad odds for the lone opponent.

Cullen tore through icy wind and flutters of snow. He saw everything. Rabbits, mice and deer seeking shelter. Ac-taw, in both animal and man form, roaming through the outskirts of town bordering Glacier National Park. Cullen made no effort to hide himself. Instead he cried out for Sarah, offering help if only she’d reach out and take it.

Minutes later, he found her dodging a harrier, two red-tailed hawks and two bald eagles.
Damn Jenny
Larsen.
Furious that, once again, Sarah had to deal with more dickhead raptors, Cullen darted after the smaller predators.

“
This isn’t much of a fair fight, and definitely against clan rules,
” he warned them.

They didn’t veer from Sarah, and he gladly wracked his talons along the harrier’s underbelly before nipping one of the hawks’ wings. It didn’t take much to put the other hawk out of commission. So much for Jenny’s small posse.

The eagles were his biggest threat. While Sarah engaged Jenny, Cullen took care of Pat. The woman was as big a bitch as Jenny. An unpleasant bully who liked nothing better than to laud her riches over the clan, as if her husband had done more than inherit his wealth.

“
Stay out of this, Whitefeather.
” Pat stared at him as if he was no better than the dirt beneath her sharp claws.

“
What did she do to you? Or is this a challenge?
”

“
Yes.
” She leaped on the excuse, as he’d known she would.

“
Whose?
”

Pat squawked at him with a resounding curse to mind his own business.

“
Right. It’s Jenny Larsen’s challenge, so back out of it.
”

Pat retaliated. Cullen neatly avoided the eagle’s beak and slashed her back, taking care not to rip too hard. He wanted to scare her, not maim her. A warning to any and all who messed with him or Sarah. He didn’t give two shits about raptor law, made by those who refused to follow it. Cullen couldn’t wait to pay Dennis Larsen a visit. Clan leader or not, the man had clearly overstepped his position, first by hitting on

Sarah, and then by having his wife pull this stunt. And if Larsen was spitting in the face of raptor tradition by having multiple affairs, he should have been stripped of his leadership position long ago.

“I won’t forget this,”
Pat cried out as she spiraled away.

“Good. Neither will I.
” Cullen then shrieked at Jenny, who was entangled with Sarah. Jenny let go only after Sarah released her, but the woman had done some damage. The scent of Sarah’s blood came to him on a gust of wind.

Enraged, Cullen forgot himself. He darted at Jenny and bit her neck, enough to draw serious blood.

She screeched and veered away, trying to escape. He would have gone after her to finish the job, but Sarah warbled for help.

“
I’m not going to make it,
” she managed to whisper.

Cullen covered Sarah, allowing her to use his draft as they glided over the wind toward the ground.

He did his best to nudge her gently, prepared to grab her should she suddenly fall from the sky. He couldn’t stop her blood flow in his current form, and he’d seen enough to know she was really hurt.

This close to his property, he forced her to go just a bit farther. They successfully reached his land. As soon as they touched down, he shifted form. Sarah, however, didn’t move. Swearing, he lifted the fragile bird in his arms and ran into the house. Her next shift would speed her healing,
if
she could shift.

Stemming the blood, he wrapped a loose bandage around her ribs and wadded cloth around her breast.

Her eyes and face remained unscathed, but the wounds on her chest bothered him. Carrying her in front of the fireplace, he leaned close and whispered, “Come on, Sarah. Wake up.”

She didn’t move.

“Sarah, honey. It’s me, Cullen.” He cleared his throat, trying to project comfort and not worry.

Stroking her head and wing, he said, “You need to wake up. The clan needs you.” When she didn’t move, he took a chance and added what he’d suspected for some time. “Your mate needs you, love. Come back to me, to Cullen.” He leaned close and rubbed his cheek against her feathered one.

Her slight shudder relieved him. He pulled back, on the off-chance her animal spirit took charge and struck out at a perceived threat. Sarah blinked back at him, gradually transforming from bird to woman.

He’d never seen the shift done so slowly before, and he watched the sheer beauty of her being as Sarah’s golden skin took the place of feathers. She blinked in confusion, but held out a hand, reaching for him.

He clasped it, pleased at how right her smaller palm felt in his.

“Thank you,” she whispered before closing her eyes once more.

The bandages had sloughed off during her shift, so he found new ones. After applying salve and new dressings, Cullen clothed her in one of his long shirts and sat her in his overstuffed chair, facing the fireplace. Shivering as the cold penetrated, he started a fire and put on some warm, dry clothes.

11

He returned to Sarah and lifted her so that she sat on top of him in his lap. Stroking her hair as she slept, he felt true peace for the first time in his life. And, without meaning to, he fell asleep.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” he murmured, watching the magical creature fly through the air toward
him.

No snow dotted the skies. Instead, a warm breeze grazed his neck as his hair waved around his face.

The sun warmed his skin, his flesh attuned to every sensation when not encumbered by clothing.

The golden eagle lowered, riding the currents as she cried out her welcome. The green grass smelled
fresh, the scent of honeysuckle and roses coming from his mother’s garden sweetening the air.

Cullen stared at the female in her descent. She landed in front of him, fascinating him as she shifted
from golden eagle to human and back again. A blur of face and form, she finally stopped, an amalgamation
of human and raptor. Dark feathers ran down her back and along her wings, while her human body
retained its perfect female form. Sarah looked like an angel made flesh.

Large, round breasts beckoned his touch. Her nipples hardened under his greedy fingers, and he
pinched and teased until she squirmed and drew closer. She pushed him back, so that she lay on top of him
over the soft grass. As she kissed his neck and chest, she parted her firm thighs, cradling his erection
against that hot, wet channel begging for his touch. Giving in to his need, he arched closer, until she
stopped him with a hand against his chest.

He started to apologize, knowing he wasn’t worthy of such beauty, when she began kissing her way
down his body. He stroked her back, keenly aware of the animal spirit visible to his naked eye. Even though
he knew it was a dream, that the Ac-taw never merged both animal and human in anything but spirit, he
couldn’t help his response to her mouth.

Those ripe lips tugged their way past his belly toward his cock, licking and sucking until he was a
hairsbreadth from coming down her throat.

When he moaned, he drew an answering response from her throat and pressed closer, stroking her
feathers that felt as silky as her hair…

Yawning, Sarah groaned and prodded the firmness under her cheek, curious as to what provided such warm comfort. A rumbled oath and sudden movement underneath her startled her into opening her eyes.

Muscular arms prevented her from falling off a man’s lap.

“How do you feel?” Cullen Whitefeather asked, his voice deep and soothing while stoking an unfamiliar heat in her belly.

“F-fine.” Sarah tried to scoot off him and felt a telltale hardness prodding her backside. She glanced at his face, expecting more of the same poor treatment from the man who’d sat with Mike and Rob. Cullen had never said a bad thing to her, but they’d rarely exchanged more than a few words when he came to the diner, and those were about what he wanted off the menu.

12

“Sorry.” He flushed and stood with her in his arms. After setting her back down, he hurried away.

“You thirsty?”

“Ah, sure.” She didn’t know what to think. Cullen had never been one to follow blindly, and thankfully, he didn’t seem to subscribe to Mike’s poor manners. He rarely made eye contact when they met, but considering he treated most everyone the same way, she’d chalked his avoidance up to his inherent air of solitude, not rejection.

And it was too bad, because now that she paid attention, she could see he was surprisingly good-looking. Tall and lean, with a body built for speed, Cullen might even rival Burke Chastell for sexiest Shifter in Cougar Falls, now that she took a good, hard look. There was a hardness, a dangerous ruthlessness to Cullen that Burke lacked.

Dark hair and coppery skin proclaimed Cullen’s Native American ancestry. He was born in Cougar Falls and worked with his immediate family in woodworking, that much she knew. His father had died last year, leaving him, his three brothers and his mother all alone. Though respected members of the raptor clan, the Whitefeathers stayed to themselves. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d seen any of them at the Totem Festival or a clan meeting.

Cullen returned with a cup of tea and a plate of cookies. Pleased at his thoughtfulness, she gave him a tentative smile. “I can’t thank you enough.” Memories of what he’d done to Jenny broadened her grin.

“Especially for kicking Jenny Larsen’s ass.”

“Sorry I couldn’t do more.” He frowned. “I took Mike down, but it wasn’t near what he really deserved. He and the others are a bunch of pricks. He shouldn’t have said what he did in the diner.” He clenched his large fists by his sides and loomed over her, looking at her with an expression she couldn’t quite decipher, but one that made her feel surprisingly safe.

This was the longest conversation she and Cullen had ever shared. Sarah stared back at him in fascination. His low voice sent tingles through her belly.

He shocked her anew when he squatted down, reached out and cupped her cheek. She felt a spark where his hand touched her, an instant connection that woke her body from the sexual hibernation she’d been living in for so long. Cullen must have felt it as well, for his eyes narrowed. He slowly took his hand from her face, his thumb lingering on the pad of her lower lip.

Sarah wanted to kiss his fingers, to know his taste as well as his touch. The urge to nip and mark him as hers made no sense. Heat infused her body, and her raptor cried out for his with a yearning that shook her. Confused, she didn’t know what to think. She’d thought she’d loved Will, but she’d never felt this attuned to his animal spirit. The notion that Cullen, a man she barely knew, could affect her so intensely scared the hell out of her.

After that scene in the diner, a sexual encounter with any male in this town would probably get her tossed out of the clan on her ass. Sarah planned to leave, but she wanted to go on her terms. That way, 13

when she became a huge success at…something…she could come back and rub it in everyone’s faces. But not if Cullen Whitefeather turned her into a puddle of need with those long, lingering looks and that sexy way he had of touching her. What stories would he spread about her to the clan when—
if
—they had sex?

As if sensing her unease, Cullen leaned back and motioned to her tea.

She took a sip, drinking in not just her tea, but every detail about him. Cullen wore a pair of worn jeans and a flannel shirt left unbuttoned at the top. She could see the strong chords of his throat as he swallowed. As he studied her in return, she noticed that his eyes lightened, going from an earthy brown to a golden yellow, as if his bird stared out at her from within that powerful body.

She swallowed hard, wondering what he saw when he looked at her. An easy conquest, a pathetic woman caught in unfortunate circumstances? Did he pity her? He said he’d punched Mike in the face. Of course, not many men liked Mike. But she’d seen him save her from Jenny and her friends.

“You left the diner awfully fast.” As soon as he said it, he flushed.

His uneasiness seemed at odds with his large, physical presence. When silent, there seemed nothing that could discomfit Cullen, so this obvious awkwardness took her aback.

She sipped her tea because he’d gone through the trouble of making it. “Cullen, I really appreciate what you did for me.” The tea warmed her, and she sighed, wanting to relax even though she knew she couldn’t. “I should probably get going just as soon as I finish this tea.”

“Hell, no.”

She blinked at him.

“Sarah, you lost a lot of blood. You’re still not fully healed. I can see the stiffness when you move.

The snow’s coming down thicker, and there’s reports of a storm headed our way. Why not stay here and recuperate?”