Miss Taken (3 page)

SIX

Kira woke with the worst headache she’d ever had. She lifted a hand to the side of her head and winced at how tender it felt. Her long, unruly curls had been loosened from its ponytail.

She blinked repeatedly, trying to put her surroundings into focus, but had a hard time. She settled for squinting to see clearer. Soft light filled the bedroom she was in. A quick glance down and her eyes widened with shock. She wore no top. Just how naked was she? Her blood froze like ice in her veins. What in the world happened?

Tugging the blanket back, she realized she was in underwear and bra. Anger swiftly grew inside her. Someone had taken her damn clothes off. She glanced around, but heard no noise. She tested her feet. No sense in going to smack the living daylights out of someone if she couldn’t stand on her own, right? With her legs in working order, she got out of the bed and glanced around. Her foot hurt and she knew, thanks to the binding, she’d twisted her ankle. She didn’t see her clothes, her bag, or her phone.

She could have freaked out, but anger got the best of her. Someone had saved her life, yes, but also gotten her naked. Some freak got her naked and she didn’t see why that had been necessary. Clearly, the room belonged to a male. He had boots lined up neatly at the bottom of his open closet. Jeans and long sleeve sweaters and shirts filled the upper part of the closet.

The photo of a couple sat on the dresser and that was it. No other personal touches filled his space. She limped around the room, ensuring she kept the weight off the aching ankle. She grabbed the first shirt she saw tossed on top of a chair and slipped it on. It smelled clean and fresh, like it had just been washed. She was surprised at how big the shirt was.

As a woman with bigger than usual curves, not much fit her baggy. His shirt landed mid-thigh, loose like a dress. No worries. Not like she’d stress over the fact some giant stripped her and left her in his bed. She already wanted a few words with him.

She buttoned the shirt and glanced at herself in the mirror. There was a cut from her temple to her cheek, clean and red. Most of the time, due to her darker complexion, she couldn’t see bruises, but she saw purple circles on her legs and arms. She’d seen them on her hips and belly too.

That had been a hard fall. If not for the growls, she wouldn’t have been so distracted. The rain made it harder for her to see, too.

She poked and prodded, searching drawers, trying to figure out where the hell she was. All she wanted was her clothes and phone.

She limped her way out of the bedroom quietly. The living area wasn’t huge by any means, but laid out with comfortable sofas in a suede material in front of a massive fireplace.

Walking barefoot on the warm wood floor, she made her way to the kitchen. There were no sounds. She peeked out the floor-to-ceiling windows opposite the kitchen and gasped. She was shocked to see at least two feet of snow covered the ground.

Holy shit! How long had she been out? Snow coated every tree in the area. And more continued to fall. She hadn’t seen a phone during her walk from the bedroom to the kitchen. Fuck. She hadn’t seen people either.

At the kitchen door, she fogged up the glass with her breathing. After wiping her hand on it, she noticed movement between the trees. Her heart beat faster. Something bad was coming. She sensed it in her bones.

Whirling around, she searched for a weapon. The only things she saw were a frying pan and butcher knives. They would have to do. She limped to the other side of the big kitchen island and grabbed both just as the back door slid open.

A tall brunette walked in. She inhaled and glanced sharply at Kira.

“Who are you?”

Kira held the frying pan and knife in a death grip. “Who are
you
?”

The brunette walked farther into the house. Kira kept the four-stool kitchen island between them. The woman’s eyes glowed a bright gold.

“My name is Melissa. Why are you wearing my man’s shirt?”

Ah, fuck. So the giant with the loose hands belonged to this bitchy chick? “It was either wear the shirt or go naked.”

Melissa narrowed her eyes. The lines of her face tightened. She pressed her lips in a straight angry line. “You were naked?”

“Yes. I’d really like to talk to your man about taking a woman’s clothes off without her permission,” Kira griped.

“You…” Melissa came closer, almost at the edge of the island. “Piece of trash.”

“Hey! Whoa!” Kira snapped. “Did you miss the part where I said it was without permission?”

“Do I look like a fool, stupid human?” Melissa screeched. “No woman in her right mind would deny Luke. He is the prime for a reason. The epitome of sexy.”

Did she just call her a stupid
human
? Kira glared at the other woman, finally realizing she was dealing with a shifter. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“If you point me in the direction of this Luke person, I’d love to beat some manners into him.” She took a step to the right, watching the other woman approach from her left.

The back door crashed open and two men entered the cabin. Two huge men. The first guy was blond with a grim expression. The other guy had dark hair and wore glasses and glanced back and forth between the women. She might have gotten better details if she hadn’t had to squint so hard. Dammit, she really needed her glasses.

SEVEN

“Melissa, what are you doing here?” asked the blond guy.

Melissa’s shoulders dropped and she lowered her head slightly. “I came to see you.”

Ah, so this was Luke. Shit. She couldn’t very well make out his features without her glasses. No way to verify if what Melissa said about him being the epitome of sexy was true. He’d have to be really close to her face for her to see that.

“I told you there was nothing else to discuss. We’re done.”

Ouch. Melissa apparently had a hard time letting go. Meanwhile, Kira hadn’t found a man she wanted to hold on to.

Melissa threw Kira a deadly glare. “We’re done? You leave me for this? A human?”

Kira’s brows flew up. How in the world did she get involved in this?

“What the--”

“This isn’t about her. Have you forgotten what the word no means?” Luke argued, cutting Kira off. She squinted, trying to see him clearly. What she saw was the way he pinned her with his icy blue eyes.

“Maybe if I kill her, then you’ll stop rejecting me,” Melissa said. She turned to Kira, her features changing into something animalistic.

No. She really didn’t think killing Kira would make anyone want the bitch more. Kira lifted the frying pan and knife closer to her chest. She was stuck in a fucking corner in the kitchen with no way out. The big guy with glasses threw himself at Melissa while Luke hopped over the island, landing in front of Kira. Had she glanced away for even a second, she would have missed it.

“Bastien, take her out of here,” Luke snarled.

“You have a way with women.” Bastien laughed. The sound was rough and light at the same time. “I’ll get her home.” He glanced at Kira. “Nice to meet you. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to talk when someone isn’t trying to kill you.”

Apparently these shifter women took their ownership of a man seriously.

“I’m coming back,” Melissa promised, reaching wildly for Kira. “And I’m going to kill you,” she screamed. “I’m going to watch the life drain from you as I claw holes into your chest.”

Damn that bitch was crazy with a capital
C
and descriptive with her threats
.
Bastien dragged her out kicking and screaming, literally. It was a few moments before things quieted enough for Kira to think straight.

She moved around him, stepping to his side so she could see his face. He met her gaze with his.

“Are all your exes psychotic?” She raised her brows, folding her arms on her chest. “Was she crazy before or after you got with her?” She leaned back on the island getting a better view of his face. Lord, the man was fucking gorgeous. Not in the clean cut sort of way. He had the whole fuck rough, dirty, and make you sweat thing going. A deep scar was etched down his cheek into his day’s old beard growth. She licked her lips and glanced down his massive frame. “Sex can make women insane.”

Luke raked his gaze down her body with an amount of possession she’d never seen in any man’s eyes. “You found clothes.”

She glanced down at herself. Fuck. She was naked under the thin shirt. Her nipples decided to make themselves known by hardening into small points. Good thing she had her arms crossed.

She jerked her gaze up to his face. She wouldn’t be swayed by dark and sexy looks. No way. She was pissed. “You stripped me?”

He nodded, turning away from her to march out of the kitchen into the living area.

“Excuse me!” She ground her teeth. “Did it ever occur to you that it was wrong to get someone you don’t know, who was passed out, naked?”

He stopped and faced her so fast, she limped back. “No. All I thought was the fact you were hurt,” he stated, an angry bite in his voice. “I could have left you out there to die. Instead, I brought you here and ensured you were warm and I wrapped your ankle.” He glanced down at her foot. “You shouldn’t be walking around.”

“I need my phone.”

He leaned forward, bringing his eyes level with hers. “Use mine.”

She swayed on her one foot. He grabbed her by the arms and lifted her in his arms. “Put me down. I can walk,” she said while curling her arms around his neck. Goodness. This close up he was killing her brain cells. “I don’t need a barbarian lugging me around like I’m a sack of potatoes.”

He stopped and glanced at her lips. The look he gave her was so hot, warmth caressed her face from his gaze. “I’ve never met a female who compared herself to a sack of potatoes,” he said, hugging her body tighter to his. “You’re much softer than them. And,” he sniffed, a soft growl sounding from his lips, “you smell much better, too.”

She swallowed hard. “Maybe my phone is in my purse,” she mumbled. The man had only said a few words and turned her into an idiot.

“It’s dead.”

“You searched my bag?” she gasped.

He set her on the bed with more care than she expected. “I wanted to call the last person on your list to tell them you’re all right, but stuck here until the weather cleared. The battery was dead and I didn’t see a charger.”

“Fucking hell!” She remembered now.

His lips quirked in a slow grin.

“What’s so funny?” she snapped.

“Even if you did have a phone, you couldn’t go anywhere right now.” He motioned to his window with his head. “The storm is only growing stronger. Pretty soon there will be no coming or going anywhere around here.”

“Great. Just. Great.” She leaned back and placed her hands over her eyes. She was so damn tired. Her ankle hurt more than when she’d stood and she couldn’t go anywhere. Not to mention she was stuck in a cabin with a hot as hell shifter.

“You may as well rest your foot. It’s going to be a few days before we can get you to the nearest town.” His voice sounded farther away. “What exactly were you doing when you fell?”

She sighed, still holding her hands over her eyes. “I was sent to find who owns the area. Rakida Construction wants to buy it and there’s been no luck in finding any information on the owners.” She wondered if he knew who owned Raging Falls. He had to. They were so close. “Hey, do you…” Her hands slid off her face, to see she was alone in the room.

Her body thrummed with awareness for the big guy. Not what she needed. It was going to be a long few days.

EIGHT

Luke growled, landing his axe into the heart of the piece of wood. The log split with a resounding crack. He’d ignored the mouthy woman inside, along with his lion. The need to have her had been greater than his need for air.

“Fucking hell!” he roared. He placed another piece of wood on the trunk and brought his axe down with a vengeance. Kira shouldn’t be the one. He’d been fine without a mate. Then she showed up with all those soft, bountiful curves and a razor-sharp tongue.

She worked for them. Rakida. The ones who wanted to push him and his people, along with everyone else, out of Raging Falls. He’d been putting them off. Owning the largest piece of land made him the best target. He’d made sure to let his lawyer know he wasn’t interested. None of them were, but the jerks at Rakida didn’t get the picture.

He ignored the falling snow and continued slamming his axe on the wood, splitting the pieces into smaller chunks.

Dammit! He’d wanted Kira from the second he’d scented her. Even more now that he saw her try and yell at him. She was beautiful. She was also involved with a company he wanted nothing to do with.

He glanced around the pile of wood and grunted. He’d chopped enough to see him through ten more storms if necessary. His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and turned the damn thing off. Melissa didn’t get the point. She’d become obsessed with the idea of him mating her. Even though they both knew it wouldn’t work out.

Now that she was in heat, she was even more reckless in her demands. She should have known better than to pressure him. Luke didn’t give in to anyone’s demands. Nobody’s.

He carried piles of wood into his shed until the light went down. No longer able to stay away from Kira, he went back into the house and heated food. She’d be hungry by now. His conscience pricked at him. He shouldn’t have left her alone for so long. What if she was in pain?

He marched into the bedroom but stopped short at the sight of her sleeping. He’d known she was tired even when she’d argued with him. The dark circles under her eyes and the pain from her foot were clear to see.

Once the food was hot, he made a tray and took it to the bed. Before he woke her, he watched her for a few minutes. She was his. He should tell her, but something inside him whispered to wait. Kira was a human. She wouldn’t understand his need to have her.

As it was, he fought the lion for control. His need to fuck her and mark her as his was too strong to tamp down. Maybe he’d mark her and control the animal with that.

“Kira,” he said, tapping her arm softly. “I brought you something to eat.”

Her lashes fluttered open and he saw desire fill her eyes. Her gaze ate him up with a need that almost matched his own. She blinked a few times and it dimmed.

“Thank you,” she whispered, sitting up on the bed.

He placed the tray on her lap, watching her golden skin darken with embarrassment. She wanted him. Earlier, she’d done a good job of masking her desire. But it was useless to try now. He knew. He scented her pussy slickening the longer she stared at him.

“Eat. You’ve been without food all day,” he grumbled. It was his fault. She couldn’t be expected to get something in his kitchen.