Scarlet Woman (7 page)

Jo took a deep breath, her breasts rising and falling as the expression in her eyes turned hard and angry. “I might as well stay,” she muttered without warning. “Maggie will run blurting tales to her family.” She opened her mouth to say something else then closed it without speaking, a shimmer of pain reflecting in her eyes.

“Great. There’s a spare bedroom right at the end of the passage. I’ll get Joyce, our home help, to make it ready for you.”

“I’ll sleep with you,” Jo said with an irritable shrug of her shoulders. “I might as well since that’s what they’ll all be accusing me of. Among other things,” she added, her face set in a dark scowl.

Saber nodded, trying to pull up relief. It was what he wanted so why didn’t he feel as though he’d won?

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Chapter Four

Emily tried to stuff her anger back into the tight spot inside her chest where it had come from, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the expression on Maggie’s face. The distaste. The disappointment. The hostility. The hate Maggie had glared at her because she thought Emily was despoiling Michael’s memory. Maggie thought she was a slut and a liar. And it hurt badly.

“I need to check on the sheep and shift the yearling cattle to another paddock with more grass. Do you want to come along?”

“Why not?” Emily said, unable to suppress the bitterness from her tone. “It’s not as if I have anything else to do.” She glanced down at the borrowed clothes. “Is there something I can wear on my feet?”

“I’ll find some boots for you.”

Sudden trepidation hit Emily. What the heck was she doing agreeing to stay here?

She needed to go back to Dunedin and talk to Maggie. “What am I saying? I can’t stay here. I have to go home to face this head-on instead of running away. Besides, I don’t have clothes with me.” Tears stung the back of her eyes and she blinked rapidly.
She
would not cry.
Emily stared at her bare feet, her hands fisted at her sides. She imagined the expressions on her in-laws’ faces, the silent condemnation. Emily shuddered. She really didn’t want to go home either, but there was nowhere else to go. Emily scowled, immediately second-guessing her decision. Stay or go? Saber wasn’t ordering her to stay. He’d asked and she’d agreed. This was different from following Michael’s every decree. She’d only stay for a day or two. This was her choice. Free choice. Maggie… Shit, what a muddle.

A wave of self-pity hit and her face crumpled. She swallowed, fighting the need to sob. All she’d really wanted was a man to hold her, to tell her she was beautiful. She’d 48

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wanted to get away from Michael’s taunts that echoed through her mind during each lonely night she spent on her own in their marriage bed. Emily hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone—her best friend and family. How could making love with Saber, something so beautiful, cause so many problems?

“Don’t cry, kitten. It will be all right.” Saber’s arms came around her, holding her tight. “Maggie needs some time.”

His kind words and consideration made the tears flow faster. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had held her like this, offering nothing but comfort. Emily relaxed against his broad chest and stopped worrying about the tears and what Saber might think. If he saw her at her worst and still wanted her to stay…well, she might begin to believe.

Saber set her away from him and stroked a finger across one cheek. He smiled gently. “Come and sit at the table. Drink your coffee while I hunt up a coat for you to wear, some socks and a pair of boots.” His gaze lingered on her lips before he smiled.

“You won’t need many clothes during your stay here.”

Emily gaped. He propelled her across the tiled floor. She found herself sitting at the table with a mug of steaming coffee in front of her. Saber disappeared silently, leaving her alone and in shock.
No clothes required
. Sensual awareness shot to her core. A few words and he’d reduced her to a quivering mass of need. How did he do that when she was at such an emotional low?

In desperate need of distraction, she studied her surroundings. The kitchen was spotlessly clean, probably the doing of the home help Saber had mentioned, but it also bore signs of its masculine occupants. A leather wallet and a pair of sunglasses sat on the table. A stack of unopened mail sat on the counter along with more farming magazines. Saber’s brothers must have eaten already since there were dirty dishes stacked near the sink. On the heels of this thought came another. Those cats she’d seen in the bedroom this morning…where were they now? Emily glanced over her shoulder and ducked her head to check underneath the wooden table, just in case she’d missed 49

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seeing their pets. Nothing lurked beneath. Thank goodness. They’d looked huge. Suddenly she wanted Saber to hurry back. She didn’t particularly like cats. Emily was more of a dog person or she would have been if Michael had let her have a pet. Saber reappeared as silently as he’d left. “Socks and a jacket. I found a pair of boots for you. They might be a bit big but they’ll do for now. We can buy you a few things in town if necessary.”

“Thanks.” The gleam in his eyes made her very aware of her body, her sexual needs. Exactly the things that had landed her squarely in the middle of this mess in the first place. “I’m going to get a dog,” Emily said, in a bad attempt to change the focus of her thoughts. Concentrating on the row of potted herbs that sat on the sunny windowsill didn’t help her much either.

Saber’s dark brows rose. “Really. What brought on this momentous decision?”

“Michael didn’t like dogs. He said he was allergic to them. How many dogs do you have here on the farm?”

“We don’t have dogs. Would you like toast?” Saber opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bag of sliced bread. He removed two pieces and popped them into the toaster.

“What happened to the cats that were inside before? They looked big.”

Saber paused before continuing across the kitchen. He tugged open a cupboard and picked up two plates before turning back to her. “The cats are native to the area. The two you saw were raised by hand. They’re safe enough, but you shouldn’t approach them if I’m not with you.” Saber dropped onto the chair opposite her. “Promise me.”

His eyes were strangely intent as if her safety was really important to him. “They’re wary of strangers. No telling how they’ll react.”

“I promise,” Emily said, giving him a watery smile. “I’m not a big cat person.” She caught Saber’s scowl before the toaster popped up the toast and wondered at it. “Are these the cats that the reporter wants to write a story about?”

“Yes.”

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Another thought occurred. “Is that why you want to keep me here? To make sure I don’t talk?”

“No.” Saber slapped the toast on a plate hard enough that one slice bounced off and hit the floor. He turned a glare on her. “I wanted to spend time with you. No other reason.”

That’s what he says now.
Michael had said the same thing at the beginning, before he’d become so domineering and indifferent to her feelings. Emily swallowed audibly. Trust was such a difficult thing. Fragile. And even more difficult for her after Michael had trampled over everything they’d had together. She’d lived a lie and hadn’t even known! It was going to be difficult, maybe impossible, to trust another man. She’d always wonder. Worry…

Saber took one look at the pain in her eyes and knew he had to react quickly.

“Maybe toast wasn’t such a good idea. Let’s go.” He seized her hand and dragged her from the room, refusing to let go despite her furtive tugging. Saber led her out the back way and handed her a pair of boots. “I know they’ll be too big. We’ll stuff the toes with newspaper.” He didn’t give Jo the opportunity to speak, hustling her to his vehicle and helping her into the passenger seat as soon as the boots were on her feet. His brothers were going to get an earful the next time he saw them. He climbed in behind the wheel. Jo didn’t like cats. He slid a cautious glance across at her. What woman didn’t like cute kitty cats?

An uneasy silence filled the vehicle as he drove down the dusty gravel track. Great. The woman was his mate—he sensed it with every fiber of his body—yet they were like strangers. She didn’t like cats for crying out loud. That should make for a strong relationship. He couldn’t seem to get past the fact. They were so compatible in bed. Physically.

“Is this your land?”

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“Yes, both sides of the road. This is our first stop.” Saber pulled up on a grass verge and climbed out, taking pride in showing her the prosperous acres he and his brothers toiled over in all seasons. In the distance, the Taieri River curled through the wide Strath Taieri valley, flanked by the Rock and Pillar Range on one side and the Taieri Ridge on the other. A flicker of black seen from the corner of his eye brought a curse. His brothers were playing chase in and out of the rocky schist outcrops up on the hill. Bloody hell, he didn’t believe it. This day just kept getting worse. He took a deep breath. Maybe Jo wouldn’t see them. Or perhaps…

Saber rounded the front of the car with a purposeful stride, intending to hustle Jo out of sight. A shallow stream gurgled as it trickled over rocks and small pebbles, heading down the hill and under small bridges to join the river running through the valley below. The thunder of feet running through crackly poplar leaves sounded like an approaching storm. Damn, his brothers had covered the distance between them quicker than he’d figured they would. He opened the door for Jo.

“I thought you said those cats were shy of strangers.” Jo stared at the three cats racing toward them. “It is the cats, right?” She squinted a fraction, a tiny frown forming on her forehead. Saber wanted to smooth it away.

“Just ignore them and they’ll go away.” They’d better. Saber shut the passenger door and stepped up close to Jo. He lowered his head and stole a kiss, marking her with his scent at the same time. Her lips were warm and tasted sweet with a hint of the coffee she’d drunk earlier. It was like coming home. Familiar. Right. He took the kiss deeper, feasting on her mouth. When she gasped, he took advantage, sliding his tongue inside, exploring the softness of her inner cheek and the contrasting hardness of her teeth. Arousal roared through him. His cock stirred. Damn, he wanted her again even though they’d made love several times during the night.

A deep, rough cough sounded behind him. A short growl followed in a higher register. Saber pulled away from Jo, breathing hard.

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“Um, Saber,” Jo said, her eyes big and wide. “I know I don’t have my glasses but they’re so close I can see their whiskers.” She frowned and rubbed her eyes before looking again. “There are three of them.”

Since the twins had taken Jo’s friend to Dunedin, that left Leo and Felix. The third would be their neighbor and friend Saul. Probably come to check out Jo. Saber turned slowly and narrowed his eyes on his two brothers. They wore smirks, their green eyes alight with feline humor.

“You’re right. There are three.”

Leo coughed then stalked closer. Saber moved Jo behind him, not moving his gaze off his brother. “That’s close enough,” he snarled.

Leo sat on his haunches, and Felix ambled forward to sit beside his brother, his tail lashing slowly from side to side.

“Jo, the cats haven’t hurt anyone as far as I know, but remember what I said earlier about not getting too close to them unless I’m with you. I don’t know what’s up with them today. Usually we don’t see them for months on end.” He took her hand and led her past the cats, hoping she didn’t have too many questions. Her eyes were so wide it was lucky she wasn’t wearing her contacts. They would have dropped out. Saber kept walking without looking back until the crackle of dried leaves underfoot told him his brothers and their friend were following. “I am going to find them a mate each if it’s the last thing I do.”

“What?”

“Nothing,” Saber muttered.

“Ooh!” Jo squeaked. “It licked my hand.”

Saber fumed inwardly and whirled to narrow his gaze on his brothers. Enough was enough. Despite his liking for Jo, she was still a relative stranger. None of them could be sure how she’d react to the truth about the Mitchell clan and the other shifters who secretly lived among the humans of Middlemarch. They needed time so they could all adjust and learn to trust. As he watched, Felix nudged her leg gently with his head and 53

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not to be outdone, Leo licked her hand again. Saul stayed aloof, a feline smirk hinting at his amusement and the smart-ass comments to come.

A smile of delight flickered across Jo’s face. She reached out and stroked a tentative hand over Felix’s shoulder. Felix let rip with a loud purr. Jealousy surged through Saber.
His woman.
“Enough,” he roared, tapping Felix smartly on the flanks. “Go. Away. Now.” He seized Jo’s hand and tugged her down a dirt track to a wooden gate. His brothers, luckily for them, stayed put. “I didn’t think you liked cats,” he snapped.

“I’ve changed my mind. They seem friendly enough.”

He’d give her friendly. His mouth slammed down on hers again. Plundering. Taking. Reassuring himself with her taste, her touch. A rough growl vibrated deep in his chest.
Mine.
Saber only relaxed when Jo slipped her arms around his neck and leaned into him.

He gentled the kiss, nibbling at her lips in a playful manner. Pulling away, he grinned down at her. “Well, just remember they’re unpredictable and keep clear. Ready to check the sheep?”

“What a romantic suggestion,” Jo said, her kiss-swollen lips quirking upward in amusement. “I’d love to help with the sheep, although I’d be more help if I had my glasses. I can’t even see the scenery properly.”

Saber chuckled, pleased to see her looking happier. After opening the gate, he snared her hand in his and stepped into the paddock. “I can describe it for you—if you want.” On seeing Jo’s enthusiastic nod, he viewed his home of Central Otago through the eyes of a visitor. After a pause, he started. “That’s the Taieri River down there. In the summer we go there fishing for trout and salmon. There’s nothing better than fresh trout filets cooked on the barbeque. If you’re very lucky, you might see a falcon gliding on the air currents. They’re rare, but there are still a few around here. Sometimes we have floods and the Taieri spills over its banks, but you’re safe enough now. Our autumn season is typically dry.”