Skin Deep (8 page)

Cain complied, though not without staring daggers at the cop.

“Miss, is everything okay?”

“Okay?” Kiera’s voice held confusion.

“Kiera, is that you?”

Cain’s instincts fired with anger as he took in the older man before him.

“Officer Burke?” Kiera seemed to be jolted back to reality.

“That’s right, honey, is everything okay? We got a call saying there was a woman screaming for help in this area.”

Honey?

The officer approached her and Cain bit the inside of his mouth to keep himself from loosing the beast and destroying the man before him.

He shook his head. This whole situation was wrong. What the fuck was he doing here, chasing after a human woman in the middle of the night? Had he gone bat-shit-fucking crazy? Women chased after
him
. It sure as hell wasn’t the other way around.

He watched Kiera take a step forward and winced at the bark that had impaled itself in her shirt, shawl, and hair. Had he been that rough with her? He knew without asking he had. He’d all but thrown her into
more than one
tree.
Zeus
. You’d think he hadn’t seen a woman in a century from the way he was acting.

Kiera glanced at where he knelt. Fear filled her beautiful golden irises. A cold rush flushed his body. Women never feared him. Sure, women hated and loved him, but fear?

Absolutely never
.

He knew what he was going to do now. He wouldn’t say a word against her story. He would let the cops take him to jail, then call Sparrc to bail him out in the morning.

“Yelling for help? I haven’t heard anything, have you, Cain?” she asked. Cain’s face must have borne the shock he was feeling. She raised her eyebrows. “Cain?”

“Nope. Didn’t hear a damn thing.”

The older man’s eyebrows furrowed, a look that spelled out disbelief. “Are you sure about that, Kiera?”

“More than sure, Officer Burke. I haven’t heard anyone screaming and we’ve been out here for quite a while. It’s such a gorgeous night. Hey, you still coming in on Tuesday for that haircut?” Kiera’s words were more confident now, dripping from her mouth like honey. She’d never spoken to him like that, though he supposed he hadn’t given her much of a chance to say anything. Cain stood up and listened while the two made small talk about hair appointments and keeping the freaky stuff in the bedroom where it belonged. Kiera blushed becomingly at the officer’s lecture and smiled at all the right times. Shit, she could have charmed that cop into believing grass was blue with one smile. It disturbed Cain just how much he wanted her to smile at him like that. He feared just how much power she would have over him when that happened.

It felt like Kiera chatted with the cop for an hour before he finally left and they were alone again. Kiera shot Cain an annoyed look before she turned her back and started walking.

“Why did you lie?” Cain asked as he fell in step beside her.

“Lie?”

“Yes, about the screaming.” Cain had never been fascinated by a woman, but he was curious about this one.

Her only response was to shrug and veer farther away from him, walking with one foot in the grass and the other on the concrete. There was a moment of silence between them before she finally spoke again. “There’s no need for you to walk me home.”

“I want to.” The words were out before he could stop them. She gave him a sideways look that said she was as confused about that statement as he was. She didn’t say anything else, though, just kept walking.

He took her silence as acceptance. He tried to gaze at the scenery as they walked, but found nothing that could hold his attention for long. His eyes kept roaming back to her long red hair feathered behind her shoulders in the breeze, set off nicely by the green wrap. Fuck, she sure was something.

After a few moments of ogling her fuck-tastic body, the compulsion surged through him to say something—but what, he wasn’t sure. If his buddies had been around, they would be laughing their asses off at his pathetic-ness.

Cain knew women like the back of his hand. They were easy to read, understand, and manipulate. He had a line prepared for every situation that could possibly arise. Nothing shocked him. Nothing threw him for a loop, and yet here he was walking next to the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and he was utterly speechless.

A sudden onset of dread washed over him. There was only one other time when he’d been speechless in the presence of a woman.
Women,
to be more specific. Pain tore at him and he fought the bile that rose in his throat. He wouldn’t think of them now. He’d gotten good at hiding her away in his memories, his nightmares.
Think of how Kiera would feel if she knew the truth about you. About what you’ve done.
He tensed and squeezed his hands into fists.

“I never thanked you for the roses.” Kiera’s voice saved him from his inner turmoil, jolting him back to the present.

“You like them?” He prayed she did.

“Red roses are my favorite.”

“They reminded me of you. Your hair, specifically. When I saw them, I couldn’t help but notice how the color is exact, the red—”

“—of a rose.” She finished his sentence, giving him a bewildered look as they walked. “My mom used to say that. She didn’t know where I got it. Her hair was black as night, so was my dad’s.” Her voice was filled with a sadness that ate at him.

“You don’t get to see them much?”

“My mom … passed away when I was twelve.” She didn’t look at him when she spoke.

“I know the feeling.” The old memories tried to assail him once again. He pushed them away. This wasn’t the time to stroll down tragic memory lane. “I’m sorry … for your loss, I mean.”

The word felt wrong on his lips. He’d never apologized for anything. He didn’t feel sorry for people when loved ones passed. That shit happened to everyone, so there was no need to be sorry about it. He meant it when he said it to her, though. The look of sadness on her face made him feel weak, like he’d do anything to make her smile again.

She only shrugged, missing the novelty of his first-time apology.

“What about your dad?” he asked.

“Never met him. He and my mom had an affair. He was already married to someone else and was long gone before I was born.”

“What a fucking asshole.”

Kiera snorted sadly. “You’re telling me.”

He shot her a sideways glance and found her looking at him as they walked. The moment his gaze met her golden one, she glanced away. He watched her hair again as it slid across the green wrap she wore. The fabric looked soft. He reached out and touched it, a few of her silken strands brushing along his fingers at the same time.

“This is nice.” He dropped his hand.
Now I’m complimenting her fashion sense? Just fucking shoot me.

She looked back at him. “This?” She gestured to the shawl.

He wanted to deny that he’d said anything, but he supposed it was too late for that. He nodded.

“Thank you.” Breathless was the only way to describe the way her voice sounded. Her cheeks became rosier, and he knew it wasn’t from the cool night air. She seemed genuinely happy that he liked it.

“The color is nice.”
I didn’t just fucking say that.
But he had, and for some strange reason he couldn’t bring himself to regret the words. Her cheeks reddened further, making his pulse quicken.

“I think so, too.” She paused and looked down at her feet, indecision playing across her features. “I made it.”

Cain frowned. “You mean … like you—”

“I crocheted it. With yarn.”

“With yarn.” He said the words as a statement, not a question, letting it roll around in his head. It was just a damn shawl. People all over the world made clothes, but he couldn’t deny that he was impressed.

“Yes.”

“The color looks beautiful on you. Like it’s meant to be on your body.”
Fucking sap.
He meant it though. Every word.

She smiled and ran a nervous hand through her hair. “This is crazy,” she murmured. If he’d been a human, he wouldn’t have heard the words. His supernatural senses picked up on them with little difficulty.

“What’s crazy?”

Her eyes met his again, clearly shocked he’d heard her speak.

“This whole week, my life—” she smirked and threw her hands up “—everything lately.”

Cain couldn’t help himself; he was intrigued. “Like?” he prompted, trying not to sound overly interested.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” She shook her head, keeping her pace.

“Try me.”

She looked at him again. Her red hair slid across her shoulder with a whisper. His fingers itched to be buried deep within the silken locks. “Well, I saw a white tiger yesterday. Can you believe it? A freaking white tiger! In Lucky Zipper’s parking lot!”

Cain had to restrain himself from visibly wincing. He’d nearly forgotten that she’d seen him in animal form.

“Was this tiger … nice?” Cain stumbled over his words like a child yearning for praise from his teacher.

“Nice? I tell you I saw a tiger in a bar parking lot and you want to know if it was nice?” Her words weren’t mocking, just filled with confusion and a hint of laughter. “I’m shocked you aren’t telling me I’m crazy.”

“You sure as hell aren’t crazy. Weird shit happens all the time.”

She eyed him and looked relieved. Was she pleased with him?

Their walk ended far too soon, when she stopped in front of some loft apartments off Basilwood.

“This is where you live?”

“Home sweet home.” Pulling her keys from her bag, she reached forward, about to slide in the key where it would click into place and take her from his presence.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

She stared up at him for several moments before he realized the words had come from his mouth. Apologizing twice in one night?
Who am I?
“For chasing you and slamming you into the tree and … all that stuff,” he rushed out.

She smiled at him. It wasn’t a full smile, just a partial crook at the corner of one side, the kind of smile you have when you’re trying not to. His heart fluttered—the traitor—and then he was kissing her again. He was gentler this time, not ravaged by … whatever it was that compelled him before.

He cupped her face between his palms and licked the seam of her lips. She opened up to him. He swirled his tongue in the depths of her mouth. She responded so sweetly, lapping at him, encouraging him, seeming to beg for more with each stroke.

It took all the strength in his body to break away from that kiss. It was the first one he had ended.

“Come out with me tomorrow night.” It wasn’t a request, but a demand. He had to have her and if he had to do it the hard way, he would.

“Are you asking me on a date?” She grinned up at him, making his heart pound in his chest.

“Who else would I be asking?” He said the words teasingly, though the effect they had was instantaneous. The perfect smile left her lips and her eyes turned cold as she pushed him away from her. She spun on the spot and fumbled with her keys.

“What the—”

“No.”

He heard the lock click as her key sailed home. “Kiera—”

“Leave me alone.” Her words cut his like a dagger, silencing them in his throat. He stepped forward only to have the thick oak door slammed in his face.

Kiera panted as she leaned her back against the locked door of her loft. Her heart raced inside her chest. She tried to calm herself, but couldn’t. Cain overwhelmed her with everything he did. All the kisses they’d shared had been mind-blowing, but this last one had been different. There was a kindness in that kiss. It wasn’t desperate, or lust-filled. There was something more there, something intoxicating.

“Who else would I be asking?”
His words rang in her ears. They’d made her remember Leslie from the bar, who claimed she and Cain were a couple. He was playing her, had to be. The girl from the bar was gorgeous, practically perfect.

“
He always comes back to me.”
For some reason, those words ate at Kiera’s very soul. She shook her head. What was she thinking? This stuff shouldn’t bother her. The guy was clearly an asshole/stalker/freak. So why had she felt a tug at her heart when he’d apologized about the loss of her mom? The look in his eyes said he knew her pain and that he wasn’t one for apologies. They also said something else, something more, something she didn’t even want to consider. The look was there after he’d kissed her the last time, too. It made her feel like the only girl in the world. Her life wasn’t a Rhianna song, though, and Cain wasn’t her Prince Charming.

It wasn’t until later, after she’d washed Cain’s sandalwood scent from her body and snuggled into her bed on the verge of sleep, that she acknowledged the real reason she’d slammed the door in Cain’s beautiful face. The look in his crystal-green eyes made a promise she felt in every cell of her being. A promise that gave her a glimpse into the future she could never have, a future that would disappear after she slept with him, with the return of her overweight body.

Once he saw her true form, he would run right back to his waitress, where they would laugh about her after making love for hours. He wouldn’t have even looked at her twice if he’d met her in her true form, with too much weight on her bones. Too much of everything.

I’ll never be good enough for someone like Cain.