Taber (6 page)

“You really are such a fucking smartass, brother.”

“Oh, just noticed that did you?”

He flipped his brother off and grumbled when all Talios did was offer him a knowing smile.

“Are you going to let her know how you feel?”

Taber closed his eyes and sighed deeply. In his head, all he could hear was her saying how it had been a mistake allowing him into her bed. How would he feel if she told him she didn’t love him? Or that she never wanted to see him again? Would she leave the reserve? Leave Kali? Leave him?

“I have to. I knew from the moment I saw her she was my mate. I’ve lived…we’ve both lived long enough to know when it comes we need to take it.”

“Yes. That is true.”

“Would you have let Candace go?”

“Not a chance in hell.” His brother’s response came so quickly he found himself smiling.

Taber took a long drink of his honeyed nectar and reclined his head.
I craved
Lainey. Touching her. Loving her.

“Told you.”
Talios’ voice was smug in his head.

“Quit reading my thoughts, you nosy bastard.”

“Stop projecting them so hard, then.”

“When is your woman getting back?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

A mere thought and the remainder of the drink vanished. He pushed to his feet and shared a glance with Talios, who immediately got up and accompanied him to the door. They pushed through into the night and simultaneously shifted.

Together they ran. Side by side, large leaping bounds carried them swiftly across the openness of New Mexico. Animals ran from them but as the two of them were all about running and not hunting, they paid them no mind.

They ran until they hit the outskirts of a lake. Taber padded in, the cool water refreshing his hot body. Soon the lion swam and went down beneath the surface only to reappear as a man. He ran his hands over his hair and slicked it back as he made his way to where Talios sat cross-legged on the shore.

“What are you doing?”

“Meditating.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. While you were swimming I decided to meditate.”

“I wasn’t swimming. I merely went in and cooled off.”

One eye opened and stared at him. “You were swimming.”

“Do you always have to have the last word?”

“Only when I’m right.”

Taber just shook his head.

* * * *

Later they returned together, until Taber branched off and continued on to his home. In his human form, he flashed himself to Lainey’s and stood at the foot of her bed while she slept.

He wanted to wake her but he refrained. She looked so exhausted lying there, he had no wish to ruin her sleep. He stayed until the sun began to rise and battle back the night.

At his house, he showered and got ready for work. Talios’ words about loving her never gave him a moment’s rest. He did love her. He just had to talk to her. They could get through this, work it out.

He stopped off to get some flowers for Lainey and was a little later than usual arriving for work. Nodding at the employees he passed, he made his way to his office. Setting his things down, he went to Lainey’s.

He paused after knocking on the door.

“Come on in.”

He couldn’t explain the relief he had knowing she was there. He entered and waited for her to look up. She never did—her attention was totally on the papers that she was putting into folders.

“What can I do for you, Mr Ellis?”

She’d known it was him. The joy that knowledge gave him faded the second her voice resonated with him. It was distant.

“Taber,” he said.

She shut the folder and pushed to her feet. “What can I do for you,
Taber
?”

“We need to talk.”

“Now isn’t a good time for me. I’m due out by the Siberian enclosure.”

He frowned. “That can wait.”

“Actually, it can’t. As you so aptly put when you hired me, you’re not paying me to sit behind a desk. Excuse me.”

She brushed by him before he knew what had hit him. And he was left alone in her office with just the tantalising scent of her as a reminder she had been there.

Chapter Five

Four weeks. Four fucking weeks since she’d learnt, or rather discovered, that Taber Ellis wasn’t all he had portrayed. She was still angry over his unwillingness to tell her who, or what, he truly was.

“Knock, knock.”

Glancing up from her desk, she spied Candace in the doorway. Her friend looked radiant in a peach dress. Hell, the dress wasn’t the reason, it was the fact she was so much in love—it showed on her face and in everything she did.

Lainey quickly quashed her feelings of betrayal, which surfaced when she saw Candace. They’d talked the night she’d discovered the truth and she was trying not to harbour any resentment towards her friend. She was trying to get used to the idea that Candace was also immortal and able to shift shape and do other things. Lainey hadn’t pushed for too many details about exactly what that meant, since she was still trying to come to terms with what she’d learnt.

“Hey. What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to know if you had time to talk.”

“Sure, I’m finishing up for the night. I don’t have to long but come on in and sit down while I take care of this last little bit.”

Candace did, and Lainey dropped her gaze back to the notes in front of her. It didn’t take her much longer to get it all entered into her computer and as she logged off, she cast a final glance out towards Kali’s enclosure. The lynx was nowhere in sight, but she felt better having taken a last look anyway.

“What’s up?” she asked her friend as she got up and grabbed her purse from the lowest desk drawer.

“Have you talked to Taber?”

“Not unless it pertains to work, no. Why?”

She was respectful to him and didn’t shirk her work just because of what they had gone through, but any time he made to exchange small talk with her, she had brushed him off.

“He’s different.”

Lainey snorted. “You got that right. But then, you already knew all about that.”

“Don’t be mad, Lainey.”

She sat on her desk and rested her feet in her chair as she stared at Candace who’d settled in on her sofa.

“Why not? Why am I not entitled to be pissed?”

“It wasn’t my place to tell you.”

“I never said it was, although as my friend, I would have assumed you’d look out for me.”

“I’m Taber’s friend too,” she said softly.

“Apparently.” Lainey heard the hurt in her own tone. “Look, I’m not—well, I’m trying not to be mad at you. We’ve been friends for a long time, Candace, and it’s going to take something much more than that to come between us.” The worry on her friend’s face smoothed away. “That doesn’t mean Taber gets the same treatment.”

“He didn’t mean—”

“Don’t Candace. Please, respect me enough to not try and lie for him. We were fucking and I made the stupid assumption that we were being truthful with one another. I was wrong. That’s the bottom line. He lied to me. Any emotions I had for him died the second I realised he’d kept something like that from me.”

“Is it because he is a god?”

She blew out an exasperated breath. “At first I thought it was, but no. Now I know it’s not it. I don’t care if he ended up being some kind of Martian or otherworldly creature. The fact is he lied to me. You know how I feel about that, Candace. You
know.
”

Candace lowered her head and nodded. “I know. But if…” she trailed off and crossed her arms over her chest. “I just want you happy. And I know you were happy when you were with Taber.”

That was true. “I was, yes. But I was also happy before I met him. And I will be again.”

Even as she spoke the words, Lainey knew she would be hard pressed to make it happen. Taber had changed every facet of her life, whether she wanted to admit it or not. However, the one thing she was not was a quitter. So no matter how hurt she was, she would carry on. And she wasn’t about to lose the opportunity to continue her work there. All she had to do was figure out a way to avoid him even more. Surely she could control her raging hormones the few times she was forced to be in his presence.

The look on Candace’s face told her she had so much more to say. Thankfully, she kept it to herself. Another knock sounded and Lainey turned to see Talios leaning on the doorframe. Peeking back at her friend’s face, she couldn’t believe the amount of joy and love which filled her expression.

“Hello, Lainey,” Talios said.

“Talios.”

Candace rose and moved gracefully to kiss the man she loved more than anything. Lainey sighed and got off her desk, purse in hand.

“Care to join us for dinner?” Talios questioned, his arm draped around Candace.

“No thank you. I have a prior engagement.”

“Really?” Candace asked. “You didn’t mention it when I came in.”

Tamping down her irritation she smiled. “You’re my friend, Candace. I will always make time for you.” She made a point of looking at her watch. “Now, though, if you will excuse me, I need to get going.”

Talios stepped to the side and Lainey found herself with an eyeful of Taber Ellis. He wore dark slacks and a white button down, which was opened at the top to allow her a peep at the dark skin of his chest. Moisture hit her panties and she struggled not to pant like a bitch in heat.

Christ. This is just from looking at him, too.
She gathered herself mentally and grabbed her purse.

“Are you joining us, Lainey?” Taber held her gaze as he asked the question.

“Sorry, no. I have plans for the evening.” She shouldered past both men and with a wave to Candace walked off down the hall.

He caught up to her before she reached the door. “Wait.”

She pivoted on her heel and stared at him. Locking her desire for him in a box, she coolly lifted a brow. “Yes?”

“We need to talk.”

“About what?”

“What happened between us.”

She felt the tick at the back of her eye. A headache was fast approaching and damn it, she wanted to have fun tonight.

“There is nothing to discuss, especially not at this moment. I am meeting some people and you are keeping me from it. My time is yours when I’m working, Taber Ellis. Not when the day is done. Good night.”

Head high and ignoring the pain in her heart, she turned around and walked out of the door, not once looking back. She got in her vehicle and drove from the reserve to Taos. It was a beautiful town and she could just feel some of her tension seep away as she drove through the streets.

At her destination, she parked and headed up the steps to the front. Sean Caan waited for her and she smiled in response to his wave.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself, sorry I’m late. Had a bit of paperwork to go over.”

“Not a problem. They’re closed anyway so we have the place to ourselves.”

“I can’t thank you enough for offering this opportunity to me. I’ve been meaning to get here and visit but the reserve takes up so much of my time.”

He nodded. “Shall we?”

She fell into step beside him. They were at the Taos Art Museum, which was housed at the historic and gorgeous home of Nicolai Fechin, a Russian who’d moved his family there in the early 1900s. The man had carved the adobe buildings into a harmonious amalgamation of Spanish, Russian and Native American symbology.

The interior took her breath away and she walked at her own pace, eagerly absorbing the many pieces. At the heart was a collection of paintings by the masters of the Taos Society of Artists—this museum was about preserving the art of the past.

* * * *

Three hours later, she and Sean left the building. Saying goodnight to the curator who’d allowed the private visit, she took a deep breath of the cool night air.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“Starved, actually.” She’d not eaten since noon.

“I know just the place.” He gestured around. “It’s about a quarter of a mile if you want to walk.”

“Sounds great.”

So they did—they made their way through Taos Plaza, walking slowly and passing the time with easy conversation.

“Here we are.”

She paused beside him and looked at a sign that said ‘Eske’s Brew Pub & Eatery’. A grin spread across her face as she followed him in. The bombarding smells caused her stomach to rumble loudly. She noticed people in the corner playing ping pong and some were hula hooping—both adults and children.

“This is great,” she told him.

“I love this place. Nothing pretentious, just good down to earth eating.”

They grabbed a seat and had soon placed their orders. Their house beers arrived and she took a good sized sip. This place was the oldest brew pub in New Mexico and the beers didn’t disappoint. They were served fresh, unpasteurised and unfiltered. It hit the spot.

As they dined on chilli stew, chips and dip and burritos, she and Sean talked and laughed—Lainey hadn’t been so relaxed in a long while. They grabbed dessert somewhere else in the plaza before walking back to their cars.

“Thank you, Sean. This was just what I needed.”

“It was my pleasure, Lainey. We’ll have to do this again.”

Like a gentleman, he held her door open for her and closed it behind her. She waved goodbye and drove away as he headed for his own vehicle. Listening to the radio she went back to her temporary home. Once there, she parked then walked to the front door while stifling a yawn.

“If you’re so tired, maybe you shouldn’t be going out with other men.”

“Ahh!” she screamed and whirled, spraying her Mace as she did.

“Ow damn it, Lainey! Stop. It’s me, Taber.”

Heart pounding at the speed of light, she took several shaky breaths before the realisation of what she’d just done hit her. She’d Maced him.

“What the hell did you think I would do if you jumped out at me?”

She opened the door and dragged him inside. Shoving him into a seat, she then went and got a washcloth, baby shampoo and some cold water. Returning she wedged herself between his thighs and reached for his face.