Tempting Whispers: The Kategan Alphas 6 (16 page)

A massive wooden hutch sat against the
far wall with an assortment of the matching furniture along the walls. It
looked expensive; it looked rich. Where the hell was she?

“Brayden?” she called out, only to find
her voice a mere croak of sound.

Then, the pain registered in a flash.
Her hand flew to her throat and found the skin rough and scratchy like
sandpaper. She winced as she prodded it then tossed back the covers and slowly
stood. A rush of blood flowed through her straight to her legs. She stood
wobbling at first, then with growing strength. She walked across the room on a
plush middle-eastern looking rug to the door. Some parts of it, especially near
the corners, were thread-barren and worn out in color, but the overall pattern
and vivid red, blues, and tans, still looked beautiful. She had to stop halfway
across the room and lean heavily against a rocking chair for support. Breathing
was hard and each breath pinched her ribs where the seatbelt had been. She didn’t
want to look, but she’d bet she had a nasty bruise covering her waist where the
belt had been.

Footsteps came, closing in on the door,
then it opened and confusion set in. “What are you doing here?”

The older pack healer from her Kategan
cousins’ pack smiled big. Her blonde hair hung loose and curling around her
shoulders. She looked so vibrant and happy. “I live here, honey.”

Vanessa scrubbed a hand across her
forehead trying to make her brain work. She remembered the car accident, then
that was it. “What happened? Where’s Brayden?”

“Here, sit down first, then we’ll talk.
You really shouldn’t be out of bed yet.”

Her legs felt so weak that she let
Christine lead her back to the bed and put her in it like a child. After she
settled, she leveled her gaze on the older pack healer. “Okay, spill.”

Christine smiled and pulled a bag out
from beneath the side table next to the bed. She pulled out a jar with some
kind of wet gunk inside that made Vanessa’s nose curl even though couldn’t
smell it yet. It just
looked
nasty.

“You’re at Dmetri’s and my place. Brayden
brought you here.”

“Is he okay?” she blurted out.

Christine’s saucy wink instantly made
her tense shoulders relax.
She wouldn’t wink if it was bad, right?
“He’s
fine. You took the brunt of it. He had some cuts, but he’ll heal fast. Even
faster, if he’d of let me put my salve on him. Oh well, men, you know? Anywho,
good to see you, Vanessa. Though it’d be nice to actually see you when you
weren’t hurt for once.” She laughed at her own joke, then gently tugged Vanessa’s
shirt up.

Vanessa lifted her back off the bed so
she could tug it up past her bra. She looked down and grimaced. Nasty barely
covered how awful her stomach looked. She had a black and purple bruise that
went from her right ribcage down to her left hip from where the seatbelt had
been. The thing looked radioactive or something, because surrounding that nasty
dark line was even more colors—all an assortment of ugly ones in dark yellows
and sunburn reds and garish blues.

Christine fingered some of the goop on
her hand then rubbed it across her stomach. “This’ll help, trust me. And don’t
worry, it doesn’t stink.” She gave Vanessa a pointed look then laughed. “I know
that’s what most people think when they see it. But really, it’s a mixture of
herbs with some petroleum jelly; my own concoction! The jelly helps it to glide
and stay on. I even added a touch of mint just so it’d smell kind of nice.”

Vanessa sniffed and still winced. “Smells
like Vapor Rub.”

Christine shrugged. “Would you rather it
smell as bad as you thought it would?”

“Hell, no,” she muttered.

That done, Christine went into the
adjoining bathroom to wash her hands then came out drying them on a dark brown
towel. “Brayden went to interview some lady or something, I don’t know. Said he’d
be back soon.”

“Oh.” She tried to hide her
disappointment, but she must have failed, because Christine’s face instantly
drooped with a frown. She came and sat on the bed next to her.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

What was wrong? Hell, she wasn’t even
sure yet. What she did know was that she didn’t like waking up in a strange
place without him. She didn’t like not being able to see his injuries for herself,
and she really didn’t like that he left without waiting for her to wake up so
he could at least fill her in on what happened.

“Nothing.” She forced a tight smile. “Do
you know when he’ll be back?”

Christine gasped and her eyes widened as
if something important just dawned on her. “You and him...” She didn’t say the
words, but instead made crude moaning and kissing sounds as her eyes rolled to
the back of her head.

Vanessa tried not to laugh, but she
couldn’t contain it. “Sort of...” she said with a shrug.

Christine’s eyes lit up. “That is
awesome! I always told Dmetri that man needed a woman. What kind of good
looking guy spends all his time alone like that?” She shook her head. “What a
waste.”

“Yeah,” Vanessa agreed with another
tight smile.

Christine eyes grew serious, her smile
small but strong, then she cupped Vanessa’s hand in her own. “Okay, tell me
everything. What’s going on?”

Maybe it was having another woman to
talk to or Christine’s open honesty, but Vanessa found herself spilling the
beans about everything. From what happened after she was kidnapped at the
Kategans two years ago, to the mating and finally leaving Joseph. When she got
to the parts involving Brayden, her cheeks burned and she wished like hell they
didn’t. She didn’t mention any of the kisses, the amazing sex, the way he could
make her entire body burn even on the side of a busy highway in broad daylight.
But Christine saw that blush, heard her stumble over those parts of the story,
and smiled. And what a smile it was—pure sexy knowing woman.

Christine winked. “You’re in real good
hands with Brayden. Considering I’ve never seen him with a woman, you must
really mean something to him.”

Vanessa’s heart leapt at the thought.
Stupidly she said, “Really?”

Christine nodded slowly, her smile
curling bigger. “Oh, yeah. You’ve broken him out of his shell. Hell, look at it—you
both stayed here with us last night. Everything he’s used to is jumbled right
now. I say take advantage of it while you can.” Her smile turned kind of sad. “You
find love like that and you shouldn’t let it go, no matter who’s in the way.”

Vanessa’s face burned red and hot. “I didn’t
say anything about love,” she said quickly.

Christine grinned, then winked. “I know.
I’m going to get some food for you then I’ll be right back. Stay put,” she
added firmly.

She left and Vanessa slammed her head
back into the pillow. Love? Why did that word make her heart flutter and beat
in fear at the same time?

After a full belly and a long bath,
Vanessa’s moods managed to swing from happy, to content, to angry, to really
pissed off. It really didn’t help that every single room she went in, even the
damn bathroom, had a clock in it. So, as she bathed, because standing for too
long wore her out, she got to stare at the clock and watch the hours fly by. First
one, then two, then more and more until her teeth were grinding into sawdust.

She took a tour of the house with Christine
and even said a brief hello to her mate, Dmetri, when he finally tore his gaze
away from the newspaper. He still looked as good as ever. His hair had been
snipped though. It looked good on him. It fell just around his shoulders, and
almost made him look a bit younger. The house was massive, a mansion really.
Christine showed her each of the suits, the expansive library, and the gardens
outside. None it made her feel better though. In fact, each new room she walked
through, her eyes narrowed on the clock.

The garden was lovely and elaborate. A
maze of hedges led down a path of soft green grass to a circular enclosure.
More tall hedges gave the inner space a separated, private feel. Pretty
brickwork covered the ground and a fountain with cement benches surrounded it.
Vanessa stared into the watery font and frowned. Five hours. He’d been gone
even longer she was sure, since that was just when she’d woken up. He couldn’t
call? After the terrifying experience yesterday, he couldn’t even shake her
shoulder and wake her up? Could he not write? A damned note would have served
just as well.

An arm curling around her shoulders
jerked her out of her nasty thoughts. “Hey, what’s bothering you?” asked
Christine.

“Nothing…I just feel kind of cramped-up
here.” She flushed at the lie. Okay, it wasn’t quite a lie, but even she knew
it sounded ridiculous, considering she was standing on God knows how many acres
of land right now with only twirping birds to bother her.

“Wanna go out and get dinner?”

Vanessa’s eyes lit up. “Great idea! Can
we go now?”

Christine nodded and they split ways to
get dressed. Vanessa’s eyes narrowed in focus. Each step up the stairs to her
room was a heavy thud. In her room, she tore through her bag of clothes and
found the sexiest dress she had. She grinned down at it as she started pulling
her clothes off. She’d made the right choice in buying it. It wasn’t
particularly tight, but where it showed skin it did so with sleek straight cuts
of material that somehow made a simple V-neck top look more daring and sexy
than usual.

She pulled the dress on, slid on a pair
of flats, since her other bag with various clothes and shoes was missing,
probably crushed in the accident.

“Gah!” she growled.

Marching to the bathroom, she tore a
brush through her hair catching on some rats, but yanking harder. He couldn’t
even stay to tell her about the accident! Like, was anyone else hurt? Was
he
hurt? Or, you know, maybe just a text message letting her know what the
heck had happened. Was that too much to ask for?
Apparently so
, she
thought and slicked on some mascara.

On her way out the door, she snatched
her cell phone from the table. Christine came out a minute later, Dmetri hot on
her trail. He had a fierce frown on his face and Christine positively glowed.
Chuckling, Vanessa turned toward them to watch.

Dmetri snatched her by the arm and spun
her into him. “You’re not leaving.”

“Sure, I am. Why, are you gonna miss me,
baby?” she purred, her lashes batting. Vanessa glanced down, and yup, her ass
was shaking.

Dmetri snatched her by the waist so fast,
Christine giggled as he brought her up to eye level. He buried his face in in
her neck and whispered something too low for Vanessa to hear. Christine’s smile
bloomed as she melted against him, her entire body curling around his with a
sigh.

He pulled back, kissed her hard then
said, “That’s what I thought.”

Vanessa’s jaw dropped as he then spun on
his heel with her in his arms and stormed back inside. Just before he kicked
the door closed, Christine snapped out of her sexy haze, grinned at Vanessa,
then tossed a pair of keys to her. Vanessa didn’t bother trying to catch them.
She was enthralled watching the couple so obviously in love having fun. The
door slammed closed and then giggles and masculine threats sounded as his heavy
steps bounded up the stairs.

A small shiver passed over her. Would Brayden
ever need her like that? Could he, was the better question. Shaking her head,
she grabbed the keys then headed to the carport. A man with gray hair and
sharply receding hairline already stood out front. He wore an all-black suit
with a black shirt underneath—he looked dressed and ready for his own funeral.

Vanessa strode toward him. “Which car
belongs to these?”

He held his hand up and out. She
hesitated for a moment, then tossed them. Unlike her fail, he caught them
easily. “These would be for the lady’s Mercedes. Just a moment, please.” A few
seconds later, the butler pulled a sleek black car out of the port and got out
with the keys in and still running.

“Thanks,” she said and took off.

Her butt slid around on the leather, her
legs felt silky on the cold cushion beneath her. She drove aimlessly carrying
only her purse, phone, and a little of the money she still had left. With the
first busy restaurant she saw, she snagged a parking spot and got out. She ran
a nervous hand down her stomach. It was getting dark and now she wished she’d
brought her pocketknife. She hadn’t realized her mistake until she felt that
same prickling fear down the back of her neck.

She jerked her head behind her, her
breath caught hard in her throat, eyes wide, but only saw a group of people
climbing out of their car in the parking lot. She kept walking, making herself
put one foot in front of the other. She kept her chin up and tried to keep her
eyes focused straight, but she wasn’t strong enough to do it. The night seemed
to be closing in on her faster and faster as the sun set in the distance. Each
step closer to the restaurant brought the shadows of night in on her quicker
and quicker.

She gasped and fled to the well-lit
restaurant, to the cheery music playing over the speakers. Her heart clamored a
raucous beat in her ears, booming so loud it was all she could hear. Her foot
caught on the pavement and she slid for a second before righting herself. She
flew to the door, whipped it open, and stopped inside it. Faces turned to her,
some sitting on benches with arms wrapped around loved ones. They gazed at her
with wide eyes and strange expressions.