Pursued Read online

  “This is stupid,” he muttered to himself. “Just fucking get in there and give her what she needs—whatever it is.” Which would probably amount to another topless hug in which case he was going to have to be very fucking careful they didn’t touch below the waist. From the fear in Elise’s brown eyes when they’d talked about the sleeping arrangements, the feel of his hard shaft pressed against her was not going to go over well. Or course, he could always try to keep from getting hard when he touched her…

  Hell, if I could do that, I wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place, Merrick admitted to himself.

  With a sigh, he stood up and stretched, putting the palms of his hands flat against the ceiling of the cruiser. It was built with the oversized Kindred males in mind but even for his own species, Merrick was a bruiser. Good thing I’m not claustrophobic, he thought as he made his way down the corridor and back to the cabins.

  He knocked gently on the door and then cursed himself for doing it. Damn it, this was his room. But somehow he couldn’t bring himself to just barge in. Elise was already so damn jumpy about the whole ‘sleeping together’ thing and he didn’t want to make it worse.

  There was no answer to his knock. Frowning, Merrick knocked again. Again, no answer. Fuck it, she’s probably already asleep. I’ll just go in and lay down on the bed beside her, he told himself.

  Quietly, he slid open the metal panel and stepped into the room. It was dark and the slight shape which must be Elise was huddled under the blankets at the far edge of the sleeping platform, right where it met the wall. Merrick called her name softly but she didn’t stir. Sighing, he kicked off his boots and began to pull his thin, v-necked shirt over his head, intending to drop it on the floor and just sleep in his pants even though it would be damn uncomfortable. He didn’t want Elise waking up and finding him naked beside her when—

  A high, frightened gasp rose from the figure on the sleeping platform and then, suddenly, Elise was off the bed like a bolt fired from a blaster.

  Merrick caught her by the shoulders. “Hey, whoa—where are you going?”

  “Let me go! Let me go!” Her voice was a frantic sob, the sound of pure terror. Merrick could smell the fear coming off her in waves—sweat laced with adrenaline assaulted his sensitive nose. Gods, what was wrong with her?

  “It’s me, Elise. It’s just me,” he told her but still she fought him, fumbling in the darkened room, trying frantically go get away.

  “Leave me alone. Don’t touch me! Not that way. Not again!” She kicked out and Merrick had reason to be glad he was so tall. If he’d been even a few inches shorter, he would have been minus at least one of his balls. Still Elise struggled, obviously blind with terror.

  She can’t see me—she thinks I’m someone else. Someone who wants to hurt her. The thought flashed through his brain and he knew at once it was right.

  “Lights!” he roared. “Give me some fucking lights in here!”

  At once, the overhead lights came on as the cruiser obediently obeyed his voice command. As soon as the room filled with their golden glow, Merrick dropped to his knees. He still held Elise’s shoulders and he was so much taller than her that they were almost eye level, but he hoped he might look less threatening this way. Less dangerous.

  “It’s me,” he told her again, trying to make his voice soft and soothing. “Just me, baby. Just me.”

  Finally she stopped fighting him. “Merrick?” She sounded so uncertain he wasn’t sure she really understood.

  “Yeah, it’s me,” he said quietly. “You okay?”

  “Yes, fine. I…I’m fine.” She ran a trembling hand through her hair and took a quick, gasping breath. “I’m sorry. I must have been having a…a bad dream.”

  “Is that right?” he said flatly. “A dream…or a memory?”

  “A memory?” Elise repeated.

  Merrick was glad to see the hunted look, like an animal running for its life, disappear from her face. But he wasn’t happy with the look that replaced it either. The look of someone about to tell a lie—and not only to him—to herself, too.

  “I…I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Elise shook her head. “I…it was just a bad dream, that’s all. I mean, after the things I’ve been through in the past month or two, I think I’m entitled to have a few bad dreams, don’t you?”

  “Sure you are.” Merrick walked over and sat on the side of the sleeping platform. “Except I don’t think that was just a dream.” He patted the space on the gel-foam mattress beside him. “Come on. Let’s talk about it.”

  “Talk about what? There’s nothing to talk about.” She crossed her arms over her chest protectively. For the first time, he noticed she was wearing one of his shirts—the hem fell almost to her knees.

  And her knees were shaking.

  Merrick gave her a long, hard look. Clearly now wasn’t the time to broach the subject of her past. He could sense her nervousness in the air and the lingering scent of desperation hung around her like a suffocating perfume. Elise didn’t just not want to talk about this—she was almost frantic not to. Why? Merrick didn’t know and he had to admit that at the moment, he wasn’t up to finding out. It had been a long day. A very long day and suddenly it seemed to all catch up with him at once.

  Running a hand over his skull-cut hair, he sighed. “Fuck it. We’ll leave it alone for tonight. Come on, I’m beat—let’s go to bed.” He stretched out on the bed, feeling bone weary and ready for some shut eye. He let his eyelids drift shut and was almost asleep when he realized he was alone on the bed. Where the hell is Elise?

  When he opened his eyes, he saw her. She was standing there, at the edge of the sleeping platform with her arms crossed and her hands fisted under her breasts. But it was the look on her face, even more than her body language, which caught Merrick’s attention.

  She was leaning toward him, a yearning look in those deep brown eyes, an expression of hunger so great it was nearly starvation. Her lower lip was caught between even, white teeth that reminded him of pearls and her nostrils flared periodically, almost as though she were scenting him. Like a starving person smelling a meal they really want to eat, Merrick thought, bemused.

  But despite her obvious hunger, Elise stayed where she was. It was as though she was on the outside looking in—unable to get what she wanted, what she so desperately needed. Something was holding her back. Something was keeping her from coming to him.

  Something…or someone? Merrick wondered, remembering her terror when he’d first come into the room.

  “Elise? Baby?” he said, propping himself up on his elbows. “Why don’t you come to bed?”

  “I don’t…” She shook her head uncertainly. “I’m sorry, Merrick but I don’t know if…if I feel comfortable sleeping in the same bed with you after all. I mean, what if I wake up while it’s still dark and see you and think you’re…I mean, what if I have another bad dream. A really bad one?” she whispered.

  Merrick sighed wearily. It was tempting to feel frustrated at her for her sudden fear of him…but he’d seen the terror in her eyes, had heard the panic in her voice. Something had happened in the past and somehow, his appearance in the dark had triggered a flashback, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

  “Look,” he said reasonably. “I’m sorry you’re uncomfortable but somehow this has to happen. I have to touch you, baby. Have to feed the hunger, or you’re not going to make it. You know that, right?”

  “I know.” But still she stayed where she was, her slender body strung taut as a wire. It wasn’t just that she didn’t want to lie down on the bed so close to him—she physically couldn’t make herself do it, Merrick realized. The fear he’d inadvertently roused in her was too much, too strong to overcome. They had to find another way—but what?

  Suddenly, he had an idea. It wasn’t going to be very comfortable but what the hell, after the day they’d had he was tired enough to sleep anywhere.

  “Here,” he said. Moving slowly, so as not to startle her, h