Eyes Like a Wolf Read online

  “We just did,” he said softly.

  “It was an accident,” I said, trying to talk it away. Trying to justify it. “I was confused, and it's been so long since we've seen each other.”

  He looked at me steadily. “Is that what you think? Is that why your heart beats so hard I can hear it every time I touch you? Rachel, don't you remember anything about our past? About the promises we made?”

  “Children promise lots of things,” I said softly, my mouth trembling. “But I never promised to let you…do that to me.”

  “You really don't remember, do you?” He pulled away from me, taking his warmth and comfort with him. I clutched at his arm.

  “Don't…don't go,” I said. “Stay with me. Tell me what you need to tell me.”

  He shook his head. “No. Not tonight. You're not ready.” He started to rise from the bed, but I pulled him back.

  “Please, Richard. The dream—what if it comes back? I need you with me.”

  “How do you need me?” In the darkness his voice was low and full of promises. Promises I was afraid he might keep.

  “Don't you remember when we were children?” I said, hearing the note of pleading in my voice and not caring. “The way you held me close and kept me safe when I was scared? Can't…can't it be like that?”

  He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Oh, Rachel. Do you know how much I love you?”

  I stared at him silently, my eyes wide in the darkness.

  “No,” he murmured. “I don't believe you do. All right, I'll hold you until you go to sleep. But then I'd better go back to the cot.”

  “All right.” We lay back down on the bed, my back to his front as we had when we were children. I felt his heart pound against me and the warmth of his big body cradling my own. Feeling comforted, I let the sweet sensations lull me to sleep.

  I didn't dream of the boy with wolf's eyes again, but as I slipped into sleep, another image followed me down...

  I woke up from a disturbing dream breathing hard, my hand pressed to my breasts. I was so wet between my thighs that for a moment I wondered if it had been no dream. But, no, Richard wasn't even in the bed with me. It was impossible, but my body didn't think so.

  I could feel my heart pounding like one of the frightened rabbits my father used to take Richard and me to catch on our moonlight hunts. Then I shook my head, trying to block the memory. I hadn't thought of that in ages—the way we'd run down the tiny furry creatures on foot and caught them in our teeth as though we were animals…

  You're Amon-kai, the dream Richard's voice echoed in my head. I looked over and saw that he was sleeping in the cot, having apparently left my bed after I'd fallen asleep myself. What was this crazy dream, and why should I have it now? Why should I be thinking of things, feeling things, I hadn't thought of or felt since childhood?

  Disturbed, I lay back on the pillow and turned my back resolutely away from the sleeping form of my adopted brother. It's just a dream, I told myself. No need to be so upset—people have weird dreams all the time. But why should I have a dream like that? That I had somehow gone back to a time I would have had with Richard if my mother hadn't taken me away? But even if she hadn't, Richard and I never would have done…that together, would we? Of course not, it was stupid, crazy, ridiculous…

  But no matter what I told myself, I found it nearly impossible to get back to sleep that night.

  Chapter Six

  “Dearest, I'm so very sorry about the other night.” The voice on the other end of my phone was obviously Charles, and he sounded sincere.

  “Well…” I hedged, not sure I was ready to forgive him. I sat in a small park a few blocks from the courthouse, finishing my lunch, a cup of yogurt and an apple. It was a sunny day, but not too hot—a rarity in Tampa—and I had been having a perfectly good day before he called. “I'm sorry, too, I guess,” I said at last, tossing my empty yogurt container in the nearby trash can.

  “I mean, I should've trusted your judgment. And it was ridiculous of me to be so jealous. He's just your brother, after all, even if you aren't really related by blood.”

  I felt my face color, remembering the way Richard had held me and kissed me that first night. Just my brother indeed. Then why did my heart skip a beat every time he touched me? But I pushed the thought away and tried to concentrate on what Charles was saying.

  “I was thinking about a double date. My cousin, Ursula, is going to be in town this coming Friday—she'll be staying with the family until the wedding—and I thought you and I could take both her and Richard out to dinner. Wouldn't that be lovely?”

  “Ah…yes, lovely,” I said reluctantly. “But listen, Charles, let me run it by Richard first and see what he thinks. I don't want to set him up on a blind date without asking him first.”

  “Of course, of course. Whatever you think is best, my dear.” His voice was light and airy, and for the first time I wondered if he had been drinking. Unlike some men who got angry or mean when they had a few too many, Charles became almost pathologically agreeable. Would he sober up and be sorry he had extended the olive branch?

  “Look, Charles, I'm going to be late for court. Can we talk about this later?”

  “As long as we talk.” He sounded more serious now—maybe he wasn't drunk after all. “These past several weeks have been absolutely intolerable, Rachel. I need you in my life. We're going to be married in a little over two weeks, for Christ's sake. Please don't shut me out.”

  “Oh, Charles.” I was truly touched this time. It was a fact that I had made no effort to call him in the two weeks following our catastrophic fight in the downtown PD. I had decided that if he wanted me back, he could damn well make the first move himself. It was a good thing my future mother-in-law was handling every aspect of our impending wedding except the gown, which was hanging like a white, plastic-wrapped ghost in the back of my hall closet, because I hadn't even spared it a thought. And I hadn't exactly been sitting around waiting for the phone to ring, either—I had other things on my mind besides my pouting fiancé.

  For one thing, Richard was still staying with me even though he had been cleared of all charges. Both of the supposed “witnesses” had recanted their statements, a fact that didn't surprise anyone very much. Neither of them had been very credible in the first place, and it was likely that their new pimp, whoever he was, didn't want them involved with an open homicide investigation. So the case was closed, but Richard stayed. Frankly, I didn't want him to go. Not yet, and if I listened to the whispers of my heart, maybe not ever.

  “I know you're in a hurry, but just think about it and let me know. Ursula has grown into quite a lovely young lady, and I'm sure Richard would fancy her.”

  “I'm sure,” I said noncommittally. The fact that Charles was on the phone, offering to set Richard up with his own flesh and blood told me two things: one, he had checked out my adopted brother's background and found out that he was wealthy, and two, that he already knew that Richard had been cleared of the charges that had landed him in my lap over a week ago. The fact that Richard could now leave and yet hadn't weighed heavily in the air between us, but neither of us said anything about it.

  “Well…I love you.” Charles's voice sounded slightly uncertain.

  I decided to let him off the hook. “I love you too,” I said, as sincerely as I could. “Talk to you soon about Friday night. Just let me run it by Richard first.”

  “Of course. Later, darling.” He hung up, leaving me with a vague uneasiness I couldn't understand. Two weeks to go until my wedding, and until Charles had called me, I had almost managed to forget about it completely. That didn't seem normal at all, but maybe I just had a lot on my mind.

  I stood up and grabbed my briefcase. The courthouse was just a few blocks from the park, and I was looking forward to the walk. I was about to shove my cell phone back into my purse when it chimed again. The caller ID showed my home number—Richard, then. He'd been working out of the house on his latest consulting job, redesign