Shadow of My Heart

chapter Nine



With his telepathy, Raven reached for Cara’s mind, as she pushed his sodden jeans and briefs down his legs. He carefully kicked the items off and, opening the shower door, pushed the clothes out of the shower and onto the tile with his foot.

Cara wasn’t answering his question, and he found that in her thoughts she was still uncertain whether to commit to him, her confusion easy to read. Instead of pushing her, he reached over and picked up the soap. He could only show her how much she meant to him. Rubbing his hands together, he worked up a foamy lather, before replacing the soap in its container.

He rubbed lather over her shoulders and down her chest, making sure to surround each breast and finger each nipple, before moving lower to her abdomen. He let the silky feeling of the foam tantalize her skin as he drew circles on her body. She leaned back against his chest as he moved his hands lower, caressing and tempting her with his wandering fingers. Leaning close, he licked at the water drops on her neck, before sucking her earlobe. Then, releasing her ear, he turned her into the spray.

Rubbing her shoulders and neck, he massaged away the tension and replaced it with fluidity as he moved down her spine to her buttocks. Cara sighed in contentment, letting her head drop forward into the water.

Raven pushed her hair off her shoulders and into the water, letting it become fully immersed before he reached for the shampoo. He worked the suds into her hair, massaging her skull with skillful fingers. She moaned and relaxed further in his hands. Turning her again, he let the water flow through her hair until it was completely rinsed.

She blinked, looking up at him, her eyes heavy-lidded and dreamy.

“No one has ever cared for me like you do,” she said softly. “Who takes care of you, Raven?”

Raven cupped her face and rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip. Cara was so beautiful, she took his breath away.

“My tribe and employees do their best for me. But I have never had someone just for me before. Until you, Cara.”

“Hhm,” she murmured, reaching for the soap. Raven was so gentle and caring with her, loving her with his actions. Soaping up her hands, Cara rubbed his chest with the foam, enjoying the feel of each muscle she touched. She fingered each muscle and rubbed over the tattoo on his chest before she continued down toward his stomach. She wasn’t surprised to see his member standing at attention. Raven never hid his desire for her.

She ran her soapy fingers up and down his rigid length before circling it with her hand. Raven’s breath left with a whoosh, and then he was kissing her, his tongue tangling with hers, his kiss a claiming. She continued to tease his rigid length as he took her head into his hands to angle it for better penetration from his seeking tongue.

Groaning, he continued his assault on her lips, before grabbing her at the waist and pulling her flush against him. His hips ground into hers as she lifted her arms to encircle his neck.

“Cara, I need you. Put your legs around my waist, tehila.”

Cara quickly obliged him as he pushed her back against the tiled wall. Then, he was pressing against her heat, filling her inch by slow inch. She tightened her legs, trying to force him to fill her quickly. But he held her still, a look of complete concentration on his face. He watched her, his eyes searching, noticing each nuance of pleasure taking her.

When she couldn’t stand anymore teasing, he thrust deep, filling her completely, before diving down to claim her mouth again. Her chest tightened, and she had to blink away the wetness in her eyes. Feelings of being part of him, of their essences merging, rushed over her. As she looked at him, it seemed like strings of light were coming from him and streaming into her body. Answering strings of light from her body flowed toward Raven. Their auras combined in a burst of colors.

She loved him. Her heart beat faster as he joined their bodies over and over again. The pleasure built until with a cry she was flying into the heavens. Another thrust and Raven shouted, his seed spilling into her, filling her, branding her as belonging to him alone. He collapsed against her, and she slowly lowered her legs to the floor. They held each other tight, trembling, leaning against each other to keep themselves upright. Raven slowly drew back, his hand caressing her cheek.

“I love you, Cara. Nothing will ever change that.”



§



Cara took Raven’s hand and let him lead her to the elevator. This floor was very quiet, each window showcasing the beauty of the red desert outside. The sun bounced off every surface, growing brighter and hotter until she had to blink her eyes from the radiance. She could see small green shrubs and cactus intermittently spaced across the pinks and oranges of the rocks and sand. As lovely as the landscape was, she was glad she didn’t have to go outside. The dry heat would feel like a furnace against her skin, and the glare of the light would hurt her eyes. Cara needed to live with green plants and trees. The desert would never feel like home to her.

When the elevator opened, she and Raven stepped inside, and he pushed the button for the clinic, one floor below the lobby.

“I hope Derek is feeling better,” Cara said, a little unsure of herself. What do you say to the man who was shot trying to protect you? “I’m sorry” didn’t seem like enough.

“Dr. Rick said he is doing well but should stay in the clinic another day or so. He lost a lot of blood while tracking the kidnappers.”

It was strange to think of the kidnapping now. She felt removed from it, almost like it had happened to another person. None of the fear and terror she remembered feeling was present. Only sadness and concern over Derek’s injuries.

“Was anyone else hurt when you rescued me?”

“No, tehila. Not one of our people was injured during the extraction.” Extraction, another word that seemed detached from the actual circumstances. Is that how Raven and his men dealt with the situation, by removing themselves from it on a personal level?

They walked out of the elevator and into the clinic. This floor had more people moving around and sounds of machines operating. As they walked toward Derek’s room, Cara noticed a lovely woman with red hair and blue eyes standing next to his bed. While Cara watched, Derek reached for the woman’s hand, and those strings of light, like she had seen when Raven made love to her, streaked from the woman to Derek and from Derek to the woman. Their auras were merging. Did that mean they were together as a couple, or that they should be?

“Is that Derek’s new girlfriend?”

“No, that is Katherine Sloane, my executive assistant. I couldn’t run the company without her. She probably brought down flowers for Derek. She does things like that for the employees.”

Cara continued to watch as Derek said something and the woman laughed. There was something in the way Derek looked at her, possessive and awestruck. Oh yeah, those two definitely needed to get together. Cara would bet her new engagement ring that they were meant to be together.

“Have they ever dated?”

“Katherine and Derek? No way. I think she puts up with him because he is my brother.”

“Really? He’s holding her hand rather tenderly, don’t you think? Look, he just brushed a kiss on her hand. Look at her blush. She’s interested in your brother.”

Raven paused in the hall and watched the pair. Could it be? Derek was always careful around Katherine, flirty and light-hearted, but kind and considerate. Why didn’t he consider before that Derek might be interested in Katherine? It wasn’t like Derek to ignore a possible conquest. Why hadn’t he asked Katherine out before now? She had been with Isanti, Inc., almost five years.

“Well, let’s go see what they’re talking about,” Raven said, opening the door and ushering Cara into the room. Both Derek and Katherine stopped talking. Katherine dropped her eyes, and Derek let go of her hand.

“How are you feeling, little brother?”

“I feel fine, which is what I keep telling Dr. Rick,” Derek complained. “But he won’t release me from the clinic.”

“I believe the doctor is worried about your heart rate. You lost a lot of blood,” Katherine said. “You need to stay in bed a little while longer.”

“Will you come down and have dinner with me?” Derek said playfully. “It gets awfully lonely down here.”

“Office gossip says you had half of the accounting department down here last night keeping you company, and it wasn’t the male half,” Katherine said.

“I would rather spend time with you, Katie,” Derek said, lowering his tone of voice until it slid against the skin like a caress.

“No wonder the girls can’t stay away from you. That voice is downright dangerous,” Cara said laughing. “You could be a voice actor on the side if you wanted. Thanks for putting up such a good fight, Derek. I’m sorry you were hurt trying to protect me.”

“Cara, if the terrorists didn’t hurt me, your enraged fiancé would have,” Derek said. “Raven, you gave her the ring, I see. Too bad you didn’t have it earlier, Cara. One swipe of that diamond could have cut through anything.”

“It’s a beautiful ring, Cara. Don’t let Derek tease you about it. My name is Katherine, but my friends call me Kathy.”

“I’m sorry, where are my manners?” Raven asked. “Cara, this is Katherine Sloane, my administrative assistant. Katherine, my fiancée, Cara Hamilton.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Cara. Everyone in the office wanted to know who the woman was who could melt Raven’s frozen heart.”

“My heart was not frozen. I was just waiting for the right woman,” Raven said, putting his arm around Cara’s waist and pulling her close.

“Every woman at Isanti will be jealous to know you bagged the big guy,” Derek said.

“Not every woman, Derek,” Katherine said. “Well, I better return upstairs. Some of us have work to do. Mr. Darkwood, I cleared your schedule for the rest of the week as requested.”

“Thank you, Katherine. You are as efficient as always,” Raven said.

“That’s why you hired me, Boss.”

“No, he hired you because he was desperate to find someone to help him,” Derek said. “This office runs smoothly because of you, Katie. Anyone who says differently will answer to me.”

“No one is arguing with you, Derek. Hurry up and get better. General Holland wants you to take on another assignment,” Katherine said, walking to the door. “I told him you were injured, but he wants to know when you will get back on the duty roster.”

“Derek, you know I told the general we were no longer accepting contracts for the government,” Raven said.

“I just help him out occasionally.”

“Don’t make it a habit.”

“Don’t lecture him. He’s still wounded. Why don’t you go get him some juice,” Cara said, patting Raven on the arm. She just wanted a couple of minutes alone with Derek.

“All right, tehila. I’ll be only a minute,” Raven said, walking out the door.

“Well played, little sister. Now what do you want?”

“I want to know how long you’ve been in love with Katherine Sloane and when are you going to do something about it?”

“I fell head over heels the first moment I saw her at her husband’s funeral. And that’s why I haven’t done something about it. She needs time to grieve and heal.”

“The way she was looking at you, I would say she’s healed and interested. Besides, I’ve been seeing this strange light thing. It looks like your auras are reaching out to each other.”

“Wow, that’s kind of weird. Are you feeling all right? Maybe you should talk to Quiet Thunder. He would like to know what’s going on with you.”

“Don’t tease me, Derek. You told me the prophecy said I would lead the men to the right women. I’m telling you, Katherine is the one.”

“I’ve known that for almost five years, Cara. But thanks for the confirmation. You should still talk to Quiet Thunder. He’d want to know what you see.”

“Okay, if we go out to the ranch, I’ll mention it to him. Here comes Raven.”

The door opened, and Raven walked in with a pitcher of orange juice. He poured some into a glass before handing it to his brother.

“One glass of orange juice as requested.”

“She requested it, not me,” Derek said, handing the glass to Cara. “I don’t even like orange juice.”

“Don’t be surly, Derek. Everyone likes orange juice. But I’ll drink this glass for you,” Cara said, before taking a large drink from the glass.

“She has you there, little brother,” Raven said, chuckling.

“I think she has all of us wrapped around her little finger,” Derek grumbled.





§



Raven walked into his apartment and pulled Cara into his arms for a kiss. She moaned into his mouth as he pulled her flush against him, letting her feel how much he wanted her. He wanted her. He always wanted her. He couldn’t get enough of her. He reluctantly raised his head when the phone rang.

“You should get that. It might be important.”

“Not as important as you,” Raven said, starting to lower his head.

Cara placed her hand over his mouth to stop him. “Answer the phone. I’m not going anywhere.”

Raven reluctantly reached for the phone, while Cara slipped away and into the bedroom.

“Raven? It’s Gwen. I know you’re busy, but I think you need to come to the ranch. Dad is acting very strangely. He goes out to his studio and doesn’t come out for hours. He isn’t eating. I’m worried.”

“All right, Gwen. Calm down, honey. Cara and I will Shadow-walk tomorrow. We’ll be there in time for lunch. Is that soon enough?”

“Thank you, Raven. I know now isn’t a good time. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think it was important.”

“I know, honey. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Gwen never asked for anything. She was really upset.

“All right. Goodbye.”

Leaning his head against his hand, Raven groaned. Was he ever going to get some alone time with Cara?

“Is something wrong?” Cara asked, standing in the bedroom door.

“That was Gwen. She’s worried about Isanti. I need to go out to the ranch tomorrow. Will you come?”

“Of course, Raven. Don’t be silly. Besides, I wanted to talk to Quiet Thunder. Is he all right?”

“I honestly don’t know. He can be strange at the best of times. But I owe him so much. We all do.”

“Not to change the subject, but I think I need to do some shopping for Shadow-walking-proof clothes.”

“Gwen and Lindy will know the best places to go. But I did order a couple of things for you.”

“You did?”

“If I give them to you now, will you promise to model them for me?”

“I don’t see why not. Where are they?”

“Here,” Raven said, while taking two boxes out of the closet by the door. He handed them to Cara.

She walked over to the entryway table and lifted the first box top to find a red-silk lace bra and panty set. The other box contained a matching set in black.

“I don’t think these are going to keep me very warm.”

“No, but they will keep you covered. No more walking into the clinic naked. We can shop for the outer layers after we see Isanti. Just wear a pair of jeans and a cotton shirt. I have a leather coat you can wear.”

“I need shoes. All I have are these tennis shoes, and they will fall apart in no time.”

“You can borrow a pair from one of the girls until we get you some of your own.”

“Does that mean you will be carrying me through Shadow tomorrow?”

“Tehila, I will carry you through hell if you ask me to.”