Lexi took a step back but there was no escaping. The sun was on her face and it felt like him. Every breath drew him into her lungs. The breeze lifted her hair and it was his fingers fisting. He was silent and he terrified her. He was the kind of man who could break a woman and she couldn’t let him close. Could never let him close.
She felt the hard, thick wall he erected so easily and there was not an ounce of give in him. Nothing soft. Nothing reasonable. He was the knife that could pierce her heart before she felt the thrusting blade and she knew, now, recognized the fear behind the truth. He had destroyed her, in more than one lifetime. And he would do it again if she let him.
Her heart thudded so hard her chest hurt.
“I’m going for a walk,” she said.
CHAPTER 7
Trees in the landscape could be soothing. In Rock Cove, Lexi would wrap her arms around the ancient Sitka spruce, feel the energy rising in the sap. If the trees were willing, they would expand and retract in time to a human’s breathing, share both strength and resiliency. There were no trees in this desert landscape, though, and Lexi felt neither strong nor resilient.
She felt angry. Maybe her life was lonely, but she liked it that way. Worked hard to keep that way. Nightmares were tucked into separate boxes and she didn’t take them out, not even with Marge. But she recognized him, the man with eyes so dark they pulled the light from the sky. Recognized the faint echoes of a male voice. The sensations embedded in her skin, the glide of a dangerous hand, the warmth of whispers against her throat, building until she closed her eyes and tried to breathe.
Lexi was very aware they’d been alone on the path. He’d cornered her, stood lazy and ready. She’d wanted to tell him to go to hell. Thought it might be like burning if he touched her, held her. The hell could come afterward. When he went away.
And how did she even know that? It terrified her. There was a tingling on her wrist that was filled with him. An ache between her legs that was worse. She was so angry all she wanted to do was walk and keep walking.
That could have been why she never saw the man waiting in the jagged rocks. Hadn’t realized he was there until hard fingers crushed her hand.
“Wallace?” She looked at the grip and then up at the man who’d sent her to Montana to research a location, felt her heart thud with hazard. “What are you doing here?”
“Been looking for you, babe. And isn’t it so damn perfect you walked out here on your own.”
There was aggression in his voice. Once, Lexi found him edgy and attractive, thought he was an angel both dark and profane. But he was too arrogant to be comfortable, and personal boundaries were never respected. She couldn’t imagine why he was here. He still hadn’t released her hand.
Lexi tried to jerk her wrist free; he tightened his fingers.
“What the hell, Wallace.” Alarm rose quick and hard as she glanced over one shoulder, searching the path. “I’m not out here alone. Marge is with me.”
“Marge is preoccupied with her little tent. She won’t miss you for a while.”
The aggression was more threatening. Lexi stopped struggling. Wallace was stronger than he appeared, and when he dragged her toward the rocky cliffs, Lexi forced herself to remain calm. Fighting would only make him grip her more firmly, and she followed along on a path that was both steep and slippery. Gravel was mixed with ochre-colored sand. When a cleft in the rocks forced a new direction, Lexi pretended to stumble. Wallace turned, irritated, and she pressed a palm against her ribs.
“You’re not that out of shape, babe,” he said. “You were just trekking in Montana.”
“I’m not going with you, nice of you to notice.”
Wallace remained silent before whipping her hand against the rock. Blood began to trickle across her wrist.
“You’re a bright girl,” he said, “but we can do this the hard way if you want.”
There was no trace of guilt in either his expression or his voice. Lexi’s heart thudded. Without thinking, she kicked his knee; Wallace grunted, pushing her hard into the cliff. Blood pooled warm and wet against the back of her head and Lexi swayed slightly. The rocks began to spin. A bird screamed in the air above them.
For a fleeting second, Lexi thought Wallace regretted the attack. Then his expression hardened as he noticed the memory line.
“Did you like it when Arsen shifted?” His mouth had a slight curl that was chilling. “The girls always like it when we shift.”
Lexi watched him, tense and braced. Her hair was catching the sunlight, and she didn’t miss the way his eyes locked on the moving strands. He lifted his hand. She remembered being put down hard on the ground, realized he could do far worse. Had done far worse. The recording devices in her cottage and the night terrors hadn’t been enough; Wallace had come to Rock Cove to personally load the meditation app on her phone. She’d thought he was a friend. Had trusted him. Lexi told him as much.
Wallace made no response other than to glance around. The muscles in Lexi’s throat tightened and she was painfully close to tears. He returned his gaze to her wrist, to the single memory line beneath the skin.
“I don’t know why you’re upset,” he said. “It’s just dreams.”
“There’s no such thing as just dreams.”
“It’s easier if you don’t resist.”
“Then you do it,” Lexi said bitterly. “Your dreams have to be better than mine.”
Wallace refused to respond. There was a soft skittering sound in the rocks as if they’d disturbed some small creature. With an almost imperceptible movement, Wallace glanced at the cliff before looking upward to study the empty blue sky.
Lexi reached for the surrounding earth energies but found only the sand and the emotions swirling from Wallace. She realized he was a warrior, she got that now, felt angry that she’d agreed to go to Montana for him. Changed her schedule on short notice. Thought he was interesting and wanted to impress him. Felt more than stupid. She felt empty.
“Why waste your time with me, Wallace? I don’t remember anything even with all your efforts to force the dreams. I’m no one.”
“He isn’t.”
“This is about Christan?”
Wallace stood rigid for so long Lexi wondered if he’d answer her.
“That last life you spent with him,” Wallace said finally. “I thought you’d want to know.”
“I’d rather not remember.”
“But you’re afraid of him every time he comes close.”
“No more than I’m afraid of you right now.”
Wallace looked directly at her, then returned his gaze to the rocks. “Makes no difference to me, but there might be a good reason why you’re afraid.”
“Any you’d know that reason?”
An empty silence fell hard between them. After a long moment Wallace shifted his stance. His face reminded her of a statue carved in stone, remote, immortal. He pushed the hair from her face, lingered, his palm warm on her cheek. His thumb moved; she thought he was brushing away tears but she wasn’t crying.
“Just trying to help, babe.”
“Then maybe you should stop throwing me into the rocks.”
The soft skittering again, now with pebbles trickling down the path. Tension increased. Wallace reached into his pocket. A moment later, a cell phone landed near her feet.
“Call if you ever want to chat.”
He turned and disappeared around the cliff. For endless seconds, Lexi stood until she sat down hard onto the rocky ground, dropping the phone twice before hugging it against her chest. She was still hugging it when Christan pulled her to her feet.
“That didn’t take long.” Christan dragged his hands across her shoulders, then down each leg in an unnecessary search. The goal was intimidation. When he found her fisted hand, she threw her weight to the side and tried to twist away.
“Christan,” Arsen warned, but Christan stepped back, his arm locked around her waist. She resisted with a fierce, wild movement that set his nerves on fire.
“She called him Wallace,” Robbie said, coming into view and breathing hard. “He disappeared around that cliff. Gave her a phone.”
Christan loosened Lexi’s clenched hand, yanked the phone away and shoved it in his back pocket.