He pulled her onto his lap, exactly where he had planned to have her from the moment she had come downstairs. "Thank you, baby, I appreciate it. I wouldn't have liked going around all day with Chaleen's brand on me."
"But you would have." Saber wasn't ready to forgive him. "A
ll day, just to make me crazy."
"Would it have?"
"Of course."
"Well, since we're talking." He pulled the military issue knife from his pack and held it up in front of her. "I thought I'd return this to you."
She went absolutely still. "Where did you find that?" She didn't touch it.
"You had a nightmare. Before you woke up, you tried to protect yourself."
Saber jumped off his lap, careful to avoid the knife, and stared at him, a look of horror stamped on her pale face. "I did what? I attacked you, Jesse?"
Tears swam in her eyes, and when he moved toward her, she backed away, putting one hand on his arm to keep him at a distance. "No. No. If I did that, it's not safe for you anymore. I have to leave. I can't believe I did that."
It wasn't the reaction he wanted or expected. If she was an actress, she was the best he'd ever seen. He could feel her distress, waves of it rolling off of her, distress and fear. Both emotions were broadcast so strong they swamped him. His body reacted with signs of stress, heart rate increasing so dramatically that he pressed his hand to his chest.
Her eyes widened even more and she snatched her hand away from him, rubbing her palm on her thigh, fear in her eyes. "What's wrong? Is it your heart? Jesse, answer me right now."
He felt instant relief, the heaviness in his chest easing, his heart slowing to normal. "I'm fine, baby, just sit down and stop getting upset over nothing."
"Pulling a knife on you is not 'nothing,' Jesse."
"I pulled a gun on you. We're a violent couple."
"That's not funny. None of this is funny. I keep the knife in my bedroom for protection, but I never thought I'd ever have a nightmare and try to use it on someone. I can't stay here."
Saber took a deep calming breath and forced air through her lungs, trying to remain calm. Oh God, had she almost killed him? First with her touch and then with a knife? She wanted to run fast and far away from herself.
The faint humor left his face, leaving his expression bleak and cold. "Don't be ridiculous, Saber. You can throw the knife away if you're afraid, but leaving doesn't solve anything."
If only it were so easy as throwing away a knife.
"Leaving keeps you safe."
"Does it? Does it really?"
She was so upset. She'd never been sick before--not once in her entire life. And she'd never made such a mistake before, yet was Jess in danger? Did Chaleen present a danger to him? And there was the uneasiness she couldn't shake, that feeling of being watched. She'd even gone out the night before around four in the morning and patrolled the parameters of the property, but she hadn't seen anyone. She intended to do the same tonight, because she was going to make absolutely certain she wasn't bringing her hell down on Jesse.
She hopped up, needing to put distance between them. "I don't want to talk to you anymore. I'm going upstairs."
A muscle twitched along his jaw. "Go on, Saber, run like a little rabbit, stick your head under the covers."
Saber fled without a backward glance, racing for the sanctuary of her room. She'd pulled a knife on Jess and he'd been able to disarm her. It had to have been because she was still asleep. He couldn't use his legs. He was helpless, really. Burying her head in the pillow, she tried to make her mind blank, tried to block out the image of hurting the one person in the world she cared about.
But he was helpless. And he had enemies, maybe as many as she did. Someone had to take care of him. He didn't realize how vulnerable he really was in that chair. He needed her. Needed her to watch over him. She lay awake staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out the right thing to do without having to give him up.
Subject Wynter. Something happened tonight while I was away. Subject left the residence, which leads me to believe the virus had little effect on her. She nearly caught me. I was about to turn on the road when she pulled in before me. In order to keep from giving myself away I continued on away from the residence. I believe she is beginning to suspect she's under surveillance. I believe we're going to need another pair of eyes and ears to maintain adequate...
He stopped dictating abruptly.
He didn't want anyone else around to witness any fun he might have while gathering information--after all, that was his business. He erased the entire tape. It wasn't his night for surveillance. If she'd left the residence and hadn't been caught, that wasn't on him. No one would be the wiser that he'd wanted another glimpse of her window, that sometimes he just sat listening to her voice on tape and staring at her bedroom in the hopes he'd catch a glimpse of her. He found it exhilarating to sit just down the road from her, in plain sight, creating his plans for the sexy little siren--he had so many.
CHAPTER 5
"Wake up, Saber," Jess called from the bottom of the stairs. "I know you can hear me. Come on down here."
He had to see her. It was pathetic how much he needed her, how much joy she brought to his life.
"Go away." Her voice was muffled, confirming his suspicions that she had the covers over her head to block out the sunlight. "I just got to bed."
Saber wasn't certain she could face him. The idea that she had tried to kill him had haunted her all night. And what if she hadn't tried to use a knife? He would never have known, would never have been able to defend himself.
"It's your own fault you didn't go to bed last night. And you can forget any sympathy from me, not after the way you woke me up at five a.m. with that crap you call music."
She answered him with total silence. She was ashamed of her loss of control. She covered her face with her hands and could have wept in despair.
Downstairs, Jess heaved a sigh. "I'm serious, angel face, you don't get down here in five minutes, I'm coming up after you. And if you put me to all that trouble, you won't like the consequences," he threatened.
He heard her stirring, muttering. Something hit the wall and he grinned. Saber padded down the hallway on bare feet, rubbing her eyes drowsily with her fists. At the banister, she leaned her head over, her shining hair an intriguing mass of unruly curls. She was wearing what looked to be one of his old shirts, one he was certain he had tossed out recently. The thought made him smile.
"What exactly do you want, dragon king? Because this is totally uncivilized behavior," she accused. "Even for you."
She looked incredibly small and feminine, her huge eyes so drowsy they seemed to be an open invitation to temptation. She looked like sin and sex to him, all rolled up together, and his body responded in the now-familiar way, hard and aching with a demand he was afraid would never quite be sated.
"My willpower is dwindling away," he muttered.
"What?" Saber looked more confused than ever. "Jesse, you are making absolutely no sense. Not that I think you make much sense anyway, but it's only noon. Noon is the same to me as three in the morning is to someone else. I am in deep sleep mode. I don't care how cute you think you are, go away and stop bothering me."
"Stop complaining and get down here. Patsy's on her way." Cute? She found him cute? Like some teddy bear. That was worse than if she'd called him sweet. He was going to show her cute if she kept looking at him like that.
"Patsy?" Saber groaned and shook her head. "Oh, Jess, no. I cannot take your sister on no sleep. She thinks I'm ten and you're a pervert out to ruin my virtue."
"Well, don't feel bad. Usually she thinks the woman is a vamp and is after my virtue so really, you're the lucky one this time."
She sat at the top of the stairs, smoothing her shirt tail over her knees, her hair wild and her lashes drooping. "Poor Patsy. She's always trying to look out for someone. I like her, I really do, but she's..." She stopped, searching for the right word to describe his older sister.
He found himself smiling. She always managed to make him smile. "A stick of dynamite? Come on, baby, grab a shower and eat something. By the time she gets here, you'll be in great shape."
"I'm never in great shape around Patsy," she muttered. "Can't we pretend I'm not here? I could stay u
p here sleeping." Patsy was wonderful and so loving, but she wanted to take care of Saber. No one had ever tried to take care of her. She was a very solitary person and the people around her had always avoided touching her--with good reason. Patsy, however, had no idea of personal space. She hugged and kissed and generally tried to run Saber's life--in the nicest way possible of course, and maybe that was the biggest problem. Saber was growing too fond of her as well.
"And leave me to face her alone?" Jess scoffed. "No way. Not a chance in hell. Get dressed and get your very awesome ass down here." Jess rubbed his shadowed jaw thoughtfully. "I'd better shave."
"Jesse," she wailed, trying not to be pleased at his "awesome ass" comment. "Why drag me into this? She's your sister." He looked good. He brought such sunshine into her life. And he made her feel special, as if he couldn't deal with life without her. She wanted him. Wanted him. Ached for him.
"You're my housekeeper. Helping out with guests is part of your job. Now stop being a little complainer and get down here."
Saber forced a glare when she wanted to laugh, just because he was incredibly beautiful and he wasn't holding a grudge over the way she'd tried to stab him. "You owe me big time for this, Jesse."
Jess regretfully turned his back on her, although the sight of her lingered in his mind. Saber couldn't have been more beautiful if she had spent all day locked in a beauty parlor with a team of makeup experts. The sight of her slender, bare legs and fresh, soft skin put far too many erotic thoughts in his head.
Saber was falling in love with him, she just didn't know it. He rubbed his jaw, hoping he was right. He was happy around her. He loved their strange conversations and her causes. He liked watching the expressions chase across her face. She had to be falling in love with him. She was running in every direction but the one she should be. She belonged with him, and whether it was the right time or not for either of them, he was going to make certain she stayed where she belonged.
Patsy Calhoun was tall with a woman's curvy figure, a generous mouth, and rich dark hair spilling around her face in a soft feminine sweep emphasizing her cheekbones. Normally she was smiling and looked sophisticated and in absolute control, but when Saber opened the door, she was leaning against the wall in tears.