“Some investors are sharks. Win some, lose some. No big deal.”
Okay, so it had nothing to do with her, and she felt a bit of relief over that.
When he dropped her off at her room in the bed-and-breakfast, he seemed reluctant to leave without kissing her, but a stone wall seemed to have been erected between them. She was glad she couldn’t date him. She wouldn’t care for the ups and downs in their relationship just because of a sour investment, and she wondered if he was showing his true personality. Yet deep down, she didn’t think so.
“Thank you, again,” she said. “I don’t know when I’ve ever had more fun.”
“Me too.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek, that one little kiss making her feel he wanted more but saying he needed to cool it and couldn’t get involved.
Which was for the best. So why did it bother her so much?
She smiled. “Night.” She opened her door, walked in and locked it, then sank to the floor, hating what she had become.
Chapter 6
While sitting on his patio talking with Edward over the phone that night about all he’d figured out concerning Jade, Rafe learned she did have a small lingerie company and a separate children’s clothing line. She was from Amarillo, and she was a member of a pack there led by her brother, Kenneth Ashton.
As far as Edward could determine, she’d had no run-ins with anyone, was a model citizen, and wasn’t mated.
“Hey, Boss, it’s a hell of a far-out notion, but what if this has something to do with your brother?” Edward said.
“Aidan?” As if Rafe had any other.
“Yeah. I tried getting ahold of him, but you know how he is. If he’s busy conducting research, he won’t answer calls from anyone but you, in case it’s an emergency. What if this pertains to his research? Could you check with him and see if he took blood samples from their pack?”
“Yeah, I sure will. Get back with you in a bit.”
That was one thing Rafe had never considered. But if Jade and her pack were up to no good concerning his brother…? He growled, rose from his lounger, and gave his brother a call.
“Yeah, what’s up, Rafe?” Aidan asked. “Must be important if you’re calling.”
“Did you have any dealings with a pack in Amarillo? By the name of Ashton? Kenneth Ashton, the pack leader?”
“Yeah,” Aidan said, elongating the word as if he was expecting bad news.
“Okay, you’ve only taken blood samples from about ten wolf packs, since lupus garous aren’t listed as such in any directory, right? So your sample size isn’t all that big.”
“No, but I keep finding new packs to test. What’s this all about?”
Was it mere coincidence that Aidan had taken blood from Jade’s pack, and then she just happened to be vacationing on this beach down the road from his estate?
Rafe didn’t think so.
So why was she here? Nearly drowning herself in front of his home? She had to have seen him and Derek lounging poolside. Had she taken the chance to catch his eye? It was a long shot but still possible. He ran his hand through his hair and paced across his patio. Hell, he really liked her too.
“Okay, listen. I don’t know what’s going on exactly, and I know you hate these charity functions—worse, I might be setting you up for trouble—but I need to make sure you’re coming to the charity ball I’m having on Friday night.”
“About that… I’m in the middle of research and was going to bow out this time—”
“It’s important. I think someone wants to learn what your research is all about, and they’re using a she-wolf to do it.”
“Wait. A she-wolf?” Aidan sounded intrigued.
“Yeah. Hell, I keep hoping there’s nothing to it. That she’s just the dream she appears to be.” Rafe explained to his brother about rescuing her. “She seems so sweet and innocent.”
“Sounds like she’s a siren of the sea and she’s pulled you right in. And that never happens, as wary as you are.”
“That’s what concerns me. Since you took blood from their pack, I just find her appearance suspicious.”
“Statistically speaking, I’d have to agree with you. Do you have a picture of her?”
“Yeah, hold on.” Rafe uploaded the outdoor shower photo of her, figuring his brother would react as everyone else had. He really should have taken another picture of her.
“Hot damn, when the hell did you take that shot?”
“She was rinsing off in the outdoor shower after being dunked in the ocean.”
“Where’s the rest of her?”
Rafe chuckled. “Come to the function and you can see the rest of her. Clothed.” He wanted to be the only one seeing her completely naked. “I’ll have plenty of protection there for you. I want you to come early and meet her.”
“Play cat-and-mouse games?”
“Yeah, like old times.” Rafe hated to do that when he really liked Jade. But he couldn’t risk his brother’s safety. If he and Aidan could deal with this at the ball, learn what was truly going on, so much the better.
“She’s beautiful,” Aidan said. “Though I’m curious if you took more of a shot of her and you’re just not sharing.”
“Of course she’s beautiful. What better way to capture my attention? And no, I only captured her face surreptitiously. She was naked.”
“On purpose? I mean, trying to catch your attention?”
“No, she was in a rush to get back into her swimsuit. You know what it’s like to wear one that’s still covered with salt and sand.”
“Yeah, irritating. What’s her name? I’ll look her up in my database and see if I have any notes that’ll help jog my memory.”
“Jade Ashton.”
“Take a sec.” The tapping of keys sounded in the background.
Hell, Rafe hated that he was sweating, hoping beyond hope that Jade being there was perfectly innocent. But knowing that wasn’t the case, no matter how much he tried to delude himself.
“Okay, how much do you like kids?”
“What?” Rafe was getting a really bad feeling about this. Had she lost her mate and she was raising kids on her own? Sure wolves loved pups—in their wolf pack. Sometimes lone wolves would mate with a wolf that had lost her mate and help raise the pups. And certainly a single lupus garou could fall in love with a she-wolf and raise her kids as his own. Rafe didn’t see himself in that category though. He wasn’t a playboy in that he couldn’t settle down with one woman—but she had to be a she-wolf. He hadn’t met any in his circle of friends.
Yet, he couldn’t see himself raising someone else’s kid. He’d have to deal with being a father from the ground up and get used to the idea while the baby was growing in his mate’s belly. Then he would have plenty of time to prepare himself mentally.
“I remember her because she had a son—about three years old, light-blond hair, long curls, dark-brown eyes, shy and clingy. He stuck to his mother, holding on to her leg or hand the whole time. Three other she-wolves were in the pack, but the boy wouldn’t go to anyone else when I had to draw blood from Jade.”
“Her mate?”
“No male came forward to take care of the boy either. Toby was his name. I wanted to test him too, but Jade wouldn’t let me, which was another reason I remember her so well. In fact, everyone looked horrified. I thought it was odd. When I explained he wouldn’t be hurt in any way, except for feeling the prick of the needle, she just shook her head. Before I could say anything further, the pack leader said, ‘Next?’ And then Jade and her son disappeared from the family room. I was busy with the rest of the pack members after that, and then I was ushered out. She must have had an important role in the pack, because the pack leader had her go after he gave blood.”
“His sister.”
“Okay, makes sense. So…how do you feel about kids?”
Rafe snorted. “I’m not mating the wolf. I just want to know what she and her pack are up to.”
“All right, I’ll come. But not early
. I’ve got to let these cultures work their magic, so I’ll fly in that afternoon.”
“Okay, good show.”
“What are you going to do about the lady?”
“Continue to treat her like a woman after my own heart.” Which was what made this whole situation so disagreeable. Rafe really did feel like he could fall for her. But now with this new wrinkle of having a kid?
Edward arrived at the house, found Rafe on the patio, and handed him a catalog of Jade’s women’s apparel—sexy, yet tasteful. Jade hadn’t acted as though she was trying to impress Rafe or come on to him, not like some women who hoped the confirmed bachelor would finally settle down.
She acted like she was interested in him—a wolf’s interest couldn’t be hidden from another, not with their enhanced ability to identify scents—but she’d said no to dinner and a movie and had only wanted to run, until he changed her mind. Maybe it was because she was hurrying home soon—to a son—and she didn’t think Rafe would be interested in helping to raise him. Maybe she’d had a bad experience with losing a mate? He didn’t think so, or she wouldn’t have kissed him like she did.
But she couldn’t know for certain that he’d object to her son. What woman would want to leave all this behind when she had a shot at becoming his mate?
A woman who was trouble.
* * *
Jade called her brother to let him know her progress and asked to speak with her son. It was killing her to be apart from Toby for this long, and she hoped the people taking care of him wouldn’t treat him meanly when they weren’t videotaping him playing with Lizzie. She didn’t really trust any of them. Not after they’d taken him from her.
“He’s sound asleep. Hell, it’s two in the morning. Did you find out where Aidan is?” Kenneth asked, getting to the business at hand.
“No. I don’t want Rafe to suspect I’m trying to learn where his brother is because of the research he does. There’s no sign of any mail he keeps around the house. I’m certain he has an office, but he’s always with me and his computer would be password protected anyway. Same with his phone. It’s always on him, but even if I managed to grab it, I’m certain it would have a password. Not to mention he would smell my scent on his stuff if I tried to sneak a peek when he wasn’t around. I keep asking in subtle ways, but Rafe hasn’t said.”
“Need I remind you that the doctor will turn his research into a moneymaking proposition? If a wolf wants to live longer, he’ll have to pay the price. If he wants to survive—should our longevity shorten more quickly—well, the power to decide who lives and who dies shouldn’t be in the hands of one man. Or, I should say, Aidan and his brother. I truly believe Rafe will be the one to set the price on wolves’ lives, since he’s the ruthless businessman in the family.”
Holding Toby’s rainbow bear close to her heart and wishing she was holding Toby in her arms instead, Jade looked out her window at the ocean. She wished Rafe was far away from her. What would he think of her having a human son? Would he be just as condemning as her people were? Even so, she didn’t want to hurt him. Or his brother either.
“Kenneth, I want to know what this is all about. What do you plan to do if you find out where Aidan lives?”
Silence. She would kill her brother. She knew now that he planned to do more than just talk to Aidan.
“If you’re thinking of telling Rafe what this is all about—”
“No. I just…I just thought if I had a good enough reason to approach him—”
“I don’t give a damn how you find out as long as Rafe doesn’t suspect anything.” Then Kenneth gentled his tone, though it sounded like it was killing him to try to convince her he was in the right. “Listen, from what the good doctor told me, he’s close to making a breakthrough. He said a cure will cost almost prohibitive amounts because development would cost him so much. So anyone who wants the cure will have to be ready to pay,” Kenneth said.
For all the research Aidan was most likely conducting, Jade understood.
“None of our pack members will be able to afford the price Aidan intends to charge. You and I agreed that the cure should be available to everyone.”
She did agree…to an extent. If they were suddenly going to turn to dust—yes. Her son would lose her, and there was no one else to raise him. She couldn’t bear the thought. But if the drug just returned them to their previous longevity, which wasn’t vital for survival? No.
“Why not just let Aidan work on a cure, or something that will reverse the condition, until he actually has the product? When he begins charging exorbitant amounts for it, wolf packs can unite and help pay his costs and a salary, and then force him to make the cure available to all wolves.”
“By then, he and his brother will have a real force in place to ensure they’re well protected. You know how it is with wealthy men.”
She also knew her brother well enough to suspect that when he had learned a geneticist was working on this, he’d wanted a piece of the pie—a way to sell the fountain of youth to lupus garous all over—so that he’d be making a lot of the money, not giving the cure away to wolves at a reasonable price. She wished Aidan had never found their pack. Then her brother would never have learned about the doctor’s work.
“I thought your business was doing great,” she said.
“Jade, damn it, Rafe Denali took over our grandparents’ company and forced them to lose everything they’d worked so hard to build. Do you want the power over how long we live in the hands of someone so cold-blooded?” Kenneth ignored her mention of his business, and now she suspected he was in serious trouble.
She kept reminding herself that her son was the pawn in this whole matter, and little Toby would be expendable if she didn’t do what her brother demanded of her.
When she didn’t say anything, Kenneth said, “Just remember where your loyalty lies.”
She was careful not to respond. She knew just where her loyalty remained—not with him or with the pack, but with her son.
“Call me tomorrow to let me know your progress.” Then he hung up on her.
She ground her teeth and threw the phone at the bed. She would kill her brother if he harmed her son in any way.
* * *
That night, when Rafe went to bed, he couldn’t sleep. He kept thinking about Jade and her dark, chocolate-brown eyes and how her hair had caressed him in the ocean as they’d held on to each other and treaded water. Or how her curls had tickled his shoulders when she’d been lying on top of him, kissing him on the shore. He couldn’t quit thinking about the way she’d rested against his groin with her sweet body, her tongue tangling with his. Or how she’d held his foot in her lap, treating his injury so gently.
Or run with him as a wolf through the woods, genuinely enjoying the area. It certainly wouldn’t have been the same if he had taken a human woman to the grill. For one thing, the women he knew were all wealthy in their own right. They wouldn’t be awed by taking a spur-of-the-moment private jet trip to have dinner somewhere. That was just something they did if the mood dictated. He had enjoyed seeing the joy the trip had brought Jade, even though he could tell she’d been trying hard not to appear overjoyed like a kid at Christmas. Even that had endeared her to him. But he didn’t like how troubled she seemed sometimes, as if her reason for being here was not something she was happy to do.
He tossed onto his side. He shouldn’t have wanted more time with her. But he couldn’t help wanting to learn more about her—about her mate and her son. He told himself he only cared as far as it pertained to his brother and his work. But he couldn’t fool himself. She was like a breath of fresh sea air, both luring and intriguing.
But family and friends meant everything to him. If someone came into his life with a sinister plan to use his brother for his or her own greed or some other despicable purpose, Rafe couldn’t forgive that.
The notion that Jade had a son? That was another story. Just the fact she had left him behind to come here on vacation said something about he
r parenting skills. She wanted to protect him from giving blood samples, but was willing to abandon him for over a week to take a break so she could come up with more designs for her company?
He raked his fingers through his hair. That didn’t make any sense.
From what his brother had said, the boy was completely attached to his mother and no one else in the pack, which was unusual, but it also meant that leaving him behind was cruel.
Hell, no matter what, Rafe couldn’t get the she-wolf out of his thoughts so he could get any sleep. Throwing off his covers, he headed outside. He ran down the steps and pushed the gate aside, closing it and shifting in the dark. Then he ran as a wolf, straight to the bed-and-breakfast where Jade was staying.
He wanted to growl and howl at the moon as he stood beneath her balcony, desiring her with a wolf’s craving, hating how hung up he was on the she-wolf, and swearing he would learn the truth one way or another. He ran for ten miles that night, not caring if anyone saw the “loose” dog running along the beach, but when he returned home, he still couldn’t quit thinking of the woman.
And he was back to Plan A: question her in a subtle way and try to get her to tell him the truth on her own. He couldn’t help it. He already cared too much about her to do it any other way.
* * *
Early the next morning, Jade jogged down the beach as others ran or walked on the firmly packed wet sand. This time she was headed away from Rafe’s home. She no longer needed to catch his attention. She’d gotten it. Every time she talked to her brother, she wanted to strangle him, and jogging helped her to focus. She was beyond furious that Kenneth hadn’t let her speak to her son this morning either. Yes, Toby might have been asleep, but her brother’s refusal made her worry that he was trying to prove he was in charge of her and her son because she was asking too many questions.
She returned to the bed-and-breakfast and was taking a shower when she heard her cell phone ring. Turning off the water, she grabbed a towel and hurried to get the phone, fearing it was her brother, intending to dictate further rules or threaten her son’s life again. As soon as he had taken her son hostage, she knew she’d have to take drastic measures of her own. Not against Rafe or his brother, but against her brother.