Love and Brimstone

Chapter Nineteen

Anastazia wanted to walk the boardwalk trail around the geyser basin. Albert glanced at his watch. “You’ve got time, but you have to take them with you.” He indicated the guards.

“You’re not coming?”

“This is one place we can almost guarantee you’re safe. And you’ll have them.”

“If I’m safe, why do I need Moe, Larry, and Curly?”

“Because Matthias refuses to take chances with your life.”

“I thought there were things you wanted me to work on.”

“There are.” He stood. “You’ll probably figure out at least one of them on your walk. We’ll talk later.” He glanced at the guards and lowered his voice so only she could hear. “Do not look them in the eye. Please, do not compromise them. Your anger is not at them. It’s at Matthias. Don’t risk their lives.”

She felt odd but soon realized the guards blended in with the surroundings. Of course they would. They were trained to protect and serve and to become one with the wallpaper. They didn’t speak to her, and she didn’t try to make them uncomfortable by striking up conversations. She understood their orders and why they had to follow them.

She damn sure didn’t want to put them at physical risk.

The tallest one she dubbed Moe, and noticed that Larry, who had short, curly hair, and Curly, who was bald as a cue ball, hung behind a few steps. Moe walked beside her, just close enough the casual observer would think they were a couple. She took pictures of the geysers and stopped to watch a bison near the boardwalk. The men cautiously put themselves between her and the large animal. As she watched it looked up at her with huge brown eyes like deep pools.

“Walk away,” she thought to it.

Surprisingly, it turned and left. Maybe that was one of the “things” Albert referred to.

“Huh.” She’d have to ask Matthias about that later.

If he was speaking to her.

At one point she stopped and closed her eyes and inhaled. Crisp pine. Harsh sulfur. Now she placed Babson’s weird scent at the office before he attacked her—sulfur.

Her eyes flew open. Sweat.

She stole a glance at Curly, who was wearing a navy-blue jacket. The other two wore white windbreakers. Curly’s dark jacket absorbed the sun and made him hot. Around his neck and on his upper lip and forehead, small beads of perspiration glistened in the sun. He had to keep his jacket zipped to hide the gun he wore holstered under his left arm.

Gun oil. She could smell it. Two of them used the same brand, the third a different one.

Holy crap, I’ve got a super sniffer!

She walked in a daze, no longer looking, but smelling.

The boardwalk wound close to a stand of trees. She smelled something different and looked up to spot an osprey nest high in the branches above her.

She’d always had a sensitive sense of smell, which was why she didn’t wear perfume. She’d always chocked it up to allergies. How about hearing? Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on the sounds.

Every sound echoed when she purposely listened. How had she never noticed this before? Yes, odd noises always disturbed her. Even those no one else heard. One morning, she’d spent thirty minutes pulled over on the side of the 5 on her way to Anaheim, trying to hunt down the source of an odd rattle in her trunk. It turned out to be a free-range quarter vibrating inside the spare tire compartment.

Moe gently touched her on the shoulder. As she turned, he looked away and held out his watch. “I’m sorry. Time to go.”

“Thank you.” They followed her along the path to the cabin where Robertson and Albert awaited.

“Did you have a nice walk?” Albert asked.

“Uh, yeah.” She glanced at the guards. “What can I say?”

“Around them, anything.”

“Okay. Bison.”

He smiled. “Yes?”

“Could have been a coincidence. I looked at it and told it to walk away, and it did.”

Albert smiled. “Excellent. Not all animals will do that.”

“Murry won’t.”

He shook his head. “Well, no. Murry isn’t exactly an animal. And even if he were a normal cat, he still probably wouldn’t.”

She’d leave that explanation for after they got home. She had enough to deal with. “Gotcha. Sounds.”

“Yes. Very acute hearing.”

“And scents.”

Robertson nodded. “Now you know it’s not allergies.”

“What else?”

“We’ll have to go through that,” Robertson said.

They walked to the Old Faithful Inn for lunch. “Where’s Matthias?” She noticed one of the Land Rovers was gone and kicked herself for missing him.

She was still aggravated at him on general principle.

“He had to drive up to Canyon Village,” Albert said. “He’ll be back before dinner, hopefully.”

“How long will we be in the park?”

“At least until the weekend. Beyond that, I don’t know.”

Matthias didn’t return before dinner. Or after. Larry and Curly checked her room before she went in for the evening. They stood sentry on the stoop. She looked at Matthias’ empty bed and admitted she missed him.

Fink.

This had to be love, didn’t it? The fact that he could make her feel so crazy proved it, right? She’d never felt like this before about any of the guys she dated.

Or was it the strange vampire attraction?

That thought filled her with deep sadness and more than a little self-loathing. How would she know if what she felt was real? And how would she know if he really liked her in return?

She tried to sleep. Sometime after her 12:18 clock check she managed to drift off. A noise startled her, and she almost screamed when a large shadow moved near Matthias’ bed.

“It’s me. It’s okay.” Matthias snapped on the bedside lamp, and she relaxed. “I’m sorry. I was trying not to wake you.”

“What time is it?” She glanced at the clock. 3:47. “Where have you been?”

He looked like he wanted to say something and stopped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

He looked sorry. She realized the room felt chilly. “Could you please bump the heat up?”

He nodded and found the heater control. It came on, and she shivered a little.

“Look, Matthias, I’m sorry I’m being such a bitch.”

He didn’t say anything. For once, she didn’t take offense.

“I know you’re doing your best,” she continued. “I know you’re sorry. I just feel like I need to…” She hunted for the right words. “I feel like I want to punch the living shit out of something. This is like having PMS and too much coffee and a dozen Krispy Kremes all at the same time.”

He sat on his bed and removed his shoes, not looking at her. “I know.”

“No, you don’t know—” She stopped herself and tried to regroup. “You’ve had a few hundred years to adjust to this. I’ve had a few days.”

He nodded. She realized for the first time he’d slept in his clothes the night before and was about to do it again. “Don’t you want to change out of those?” she asked.

“Not really. I want to be ready.”

“Ready for what?”

He didn’t answer.

“Albert said we were safe here.”

“I hope we’re safe. I can’t afford to be wrong. Being wrong before almost cost you your life. Twice.”

They sat in silence for a moment. “Thank you, Matthias. Really.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry for the demonstration in Gardiner, Taz. I shouldn’t have gone as far as I did. I should have talked with you, made you aware of the full ramifications before the incident at the house.”

“No, I deserved it.” She took the leap. “Can I have another chance?”

He looked at her and smiled. Her heart leaped in her chest, and she hoped she wasn’t drooling. “As many as you want. I can wait. I’m a patient man. Go back to sleep, and I don’t mean that as an order either,” he hastily added.

She laughed. “I had an idea.”

Surprisingly, with him there, she fell asleep quickly.

The next morning he was up before her. Only two hours sleep—how could he do it?

“Good morning.”

She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Morning.”

“There’s still plenty of hot water.”

“Thanks. What’s on the agenda for today?”

“Would you like to go with me?”

“Depends.” Yes, yes, yes!

He smiled. She wasn’t even mad that he read her thoughts that time. “One of our divisions is working with the USGS to develop new seismology-detection equipment. I’m meeting with scientists today. You might find it interesting.”

“Thanks. I’d like that.”

He hesitated, then held out his hand to her. She took it and threw back the covers. “Can I give you a hug without getting my nuts handed back to me?” he asked.

“Yes.”

She enjoyed the feel of his arms around her. She didn’t want him to let go, wanted to pull him into bed with her. The sheets would still be warm, and the room was chilly. She felt his cock harden against her. Heat flooded her body at the thought of how his strong arms would feel wrapped around her bare flesh…

She gasped when Matthias let her go and stepped back.

“Anastazia, not like this. Not until you really, truly feel it.”

She swallowed and understood what he was telling her at the cafe. Even though she expected to feel desire for Matthias, especially after what happened between them and knowing what she knew, the pull was still great.

So how much of this is real, and how much is his influence on me?

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I can handle rejection. I want you only if you really, when I’m not around, still have those feelings for me. Even you are not immune to me, and I don’t mean to sound like an asshole saying that. I’m not immune to you, either. But I’ve had a lot longer to practice my self-control, and I know how to keep it in my pants.”

Didn’t a guy like it when a woman tried to climb him like a tree? “How will spending all day with you help me figure out what I want?”

“You have to get to know me sometime. You also have to learn how to put up and maintain a mental barrier against others of our kind.”

“Why didn’t you have this effect on me before, when we first met?”

“Didn’t I?” He smiled. She blushed. She thought about the gym, the car trip, their first dinner meeting.

Yeah, she’d always had the hots for him.

“I can assure you,” he continued, “the feeling is mutual. And always has been.”

“Maybe I am really feeling it.”

“Maybe you are. I hope you are.” He looked like he wanted to reach out and touch her, but he turned away. “We’ll be waiting outside. Breakfast, and then onward.”