Merciless Love: A Dark Romance(12)

I was thinking more clearly with hot food in my belly, and I was starting to get worried.

“You'll stay here,” he said. “We'll help you get on your feet, Cassie.”

He fixed his deep dark eyes on me. For the first time, I really took a good look at him, basking in his raw masculinity. It wasn't like I hadn't seen it before in a quick, visceral sorta way through my sickly haze.

Now, it really stood out, as clear and delicious as the dinner in front of me. The evil silhouette I'd seen before was gone, and he looked damned good. Not dripping wet with rain and blood, or pressed low at my side with a cool cloth on my sick face like the last times I'd seen him.

Evan was big, cut with muscles that looked like they'd taken years to sculpt to perfection. But he had a more refined look about him than the laborers in our little community. He was younger, for one thing, but older than the boys in Beacon Grove who shot up and turned into scrawny men when they hit puberty. If I had to guess, I would've pegged him in his early thirties.

Young enough to have a man's vigor, but old enough to have a distinctive mind.

Honestly, he carried himself like a few of the celebrity photos I'd seen, good looking men all done up in tuxedos with smiles on their faces. Only he wasn't beaming like he was about to get a glitzy award.

He looked dead serious, even when he was smiling, keeping his tight abs carefully poised against the table. His eyes followed me closely, more like an animal hunting than a disinterested host, and his square jaw was tight against his face.

This is not someone I want to mess with, I thought with a small shudder.

“What do you do for a living?” I asked, looking at both of them.

Evan and Izzy exchanged slow glances. She tapped her fork loudly three times on her plate.

“Gourmet caterer. Cook,” she said, an idea I could understand. “I've been taking some time off lately, but I'm getting back in. It's a good business.”

I smiled. No wonder she was so interested in the food. Hearing about her passion made the woman seem a little more human too.

I hadn't liked the way she looked at me since I sat down. But I wasn't sure about her hostility. I thought I was just being silly, or confused with customs in this strange new place.

“You cooked this?” I asked, slipping another piece of ham into my mouth. It really was quite good, savory and seasoned on my tongue.

“Izzy's the best,” Evan chimed in. “She used to serve all kinds of rich assholes up in Seattle before we moved down here.”

The woman pursed her lips, hiding a smile. For a second, the whole atmosphere almost became normal. Then she looked at me again, eyes suspiciously studying, searching for something.

“And you?” I looked away, turning to Evan.

“Security.” He pushed his fingers together above his plate. I watched the muscles below bulge and flex. “It's my off season. Won't be picking up any new clients for a little while.”

I nodded, trying to hide my surprise. Finally, something here made sense.

If he was like a cop or a soldier, then no wonder he was so tightly wound. The revelation explained why he'd jumped into action on the road and dragged me back to this house too.

I was looking at a man who lived to serve and protect. Maybe I was naive in my fantasies about heroes.

Whatever. My eyes didn't lie. I saw a guardian angels in a man's flesh.

How had I ever hallucinated anything evil about him?

Evan was a living, breathing sentinel. Watching him sent a devilish heat spiking through my core. It curled through my veins and pulsed between my legs.

Insistent. Shameful.

Stop it! I told myself. The beating must've done brain damage if you think he'd ever be interested in a woman like you. This man did you a huge, hulking favor. The last thing he wants is to have his guest drooling all over him...

“How would you like to learn something about the meat you keep shoveling into your mouth?” Izzy looked at me with a hint of a smile. “I can teach you how to make this, and plenty other dishes too. How do some cooking lessons sound?”

Her frankness surprised me. First time I'd seen her smile too. Was this her way of making friends?

“Uh, if it'll help you guys keep the house up, I'd be happy to help! It's the least I can do.” I looked at Evan, seeking his permission.

He smiled and nodded. “Teach a man to fish, and you'll feed him for life. Or a girl in this case. I'm down with that. You know what I mean, or was that moral off limits in your bullshit cult?”

I nearly choked. The fork dropped from my fingers and clattered on the plate's edge. The wicked lust heating like a furnace inside me flicked out.

Damn! Was I really so stupid to think they saw me as anything but ignorant and weak? More like a child than a woman?