Freaky by Nature Read online

  “Maybe. I get the feeling you’ve got your hands full.”

  “Tough case,” he confessed.

  “What’s her name?”

  He chuckled and ignored her prod. “Seriously, Claire, come see me soon.”

  “Okay, I’ll get some time off. But you better entertain me this time. The last time I visited, I got house fever from staying in bed all week.”

  “I’ll entertain you, I promise.”

  “I’ll let you know in a couple days.”

  Brett released a long breath. “I love you, Claire.”

  “Love you too.”

  Brett snapped his phone closed and tapped it against his chin. Since when had his life become so damn complicated? First Claire, now Holly. Neither one of them knew how to follow orders and it played hell with his temper. And if the two of them ever met … not a risk he was willing to take.

  He jammed his phone into his pocket just as Sterling walked toward him, his arms full of gray fur. He almost laughed out loud. Big badass Cpt. Sterling and his killer pussycat.

  “They wouldn’t let you help?” Sterling drawled as he stroked the cat’s ears.

  Again, the desire to give Sterling a taste of his own medicine bubbled in the back of his mouth. He swallowed hard. Then again, the desire not to piss Sterling off was much stronger.

  “Hell. I gave up. Claire called.”

  Sterling bent and placed the fat cat on the ground. “Go check out the Koi pond, Maxwell.”

  Maxwell swished the air with his tail before he almost rolled off the porch.

  Brett grinned. “That cat needs to be on a diet.”

  Sterling smirked and propped a hip against the porch railing. “Cameron says it would be cruel while she’s pregnant. He eats every time she does. How’s Claire?”

  “Fine. Sounds tired. I tried to talk her into coming to Diablo.”

  “Does Holly know about Claire?”

  Brett glanced over his shoulder and lowered his voice. “No one except you and Shadow know about Claire.”

  Brett felt Sterling’s eyes burn a hole through his Aviator shades. “You gonna tell her?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Not sure that’s a good idea.”

  “I will, just not yet.”

  Brett felt Sterling’s silent reprimand before he finally spoke. “You can’t protect her forever, Steele.”

  Brett shrugged, knowing Sterling was right on target. If and when Claire and Holly met, somebody would have some major explaining to do. Namely him. “Do you mean Holly or Claire?”

  “Both.”

  Brett just didn’t want to think about that right now and quickly steered the conversation away from anything female. “I’ve got time. By the way, I called Shadow.”

  “Good strategy. ETA?”

  “Whenever he gets here.”

  “Did you happen to mention that to Claire?”

  Brett released an irritated sigh. “No. Why should I?”

  “No reason.” Sterling pushed himself off the railing and grabbed the doorknob. “I’ll have the alarm installed in a few hours. You coming back inside?”

  Back in the middle of decorating hell? “No. I’m going to the office for awhile. There’s several things I need to check on. Tell Holly I’ll be back by dark.”

  Sterling grinned. “I’ll give you a three second head start.”

  Brett rushed off the porch and jumped in his truck. He almost felt guilty when he watched Sterling take a deep breath and disappear behind the door.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Hidden in the dark shadows of the hallway between the kitchen and living room, Holly heard the scrape of a key against the front door lock just before Brett entered the house. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t stop her eyes from traveling his body from the tops of his wide shoulders down to his narrowed waist and tight, toned backside. Her fingers begged to trace each indention of hard, solid muscle, to commit each to memory. Suddenly the urge to wrap her pleading body around him replaced all good sense. A Holly-sized mountain of pure temptation.

  To save her own sanity, she bit down on her bottom lip and refocused her attention to his aura. Ribbons of orange-red and dark gold circled his upper body, forming bracelets of confidence and apprehension around his biceps. Lower, murky hues of yellow and brown wrapped his waist and legs. Guilt nudged her when she realized she was the cause of his distress. Desperate to relieve his pain, Holly moved her eyes back to his head and attempted to penetrate his thoughts.

  She watched him glide his index finger across the small, oval screen inside the door and then drop his arm to his side so that the electric eye scanned the length of his body. Hoping his concentration had lowered his shields, Holly gave a firm mental push. Much to her surprise, she intercepted a fleeting thought before the walls closed in as usual. A woman occupied the recesses of his mind. Someone he cared deeply about. Who was she? Common sense insisted she knew but her sixth sense suggested otherwise.

  The beeping of the alarm forced Holly to push her analysis to the back of her mind. A green light blinked to life and the maze of red laser beams disappeared from the carpet.

  Very quietly, she stepped into sight. “I still can’t believe how smart that thing is.”

  Brett spun to face her, a gray cloud masking his all-too-handsome features. “Gee-zus, Holly! I didn’t see you.”

  A tingle of panic climbed her vertebrae when she noticed his expression – darker than fear and almost one of impending danger.

  She swallowed hard. “Sorry.”

  He gave her a cursory glance, obviously still shaken by her abrupt appearance. “No one can get past this system. Sterling is the best.”

  Holly fidgeted, her knuckles white as she grasped the edge of the sofa. “Have you eaten?”

  His eyes narrowed, almost as if he were suspicious of her question. “No. Have you?”

  “No.”

  “How about Mexican?” he offered lightly.

  She blinked several times to allow her eyes to adjust to the glare of the neon orange bands that now floated on the air around him. The man was a walking testosterone bomb.

  “I ate a big lunch,” she said.

  “Italian?”

  “No, thank you, I’m not really hungry.”

  “Damn, Holly.” Brett rubbed the back of his neck. “Why are you so dead-set against spending time with me?”

  Holly shifted from foot to foot while question marks danced through her brain. Should she expose herself? Was she willing to let him see her true vulnerability?

  “It’s complicated,” she hedged.

  “No, it’s not.” He took her hand and stroked her knuckles with his thumb. Sincerity targeted her like arrows to a bulls-eye. “You can trust me.”

  Holly searched the depths of his ocean blue eyes for signs of deception and desperately tried to read him. Once again, she found his mind closed and locked securely. Irritation and suspicion poked her. Why was it so difficult to see inside him? Most people had natural shields, but his were way past natural. They were ten feet tall and steel-plated.

  Ready to deny him an explanation again, Holly stopped short when persistent powder blue bands of concern and compassion seeped from his smile and gave her the courage to continue.

  “I don’t trust too many people.”

  One corner of his mouth lifted. “I hadn’t noticed.”

  Despite her fear, she knew he expected an explanation. He deserved one. She walked around the sofa and sat, patting the cushion beside her.

  “Nice pillows,” he said as he dropped beside her.

  “Cameron insisted we shop all afternoon. I don’t think Max enjoyed himself though.”

  Holly paused as Brett glanced around the living room and a look of satisfaction covered his face. “Sterling shopped with you?”

  She nodded and for a moment, she thought he might forget about the original conversation. She knew better when he turned his attention back to her and folded her hand into his. “Tell me why you won’t tru
st anyone.”

  A mob of pastels flew from his body and without a second thought, she spoke. “My parents were killed in an automobile accident when I was six. I was shuffled from relative to relative until I was finally able to support myself.”

  He squeezed her hand in silent support as if urging her to continue.

  “I put myself through school by dancing at a gentlemen’s club.” She gave a nervous half laugh. “I’m sure my mother would be very proud.”

  Holly paused to analyze his reaction and found a gleam of interest twinkling in his eyes. No doubt, he was focused on the dancing.

  “Anyway,” she dismissed the memories with a wave of her hand, “when I met Albert, I thought I’d finally found someone to love and trust. He offered me the opportunity to live normally, in one house, smothered in comfort. Like an idiot, I bought it.”

  “What went wrong?”

  “What didn’t go wrong?” She snorted. “The whole relationship was wrong from the beginning.”

  “How so?”

  She studied him silently for a moment to weigh the consequences of her confession. No sense holding back now. He’d find out eventually and she preferred to be the one to tell him.

  She gave him one last chance to back out. “You really want to know?”

  “Yes.”

  “Albert was thirty years older than me and he was my chemistry professor. Needless to say, I aced that class.”

  His eyes grew openly amused at her attempted humor.

  “Our relationship didn’t set well with his children. Especially when he developed his miracle pill. In their eyes, I was a topless gold-digger. Little did they know that topless fed my bank account quite well. In fact, Albert was angry when I opened the gym in my own name. That’s when I found out about Marla.”

  “Marla?”

  “Marla Adamson, his intern. Apparently, they clocked extracurricular hours between the sheets.”

  “I’m sorry, Holly.”

  “Don’t be. It kept him out of my hair. I’d already filed for divorce when he was murdered.”

  “And then the kids slung even more mud.”

  “You can’t even imagine. Especially when I was the sole beneficiary of his will and of the PermaSlim formula.”

  “You don’t have any family?”

  “One aunt. I see her once or twice a year.”

  Brett swallowed the lump in his throat as he processed Holly’s story. Five sisters was a lot for any man to handle, but at least he had them. Five, overbearing, bossy females, all of whom loved him unconditionally.

  He reached to finger a loose tendril of her hair. “Life is full of risks. You had no way of knowing what would happen.”

  She smiled tentatively. “Spoken like a true Navy SEAL. There’s probably not one thing in this world that scares you.”

  He bit back a threatened grin. “Only one thing so far.”

  “Snakes,” she muttered.

  He frowned. Sterling had a big mouth.

  “Yeah, any shape, size or color,” he admitted. “Can’t stand those things.”

  Holly tilted her head to one side. “So why did you have a snake tattooed on your body?”

  Brett’s gaze clung to hers as he tossed his decision to elaborate back and forth. Only Claire and his SEAL team knew the meaning behind the serpent, and even they didn’t know the extent of the symbol. Yet, he wanted to tell Holly. Needed to tell her.

  “I spent my military career raising hell as a SEAL under Sterling’s command. And I was a pretty good hell raiser too. Until I got caught.”

  “You were discharged?”

  “No. I was captured in the jungle on a mission. They hung me in a tree with a boa constrictor. If it hadn’t been for Sterling and a sharp knife, I never would’ve made it out alive.”

  “The scar,” she said softly. She grasped his forearm and squeezed.

  “Everybody has skeletons. You just learn to deal. You can’t go through life not trusting at least one person, Holly.”

  “It’s for the best.”

  “How do you know?”

  She grinned. “Believe me, I know.”

  Her fingers danced across the surface of his skin and he wondered if she realized how intimate her action was. He raised an eyebrow and took a chance, consequences be damned. “The chemistry between us is powerful.”

  The muscle in his forearm gave an involuntary jump when she continued to caress. “Explosive,” she agreed.

  “So, we just ignore it?”

  “We can’t.” She glanced down at his arm and then back at him, a slight blush in her cheeks. “As long as we understand each other, everything will be fine.”

  She made no effort to break the physical contact between them and he felt her flesh heat. Encouraged, he pushed further. “We have a fling.”

  He expected her to come up with another half-assed excuse. Instead, the hazel-eyed witch gave a sexy smile and winked. “Let’s just play it by ear.”

  His cock jumped. The suggestion of pure, hot lust in her eyes was enough to drive him to action. In one smooth move, he could pin her to the cushions and make her scream for him to take possession of her body. Yet, in his heart, Brett knew simple sex with Holly would never be enough. He needed her mind to cooperate. So, they’d follow her rules. Play it by ear. A grin creased his lips. She had no idea how well he would master this game.

  “So what about dinner?”

  She squeezed his hand one last time before she released it and stood. “I have pizza on speed dial.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Brett paced the floor of Holly’s guest room with the nagging sensation he’d just made a deal with the devil. Breaking through Holly’s resistance caused his cock to quiver, but now there would be no secrets between them. Namely, his secrets. A bone-wrenching ache crept through him at the thought of her reaction. She’d run as far and as hard as she could. And he wouldn’t blame her. Hell, he’d run too, if he could.

  He reached behind him for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. The serpent wound its way around his muscles with every movement to remind him how difficult his explanation would be. For once in his life, the son of a bitch was a nuisance. One he couldn’t do a damn thing about. No respectable man would ever expect a woman to understand the relationship he had with the beast.

  He lay back on the bed, popped open the top button of his jeans, and folded his arms behind his head, relieved by the touch of the cool white silk comforter against his heated skin. Tension drained from his body and an overwhelming sense of peace surrounded him. Like angels had floated down from Heaven to comfort him. As his eyes drifted closed, a whisper of hope and promise cleared his mind and beckoned him to sleep.

  Sweat slid from his forehead and burnt his eyes as he crammed the pick into the rusty lock on his hanging prison. Suspended at least ten feet in the air and caged like an animal was not how he’d intended to spend the last few hours. Especially with a burning gash in his left shoulder. The pain had begun to dull, but infection now attacked the torn flesh. He twisted the pick until he thought it would break. He had to get out. Now. Before they came back with more of their toys.

  The rustle of the trees announced his captors’ return. He slumped over and slid the pick back inside his boot, thankful they hadn’t taken those. Running through the jungle barefoot wasn’t something he wanted to do.

  Two dark-skinned men approached the tree, gave him yellow-toothed smiles, and spoke to him in their native tongue. An icy sensation coated his stomach as he watched a burlap sack wiggle from side to side. He sat motionless as his cage was lowered to the ground. The door squeaked open and the bag was emptied inside. Acid burnt the back of his throat when he found himself face to face with a water cobra. The amber-flecked bands on its neck glowed in the sunlight as it coiled, hissed an evil warning, and prepared to strike. He met the angry creature’s red gaze with his own, staring it into a hypnotic trance. With lightening quick speed, he grabbed the snake behind the neck, snapped off its
head and threw both pieces at the men. They stood in shock as the body continued to flop at their feet.

  “Is that the best you’ve got?” He knew he was playing with fire, but the words escaped before he could stop them.

  The two rebels babbled like idiots and ran from the area. When they were a good distance away, he got to work on the lock again. Where the hell were Sterling and Shadow? Glancing around the abandoned area, he threw his head back and chirped like a forest robin. His shoulder throbbed harder and he cursed himself for acknowledging the pain. He should have had the cage unlocked by now.

  Another rustling of the brush brought the two men back, this time with two sacks. They didn’t even bother with the door and dumped the contents through the rusty slats of the cage. The hair stood on the back of his neck when at least two dozen snakes slithered back and forth, their forked tongues seeking a target for their venomous fangs. His shoulder screamed as he scrambled up the side to escape being bitten. Yet, as he reached for a top rung, his heart jumped as his fingers met a bulky, black, slimy obstacle blocking his grasp. As he focused on the top of the cage, he had only a moment to blink before two yellow eyes flashed a greeting and a boa constrictor wrapped him in its life-eliminating grip.

  “Brett! Brett, wake up!”

  Holly only had time to whimper before Brett’s eyes flew open, full of rage and despair, and he grabbed her by the throat, threw her to the bed, and pinned her with his burly body. Stuck somewhere between nightmare and reality, he seemed determined to stop the madness. She pulled at his hand, gasped for air, and hoped to God he’d wake up before he strangled her. A single scream managed to release his hold and shake him loose of the terror.

  “Holly?” His tormented eyes cleared. He loosened his iron grip and massaged the skin over her esophagus. “Are you okay?”

  “I think so,” she croaked.

  “What the hell are you doing in here?”

  She turned her head slightly to take in the tangled bed sheets. Even in her shock she could think of several things she’d rather do in here.