Chapter 19

Hawke's hands slid lightly over hers. "Easy, Radiant. By the goddess, I only mean Mother Earth. Nature. She's not a living, breathing being, but the world in its purest state. The wind, the sea, the sky. The lifeblood of every living creature. And the power and energy that flows through all. An energy only a few can tap into, and only one directly."

"The Radiant?"

"Yes."

She took a deep breath. Calling to Mother Nature was kind of like calling to God, wasn't it? Oh, man, this is all too weird.

"Close your eyes, Kara."

She nodded and let her lids drift shut.

Hawke's hands covered hers more firmly, and he began to say something under his breath, something she could barely hear, let alone understand. With a start, she realized something was happening. Her palms were beginning to tingle.

Strange sensations rippled under the skin of her hands, climbing into her wrists, crawling like worms beneath the skin of her arms. The worms turned to geysers and shot up her arms, into her chest.

With a startled shriek, Kara jerked her hands back and stared at her normal-looking hands.

Her gaze flew to Hawkers. "What just happened?"

"Did it hurt you?" Hawke asked worriedly.

"No. It just felt… bizarre. Like if I didn't quit, it was going to short out my heart." She rubbed her upper arms, trying to dispel the lingering crawling sensation.

"You're strong," Hawke said, a note of admiration in his voice. "Especially considering you came to us only yesterday without an ounce of Therian energy. I hadn't expected the Earth to respond to you for at least another day, yet it leaped, didn't it?"

She nodded slowly. "That was supposed to happen?"

Hawke grinned. "That and more. At this rate, we're going to be able to ascend you early. Ready to try again?"

"No, I…" God, she didn't like this. Any of it. She was beginning to suspect the role of the Radiant was little more than electrical plug. Hook her up to the power source and watch her buzz.

Kara rubbed her upper arms, not having to pretend she was chilled. "I'm going to run back to the car and get my jacket, Hawke. Then I'll be ready to try it again." She stood and thrust out her hand, hoping Hawke didn't notice it was trembling. "Can I borrow the keys?"

To her dismay, he shook his head and rose. "Sit, Kara. You look a little pale. I'll get your jacket."

Damn, damn, damn. "No, I… feel like moving."

Hawke nodded. "HI go with you, then." Kara saw no hint of suspicion in his eyes. No clue she meant to use this chance to run. The man was simply being annoyingly chivalrous. Or protective.

Getting the car would have been ideal, but the important thing was to be left alone. She sank back down to sit on the rock.

"I think I'll wait for you, after all. That power surge hasn't quite left my body."

Hawke nodded. "I'll be right back."

As Kara watched him climb the rocky path, her pulse began to hammer. This was it. She was finally alone. Away from Feral House. Away from Lyon.

She hated leaving him this way, but she didn't have a choice. He wouldn't let her go, and she had to get out of here. Even the thought of returning to Feral House had the fear leaping all on its own. She wasn't going back there. Even if it meant she would never see Lyon again. The thought rolled through her, harsh and miserable, as her gaze followed Hawke.

The moment he reached the top of the rocks and was out of sight, she took off in the opposite direction of his car and Feral House, climbing along the rocks, staying below the level of the woods so Hawke couldn't look back and accidentally spot her. She felt a pang of guilt for leaving him, knowing Lyon would probably be furious with him.

Hawke was a nice man. But if this worked, she wouldn't see him again. She wouldn't see any of them again. As long as she managed to stay ahead of Lyon and his finder's skills until he finally gave up on her.

When the rock face curved around a mansion built on the edge of the cliffs, she used the house to shield her and raced into the thick woods on the other side. Not too far was the road they'd traversed to get here, a busy two-lane that ran parallel to the river. With Lyon's ability to track her, her only hope of escape was to get to the road and try to flag down a ride. Preferably a ride heading out of state. Way out of state. Maybe halfway around the world.

A soft, illogical part of her hoped Lyon would eventually find her anyway. That he wouldn't give up on her.

How had the man become so important to her in such a short space of time? Too important, she admitted. Was it the man, or merely the circumstances? Would she have felt this same intense need to be in his arms if she'd met him casually at a wedding or at a church social? She tried to imagine him taking her to Bill Barton's Steakhouse, chatting with her neighbors in Spearsville, and utterly failed. There was something too wild about him, too untamed. She almost found it easier to imagine him shifting into an honest-to-God African lion.

Yes, she thought. She would feel this same need to be in his arms no matter how she'd met him. Even when she'd thought he was there to hurt her, he'd stirred her senses. But it was his combination of strength and gentleness that had her aching at the thought of never seeing him again.

She ran through woods dotted with houses as sound carried to her from every direction. The rumble of the falls behind her, the wind in the trees, and the dull roar of traffic ahead. Far behind her, she thought she heard her name. Her breath caught, and she quickened her pace. Hawke knew she was missing. He'd be after her, now. And though she was pretty sure he didn't have Lyon's finder's senses, it wouldn't take much for him to see her if he headed in this direction. And, really, where else could she have gone?

A bead of sweat ran between her breasts. Branches scraped her hands and cheeks and tangled in her hair, but she pressed on, desperation lending her speed she didn't usually have. Getting caught meant going back to that house of nightmares. And she wasn't doing that.

The sound of cars grew louder, nearly drowning out the thudding of her pulse. In the distance, a flash of light caught her eye, and another, the sun glinting off cars as they passed on the road. She was almost there. Just a little farther.

She felt something. A trembling beneath her feet. A light, pounding rhythm vibrating in her ears.

The sound of pursuit. Her pulse leaped.

I will not go back.

The chase excited Lyon's beast. Hawke had called to say he'd lost Kara, wanting to know which direction she'd gone, but Lyon told him to go back to the house. It was his fault she'd run. His mistake in thinking her attempt to leave last night was merely a result of a nightmare.

More importantly, no one was chasing Kara down but him. Because he knew what happened when predators gave chase. The blood pounded hot and wild through his veins as her scent coated his skin, a heady mixture of sweat and fear and woman.

As Lyon leaped over a fallen log, he caught sight of her through the trees, her green sweater catching the light, her blond ponytail swinging. His beast gave chase, tearing free of his control as he closed in on her, the wildness overtaking him.

Lyon sprang, tackling her to the ground in a tumbling roll, even as he locked her within the protective cage of his arms.

Mine, his beast roared as he claimed her mouth, his senses exploding. Her hair sprang free in a tumbled array as she struggled beneath him. Just as quickly, she began to kiss him back as she seemed to recognize who held her. Desperate fingers dug into his hair, her body straining against his as she met his passion with a fierceness that rivaled his own.

His beast gentled, his kiss turning hot and needy, recognizing the creature beneath him as his mate, not prey.

Her scent sank into his pores, the feel of her soft body beneath his, rocking with need sent him spinning out of control.

His tongue swept inside her mouth, drinking her sweetness, stroking her teeth, her tongue, the insides of her cheeks. He had to taste her everywhere. He was insane with wanting her.

Her pulse pounded, and his mouth followed the sound, raining kisses along her jaw until he found the pulse and licked the throbbing spot beneath her ear until she cried with pleasure, her hips rocking hard against him, her fingers digging desperately into his hair, making him growl with feral satisfaction.

Passion swirled around them like a sharp, wild mist, clouding his mind to all thoughts but one. Mine. He had to have her. Lost to the passion, to the demands of his beast, Lyon filled his hand with Kara's soft breast, kneading the perfect mound, then pinched the hard tip through her sweater and bra, making her moan with pleasure and arch into his touch.

It wasn't enough. He yanked up her sweater and pulled the sweet fleshy mound from the casing of the bra and took it into his mouth, pulling and suckling the silken skin, twirling his tongue around her taut nipple, over and over until she was crying out from her release.

While his mouth worshipped her breast, his hand found her hip, stroking her with ferocious need, his fingers digging into her soft buttocks. Her moan inflamed his need, hot flames devoured his patience. Now. He had to be inside her, now.

It was the sound of the. zipper that startled the beast long enough for the man to regain control.

Lyon came back to himself in a rush of self-loathing.

With Herculean effort, he flung himself off Kara, away from the raw, brutal temptation of her. Lying on his back, his gaze to the tree canopy above, he struggled to regain his breath and his balance. The beast might be under control, but the beast was only half the problem. The man wanted her every bit as much.

To his surprise, Kara adjusted her clothes, then followed him, scooting against his side and laying her head on his shoulder. He fought an inner war, knowing he should push her away, yet he was desperate to pull her on top of him where he could thrust his tongue back in her mouth and press her hard against his thick arousal. Her emotion washed over him, her own desire crushed beneath the sheer weight of misery. And he could do neither.

Instead, he lifted his hand to her hair and stroked, recognizing her desperate need for comfort. "I'm sorry, little one. You ran and the animal within me rose to the chase. I lost control."

She only shuddered and pressed herself closer to his side.

"I would never hurt you," he murmured, painfully aware of the tangled emotions of the woman beside him.

"I know. I'm not afraid of you."

"Why did you run? Is it still the nightmares?"

"They're more than nightmares, Lyon. It's the house. Something in the house."

"There's nothing there that can hurt you, Kara. You just need to get used to it, and you'll be fine.