Page 23

Chapter 23

Safe Haven

VANESSA

I nstead of driving back to the lot, we decide to spend the night in my old apartment. I run my finger through the dust on my TV stand. “I suppose I should start looking for a new place to live.”

Keenan sets our bags down and closes the door. “We can live anywhere you want.”

I smile at the ‘we’ as I look around. “It worked for what I needed it for, but I think I’m ready to move on. The house in Mesa has spoiled me. I think I need multiple bedrooms to be truly happy.”

“Good.” Keenan sounds relieved. “The security here is awful.”

I pull out my phone. “What do you want for supper? Let’s order take-out.”

“I’ve never done that before,” he says, looming over my phone. “We can get it to come right here?”

I look at him to see if he’s serious. “You’ve never gotten take-out before? For a guy who’s lived over 700 years, you really haven’t lived.”

“I guess not.”

We settle on American Chinese food, and I queue up a movie. I’ve been systematically remedying Keenan’s woeful lack of film education. “Okay, this one’s called American Psycho. It’s about a guy who has it made but he goes crazy and kills a bunch of people.”

“It sounds terrible,” Keenan replies, opening take-out boxes on the coffee table and pawing through them like a man who hasn’t eaten in days.

“It’s really good,” I insist. “It’s satire.”

We eat our food and watch the movie, me snuggled against Keenan’s side. He gasps, jumps and laughs in all the appropriate places while I watch him from the corner of my eye.

I wonder how he’ll react when it’s me on-screen. Will he be glued to the movie in the same way? I hope so.

I must fall asleep at some point because I wake up to Keenan picking me up off the couch. I loop my arms around his neck. “Bedtime?”

“Mmm hmm,” he murmurs, his warm golden gaze filled with affection. “Or something else.”

I grin and tug his head down, capturing his lips, showing him I’m up for something else.

He tumbles me onto the bed, coming down on top of me and pulling my hands over my head.

“You’re beautiful.” He buries his face in my neck, tickling my skin with his beard.

I’m far from laughing though as his lips bite and suck a path down my throat and into my cleavage where he pushes my bra aside, taking my nipple into his mouth. I moan, gripping his head as heat courses through me.

I wrestle him for the top position, but as always, I lose. One day I’ll get to take him for a ride, but for now, he frantically tears at my clothes, tossing each item over his shoulder as it comes away.

I run my hands over his body, mapping the slabs of muscle with sensitive fingertips. I’ve learned what he likes and dip my tongue into the base of his throat, nipping at his skin, grinning when he rewards me with a groan.

Soon, he’s moving over top of me, nudging my thighs open and sinking into me, stealing my breath, sending waves of pleasure through me. I tighten my arms around him, holding him close as his body undulates over mine, his arms wrapped around me. My legs come up of their own accord, wrapping around his waist, forcing him more tightly against my body.

He grips my face, looking down at me, his lips seeking mine while his gaze pins me in place.

We’ve done this dozens of times, but each time feels like the first. Keenan seems desperate in his passion, as if every moment we spend locked in each other’s embrace might be our last. Our lovemaking is intense, meaningful, utterly satisfying. But… it’s hard to lose myself when I know my partner is in his head, the ghosts of past lovers stopping him from losing himself in the moment.

I sink my nails into his shoulders. “Stay here with me.”

“I’m here, sweetheart,” he murmurs, his eyes glowing with warmth.

I run my hand down his face before lifting my hips to him, rocking against him, drawing a groan from him. “Stop thinking about my death.”

He freezes and I worry that I’ve ruined the moment. He looks at me in surprise, then rolls to his back with a groan, “I’m sorry, you deserve better than a broken wolf.”

“I want you, Keenan,” I say, running my hands over his chest. “Forget everything else. It’s just us here.”

He grips me around the waist and lifts me on top of him, his penis nestled between my thighs. I wriggle, widening my legs before reaching down and pushing his tip inside.

Sitting up, I sink onto him, taking his length.

“Fuck,” he moans, gripping my hips.

I dip into his head and see nothing but us, in this moment, wrapped up in each other.

Holding his gaze, I lift my hands, cupping my breasts, tugging my nipples. His eyes blaze with fire as he watches, his fingers biting into my hips. “Come with me, Keenan,” I whisper.

“Always,” he mutters.

There’s power in this kind of seduction, where I can dip into my lover’s thoughts, wrap my naked aura around his and take him for the ride of his life.

I rock on top of him, moving my hips rhythmically, taking us higher and higher, until we merge into one finely tuned instrument reaching for the crescendo. I tip my head back in ecstasy. My hair streams down my back, tickling my ass as I reach between our bodies and stroke my clit, riding the wave of pleasure even higher.

Keenan’s fingers bite into my hips, forcing me to maintain the rhythm until he shouts, his hips slamming into mine as he comes.

I rub my clit frantically until stars explode in my head and I’m collapsing on top of him.

He tucks my head under his chin and wraps one big hand over my hip before kissing my temple.

We don’t say anything, but we both know this time was different. This time he let me take control because he needed it. He’s been alone, going through the cycle of losing mates for so long, he’s stuck in a tragic loop. He’s told me it ends with me, so I’m determined that we’ll enjoy whatever time we have together.

“No more living in the past,” he says, smoothing the hair off my forehead and kissing me again. “I’m here with you now.” For as long as we have.

“Forever.” I snuggle under his arm and go to sleep.

The next morning, we hit the road early, heading straight for Mesa. My filming schedule has loosened but Zach still wants me close in case he needs to reshoot anything. Most of the footage has gone into editing and now we’re down to the last scene.

“Look.” Keenan points out the windshield as we approach the lot. “Jessica is about to do her big stunt.”

Sure enough, I see a small crowd milling around the train car sitting on a set of fake tracks. The entire thing is rigged to simulate the movement of a train without the train actually going anywhere. The stunt vehicle sits motionless next to the train and Jessica is standing on the back talking to Wesselman.

I clap my hands. “Step on it, we don’t want to miss this.”

We’d agreed to talk to Rachel in private about Stelios as soon as we can get her alone. Keenan is positive he’s responsible for the accidents, but I’m not so sure. He seems like a decent guy and I hate to think of him as our culprit.

“You think everyone is great,” Keenan says, reading my thoughts. “Stelios is our guy.”

“I don’t think everyone is great,” I protest.

“Name one person who isn’t.” He parks the Jeep behind the sound equipment.

Climbing out, I say, “I never liked that giant Kool-Aid guy with the creepy jug for a head.”

He chuckles. “Another human reference I don’t understand, but I know enough to know it’s not a real person. Try again.”

We walk together, hurrying to watch.

Jessica is supposed to fall backwards from the train onto a flatbed attached to the stunt vehicle. She’ll then leap back onto the train from the vehicle. The entire thing will be done in several shots and then edited to look seamless in post-production.

The scene itself comes about halfway into the movie, but the preparation for it has been occupying the stunt department for weeks and it’s one of the last scenes to be shot.

“Jessica!” I shout, waving when she looks.

She grins and waves back, cupping her mouth to shout, “Glad you made it!”

Rachel pats a chair next to hers and I slide in, Keenan standing at my back, his hand on my shoulder.

“Did you find anything?” she asks in a low voice.

“Yes.” Keenan’s voice is grim.

“Tell me.” Rachel stands and pulls Keenan aside.

I decide he can tell her about Stelios and Hailey. I keep my eyes glued to the action, barely daring to breathe as the scene unfolds. The wheels on the train are moving furiously but it’s rigged to stay in one place.

Jessica is standing on the edge of the train, her back to the flatbed that’s moving up behind her.

“Now!” Zach shouts and Spoon shoves Jessica off the train, his face twisted in a vicious grimace.

I clap a hand over my mouth, eyes wide as she screams and swan dives backwards off the train, hitting the bed of the truck before tucking and rolling. Stelios, who is standing on the flatbed, grabs her before she can roll off.

Jessica leaps to her feet and rolls her shoulders back, her expression focused. The vehicle moves around to the back of the train, and she prepares for her final stunt, stepping to the edge of the flatbed.

Stelios is holding her, gripping the straps underneath her shirt, anchoring her.

“Go!” Zach shouts.

Stelios lets go of Jessica and just as she jumps, a deafening screech echoes through the set and the train begins rocking violently on the tracks. Jessica misses the railing she was supposed to grab hold of and plunges between the stunt car and the train.

I jump to my feet with a gasp, lunging forward.

Keenan grabs hold of me, pushing me behind him as he shifts into his wolf and leaps after Jessica. He jumps onto the truck and rushes past Stelios before disappearing over the other side between the flatbed and the wildly rocking train.

“WAAAA, WAAAA, WAAAA!”

I jump, staring down at the small tan fox twirling between my legs yipping and crying. I look closer and realize Rachel’s smart watch is hanging off her paw. I scoop her into my arms. “They’ll be fine.” But my words are strained and tears gather in my eyes as I frantically search for Keenan.

Rachel presses her shaking body into me, her beady eyes on the train.

A minute later, someone stops the train and the stunt vehicle is moved.

I rush forward, Rachel in my arms, Zach on our heels.

Keenan’s huge white body is laying in a heap in the dirt, curled up, his eyes closed, blood soaking the ground around him.

“Keenan!” I drop Rachel and rush toward him.