Wounds of Engagement Read online

  "He can't figure out if he's getting cheated or not?"

  Natasha shrugged again. She could be as evasive as Benedikt. She knew the telltale signs. Earl was drunk. “He's getting older. I've got a pretty good eye for numbers. It won't take me long to figure it out."

  Something told her Earl was up to no good. There'd been deliveries this afternoon and she'd already looked over the invoices. He wanted to bait her, like he always did, hoping to wear down her defenses. God, she wanted out of this town.

  She trudged to the back. “What is it, Earl? I know darn well you can handle this by yourself.” She looked around the stockroom and then stepped farther into the room. “Earl? Where are you?"

  She heard the door slam shut behind her and the lock snick into place and knew it meant trouble. She whirled around and saw him standing there, barring her only way out. Why did he have to pull this tonight? She really wasn't up to wrestling with him.

  "This little waltz and sashay of yours has gone on long enough, Nat. I've waited a long time. That pale bastard ain't going to get what belongs to me. You owe me for room and board. You sold yourself to my boy for a ring, why not me?"

  God, but she didn't want to do this tonight. She was too tired and it was too late. Which is probably why he thought he could get away with it. The bar was practically empty. Damn him.

  "You're drunk, Earl. A few too many beers tonight.” She stepped to the side, trying to get some of the cases between them as a barrier. Trying to find something with which to defend herself. She didn't want to hurt the old man, but she wasn't going to let him rape her. When she got home she'd count her stash of money. There had to be enough to at least get her out of this place.

  He started to move toward her. She turned and tried to sprint away. She'd miscalculated and he grabbed her before she could put enough distance between them. Even at sixty-five, he was a strong man, and he yanked her up against him. He tried to kiss her, but she managed to avoid him, the stink of stale beer almost making her gag.

  "Stop it, Earl. I'm not going to let you do this."

  "Missy, you owe me. I've kept a roof over your head after my boy died. A man has needs. And I've waited long enough. You're going to give me what I want."

  She jerked her knee up and rammed hard, connecting with soft tissue. He howled, but he didn't let her go. Instead he raised one of his big bear paws of a hand and backhanded her before she could duck. She saw stars, her cheek throbbing. She was afraid he'd shattered her cheekbone. She butted her head at his jaw, trying to free herself, but he hung onto her like a wild dog with an old bone. She heard several of the buttons on her shirt hit the floor and the material separated, exposing her laced-covered breasts.

  "No, dammit, Earl, let me go.” Now she really was starting to get not just mad but scared. Up until tonight she'd been able to handle him. But he'd never acted like this before.

  He shoved her up against a crate and proceeded to shred her blouse as she tried to fight him, and then she heard a crash from behind him. They both froze and Earl glanced over his shoulder. He shoved her away and whirled around to face the intruder.

  "What the hell are you doing in here?” he growled. “This is my place. It's private back here and this is none of your concern,” Earl blustered at the huge, angry man standing there.

  Benedikt shot her a look she couldn't quite interpret as she rose from the floor, every inch of her shaking from the altercation. “Are you all right, Ms. Paris?"

  Natasha tried to pull the remnants of her shirt closed to cover her nakedness, but there wasn't much to work with. Quickly, she stepped away from her father-in-law and staggered toward the man who'd just saved her from being raped.

  "Y-yes, I'm fine, thanks to you.” She didn't dare look at her father-in-law. She just needed to get out of there. Her jaw felt like it was broken and she thought she might faint. But she wasn't going to let Earl see her weakness.

  Suddenly, a firm, steadying hand closed around her forearm and she looked up into the black eyes of the man who'd saved her.

  "Are you ready to leave?"

  All she could do was nod; her jaw was really starting to ache.

  He looked at Earl. “Don't come after us old man. You don't want to know what I'd like to do to you right now. Be thankful I don't go after the sheriff."

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  CHAPTER 3

  Benedikt had to get her out of the bar as quickly as possible. He yanked off his shirt and wrapped it around her shoulders to cover her nakedness. The instinct that was riding him hard was to do what he was trained to do. Kill. Mutilate. Destroy. The frenzy was almost upon him. The Nanus de-programming couldn't completely expunge ingrained training. Especially not when he was confronted by a situation like this.

  Gripping her arm, he hustled her out of the building. If he stayed and fought it out, these people had no idea the level of hurt he could inflict. Whatever chance he had of making a life for himself would be blown apart. As much as he wanted to make Earl Paris pay, he didn't dare.

  Benedikt knew the old man had struck her. He saw the livid mark on her face, the evidence of swelling that had just begun. She was obviously shaken. What he didn't know was how badly she was hurt physically.

  Natasha yanked him to a stop once they were outside. When he whipped around to look down at her, he felt the rage burn inside him. She was a slight woman that a mean gust of wind could easily whisk away. Her face was pale and set, except for the puffy bruise beginning to form over her cheekbone. Instinct had him reaching out to examine the bruise in an effort to determine the extent of her injury. She snapped away from him. When she looked at him, her expression told him very little.

  He'd come to learn that Earth women were very difficult to read. Without the aura of colors which usually reflected an Argadian woman's emotions, it was like trying to decipher a foreign code when you didn't have the right code book.

  "Thank you for helping me, Mr. Venus. But I'm okay now. You don't have to stick around any longer."

  He blinked. His protective instincts surged to the forefront. He couldn't help it. He'd watched her for so many nights at the bar and never interfered, always figuring it wasn't his business. That these people would not thank him for interfering in their lives. He'd always been very conscious that he was an alien to their culture and should therefore keep his distance. He had a feeling they wouldn't react kindly if they ever found out what he really was.

  But tonight had been different. He'd watched how the old man treated her all these months. And tonight it had finally been enough.

  "Where will you go?” he asked.

  Natasha shrugged and glanced away. “I have to go back. Everything I own is at his house."

  He stiffened. “His house? You live with him?” Had his shock bled through in his words?

  He saw the fire in her eyes when she glared at him. “He's my father-in-law. I keep house for him, too."

  Benedikt stepped closer to her. “Has he tried this kind of thing before?"

  All that kept flashing through Benedikt's mind was the stories of Sidra's abuse at the hands of Clorial Zydon, a man who was supposed to have been her benefactor. It had been no wonder that she'd taken on the terrible task of assassinating the commander after what he'd put her through. And Benedikt hadn't been there to stop it. That was something he would always regret. Haydon, he hadn't even had a memory of those years—not until the de-programming. He felt as useless then as he did now.

  "You can't go back there.” His grip on her arm tightened. As though he really could stop her if she wanted to go back.

  "I have to. I just told you.” She carefully pulled her arm from his grip.

  He straightened and locked his jaw. He had plenty of money to work with thanks to his own planet. He could buy her whatever she needed. “You must do without whatever it is."

  She shook her head. “I can't. It's all I have.” She brushed past him.

  He whirled around and grabbed her arm again. “You can't stay
there. Not any longer. You know he won't let it go. Once a man crosses that sort of line, there's no going back."

  "I have a gun."

  "Can you really stay on your guard every second?"

  "I've done fine so far."

  "But not tonight. You've only remained unscathed before this because he didn't push you. He won't stop.” He couldn't help pointing out the obvious.

  "Then I'll get my stuff and I'll leave.” The look in her eyes was meant to assure him. Instead, it scared him. Sometimes these emotions that had been returned to him truly were more hindrance than enhancement.

  The female was beginning to infuriate him. Didn't she realize how much danger she was in? The man was not going to stop until he'd raped her. And possibly ended up killing her.

  "I'll go with you,” he finally said. He couldn't let her go back there alone. “Pack your things and then you can come with me. I can at least protect you until you can leave this town."

  She shook her head. “There's no bus out of here until Friday. I can't stay with you for the next three days. Everyone would know. And I don't want to cause you any trouble."

  "And is it any better staying with him? If he hurt you,” he answered in a deadly tone, “I would have to kill him. I came very close to doing that just now. Do you want that on your conscience? When it's easier just to come home with me?"

  She stood there staring up at him for a long time without saying anything. Various expressions crossed her face. Stubbornness. Fear. Uncertainty. Disbelief.

  "Why would you do that? I'm nothing to you."

  How little she knew. Without him realizing it she had become very important to him. To his sanity. Again he reached out to brush a thumb lightly over the bruise on her face. This time she didn't flinch away. If he'd been on Argadia, the man would be dead already and he wouldn't be feeling the slightest bit of remorse over it.

  "I won't hurt you. I want to help you. I have medical supplies at my cabin. I want to take a closer look at that bruise. I have some medical skill."

  "I still don't understand why you want to help me.” Again, he saw the uncertainty in her eyes. Confusion. “No one in this town has ever helped me before."

  "You are important to me.” He leaned closer. “And I'm not from here."

  "And that's another thing."

  He held up his hand. “If you want to get your things, we should go now before the old man closes up the bar. We don't have long so you better make a decision. This argument will have to wait."

  She sighed. “All right. I'll come with you. Just remember, I do have that gun. And I won't hesitate to use it. I wouldn't have with him either."

  He doubted she would use it. She was not the type of woman who took life lightly. And she would not kill easily. He took her arm and smiled and he saw a look of surprise cross her expression as her attention seemed to center on his mouth. “I'll remember. Let's go. Lead the way."

  They strode down the street toward the north end of town. “He'll come after me, you know. It probably won't take much for him to figure out where I went."

  "I'll be ready for him. Don't worry. He'll need to sober up first."

  "I don't want you to get into trouble because of me.” He heard the concern in her voice. As though he couldn't take care of any problem that cropped up from the people in this town.

  "I can handle myself."

  She stopped walking and turned toward him. “I know you can. You've been in that bar every night since you came to town. I know you're not a troublemaker, but I also know you're some kind of soldier or something. If you're hiding, this isn't the way to stay hidden. Small towns like this stand tight and they don't let go without a fight. I really don't want to see you get hurt or pushed into something that shouldn't affect you."

  He didn't want to spook her, but right now he wanted to take her to bed. He wanted to strip her slowly and reveal every inch of her body to him. He wanted to bury himself so deep inside her that he'd forget everything about his past. And he'd no longer hear the death cries of his victims or the weeping of their families.

  He wanted to feel her come, wanted to see the pleasure in her eyes. He wanted her to keep the nightmares from stalking him. Looking at her right now, he knew she could do it. He'd known it since the first night he'd walked into the bar and had seen her standing behind the counter drawing a beer from the tap.

  He wanted her and he could only hope he could manage to keep himself under control while she stayed in his cabin. Even now, he could almost taste her skin. Her clean, Earthly smell washed over him, so different from Argadian females. Exotic and enticing.

  Benedikt was already involved. Neck deep if it concerned her well being.

  Yes, he wanted her. But she was an Earth woman, not Argadian. And she wasn't meant for him.

  He grabbed her arm and forced her along the sidewalk. “I won't get hurt, now let's get your things and get back to the cabin."

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  CHAPTER 4

  Natasha felt off balance. She'd thought she could handle Earl, even when he was drunk. She'd misjudged. She'd handled Todd with little difficulty. But tonight something had happened and she still wasn't quite sure what it was. Earl had snapped for some reason. How had she not seen the signs tonight? Normally she kept a good eye on how much he drank.

  She looked up as Benedikt walked into the cabin carrying her second bag. And she knew exactly why her attention had been off kilter. The man standing before her had slowly been getting under her skin for the last few weeks. She'd been a fool to let herself get sidetracked so easily. She was in a dangerous situation living at Earl's, but she'd been so certain she could handle him. Hadn't she handled worse in her own country before she left? If it hadn't been for Benedikt Venus, she'd have been in a whole world of pain right now.

  "You can use the bedroom,” he said as he dropped her bag onto the floor.

  "There's only one?” The cabin seemed kind of Spartan. But if she was right and he was a soldier or a mercenary, then that kind of made sense. She expected they traveled light. Still, the place didn't tell her much about the man.

  "Yes, one bedroom. I'll sleep out here."

  "No, you can't do that,” she protested. “I can take the couch. I don't want to kick you out of your bed."

  "Look, Natasha, it's late. Let's not argue about it. I'm used to roughing it and it's no big deal.” He hauled her bags over his shoulder and strode into the bedroom. Then he turned and held the door open and stepped back, motioning to the room. “We can talk about this tomorrow after we've both had a good night's sleep."

  Natasha let out a frustrated sigh. “You know, you're really stubborn. You're used to giving orders, aren't you?"

  "And having them obeyed,” he finished. “Get yourself settled and then I'll have a look at that bruise."

  She'd now lived with the throbbing pain in the side of her face for several hours and had almost become used to the gnawing ache.

  "I don't think you need to worry about it. I'm sure nothing is broken. It's just going to need time.” She needed to get away from him for her own self-preservation. The longer she was in his company, the more she just wanted to curl up in his arms and let him handle everything. That was a dangerous thing to do. And it really kept her off balance. She bit her lip. “Good night, Benedikt. Thanks for taking me in. I'm sorry to be putting you out like this."

  They stared at each other for a long time. It was late. There was nothing more to say, but she couldn't seem to break the connection. This was really going to test her self-control.

  It had been a long time since she'd been with a man. That went back even before Todd was killed. She hadn't let him touch her after he backhanded her the last time he'd come home drunk. Benedikt Venus made her yearn for things she didn't dare covet.

  Marriage to Todd had taught her exactly what she didn't want and what she'd never put herself through again. At the time they'd married she really didn't have any other choice. It was either Todd or starve. N
either one of them had been in love and she'd learned exactly what that kind of servitude could do to a person. She'd promised herself that it would never happen again.

  Benedikt was right. She was exhausted and she didn't have the energy to argue with him anymore. She slid past him into the bedroom and closed the door. There was no lock, which shouldn't have surprised her. She looked around the room and saw a chair. Well, it's what she'd used at Earl's house and it had kept him out of her room.

  She tossed her backpack onto the bed, then nudged the chair beneath the handle on the door. She had to ask herself ... was she locking him out or her in? What would he do if she threw herself at him and begged him to take her to bed? She shook her head. Obviously, she was way too tired.

  Walking back to the bed, she reached into the backpack and pulled out the pistol she'd kept beneath her pillow at her father-in-law's house. The safety was still on and she shoved it beneath the pillow. God help her, she hoped she'd never have to use the damn thing. If it really came down to it, could she do it? One of the Calhoun brothers had sold it to her and shown her how to use it. It wasn't exactly legal, but without a car, there was no way to get out of this backwater to get one herself. A woman did what she had to do. Survival was something she'd learned to do well.

  Turning around, she surveyed the room and saw a door on the other side of the bed. She really hoped it led to the bathroom. What she needed more than anything right now was to pee and then take a shower to clean off the stench of the night.

  She turned on the water and let it warm up. Once she'd removed her clothes and tossed them into a ball in a corner of the floor, she stepped beneath the water of the small cubicle. She began to soap herself with a bar of soap resting on the shelf. Lifting it, she inhaled the masculine scent. She stroked the bar with her fingers, fantasizing about the feel of Benedikt's skin beneath her touch. He used this on his own body and now she was going to use it on hers. It was about as close as she was going to get to the man.