Part 8 (1/2)

”That's what I said. He's ahulk wearing leather. Sound familiar?”

”No.”

”Come on. We need to get out of here.”

Kristen spun around, looking for a way to escape the little shop. There appeared to be no way out, not unless there was a back entrance beyond the curtain.

The front door opened and in walked the Hulk. ”Oh, G.o.d.” Kristen slumped against Blu and immediately started to shake. The man was very large. But that wasn't the worst of it-the Hulk had a bald head.

Salva's shaved head hadn't been all that odd. Even though he could grow plenty of thick, dark hair, his choice to shave his s.h.i.+ny pate daily had never prompted Kristen to ask why. But what she had always thought was odd was her husband's insistence that all the men who worked for him shave their heads, too, as well as wear the dagger tattoo in their palm. The only people on the Maland estate who were allowed to keep their hair were the women. And as she'd already told Blu, they couldn't cut an inch off without Salva's approval.

”Do you recognize him?”

Kristen focused on the man's face. ”No, I don't know him,” she whispered, her voice full of fear. ”But he works for Salva.”

”How do you know that?”

”He has a bald head.” Kristen's voice broke. ”They all have bald heads.”

She had stepped closer to Blu-almost huddling against him-and now as she gazed up at him, she found him looking at her strangely. She knew it was a crazy thing to say, but unless you'd been on the island to see how many bald-headed men worked for her husband it was impossible to understand the magnitude of her statement.

”Come on.” Blu parted the curtain and forced Kristen ahead of him into the back room. The psychic looked up, alarmed at first, but when her gaze traveled past Kristen, a smile parted her bloodred lips. ”Bonjour, my sweet devil.”

Blu nodded, then spoke to the woman in rapid French. Suddenly she wasn't smiling anymore, but standing quickly and ushering the man who had been seated at her table out of the room, telling him she would be back with him momentarily.

Returning, she pulled on the side of a bookcase. ”Inside, quickly.”

Kristen peered into the darkness, afraid to move. She heard Blu say,”Merci, Lema,” before he shoved her into the small s.p.a.ce and followed. In an instant they were sandwiched together behind the bookcase in the darkness.

Kristen reached out and felt the walls on all three sides. She turned, b.u.mped into Blu's hard chest. ”This is nothing more than a closet,” she snapped. ”We're trapped.”

”Shh! Quiet.”

He s.h.i.+fted and suddenly his entire length was pressed tightly to Kristen. She tried to step back, but there was no room to spare. She was about to insist that he get them out of there when she heard a man call out to Lema.

”Mais,yeah,m'sieu. I'll be right there.”

If one of Salva's men had found her this quickly, that meant her husband had connections everywhere. Was it true, then? Could Salva s.n.a.t.c.h her back to the island in a blink of an eye? Was she foreverhis as he'd told her every day for the past three years? Would she never know who she really was, where she belonged?

Kristen started to shake. She didn't want to confront the Hulk, but she didn't want to remain in this black box, either-especially since the closet wasn't big enough for one broom-a skinny broom, at that. She'd never been claustrophobic before, but this was suddenly reminding her of a recurring nightmare she'd been having since leaving the island-the one where she found herself drowning in blackness. So much blackness.

For three days she'd gone without sleep afraid to close her eyes.

”Easy, Angel.” His lips touched her ear at the same time his hands slid over her shoulders and squeezed gently. ”I can feel you shaking. Don't fall apart on me.”

She could feel his stone-hard thighs pressed against her hips, feel his chest moving with each breath he took, feel his body heat growing, spreading. Consuming hers. ”I'm afraid,” she admitted.

”Of being in here with me, or the guy outside?”

It was a fair question. Kristen wanted to say both, but the truth was, as nervous as she was about being in this tight spot with Blu, it didn't compare to the fear of being captured and taken back to Salva. ”I can't go back,” she whispered, desperation in her voice.

”We can trust Lema. She won't give us up.”

”She might not have to. That man looks capable of tearing this place apart a board at a time if he thinks I'm here.” As she said the words, dread filled Kristen and she knew what the Hulk's presence meant-Salva had locked in on her location. He was coming for her. Coming for Amanda.

Amanda...Oh, G.o.d. Did Salva know where she was?

”Do you think this man knows where I've been staying?” she whispered.

”No, or he wouldn't be so persistent now. He'd just sit back and wait for you to go back to the women's

shelter.”

”The shelter? You know where I've been staying?”

”I followed you last night.”

Kristen felt her world tilt. The room suddenly turned hot and her heart began to pound. She felt her head

start to spin and she let go of her torn blouse and clasped Blu's arms in a white-knuckled grip. ”I can't breathe.”

”Easy.”

Blu's body was pressed so tight to her, Kristen could feel the strength in his treelike stature. She leaned back, bracing her head against the wall, trying to gain some distance. The sound of voices on the other side caused a whimper to escape her lips and she gripped Blu's solid arms tighter.

”Concentrate on something else,” he drawled.

Eyes squeezed shut, Kristen tried to chase away her growing panic. ”I can't, it's not working. Nothing's working.”

”Give Lema a few minutes to get rid of him.”

”If he saw me come in here he won't leave without me.” Kristen was working herself into a full-fledged

panic. ”Easy.” ”Stop saying that.” ”Shh,fille. Let's do something to take your mind off what's going on out there.” ”And what could we possibly do? This closet isn't big enough to turn around in, much less-” Kristen felt him s.h.i.+ft his body, felt him press against her. Suddenly his breath brushed her cheek. She smelled a hint of beer, not sickening mint. His mouth moved closer and then he was brus.h.i.+ng his lips over hers, taking her mind and body somewhere else. The kiss started out whisper-soft, but in an instant the b.u.t.terfly caress exploded into something reckless and wonderful. He brushed his hot lips over hers once more, then began making love to her mouth as though a firestorm had suddenly erupted inside him.

It was beyond anything Kristen had ever experienced, this poignant rush of heat, this soul-wrenching need. Fleetingly, she chastised herself for succ.u.mbing so easily to this wild, untamed kiss. Then she was sliding her hands up Blu's arms and opening her mouth wider to allow his hard, hot tongue inside.

The firestorm spread.

Engulfed by it, s.e.xually awakened for the first time in her life, Kristen's stomach knotted. Flipped. Then flipped again. Suddenly her nipples ached and she felt an urgent need growing between her thighs. Desire was something foreign to her-at least, it had been dead for three years-and she rubbed against Blu in answer to this unexpected hunger.