Free Black Orchid by Abigail Owen Page B

to her family, despite any
danger she might be in at the moment. And she’d rather sacrifice herself than
them.
    But
with Nate here…
    No.
That was a crazy idea. Still, she had no idea whom to trust these days. She’d
tried to poke around in Nate’s mind with her telepathy, but she was still having
some trouble. Unless it was a really loud thought or it was directed at her,
she couldn’t hear it.
    Seriously. Really dumb idea.
    She
crossed her arms. “Well, I thank you for saving my life, and I guess it was
nice to meet you. But I think maybe you should be on your way.”
    Adelaide
stood to walk into the house. Nate reached out and snagged her arm. She jerked
out of his grasp and skittered back a few steps, her heart hammering.
    Nate
held up his hands and didn’t come closer. But he didn’t give up either. “Uh-uh,
Princess. I answered all your questions. Now you tell me what that was about
earlier.”
    Adelaide’s
chin took on a stubborn tilt. “My house, my land, my rules.”
    Nate
stepped closer. She glared at him but didn’t retreat again, even as she vaguely
wondered what he’d do with her if he caught her. As fast as he could move,
she’d never get away anyway, so no use trying.
    “Sweetheart,
I’m not leaving until I know what’s going on here.”
    Adelaide
licked her lips. “Why?” she demanded. “You’re staying out of the war. You did
your good deed. What do you care about me?”
    And
why did she suddenly feel a small spark of hope that this total stranger, no
matter how good-looking under all that scruff, would say that he did care about
her?
    Nate
gave her a lopsided grin, and her stomach dipped in response. “Let’s just say I
have an overdeveloped damsel-in-distress calling. And you clearly fall into
that category.”
    Adelaide
folded her arms across her chest as she held back her ridiculous disappointment
that his was apparently just a general concern. “What makes you say that?”
    Nate
actually laughed aloud. “Seriously?” He pointed at the spot where he’d buried
the guy. “ He might not be the only one coming for you. Besides, no way
am I leaving you alone if you might go nuclear at any moment.”
    “I’ll
deal with any potential future assassins. I promise I’m far from helpless. And I’m
not sure what you mean by nuclear, but I’m not going there. So you’re off the
hook.” She watched him closely, waiting for the shrug of indifference, waiting
for him to leave.
    But
he didn’t do either. Instead, he took a step closer. “You don’t want to talk
about it to a total stranger? Okay. I get that. But let me ask you this. Was
today the worst it’s been? Whatever had you shaking on the ground?”
    She
hesitated. “Yes. Facing death apparently makes it kick in hard.”
    “And
having me there helped?”
    Adelaide
chewed on her lower lip and thought about how wise it would be to let him know
that he had any power over her whatsoever. But he already seemed to know.
    “Yes.
You helped.”
    “Has
it been getting worse?” He took a small step closer. Clearly, he was trying to not
spook her.
    “Only
when someone shows up in the middle of nowhere and tries to kill me.”
    Nate
chuckled, and the sound made her want to smile. Another step nearer. “What if I could help you?”
    “I
told you. I can handle any more people who come along. And as for the other, as
long as I’m not upset, I’m fine.”
    “Still,
I make a good defensive system. And what if I helped you learn to control…
errr… whatever it is you can’t control?”
    Adelaide
shook her head. “It’s not possible. There’s only one person who could help with
that, and she won’t—”
    “Won’t
what?” Another step, crowding into her space. She could see the faint ring of
gold around the pupil of his eye, making the deep brown seem even deeper.
    Adelaide
just shook her head.
    But
Nate’s offer did align with her earlier thoughts. He could protect her.
Buy her more time out here. And maybe with him there