Free SkinwalkersWoman by Fran Lee Page A

bough of sage that he
was wrapping slowly with twine to gaze into the dark eyes of the vision that
had appeared in his cooking fire. “You have changed, my friend. Having a woman
seems to have had quite an effect on you.”
    The face in the smoke that rose from his fire wavered, and
Zeke’s expression made him lift his brows as the unspoken words sank into his
mind. “The ch’iin appeared? So it knows about her already?”
    Yes, and it will come again until I destroy it. Ba’cho is
strong enough to fight it, but it vanished before I could kill it. Tell me what
to do to protect her.
    Old Joe sighed and frowned at the image. “It cannot be
killed. But it can be driven away.”
    How? If I can’t kill it, how can I make it never come
here again?
    “The demon’s purpose is to destroy your future. To prevent
love. To sow pain and fear. To drive it away, you must show that love has
already taken strong root within your hearts.”
    She is mine now. I claimed her. Shouldn’t that be enough?
    “Do you love her? Has she proclaimed her love for you?” The
grizzled face wrinkled in thought.
    Love? I don’t know what that is, old man. No one ever
showed it to me and I have never felt it for another. If there is such a thing,
it must hide its face deep.
    “You already begin to feel it, iitsá łigai . I
can see the change in your spirit.But she must learn to love you as
well. Otherwise you cannot protect her. Be kind and gentle. She has known
little of that and will respond to it. You are big and strong, but you cannot
force anyone to care about you. It must come naturally.”
    I will make her love me.
    “Good luck with that, young one. Be prepared for many
battles.”
    The face in the smoke faded. Joe sighed and shook his head.
Zeke was wise and strong in many ways, but having no experience of life or love
left a man weak. His young friend had a lot to learn and little time to learn
it.

Chapter Seven
     
    Chellie had splashed cold water over her body on the porch
and was pulling on fresh jeans and a T-shirt when her host appeared at the
cabin door carrying an armful of dry wood. The chili he had poured into a small
pan was bubbling over the wood fire he had started before leaving the cabin,
and the percolator was beginning to send spurts of fragrant dark coffee up and
over the grounds he had added to the basket before he had left about twenty
minutes before. She could smell the heavenly aroma of the homemade biscuits
he’d put into the oven just before he’d left.
    She ran her fingers through her unruly hair and twisted it
behind her neck, unable to do much more without her brush and pins. It had
taken her awhile to get her mind back to work after that heart-stopping session
in his bed at dawn. And even now the sight of him as he knelt to load the wood
into the kindling box beside the stove was enough to make her want to climb
right back into bed and fuck him senseless.
    “Eat. Then we can go back to bed.” His words brought a rush
of heat to her cheeks.
    Gah! He can read my mind?
    She turned away and started pulling things out of her
luggage, searching for panties and a clean bra.
    “Why wear them when they will just be removed again
shortly?”
    She turned wide eyes toward him as he rose and brushed
splinters and dust from his hands and jeans. “Look…I would appreciate it if you
could leave my thoughts alone and stop butting into them. I feel more
comfortable wearing them. If I’m going to bathe, I want clean things next to my
skin, thank you very much.”
    “Why get dressed at all? There is no one who can see you
except me, and I’ve seen every part of you.” His voice was deep and rough. “You
have a beautiful body. It is something you shouldn’t hide.”
    A jolt of lust swept through her but she managed to not
swallow her tongue. “I don’t run around nude, so forget it. I notice you have
clothes on. Those things go two ways, you know.”
    She had simply meant to throw his statement back into his
face,