Christina Skye - Bound by Dreams

When she saw that her e-mail had been sent, Kiera shut down her laptop. Maddy was probably curled up by the nearest window, reading some scholarly research text on the properties of sound. The subject put Kiera to sleep, but her sister was an expert on acoustics. The two had always been very close and, despite her mother’s request, Maddy had not wanted Kiera to come on this errand.

But a deathbed promise could not be ignored.

Kiera was to collect an old letter and a box from the abbey’s conservatory. Both had been precious to her mother, left behind during her midnight flight from her home. Her mother had desperately wanted to be assured that they would be restored to her family at her death, and Kiera was determined to honor that wish.

Restless at memories of home, Kiera paced the room, then pulled back the bright chintz curtains. Her hotel was small, only fifteen rooms, but it was the closest place she could find to the abbey. She had already spent three days walking the local streets and driving the quiet lanes while she planned her best point to climb the abbey fence.

For all the good her plans had done.

And now a return trip to Draycott Abbey was the last thing Kiera wanted to do. She hated the memories and emotions being stirred up. On top of that, three men were walking free tonight, though they should have been behind bars for assault and attempted kidnapping. One call would send the police out after them. It was the responsible thing to do.

Kiera stalked to the phone. Picking up the receiver, she dialed the operator.

And then she’d say what?

She happened to be driving by and was attacked?

Too many questions.

Frowning, she held the phone. Maybe she could make an anonymous call. But those were traced, too.

With a sigh, she put down the phone. She would make a call from a pay phone in the next county, choosing a crowded spot where no one was likely to remember her face. At least the crime would be reported. But not until after she was finished and ready to leave.

One decision made.

That left the question of her return visit—and how she would get back out undiscovered.

She spun around at the chime of the cell phone resting on her bed. A quick look at the number had her smiling. “Maddy? I just e-mailed you.”

“I’m not at my computer, and I wanted to be sure you were all right.”

“I’m fine. I should be packing up and heading out tomorrow.”

Kiera’s sister took a quick breath. “You found the things?”

“Not yet. But I’ve been on the grounds, and I know my way now.”

“No problems?”

Trust Maddy to keep probing. “No,” Kiera lied. “Just—”

“Just what? Kee, are you okay? You sound upset.”

“I’m a little restless, that’s all. It’s complicated.” Kiera wouldn’t say more. Her sister would worry too much.

“What’s complicated?”

“Visiting here. The abbey is like every postcard of a perfect English estate. And the roses.” Kiera paced the room. “Everything’s so beautiful that you forget what lies beneath the surface. The secrets and the pain.”

“Then finish and get out of there. That’s an order,” Maddy said sharply. “If you aren’t done by tomorrow, I’m coming to your hotel.”

“Stop worrying. I’m the practical one, remember? You can count on me to get this done without a hitch. But I’d better go, Maddy.”

“Just keep me updated.”

“Aye, aye, sir.”

Kiera was smiling when she hung up.

Outside her window, the moon was huge, and cool light covered the garden that bordered this side of the hotel. Kiera opened the door to her patio and was instantly engulfed in the lavender fragrance that would always spell England to her. The rich, sweet scent made her a little dizzy.

Though she would have given a fortune to be on her way home to her family in the rugged stone house in the Pyrenees, something about the moonlight tugged on her senses. As if there were hopes and dreams that waited this night, if only she dared to accept them.

But Kiera had never had time for dreams. Life was too full of adventure to sit still and let empty images slip through your head. She was always on the move, always exploring the next village and valley, putting together adventure tours for one of Europe’s best known travel companies.

She was determined to have her own company by the time she was thirty. If she kept building her client list, she might succeed sooner. And building a company didn’t come through idle imagination.

As she stood at the window, she saw a movement in the trees beyond the garden. Something blended into the restless shadows beneath the oaks at the far end of the village. Kiera’s breath checked as she saw the movement come again.

And then the shape—whatever it was—folded back into the shadows.

Probably just a fox. She’d seen two since her arrival. Or maybe it was no more than her imagination. She’d been jumpy from the first moment she’d set foot on English soil, jumpier still when she’d walked along the road and climbed the fence onto Draycott land.

Odd, she’d half imagined there had been a man in the woods. The sense of being watched had grown as she’d crossed the meadow above the moat.

She glared out at the darkness. There was no one in the trees beyond the garden now. No reason for the little hairs to stand up along her arms.

Yet the feeling that she was not alone grew stronger. The darkness seemed to reach out to her.

Kiera reined in her errant thoughts. She had escaped. She was safe now. No one in this hotel or in this country knew her connection to the Draycotts and she meant to keep it that way. She would make her plans well. There would be no mistakes the following night.

And after that she would be done with the Draycott family forever.

IT HAD TAKEN Calan less than an hour to find her.

Her prints had led him straight to a small dirt road and the tire tracks of a parked car. It had been easy enough to follow the car’s unique scent, crossing two small hamlets until the car stopped in a village with an isolated hotel at the far end.

Her room was on the north side, facing a garden full of lavender.

He saw her light and the blurred movements inside. Then her patio door opened, and he caught her scent. Cinnamon and pine trees. Mountain hills after rain. There was strength to her body as she leaned against the door, staring up at the moon.

Lost in thought.

Stubborn. Angry. Confused.

All those emotions clung, carried in her scent, clear for him to read. She was alone in the room, too.

The thought pleased him.

He stepped closer, silent in the shadows, his head raised. Every time she took a step her fragrance drifted toward him like a gentle touch. She was restless. He could almost feel the nervous energy slide from her as he stood, silent and watchful behind a row of topiary plants.

She turned slowly in the moonlight. Her arms crossed over her chest. “Is…someone out there?”

He didn’t move. Wind stirred his fur. Her eyes were trained on the spot where he waited, motionless.

“Hello?”

She blew out a breath and leaned her forehead against the door frame. Exhaustion seemed to grip her. He saw her shoulders slump.

What weight did she carry? he wondered. What fueled this kind of anger and regret?

He wanted to turn away. He needed to make one more effort to trace the attackers’ car, which he’d lost near a major highway exchange on the far side of the valley.

He had to put her out of his mind before this strange attraction pulled him any closer.

Yet he didn’t move.

Moonlight brushed the patio outside room fifteen. He felt the sharp twist of muscles, tensed to hunt. One leap would bring him closer.