control.
His hand dropped back to his side. 'We should get inside,' he said shortly, looking away. 'It's safer.'
Safer from what? Eleanor? What had happened during their so-called date? Maddie frowned but helped him into the room. She sat him on the bed then went to lock the door.
His didn't say anything, but his gaze followed her as she walked across the room. Heat crept into her cheeks. She wet a cloth in the bathroom, then walked back to the bed. He hadn't moved. Was barely even blinking.
She frowned and carefully wiped the blood from his face. As she suspected, the cut wasn't deep. Had Eleanor attacked him with a knife? Or had something else happened… something in the heat of passion, perhaps? Maddie licked her lips. He was a shapeshifter, after all. Who knew what their mating habits were…
'Thank you,' he said softly when she'd finished.
She nodded. Avoiding his gaze, she tossed the cloth into the bathroom and retreated to the middle of the room, as far away from the beds and any suggestion of intimacy as was practical.
'Did you find anything out about Evan? Or the cabin?' She crossed her arms and leaned against the back of the sofa, watching him warily.
'No.'
His answer seemed edged with an incredible amount of anger. She frowned. 'Why not? What happened?'
He rubbed a hand across his stubble-lined chin. Lines of weariness etched his face, and his smile held a slightly bitter edge. 'Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing.'
Again the anger was heavy in his voice. She raised an eyebrow in surprise. It almost sounded as if he was somehow blaming her for whatever it was that didn't happen.
'What do you mean?'
His gaze clashed with hers. His blue eyes were bright and fired with some emotion she couldn't define. 'I mean I couldn't go through with my efforts to seduce her, damn it.'
Relief and surprise rippled through her. She clenched her fists and looked away. While she was intensely glad he hadn't been able to go through with his seduction, she knew it was wrong to feel that way. She barely knew this man—why should she care if he slept with another woman, especially if it provided information to find Evan?
Besides, he'd already warned her not to expect anything more than a partnership from him. He was a loner. He wanted a woman to keep him company at night, nothing more.
And as much as she wanted Jon to hold her and kiss her and make love to her, she knew one night with him would never be enough. He'd shown her a tenderness, a caring that she'd never thought to see from a man. Because of that, she was beginning to realize she didn't want to spend the rest of her life alone. She needed someone like Jon in her life. Only he'd already made it clear he wasn't available for anything more than friendship.
She returned her gaze to his. His arms were crossed, and his mouth was set into a grim line. She wondered why. 'What went wrong?'
He grimaced. Annoyance ran across his face, thundercloud dark. 'You.'
'Me?' She raised her eyebrows in surprise. 'How the hell did I stop you? I wasn't even there.'
He ran a hand roughly through the sweat-darkened tangle of his hair 'You were everywhere.'
His words whispered through her heart. She looked away from the sudden intensity of his gaze. If she wasn't very careful, she could find herself believing that he actually cared for her.
Then she frowned. Something weird was going on here. He wouldn't willingly say something like that, not after warning her so often not to get involved. So why had he? And why was he answering every one of her questions? 'Why are you acting so strangely?'
He grimaced. 'Eleanor slipped me some sort of drug.'
'Is it dangerous?' She quickly pushed away from the sofa. 'Do you need a doctor?'
'I don't think so.' Again his answer seemed reluctant. 'It's just screwing up my ability to see and walk properly and making me tell you things you have no right to know. And it's really pissing me off, Maddie.'
She tried to ignore the accusation in his eyes. Evan was her nephew. She had every right, and every intention, of finding out all she could about the woman who'd taken him. And about the man who was helping her find him.
'So how did you escape if the drug is affecting you so badly?'
His smile was grim. 'Hit her before the drug took hold.'
He hit her? Images of Brian flickered through her mind, and she closed her eyes against them. Jon was no Brian. He didn't hit women for pleasure, that much she was certain of.
Still… 'Is she okay?'
'Of course she is. I just hit her once to knock her out.' He frowned at her suddenly. 'Why the hell should you care? The woman probably sent those sylphs to attack you, and she sure as hell tried to kill me with that white ash arrow. She probably would have finished the job tonight if I hadn't escaped.'
'I know, it's just that I—' She hesitated and shook her head. What on Earth was she thinking? Jon had no need, and probably no desire, to learn about her violent history with Brian. 'Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor?'
'I'm sure. The effects aren't as strong as they were.'
He was still watching her warily. She frowned, wondering why. Then it hit her. He'd taken a drug that
'Don't go there,' he warned softly. 'You may not like what you find.'
She scowled at him. He sat in the middle of the bed, a golden man dressed in black, with a past just as dark. He was as much as an enigma to her now as when he'd first appeared in her bedroom. That wasn't likely to change unless she seized this moment and ran with it.
'Who do you work for, Jon?' she asked softly.
She saw the struggle in his eyes, could see his irritation in the sudden tension knotting the muscles in his arms. She knew it wasn't right, but what else could she do? Jon hadn't exactly been forthright with any sort of information—this might be her only chance to learn something about him.
'The Damask Circle.' His answer was ground out between clenched teeth. He was fighting the drug in his system, fighting answering her questions.
He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. His gaze condemned her. 'It's an organization of psychics, witches and paranormal creatures such as vampires and shapeshifters. We hunt down the bad things, the creatures that hide in shadows and kill.'
His voice was flat and cold. She stared into his eyes and saw the horror lying there. Vampires and shapechangers and God knows what else were an everyday part of this man's life, and it scared the hell out of her. As did the knowledge that there was actually an organization out there to fight these things.
And to think she'd spent the last six years hiding from the world because she'd thought her firestarting abilities were a threat to everyone. What a joke that seemed now.
She rubbed her eyes wearily, then looked up again. Deep down in the blue depths of his eyes, past the shadows and the death, she saw the hint of despair and wondered at its reason. 'Things like the people who took Evan?'
'Yes.'
'And Eleanor is one of those things?'
'Yes.'
Sweat beaded his forehead. How much of the truth drug had he ingested? How much time did she have before he came out of its influence? What would he do or say to her when he did? 'What is Eleanor?'
'A shapeshifter, and old magic. Evil incarnate.'
And she had Evan, for God only knows what purpose. 'Old magic? What do you mean by that?'
His fist slammed down on the bed. 'Damn it, Maddie, just stop. You're putting yourself in greater danger by
