Rolling to the side, she shoved herself into a seated position. The bruised muscles in her back, arms and legs protested the movement, but she couldn’t lie around all day avoiding him. Head-on, it was the way she’d always gone about everything in her life, and she wouldn’t change now. No matter how much she longed to bury her head under the pillow and stay there until it was time for her to go, she refused to do so.
Her legs protested her rise to her feet; she had to bite back a groan. She’d taken many beatings over the years. Most worse than what she’d gone through yesterday, but the battering her soul had taken afterward made her feel as badly beaten as she’d ever been over the years. Had he meant what he said about her being his mate or had horniness clouded his judgment? She may not have crawled into his bed, but he wouldn’t have made that up; it didn’t mean he couldn’t be wrong though.
Digging through the remains of the clothes she’d been given, she pulled out a pair of jeans and a red sweater. She showered, brushed out her hair and forced herself to leave the bathroom. The hush of the cabin alerted her she was alone before she did a search for Ian. She stepped into the kitchen, grabbed an apple and walked out to the porch. Looking over the trees, she searched for him amongst the woods, but nothing stirred within the branches.
Had he gone back to town?
Wherever he was, it had given her a reprieve to gather her thoughts and courage. She wasn’t going to argue with it. She munched on her apple as she made her way toward the forest and the path they’d walked before. Attempting to escape didn’t cross her mind this time, he’d only find her again, or maybe he would decide she wasn’t worth the hassle and let her go. She wasn’t sure which thought bothered her more.
Arriving at where the path split off toward the lake, she took a right and walked down to the water. She could hear the water lapping against the shore before she rounded the corner in the path. Finishing her apple off, she tossed the core into the woods for the animals.
She’d just stepped onto the dock when she spotted his blond head on the opposite side of the lake. The water had turned his hair a shade darker. The sun glinting on it as he sliced across the water brought out the golden highlights within the thick mass. She abruptly stopped walking; her mouth went dry. She gawked at the fluid flex of the muscles in his biceps, shoulders and back as he swam. Her heart leapt in her throat; she vividly recalled what it had felt like to be held within those arms, what it had felt like to have that frame enveloping hers.
Torn between turning and running into the woods or jumping into the water in order to cool herself off, she took a step away from the end of the dock. She was so busy trying to decide what to do, that her choice was taken away from her when he reached the end of the dock. Resting his hands on the metal dock, it shifted in the water when he heaved himself effortlessly out of the lake.
Water trickled over his golden skin, down his carved chest, and over abs she wouldn’t have believed real if her own fingers hadn’t run over their inflexible ridges. She followed the water downward to his bared groin area. She could clearly recall his smooth, taut skin swelling within her hand. Even flaccid, his dick was still thick and hung against his thigh. That could have been inside of her last night, she realized. Her heart raced with excitement; a strange tingling began inside her.
She finally tore her eyes away from him and focused on the dock beneath her feet. She couldn’t be one of the many who he barely remembered. No matter what he’d said about her never being like the others, about possibly being his mate, they would part from each other, and time would make her fade into the multitude. Especially for him, as there were hundreds of years in his future compared to her handful. Maybe, if she was lucky, she had a dozen years left, but she doubted it. She’d never expected to live past twenty-five; even when she’d been a little girl, she’d anticipated an early end to her life.
So, if hers was an early demise, what did it matter if she became one of the many fifty years from now? She wouldn’t be here for it. She wouldn’t know if he remembered her or not. She would know now though; she could experience him now and for the next few days. The urges of her body warred with her pride, and her apprehension of what this man could do to her heart. She’d been nearly broken many times in her life, but she’d always managed to pull herself back together again.
She wasn’t sure she could pull herself back together after him. Not if she let her guard down, not if she allowed herself to open up to him. Her father may not end up being the one to destroy her after all. It may well be Ian instead. And then there was her mission, the only thing that had been keeping her going for the past four years. The only thing she’d had to focus on in order to keep her sanity, and he was definitely the biggest distraction from it that she’d ever encountered.
Water ran off of him, dripping in splatters onto the metal dock. He had no care for his nudity as he stood before her in all his glory. The dock shifted beneath her feet as he walked down it without making a sound, something she’d thought impossible given he reminded her of an impenetrable mountain most of the time. She had to lift her arms to keep her balance when he stepped off of the dock.
He walked across the sandy beach toward a towel she hadn’t seen draped over a rock there. A pair of jeans sat on the rock next to it. Treated to the vision of his taut ass, she had the urge to grab hold of it, and more insanely, bite it. A hysterical giggle rose up her throat; she held it back.
Ian kept his gaze focused on the trees as he toweled himself off. He’d been hoping the chilly lake water would help to drown his sexual appetite a little, and it had been working, until he’d spotted her standing on the dock. Now he realized he could stay in the lake all day and still desire to be inside of her. He felt her gaze boring into his back as he moved.
“If you keep staring at me like that, I’m going to forget your constant refusal of me and take you right here,” he said as he ran the towel through his hair. She didn’t know how to respond to that. She hastily glanced away from him and focused on the shimmering water of the lake. “I didn’t say you had to look away.”
“You enjoy making me uncomfortable,” she accused.
“I was out here, minding my own business until you came along.”
“Won’t happen again.” She spun on her heel and stepped off the dock. The sandy beach slipped beneath her feet as she walked away from him. The smell of fish and fresh water filled her nose, but she was focused on one thing, not turning around and kicking his balls up inside him.
She never heard him approach. He materialized at her side like some kind of genie let out of its bottle. “Where are you going?” he asked.
“For a walk,” she replied without looking at him.
“I’ll come along.”
“I was minding my own business until you came along!” she retorted.
He slapped his hands over his heart, “You wound me lady.”
If blood could actually boil, hers would have been bubbling over. Thoughts tumbled through her mind rapidly, but she couldn’t think of anything to say to him. Choosing silence, she continued on, pretending he wasn’t beside her. She was almost all the way around the lake when he spoke again. “Is your plan to ignore me now? We should talk about what happened last night, about what you are to me.”
“What you think I am,” she replied.
He stared at her bent head as she walked; her eyes remained focused on her feet. “I know what you are to me. I understand if you’re reluctant to talk about it right now, but it will have to be addressed. There are things you have to know about mates, what this bond could do to me if it’s not completed, or if we allow things to continue to grow between us.” She finally looked at him again. “This is an eternal bond.”
“Maybe you’re mistaken.”
“We’ve already established my past, I can assure you not one of those women ever made me feel the way you do.”
“Lust…”
“This is far more than lust. If you’re not ready to talk about it, fi
ne, but don’t brush it off as something simple and passing, it’s not.”
Paige stared up at him, uncertain of how to proceed. “I’m not ready to talk about it.” Maybe it was cowardly, but there was only so much she could deal with right now. Head-on, she reminded herself. But right now she wanted to give a big old finger to head-on. She’d gotten out of bed and spoken to him, she figured that was good enough for now. She still needed time to think over everything happening between them and what he believed her to be.
“Fine. Would you like to go for a swim?” Heat flushed her face as she recalled his undressed state earlier; she shook her head. “The water is refreshing, once you get used to it.”
“No.”
“You don’t need a bathing suit. I’d far prefer you without.”
She shot him a fierce look. His eyes sparkled in the sunlight filtering through the trees when he smiled sweetly back at her. “I wouldn’t wear one anyway.” There, she thought, happy to throw him a little off balance like he did to her all the time. His eyes darkened; they raked her from head to toe with a hungry gleam that made her breath catch. So much for throwing him off balance; she felt like she’d been knocked over by a wrecking ball. “But I’m not going swimming.”
“We can find some other exercise, if you’d prefer.” The hungry growl of his voice made her rethink the option of keeping her clothes on.
“Ian…”
Whatever she’d been about to say was cut off when he placed his hand over her mouth, lifted her up against his chest, and slid noiselessly into the woods before she had a chance to blink let alone process what was going on. He ducked around the back of a large oak just as three men emerged from the shadows of the woods. Paige went completely still against him, she hung limply in his grasp as she watched them move up the trail. They had bows in hand and quivers slung over their backs as they walked.
“Shh,” he whispered in her ear before removing his hand from her mouth. He didn’t release her, but kept her close against him.
“Are they human?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She watched the men as they continued up the ridge, away from the cabin. “They’re only going hunting.”
“Maybe. They could be scouts.”
Tilting her head back, she frowned up at him. “Scouts for what?”
Her eyes widened when his crimson eyes met hers. She’d never expected to see the murderous expression on his face. “Remember, not all of us can walk about in the daylight. Some vampires use humans to do what they can’t.”
“Do you think they’re a threat?”
“If it means keeping you safe, then I will consider everyone a threat.”
She finally managed to blink when his lip curled back to reveal an elongated fang. “Ian…”
“Let’s get back to the cabin.”
Turning her around, he rested his hands on her hips and lifted her off the ground again. “What are you doing?” she hissed in his ear.
“Wrap your legs around my waist.” She shook her head and tried to wiggle out of his grasp. He didn’t relent to her. “We have to move silently. You’re quiet, you’re graceful, but you’re human.”
“So are they,” she protested. “And they probably already know the cabin is there, if they’re from the area.”
“They don’t know where we are right now and they’re carrying bows.” A muscle near his eye twitched, his jaw was locked as he stared at her. “I’m not trying to get in your pants right now. I’m only trying to get us back to the cabin undetected, and fast.”
His blunt words knocked away her argument. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she slid her arms around his neck. Feeling like a child, she clung to him as he placed his hand in her back. He began to move through the woods with a speed she never would have been able to attain. The trees rushed by her in a blur; she had no concern they would hit any of them as he dashed in and out with ease.
The scent of lake water, and his natural, heady aroma of earth and something entirely male drifted up to her. With every step he took, she fought the urge to bury her face in his neck and press against his heated, taut flesh. Her breasts ached, without meaning to she pushed them more firmly against his bare chest in an attempt to ease the pressure within them. Hating this hold he had over her, she fought against her growing arousal and impulses. When they broke free of the woods, she realized she’d never be free of the way he could make her feel. She’d never rid herself of the sensations only he’d ever brought to life.
Ian ground his teeth together as he fought the urge to slide his hands beneath her sweater and feel the silkiness of her supple skin. Her nipples pressing against his chest caused him to lengthen and harden. Images of sliding his cock into her filled his mind. He immediately shoved the erotic pictures aside. He had to keep his head clear right now. There had been nothing overly menacing about the men, but right now he didn’t trust anyone near her.
He still felt in control of himself, but he knew if the bond between them developed further, or was denied for too long, his sanity would begin to unravel. He’d seen it with Isabelle and Stefan, and he’d really seen it happen with Ethan and Emma. He still trusted himself to be around her, far more than he trusted anyone else.
However, he would tear someone’s throat out if they so much as looked at her the wrong way. Violence, and the urge to kill someone, had never been something that had come easy to him. Any violence he’d been provoked into before had been necessary to keep his loved ones safe, but he wouldn’t hesitate to destroy someone if it meant keeping her alive. He would deal out death to anyone who lifted a finger against her or so much as harmed a hair on her head.
He climbed the stairs of the cabin, pulled open the door and stepped inside. She leaned away to look up at him. For the first time since she’d met him, his face was shuddered, his eyes distant. A muscle in his jaw twitched; he grabbed her waist again and lifted her off of him. The look on his face was aloof, but she felt the evidence of his arousal when she slid down him.
A shiver ran through her. Her hands convulsed on the thick muscles of his biceps when he placed her on the ground. Her head tilted back; her eyes settled on his mouth. She would give anything to feel his mouth on hers again, to feel those large hands running over her flesh, but as she thought it, he stepped away from her.
Disappointment crashed through her; her hands fell back to her sides. “Probably best if we stay in here for a couple of hours.” Even his voice had become distant.
He returned to the screen door and looked outside before moving on to look out the two windows in the living room. She watched him walk around the rest of the cabin, but her feet remained strangely rooted in place. All this time she’d been trying to push him away, she was petrified she’d finally succeeded in doing so.
Chapter Fifteen
Ian returned to the cabin after completing his walk of the area. The humans were gone, or at least they weren’t within a ten mile radius, but he still didn’t like the idea they’d been anywhere nearby in the first place. He found Paige in the shed, pounding on the punching bag he’d discovered inside and hung from the center beam. Her punches made a solid thwacking sound as she connected with it over and over again. She spun and gave a solid roundhouse kick to the side of the bag. She danced back before going at it with a series of blows that would have knocked any human on their ass.
Small grunts escaped her as she continued to pound on it before spinning again and kicking it so vigorously it jerked on its chains and swung away from her. Stepping back, she wiped her forearm across her brow. Straggling hairs had broken free of the loose knot on her head; they clung to her round cheeks and chin. He couldn’t help but admire the leanness of her lithe frame as she moved with the fluid grace of an athlete.
His arousal from earlier began to return while he watched her. He gritted his teeth against his erection and focused on the more important issues at hand. “Pretending it’s me?” he inquired.
She didn’t jump at the sound of h
is voice. Somehow, she’d instinctively known he’d been standing there, watching her. “No.”
There was only one man that punching bag would ever be to her. Ian may infuriate, unsettle, and arouse her in ways she’d never known possible, but she’d never want any harm to befall him. Turning toward him, she tugged at the rags wrapped around her knuckles and dropped them on the floor. She’d been hoping beating on the bag would help to ease some of her frustration and clear her mind. Any sense of working out her anxiety vanished the minute her eyes landed on him again. There weren’t enough punching bags in the world to work him out of her system.
“Did you see them anywhere?” she asked.
He shook his head and folded his arms over his chest. The sun setting over his shoulder caused red and orange colors to dance across his golden hair and emphasized his bronzed skin. “No.”
“Do you think we’re safe here?”
Ian’s gaze drifted back to the fading sunlight as he pondered her question. There had been no signs of any threat to them. He couldn’t shake the feeling something wasn’t right, and he’d learned to trust his instincts over the years. “No, I don’t.” Her eyebrows rose; she glanced around the clearing again. “We’re going to leave.”
“Where will we go?”
“To the motel in town. A public place would be better right now.” She remained unmoving, her eyes on the woods. “Go on and pack. I’ll get the pickup started.”
She nodded her agreement and slipped past him. Ian watched her climb the stairs to the cabin before turning away. He walked around the back of the shed to the pickup parked behind it and checked the oil before slamming the hood shut. His gaze traveled around the clearing, he scented the air, but all he detected was the lake water and the crisp mountain air. That didn’t mean something wasn’t coming.
The Vampire Awakenings Bundle: Books 1-5 Page 99