Chapter 33
“Can I ask you something?” Samantha asked sometime later, long after she gave up trying to convince him to put her down.
“You can ask me anything, wife,” Trace said as he continued carrying her through the woods.
“Why were you in that wall?” she asked as she absently toyed with the large leaf that she’d managed to pluck off a tree a few minutes ago.
“Because I was a fool,” he said, absently shifting her over his shoulder as he hopped over a fallen tree.
“What happened, Trace?” she asked, dropping the leaf with a sigh.
“I made the mistake of trusting the wrong person.”
“How old were you when it happened?” she asked, plucking another leaf off a low hanging branch and twirled it between her fingers.
“I was sixteen years old,” he said as she hung there, unable to help but notice just how beautiful it was out here.
She used to hate going into the woods when she was little, mostly because Nathan thought it was funny to scare the hell out of her. Every time she’d stupidly let him convince her to go with him, he’d promise not to do it again with a straight face and every single time, she fell for it. They’d be walking through the woods or she’d stop to look at something and then…
The hunt would begin.
She’d suddenly find herself alone, knowing that he was somewhere out there, watching her and waiting for the perfect moment to scare the living hell out of her. For several minutes, she’d stand there, arms crossed over her chest, with a well-practiced murderous glare aimed ahead, determined to wait him out. That would end with her making promises that she’d fully planned on following through with as she turned around and headed back the way she was almost certain they came from.
That was usually followed by her stopping every five seconds, shooting nervous glances every which way, and calling Nathan’s name, hoping that the sounds of a twig snapping in two was her brother and not a large bear hoping for a quick snack. By the time her mind shifted to that bear, Samantha was usually walking as quickly as her short legs would take her, which sadly for her, wasn’t very far.
It usually wasn’t long until she realized that she was lost, panicked, and picked up where she’d left off with threats of bodily harm. When that didn’t work, and it never did, she sat down wherever she was, crossed her arms over her chest and waited, glaring straight ahead until finally, she gave up, got up, and walked towards her doom, knowing what was waiting for her.
At least, she wouldn’t have to worry about Nathan jumping out and scaring her today, Samantha thought, knowing Trace would probably beat the shit out of him if he did. That was something, Samantha thought as she suddenly found herself pulled off Trace’s shoulder and carefully placed on a large rock by a beautiful stream that she’d never seen before.
“Where are we?” she asked as Trace took her sore foot in his hands and gently placed it on his knee.
“This is where my life ended,” he said quietly as he gently ran his fingers over her foot.
“What happened?” Samantha asked, only to wince when he carefully placed her foot in the cold stream.
“I crossed a Pack,” he said with a heavy sigh as he joined her on the rock.
“What did they do to you?” she asked, following his gaze to a spot across the stream as he clenched his trembling hands into fists.
“First, they knocked me out with a mallet. Then, they woke me up by holding me beneath the stream until I thought my lungs would explode, which was followed by breaking my fingers, one by one, as they explained exactly what they were going to do to me. Before they dragged me through the woods, they broke my legs to ensure that I couldn’t get away. Anytime I made the mistake of passing out, they found interesting ways to wake me up until all I could do was groan. They left me on the ground as they built a hole in the foundation of the house they were building while I prayed that the next time that they swung that mallet that it would kill me,” he explained in a toneless voice, as she sat there, feeling sick to her stomach.
“How did you survive?” Samantha asked as she found herself reaching over and taking his clenched hand into hers.
“Everything went dark with the last swing of the mallet and then I woke up to find myself in that tomb, alone, and trapped with no way out. There was no air, no light, and no way out,” he said, turning his hand over so that he could wrap his hand around hers.
“And you couldn’t die,” she said quietly.
“And I couldn’t die,” Trace murmured in agreement as he absently caressed the back of her hand with his thumb as they sat there, watching as the water trickled its way down the stream.
“I should have listened to my father,” he said after a while.
“Me, too,” Samantha said absently, nodding in agreement as she couldn’t help but wonder how her life would have turned out if she’d made different choices.
“Why is that, wife?” Trace asked, throwing her a questioning look.
“He told me that if I ever got a chance to leave that I should never look back,” Samantha said, sighing as she glanced down at her feet as she raised them so that she could feel the water run through her toes.
“And you got a chance to leave,” he guessed correctly.
“Yes, I did.”
“But you came back because of your brother.”
“And you heard my conversation with Nathan,” she said with a teasing smile.
“Apologies,” he murmured.
“It’s fine,” she said, biting back a yawn as she found herself leaning against him, her head on his shoulder as the sounds of the stream slowly lulled her asleep and…
“You were worth the wait,” Trace said as she felt his lips touch hers.
Chapter 34
“I’m sorry,” Trace said, breaking away from that kiss that had been barely more than a simple touch of their lips, but had him struggling to catch his breath as his heart pounded against his chest and his hands clenched into fists when all he wanted to do was pull her back into his arms and kiss her again.
That was a lie, he told himself as he moved off that rock and walked away, putting space between them before he did something that he would regret. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her, and-
A roar was torn from him as his vision went red and pure rage tore through him at the reminder of everything he’d lost because of that bitch. He should have done so many things, should have been here to see the world change, and he should definitely know how to fucking kiss a woman, Trace thought as he slammed his fist into a tree, breaking it in two as another roar was torn from him and-
“Hey, look at me,” Samantha said as he felt her small hands cup his face as she stepped in front of him, “it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not,” he bit out, needing to put his fist through something else only to allow himself to be pulled down so that his forehead was pressed against hers as she gently caressed his face.
“Yes, it is, Trace,” Samantha promised him.
“No, it’s…” he began only to groan when she used her hold to pull his mouth down to hers so that she could kiss him.
Afraid that he would do something to stop this, he held himself still as she pressed her lips to his, the slight pressure shooting pleasure through his body only to tear another groan from him as her lips brushed against his. For several minutes, he stood there, enjoying the way that it felt to have her lips move against his until he found himself reaching for her.
He pulled her closer as he tentatively moved his lips against hers, copying the simple move as he wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the feel of her small soft body against his as she released her hold so that she could wrap her arms around him as she raised herself on her toes to get closer to him. With a groan, he tightened his hold on her and picked her up off the ground as he lost himself in that kiss.
Her lips were so soft and sweet, Trace thought only to decide that they were made of sin when her lips parted and he felt her
tongue slide against his. This was so much better than he’d ever imagined, and as a boy, he’d imagined doing this a lot. Some days, it was all he could think about and other days, he’d wake up to find his hand wrapped around his cock and-
His hands slid down to her ass when she wrapped her legs around him, tearing a groan from both of them as the move brought her closer to the part of him that ached for her. The kiss deepened as he used his hold on her to bring her tightly against him, needing relief as her fingers threaded through his hair, and her scent reached him, tearing a moan from him as his cock jerked against his trousers.
That scent…
It had him sliding one hand between her legs, needing to touch her, needing to know if he could feel how wet she was through the soft material of her trousers. With a moan, Samantha dropped her head back, breaking off the kiss as he stood there, holding her as he rubbed his fingers between her legs. He pressed a kiss against her throat as his fingers found her mound through the soft material.
Growing up in whore houses, he’d seen and heard enough to know what women wanted, what they hated, and all the things they said and did to make a man believe whatever pretty little lies they’d told him to separate him from his purse. He’d never been interested in the whores he’d grown up surrounded by because he’d seen what they did, spreading their legs for men, one right after the other only to use their mouths and hands when a man didn’t have enough coin to sink himself between her legs.
He’d listened as they’d talked, the way they’d complained about men who didn’t know how to use their cocks, the way they’d praised the men who did, how they’d talked about a man being able to make them wet with a simple touch and-
“Trace,” Samantha said on a broken moan as he traced her folds with his fingertips, hating the material between them, but unable to stop as her scent grew heavier and he felt the soft material grow damp beneath his touch.
He needed to know what it felt like to be inside her, needed to know how wet she really was, how tight she would be, and he needed to feel her wrapped around his cock, now. Desperate to be inside her, he kissed her neck, as he shifted her in his arms so that he could-
“Ow,” Samantha mumbled, pressing her hand against her neck where his fang nicked her skin and-
“Run,” Trace growled, as the scent of her blood worked its way through his body and-
“Run!”
*-*-*-*
“D-don’t,” Samantha managed to get out, as she grabbed hold of a branch and held on as her legs threatened to give out.
Don’t run.
Don’t run.
Don’t run, she told herself only to change that to, don’t pass out when the next roar that tore through the woods had her legs threatening to give out and her head spinning faster. She needed to stay calm, she told herself, releasing her hold on the branch only to grab onto it again when a wave of dizziness threatened to drop her on her ass.
She couldn’t do this, Samantha realized, struggling to catch her breath while she watched Trace as he moved closer, his red eyes locked on her as his lips pulled back to reveal a set of fangs that had her swallowing hard as her legs finally gave out.
“Oh, god,” she managed to get out only to wince when the sound earned another vicious growl. She shouldn’t have kissed him, she tried to tell herself, but even as she pushed herself back against the large tree, she couldn’t regret it.
She’d done a lot of foolish things in her life, but kissing Trace was…
Definitely one of them, Samantha decided, squeezing her eyes closed as she pulled her knees tightly against her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs when the next roar tore through the woods.
Don’t move.
Don’t move.
Don’t-
“Oh…God…” the weakly whispered words left her in a rush when the next growl had her opening her eyes to find Trace kneeling in front of her, his incredibly handsome face only a few inches away.
“Please, don’t,” Samantha said as he watched her as though he couldn’t quite see her.
“Trace?” she said, worrying her bottom lip as she watched him bare his fangs with a soft growl in response.
“Trace?” Samantha said again, this time more gently as she released her legs so that she could reach up with trembling hands and-
Pulled them back when he growled only to slowly exhale and reach over again so that she could cup his handsome face in her palms and said, “Trace,” as she gently caressed his jaw. For several minutes, she sat there, wondering what she was going to do with him as she continued running her thumbs over his jaw. He was so kind, so sweet, gentle, and…he was dangerous, which she shouldn’t have to remind herself.
This time when he growled, she accepted the fact that Nathan was probably going to have her committed after this as she leaned in and brushed her lips against his. She ignored his growl of warning and continued brushing her lips over his and nearly sighed when she felt his lips hesitantly move against hers and then…
“Samantha,” came the softly growled word, making her sigh in relief.
That is until she suddenly found herself picked up and thrown over his shoulder with a, “I told you to run, wife.”
“I felt that wouldn’t end well for me,” she pointed out with a sigh as she plucked a leaf off a passing tree and resigned herself to a night of glaring.
Chapter 35
Well, this was fun, Samantha thought as she laid there, staring up at the ceiling because that’s all she was allowed to do right now. She wasn’t allowed to read, watch TV, listen to music, or even have the light on since Nathan, who she wasn’t talking to at the moment, decided that it would be in her best interest to avoid anything that could delay her recovery.
The fact that she hadn’t had a headache since yesterday didn’t seem to matter and neither did the fact that she was a nurse and knew what she was talking about. Her brother refused to listen. He also refused to let her leave this room. Every time she tried, she’d find herself tossed back on the bed with a new asinine rule before Nathan left her in here with nothing to do but stare at the walls. If she’d only been dealing with Nathan, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but Kale on the other hand…
It had only taken one warning from the large man that came and went at all hours of the night to decide that it would definitely be in her best interest to stay in her room until this was all over. The terrifying growl that he’d released as his eyes turned silver and the two very large fangs that appeared in his mouth had made coming to that decision easier than she’d ever thought possible. Samantha had no idea why he wanted her here, but she doubted that Kale was making her stay here out of concern for her health.
God, she was bored, Samantha thought as she glanced around the bedroom that she’d been trapped in since yesterday and decided that it was time to turn over and face the wall. It took another twenty minutes for her to find the willpower to move. As she rolled over onto her side, she found herself thinking about Trace, something that she’d told herself that she wouldn’t do anymore.
He didn’t want anything to do with her and that was fine with her. More than fine, in fact. He could go to hell as far as she was concerned, Samantha told herself as she inwardly debated on whether or not this constituted thinking of the large jerk that she hadn’t seen since he’d shoved her in Nathan’s arms yesterday. That led to her shaking her head in disgust and reminding herself that she had more important things to worry about at the moment.
She needed to figure out a few things for herself like what she was going to do now that her life here was over. There was no way that she could stay here, not after everything that happened. Not that she wanted to stay, Samantha thought as she laid there, bored out of her freaking mind. There was nothing here for her. Never was and now…
Now she needed to stop thinking about Trace, Samantha thought, shaking her head in disgust. She should just leave, but that wasn’t an option and it had nothing to do with the asshole that had abandoned
her. She’d made a promise to stay with Trace until his father got here and she planned on keeping that promise.
He’d saved her life.
If it hadn’t been for him, they would have killed her. One way or another, she would have ended up in that wall and Nathan…
Nathan never would have had the chance to leave her in here with nothing to do except stare at the wall and think about a man that didn’t want anything to do with her. That was fine, Samantha told herself as she sighed and began the ten-second process of turning over onto her other side. Determined to stop thinking about Trace and how much she missed being in his arms, the way he held her, and-
Bit back a scream when she suddenly found a large hand placed over her mouth.
“Shhh,” Nathan said as he turned on a small flashlight and pulled his hand away so that he could gesture for her to be quiet.
Frowning, she watched as he gestured towards the door as he mouthed something that looked suspiciously like, “Hemorrhoids need bowing.”
“What?” Samantha asked, wondering what the hell he was doing.
His eyes narrowed on her as he once again gestured towards the door as he reached for her and pulled her off the bed and once again mouthed something that she couldn’t quite understand.
At her blank look, he looked like he wanted to strangle her. When she looked between him and the door, he leaned in with a murderous glare and whispered so softly that she almost missed it, “We need to go.”
“Why are you whispering?” Samantha asked, mostly to annoy him because really, that was all she had going for her at the moment as he ground his jaw.
“Because I didn’t want the asshole to change his mind,” Nathan said as he pressed two fingers against her forehead and pushed her back down on the bed, earning a roll of her eyes and a, “What?”
“The asshole,” Nathan said, flicking on the bedroom lights as she sat there frowning, he grabbed her bag off the floor and tossed it on the bed next to her as her gaze automatically went to the little bastard that Nathan left with her with the suggestion that she use this time to bond with the asshole.
Tall, Dark & Furious (A Pyte/Sentinel Novel Book 6) Page 21