“Elle.”
“I did something wrong by not telling you what I knew when I knew it. I’m sorry, and I accept punishment. But don’t punish her. She doesn’t understand what it is to be pack. She only wants to protect us, and I don’t know how to stop her.”
“The last thing I want is to punish her. Tell me what she told you.”
“Not much. She asked me for a favor: to make sure you wouldn’t go near her.”
He clenched his jaw, Phoebe’s request coming from Elle’s lips feeling like a kick to his chest. No wonder she hadn’t been answering her phone.
“Why?” he asked.
“The Hunter contacted her and threatened your life. All our lives. She’s going to try to take him on her own because if any of us contact her -”
The words had barely left her mouth before he stood up and left the café.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Phoebe smirked as she installed the last of the software she needed on her laptop. She’d never been all that much into technology beyond photography related things and felt proud that she’d not only thought of a plan but had set it up by herself.
The do it yourself webcam surveillance program had been incredibly straightforward and easy to use. With some clicks, some installations and some nail-biting waiting, she’d been able to turn her webcam into a recording surveillance camera. It wasn’t the best, either in quality or range, but it would work for what she wanted.
Her plan, formed and reformed over three cups of coffee and some hasty research, didn’t add up to a lot of certainty by any means. But it had been something – something she didn’t have a few hours ago. And something was better than nothing.
A lot of it rode on Liam thinking of her as the same scared, trembling girl whose answer to him was always to run away. When she didn’t call but also didn’t leave, that would lead him into her apartment. Hopefully.
When he got there, well, that’s when the plan looked a little less like a plan and a lot more like a half-baked idea.
Either she would end up incapacitating him or he would end up killing her. No matter what happened, it would be recorded. She’d already run a few test recordings and, after researching a few details, she found she had at least twenty-four hours of clear recording. She plugged the laptop in on the kitchen counter, set the screen saver to blank and then stood back.
The knowledge that this would all end within twenty-four hours, for better or worse, sobered her but also calmed her in a strange way. Even if it ended badly, the nightmare would be done. She wouldn’t have to worry anymore.
Maybe she could even get him to confess to murdering David, finally putting it on record.
She shook her head. He likely wouldn’t notice the laptop, but he’d suspect something if she started trying to dredge up the past.
She put the laptop in the corner, getting as much of the front door, kitchen and bedroom as possible. Then it occurred to her that she should write a note. The laptop looked off as it was, or hibernating, so if something happened to her, people might not think to look at it.
She shook her head. Best not to linger on that.Without thinking about it, the letter quickly turned into a personal letter to Aidan. The words were difficult. How could she even begin to explain that she already cared about him so much that she’d risk her life for his without a second thought?
She looked up as she sat on the stool and rubbed the end of the pen across her lips. Then she chuckled and smiled.
I love him.
How had that happened?
She stared down at the letter and, knowing that he would only read it if something bad happened, wrote the rest in a flurry before overthought would change what she truly wanted to say. She then tucked it in an envelope, wrote his name on the front and then mostly hid it under the laptop. Anyone just glancing at it probably wouldn’t even notice it.
At least, she hoped.
Suddenly someone pounded on her door, and her eyes widened. Her legs went to jelly and her heart jumped up into her throat. She looked around for somewhere to hide.
It’s too soon! Liam had come. Though the video was recording, she had no time to –
“Phoebe!”
“Aidan?” She would have smiled had he not sounded so angry. Had she not been betting on him staying away until after Liam.
She debated not answering, but her lights were on and she’d already spoken. No use hiding now. She opened the door only a little and looked at him. Yes, he was definitely angry about something. But she didn’t have time for that. She needed him to go away.
“Aidan, what are you…”
The words died on her lips when he looked at her. The absolute relief she saw on his face surprised her and she paused, unsure of what to do. All the well-intentioned ‘go aways’ that she’d been trying to build up disappeared, and she opened the door wider.
Without any word or warning, he pushed the door and wrapped her in his arms, squeezing her tight. Then he held her at arm’s length.
“You’re okay? Are you okay?” He looked around the apartment as if expecting someone else to be there.
She barely got time to nod before he began running his hand over her face, through her hair, down her arms and back to her face. Kisses soon followed, and in short order she felt very warm and very confused. But every time he seemed to calm, he would then take up again with checking her over, holding her and not quite believing he actually had her in his arms.
He kept saying, “I thought…” but never finished the sentence.
Finally he pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes, taking one deep breath after another. Only then did she notice the door still open and gasped. She quickly moved around him and shut it, locking all the locks before standing there in horror at what she had just let happen.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, turning to face him.
That cleared his mind and he straightened. “Stopping you from being an idiot.”
The insult made her blink and she frowned.
“Yes. Idiot,” he said, taking off his jacket and tossing it onto a stool. “Elle told me. I would appreciate it if you didn’t encourage my pack to keep secrets from me.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. Whatever Elle had told him didn’t matter. She needed to get him out of this apartment now. Him being angry with her could only help that along. If Liam showed up while he was here, she didn’t want to think of the consequences.
“Get out,” she said, though all the force she tried to put into the words failed miserably. “Please.”
He put his hands on her shoulders and gently squeezed until she opened her eyes. When she looked at him, she didn’t see anger or even annoyance; she saw hurt. He let his hands drop and stepped away, leaving her feeling colder and more alone than she ever had.
“I don’t know why I didn’t figure it out sooner,” he said. “I’m a cop for crying out loud. Maybe I didn’t want to think that you’d keep something like a Hunter from me.”
She lowered her gaze. “I didn’t know at first. I’d never heard of Hunters. All I knew is that this guy was following me. Trying to kill me after he killed my – my…” The words caught in her throat and she desperately tried to hold back her tears. He moved toward her but stayed out of reach.
“Is this him?” He held out a photograph and she took it.
“Yes. His name is Liam. He killed my brother David. David saved me from him. Liam… He…”
She lifted her shirt and exposed her belly up to just below her breasts. Though he had seen most if not all her scars at some point or another, he still winced when he saw them now. Her belly had the worst of the silver powder scarring, patchy and widespread. She lowered her shirt.
“Liam was pouring silver powder on me when David came in. David told me to run. I didn’t want to, but I did. I ran and Liam killed him.” She took a deep breath and then swallowed. “I had to keep running. Town to town. Somehow he’d always find me. He liked to play these stupid little
games with me. Give me warnings that he was getting close. Then I’d leave and it would start all over again. When I found Echo Falls, I thought…” She shook her head. “Please go, Aidan. You’re not safe with me.”
“You thought what?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
She wiped away some of her tears. “I thought I might have finally found a safe place. To start over.” She shrugged. “I thought wrong. He found me again, only I didn’t know it for sure until after Thomas…”
“Until Liam killed Thomas.”
She nodded and the tears flowed again. I need to stop crying. If he would only try to understand how scared she had been. But he wouldn’t. He just stood there with his arms over his chest. She’d lied, broken some pack rule, and now whatever had been building – everything she’d confessed to in the letter – had been destroyed.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“You haven’t been answering my calls.”
“Because I caused this problem. It’s my fault Thomas is dead. I want to take care of this by myself. So go away!”
“Damn it, Phoebe, why?” he asked, coming over to her and holding her shoulders. “Why would you not come to me? Why would you try to deal with him by yourself and not tell me?”
Suddenly the sleepless night, the stress of the day and all the planning caught up with her. Her knees stopped supporting her, and he held her tightly as they both slowly knelt on the floor. She refused to meet his eyes.
“You’re the idiot,” she whispered.
He tipped her chin up with the knuckle of his finger. “What?”
She shoved him, though it didn’t do much good with them both on their knees. “You’re the idiot! Why do you think I didn’t come to you? He threatened to kill you! And if you don’t leave right now, he’ll do it. So go! Go away. If something happened to you, I couldn’t…”
“Phoebe?”
“Go away! Leave me alone!”
“Phoebe.”
He moved closer and began caressing her face and hair. She tried to bat him away, but he kept on, and finally she looked at him.
“You couldn’t what?” he asked quietly.
She swallowed. “I couldn’t survive without you. Not now. I’ve been so tired of being so alone, and then you came into my life. I couldn’t help myself. To think of him doing something to you… Thinking about the possibility of watching you –” Her throat betrayed her again, closing up before she could get the word out.
He studied her eyes and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe away her tears. Still keeping his gaze locked on hers, he leaned even closer.
“Don’t you think, Phoebe,” he said and then paused. The intensity of his emotion made his voice deepen. He cleared his throat. “Don’t you think that if you feel that way about me, it might be possible that I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you?”
Her brain as good as stopped in its tracks then and there. Not a single word came to mind, not a single appropriate response. She’d loved in the past and thought she’d been loved in return, but she’d never had such simple logic, such simple love, professed to her. Her plan had been so much easier thinking whatever he felt didn’t match what she felt. He would learn to get past her no matter what ended up happening.
The way he touched her now, running his hands slowly across her skin, told her differently. Much differently. Heat began filling her body where there had been pain and it spread with his touch. Thoughts melted away as he leaned forward and kissed her.
His lips on hers made everything right in the world. She knew nothing but their heartbeats, their heat and the liquid anticipation that snaked through her system as his lips left hers, travelling across her cheek and down her neck.
He held her as she moved her legs around to lie flat on the floor. Then his kisses resumed. Along her shoulder, across her collarbone and back up to her eager lips. She pushed her hands up under his t-shirt, finally indulging the long-denied urge. He felt amazing, his stomach smooth and hard and his chest sporting light, soft curls of hair. He easily discarded his shirt and she licked her lips.
She froze has he moved one hand underneath her shirt and looked at him. Seeing what attacks had done to her body was one thing, but loving them was something completely different. Sensing the source of her uncertainty, he leaned over her and lifted her shirt, then leaning down and giving her the barest of kisses all over her belly. She smiled and then began to squirm as he became more intent on teasing her with his mouth, moving upward and downward but never getting quite as close to anything she really wanted his mouth on.
Suddenly he pulled her to sit up and made quick work of taking her shirt off. He then stood up, pulling her up with him. He looked to the bedroom and then to the much closer kitchen. She gasped when he picked her up and lifted her onto the counter. With her sitting at the perfect height, he unclasped her bra and gave her breasts the attention she craved. The world began to spin and she let her head hang back and moaned.
He nibbled and sucked on her hard nipples until she shivered, pressing her fingertips into his shoulders. Then he looked up at her, holding her breasts in his hands while he teased her nipples with his thumbs. In that moment, she couldn’t have looked more beautiful to him. Her hair tousled, her deep brown eyes now flecked with yellow and her lips a deep shade of red. He remembered this was his Phoebe – his Phoebe – and he wanted this act to be as beautiful as she was.
He lifted her off the counter and carried her over to her bed. As he laid her down, he urged her to relax and close her eyes. She obeyed and he trailed his hands down her body, enjoying slowly taking off her belt and unbuttoning her pants. He remembered earlier when he thought he’d already lost her to the Hunter and his hands stopped.
She opened her eyes and sat up. Looking into his eyes, she caressed his face and then his arms.
Placing the barest whisper of a kiss on his lips, she then whispered, “I love you.”
He smiled and eased her back down onto the bed, the dark thoughts replaced with her filling his senses. She closed her eyes and sighed in pleasure as he eased her pants and panties down and off her legs. He began slowly kissing his way back up her legs, but her whimpering and grasping at his shoulders brought his mouth quickly back to hers.
Her urgency spurred him on and it took all his strength to take things slowly. But soon all his good intentions were lost in the feel of her hot breath on his skin and her drawn out moan. She arched up and nipped at his neck as she fumbled with his belt and pants. As soon as they were off and tossed away, he slowed to ease himself between her legs and inside her.
For one long moment they looked at each other and smiled. Together, finally. Then he moved within her, making her gasp, and he lowered his mouth to her neck, biting her as her fingers pressed into his back.
They moved together, both wanting the moment to last but drawn faster and faster to their release. His hands moved everywhere she wanted them to be and more. It had been so long since she’d felt so alive and desired. His strength and his scent intoxicated her.
“Phoebe,” he said. “Phoebe.”
She squirmed, urging him to move faster. He growled and she wrapped her legs around him, feeling his urgency match hers.
“Don’t stop,” she said, tossing her head from side to side.
She cried out as she reached her peak, clinging him to him in a way that had him following her soon after. She writhed and rocked as wave after wave of pleasure washed over her body. He groaned and shuddered, his body still moving with her until they slowly stopped.
He held her to him as he rolled onto his back. She lay on her side with one arm over his chest while he wrapped his arm around her. She closed her eyes and sighed. Her body completely relaxed, she couldn’t even be bothered to wipe the sweat from her forehead. He reached down and pulled the blankets up over them as the heat from their bodies cooled.
She dozed for a while and woke up to the feel of him running his hand through her hair. Night
had well and truly come, the light of the moon providing their only light. If anything, the moonlight made him look even more attractive as he smiled at her.
“Hey,” he said softly.
She smiled. “Hey.”
“You’re beautiful.”
She blushed and pressed her forehead against his chest.
“No hiding,” he said, caressing her cheek. “You don’t need to hide anymore.”
She looked at him, biting her bottom lip. He cupped her cheek and kissed her.
“Don’t worry; I don’t want to talk about all that tonight. But no more secrets. No more trying to save the pack by yourself. Believe it or not, you’re important to me.”
Trouble was she did believe it, which made protecting him all the more important. But like him, she didn’t want to think about ‘all that’, and it was all too easy to forget when he started running his fingertips down her side to her hip. Then he traced a line along the inside of her hip to more intimate places, and she wouldn’t have even remembered her name if asked just then.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Aidan propped himself up on his elbow and watched Phoebe as she slept the next morning. Even in sleep she looked like she had a lot on her mind. Any other morning she would have woken up the moment someone started watching her. He couldn’t help but smirk at having exhausted her the night before.
Shifting his position, he debated sleeping away the morning with her. But as he watched her, he formed a plan for the rest of day – and the day looked to be shaping up beautifully for it. The breakfast plans had to be scrapped given the time, but he could still make up for it with a late lunch.
He showered and dressed, his mood and world brighter than they had been since Thomas’s death. As it should be, he thought, looking at Phoebe as he put on his shoes. He had her safe, the Hunter identified and soon they would have him in jail, too. Things were finally getting back to as normal as they were going to get.
He quickly scribbled a note for Phoebe before he left and put it on the pillow, not daring a kiss lest it be the one thing that woke her.
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