Hunted_Falling Darkness_Book 3

by Kellee L. Greene

  Ethan pulled Kate’s shirt off and lifted her, practically throwing her down on the mattress. Kate moaned as his hands glided roughly up and down her body.

  It felt like the room was spinning his lips moved down over her breast. Kate’s fingertips dug into the mattress as he kissed over her sensitive flesh.

  Her fingers fumbled as she worked to unbutton his pants. She needed him more than ever, and she didn’t want to wait any longer.

  Ethan’s hand slid between them. He unbuttoned his pants and wiggled out of them before helping Kate out of hers.

  Her hands glided up and down over his silky skin as if it were her life force. Ethan raised Kate’s leg, staring into her eyes as he moved closer… deeper.

  “Oh, God,” Kate moaned as she squeezed her eyes tightly together. With each touch and each kiss, Ethan brought Kate to a new height. A further distance where all that mattered was each other.

  His lips made all her thoughts and worries vanish. Kate let herself fall away into the pleasurable world, hoping it wouldn’t ever end.

  Their bodies rocked together with an intense desire that made Kate press the back of her head against the squishy, fluffy pillow. She glanced at Ethan through half-open eyelids, feeling dizzy and intoxicated as his muscles contracted and relaxed with his movements.

  “Oh, Ethan,” she whispered, closing her eyes again. She allowed his passion to overtake her. She let him take absolute control, which sent tingly shivers down her spine.

  Her body tensed, and she gripped his shoulders tightly. It felt like they were being propelled through the air so quickly that her surroundings blurred.

  Kate bit her lip as waves of extreme pleasure rippled throughout her entire body. Ethan crashed into her like a rogue wave as his own pleasure splashed down around him.

  Their breathing was frantic as they came back to the shore. Everything around them slowly started to come back into view. Kate could see the room around her crystal clear and with it came reality.

  She was happy for the break, but it sickened her that it had come and gone so quickly. Ethan kissed her, and Kate’s hand slipped around his neck, her fingers twisting into his hair. She held him there, hoping to hold on to their fantasy world just a little longer.

  “I love you, you know, that right?” Ethan said. “Like, really, really love you.”

  “I know,” Kate said breathlessly. “I love you too.”

  Ethan rolled over and pulled Kate into his arms. “That’s why I can’t let anything happen to you.”

  Kate couldn’t say it, but she knew what he was feeling because she felt the same. If anything ever happened to Ethan, she wouldn’t go on.

  They got dressed and laid there together wrapped in each other's arms. Kate dozed off a few times, but never for very long. She didn’t think Ethan slept at all because every time she woke, he was there rubbing her arm and kissing the top of her head.

  There were footsteps outside the door that caused Kate to sit up abruptly. Ethan eased himself up, but she could tell that he’d heard the noises too.

  Moments later a bell rang. “Lunch!” Tricia’s voice was soft and soothing as if she were gently waking children. She rang the bell again, a touch louder than she had the first time. “Lunch time!”

  24

  They walked down the stairs in a straight line… the stairs creaked in the silence. Kate could tell by the other’s tired expressions that they hadn’t gotten any rest either.

  “Just this way,” Tricia said gesturing to a set of double doors as they walked through the lilac-scented living room.

  Tricia pushed open the doors, and they locked into place. Mr. Earle was seated at the head of the table, David was to his left and Scott to his right. They all stood as their guests entered the room.

  “Pick a seat, make yourselves at home,” Tricia said waving at the chairs.

  Kate and Ethan sat next to each other on David’s side of the table. She figured Ethan picked the spot so he could see all the entrances and exits in the room with his back to the wall.

  Garrett sat opposite Mr. Earle, and Nikki and Jasper sat in the remaining two spots. No one talked, but both David and Scott wore big smiles as they studied the new faces at their table.

  “Here we are,” Tricia said setting down a plate in front of Mr. Earle.

  Kate’s stomach started to rumble before she even knew what they were being served.

  Mr. Earle smiled at his wife. “Looks delicious.”

  He sat there with a silly grin on his face and his hands folded on the edge of the table in front of himself as he waited for everyone to be served. When they all had their food in front of them, he picked up his spoon.

  “Let’s eat!” Mr. Earle said, and before he’d even finished his sentence, his two sons had their heads down slurping the soup off of their spoons.

  Kate looked down into the bowl at the floating mushrooms and herbs in the broth. She lifted the spoon and noticed the large chunks of what appeared to be some kind of meat.

  “It’s canned meat!” Tricia said locking eyes with Kate. “Go on, try it.”

  Kate smiled and brought the spoon to her lips. It was salty but quite flavorful, it reminded her of Laura. Laura had created wonderful soups and stews out of nothing back at Simon’s town.

  “It’s very good,” Kate said taking another spoonful. She lifted the thick, heavy roll that had been next to her bowl. “What’s this?”

  “Bread,” David said turning to her. He stared at her as if he thought she was as dense as the roll.

  “I know it’s bread,” Kate said attempting to relax the muscles in her jaw. “But what kind of bread. Do you still have flour? It’s been harder to find things out there.”

  Tricia smiled sheepishly. “I do still have flour, but that’s made out of cornmeal. It has a slight sweetness, but it pairs perfectly with my soup.”

  Kate pulled off the corner of the bread and popped it into her mouth. As she chewed the bread, her eyes closed and she almost released a satisfied sigh.

  “It’s delicious,” Kate said licking the slight sweetness off of her lips. “I could eat a hundred of these.”

  “I could eat a hundred of anything,” Garrett said, barely raising his eyes away from his food to look at them.

  “Well, there is more where that came from. We have a small stockroom—”

  Tricia stopped talking when Mr. Earle stamped his foot down on the floor.

  Her smile faded, but she forced a near replica onto her face. “We still need to ration our food. I’m sorry, I just get so excited when I see people enjoying my cooking. It’s not quite as easy as it once was to make things tasty.”

  “You do a wonderful job,” Nikki said, her spoon clanking against the bottom of the bowl.

  “Thank you,” Tricia said bowing her head to the side.

  Scott beamed at Nikki. “My mom’s a great cook. I hope you all can enjoy more of her meals.”

  Nikki shifted in her seat but gave him an apprehensive smile. Ethan cleared his throat noticing Nikki’s nerves.

  “We won’t stay very long,” Ethan said. “Just the night then we’ll take our things and be on our way.”

  “What’s the rush?” David said leaning back in his chair. “It’s shitty out there, lovely in here.”

  Tricia clicked her tongue. “Watch your mouth at the table, David.”

  “Yes, mom,” he said rolling his eyes. After a moment David cleared his throat. “Where are you all headed anyway?”

  “Nowhere special,” Ethan responded, keeping his eyes on his food.

  “There’s nothing out there anyway,” Scott said. “We heard rumors a while ago about a sanctuary, but I’m pretty sure it was a lie.”

  David snorted. “A joke. A trick.”

  “Thanks enough boys,” Tricia said, her eyes slightly narrowed as they shifted back and forth.

  Kate studied the brothers out of the corner of her eye. They were both adults, fairly decent looking, but there was something about them that
made them seem like pouty teenagers to Kate.

  “After lunch maybe you’d all like the grand tour?” Tricia said picking up Nikki’s empty bowl.

  “Um, we really just need our rest,” Ethan said.

  “Do you speak for all of them?” Tricia said with a hardness in her eyes, but a smile pasted to her face.

  Kate sensed the change in Ethan as he forced himself to behave. He covered his mouth with his hand as he cleared his throat.

  “We travel together,” Ethan said.

  “Well, then the others could decide if they’d like to see the property?” Tricia asked keeping her eyes on Ethan. She didn’t blink. Her shoulders were back as she challenged him.

  “I can’t stop them,” Ethan said with a confident shrug.

  Kate hugged herself as she pushed her chair back from the table. “Maybe another time for that tour. I’m exhausted.”

  Nikki and Jasper nodded as they muttered their apologies to Tricia. She cocked her head to the side and stared at Garrett waiting for his answer.

  “Yeah,” Garrett said standing. “I’ll take the tour.”

  Ethan turned his head ever so slightly. Kate could feel the heat emanating from his boiling blood.

  “Excellent,” Tricia said clapping her hands. “David and Scott will escort you. They really need their practice on the whole spiel.”

  Garrett’s head bobbed up and down, and his eyes were wide. There was no reason they needed to practice, after all, they probably weren’t going to get many more guests after they left.

  “Well, thanks for joining us for lunch. We have tea at mid-afternoon, and dinner before dark. I hope to see you all again soon.” Tricia folded her hands together as she strode over to the double doors. “If there is anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable, please do not hesitate to ask.”

  “I’d feel more comfortable with my knife,” Ethan said keeping his voice low.

  Kate nodded.

  “What was that?” Mr. Earle said his jaw stiff as he glared at Ethan.

  “Delicious meal,” Ethan said in a loud voice as he turned toward the man. He was speaking as if the older man was hard of hearing. “Your wife is a wonderful chef.”

  “Mmm,” Mr. Earle said with a grunt. There was no doubt in Kate’s mind that he knew that hadn’t been what Ethan said.

  Ethan took Kate’s hand, and Jasper mimicked him, taking Nikki’s hand into his. They walked out of the dining room together offering their thanks a final time as they passed by Tricia.

  “You’re welcome. Hope to see you for tea,” she called after them as they went back up the stairs.

  Kate looked over her shoulder and spotted David, Scott, and Garrett just in the doorway. They were pointing and talking as Garrett nodded his head, but Kate couldn’t hear what they were telling him.

  “Um, go on ahead,” Kate said stopping at the last step.

  “Sorry?” Ethan said, even though she knew he’d heard her.

  Kate widened her eyes. “I need to use the bathroom.”

  “Want me to go with you?” Ethan asked.

  “No. I’ll be fine,” Kate said.

  “I really think someone should go with you,” Ethan said crossing his arms as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

  “I’ll go with you, Kate,” Nikki said, and the men exchanged a glance. It was clear neither of them wanted either of them to leave their sight.

  Ethan turned back to Kate. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure,” Kate said jerking her head back at Nikki. “I really don’t need a babysitter.”

  Nikki shrugged. “It’ll make them feel better.”

  “It will?” Jasper said with his nose scrunched up.

  Ethan grabbed Kate’s arm. “If you aren’t back in five minutes, I’m going to lose my shit.”

  “Five minutes? It will take that long to walk out there,” Kate said, her hands dropping heavily to her sides. “I don’t want anything to go wrong here either, how about ten minutes?”

  “Deal.”

  Ethan grabbed Kate and pulled her into his arms. He didn’t care that Jasper and Nikki were standing there staring at them. Ethan kissed Kate with a fiery passion that melted the walls.

  “What was that for?” Kate said dreamily as she pulled back.

  “Because I wanted to,” Ethan said grinning at her. He lowered his voice and leaned in close. “I’m starting the timer now.”

  Kate nodded and dashed down the stairs, with Nikki following at her heels. Scott, David, and Garrett were down the hall looking at something on the wall. They paid absolutely no attention to Kate and Nikki as they walked out the front door.

  25

  After both Kate and Nikki used the restroom, they looked around the area. It was quiet, except for the occasional rustling of the leaves in the trees as a light breeze blew by.

  “Okay, we have about six minutes before Ethan comes charging out here,” Kate said with a grin.

  “What are you looking for?” Nikki said twisting her necklace between her fingers. She wasn’t nearly as curious about the farm as Kate seemed to be.

  Kate tapped her finger to her lip. “I’m not sure. Tricia mentioned something about having more food stored up.”

  “Even if she does what would you do if you found it?”

  “I’m not sure about that either,” Kate said with an exhale.

  “We should just go back inside,” Nikki said swallowing hard as she looked around. “I don’t want Jasper to worry.”

  Kate opened her mouth to respond to tell her she was right. They’d be getting their stuff back in the morning, and it wasn’t like they’d rob the family of their things. But when Kate heard the voices, she grabbed Nikki’s arm and pulled her around the corner of the house and out of sight.

  After a moment Kate realized it was David and Scott giving Garrett the tour. They were talking about when the house was built, the kind of roofing, various plants, all things related to the house. But then they stopped talking.

  Kate peeked around the corner and watched as David scratched his shaking head.

  “Hey, man, can we call this done?” David said pulling a flask out of the inside pocket of his light jacket.

  “I was enjoying it,” Garrett said politely.

  “It’s just that, nobody is coming around here anymore,” Scott said. “We love our mom, but this tour thing is just taking things too far.”

  David was nodding. “She really wanted to do this before everything happened.”

  “Okay, yeah, whatever,” Garrett said shoving a hand into his pocket.

  “Just do us a favor,” Scott said.

  “What?” Garrett asked.

  Scott scratched the back of his neck as he looked down. His eyes shifted upward, and his lips curled up at the ends.

  “Tell my mom you liked it,” Scott said.

  “Yeah, no problem.” Garrett shrugged. “I did like it. A lot of history here.”

  Scott and David exchanged a look.

  “Thanks,” David said stretching out his hand to Garrett, and the men shook.

  “I’ll catch you guys later,” Garrett said before disappearing back into the house.

  Nikki tugged at Kate’s arm, but Kate held her ground. She waved her hand and Nikki muffled her sigh.

  “Four minutes,” Kate whispered.

  “Two.” Nikki crossed her arms and grimaced.

  “Shh!”

  David and Scott started to walk away from the house toward a small shed-like building.

  “Do you think mom will be able to convince them to stay?” Scott asked.

  “Probably,” David said running his hand through his hair. “They seem like they need help, and we could use the help around here.”

  “I really like that one,” Scott said, their voices fading as they got further from the house.

  Kate tried to listen, but she couldn’t hear any more of their conversation. It was as though someone just pressed mute.

  “L
et’s go,” Nikki said, digging her fingers into Kate’s forearm. “They’re worrying about us.”

  “Right. Okay,” Kate said with a single nod as they jogged back to the front door.

  As they walked back up the stairs toward their rooms, Kate couldn’t stop thinking about Scott’s words. He’d said he liked that one. She wished she knew what he meant… what he was talking about. It didn’t make sense.

  Did his words mean he didn’t like the others, only one of them? Maybe he didn’t want any of them to stay, except for the one he liked.

  If Nikki had heard him, she hadn’t asked Kate what he’d meant. In fact, she hadn’t said another word, as she walked down the hall and knocked on the door before turning the unlocked doorknob.

  Ethan opened the door just as Kate reached out for the doorknob. He blinked just as his eyes connected with hers.

  “Zero.”

  “Good, just made it then,” Kate said stepping into the room.

  “I was getting worried,” Ethan said. “No scratch that, I was worried the whole time.”

  Kate crossed her arms and started pacing the floor. “I’m sorry, but I heard something.”

  “What did you hear?”

  “Scott and David were talking, it sounds like they want us to stay so we can help out on their farm. At least that’s what I think they were saying,” Kate said.

  “And what do you think about that?” Ethan asked.

  Kate’s eyes narrowed. “Are you considering it?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. If they want us to stay, they must have enough food and water for us.”

  “But can we trust them?” Kate asked. “The one… Scott said something kind of strange.”

  Ethan cocked his head to the side. “What did he say?”

  “It sounded like he wants us to stay, he said, that he really likes that one,” Kate said.

  “That one? Which one? What does that mean?” Ethan crossed his arms, as his eyes focused in on Kate. “I don’t think I like that.”

  Kate tilted her head to the side. “You don’t think he means me, do you?”

  “I have no idea what he means.” Ethan ran his hand through his hair. “I do think it means we should leave.”