Then she realized she could play the game of what-ifs for an eternity. All it would get her was an extremely long and unlived life. After three years on this island, she refused to remain locked in a prison of her own making. She may be terrified of what the future held, but she would embrace it.
Her legs parted when she felt his shaft pressing against her, and it slid between her thighs to stroke against her already wet and aching center. She expected him to enter her; instead, he pulled back before gliding forward to tease her once more. Charlie’s fingers dug into Jack’s shoulders as she wiggled her hips to draw him into her, but he only continued to torment her.
Jack released her hands to grip her wrists as he bent to run his tongue along the curve of her delicate neck. “Jack,” she moaned.
His name on her lips was nearly his undoing, but he was determined to savor her. “Charlie,” he murmured as he kissed her ear and released her wrists.
When he didn’t give her what she wanted, she wrapped her hand around his cock. He groaned when she stroked him, and a sense of power flooded Charlie. This man was hers; he’d claimed her, made her his, and he loved her. And she loved him.
Jack clasped Charlie’s hips and lifted her. Slipping her legs around his waist, she guided him into her and slid onto him. We’re one.
She felt this throughout her entire being; knew it as surely as she knew she would take another breath. Her fingers threaded into his hair as he turned her away from the wall, walked her three feet and brought her down to the ground. Charlie clung to him as he thrust within her until she couldn’t tell his body from hers.
Pleasure built inside her, and when her body came apart, she turned her head into his shoulder and bit down to stifle her cries. As his blood filled her mouth and his fangs pierced her flesh, his love swamped her until she felt like she was drowning beneath it, but it was the sweetest death.
Charlie released her bite on him and fell back to lay panting beneath him on the floor. She couldn’t stop trembling as tremors ran through her body.
Jack drew her into his arms and inhaled her calming scent as he tasted her blood on his lips and smiled. He may have never seen her coming, but he would never let her go.
“I love you,” she whispered.
Grasping her hand, he rested it against his chest. “You are my heart, Charlie.”
Tears slid down her face as he kissed her again.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Charlie slid through the woods with Jack, Clifford, and Kirha. They moved noiselessly through the trees, heading for the boat dock first. Jack didn’t think his friends would return to the boat dock, but they still had to look to make sure.
When they arrived at the area across from the stairs, they knelt in the trees to search for any hint of the Savages. Charlie didn’t see or hear anything unusual, and when she scented the air, all she detected was pine and the musky scent of the wild animals. But she couldn’t shake the feeling something wasn’t right.
“I’ll go look,” Jack said.
She gripped his wrist. “Wait.”
He turned to look at her. “What is it?”
Charlie didn’t have an answer as she gazed around them. Though she didn’t sense anyone nearby, she was sure someone was watching them. Her fingers slid into his as the hair on her nape rose, and everything in her screamed danger!
Then she tipped her head back. Her stomach plummeted when she saw the cameras in the trees; they pointed toward the cliff.
“Oh,” she whispered.
“Those bastards,” Kirha snarled. “They have cameras on this island too. They have the hunt rigged in their favor.”
“No,” Charlie said. “This is a new addition. They probably added them after the escape. Whoever runs this place is going to make sure no one else makes it out of here alive.”
“What if they’ve decided the thrill of the hunt isn’t worth the risk of losing their prey and they’ve put cameras all over the island?” Clifford asked.
“I want to tear them out of the trees,” Kirha muttered.
“Then they’ll know someone’s here,” Charlie said. “We have to leave them, and we have to get out of here. I think we’re going to find a lot more added security around the island. We’ll have to be extra careful.”
“Let’s go,” Jack said. “And keep an eye out for more cameras.”
Charlie didn’t let go of his hand as they rose and started through the trees again. She searched for more cameras, but she relied more on her instincts as they moved. Jack was right about her ability being stronger since they completed the bond. As much as she often considered her ability as more of a curse than a gift, she hoped she might finally be able to use it for some good.
As they went, she didn’t see or sense any more cameras. They made it halfway around the island before Jack called for a rest and they settled behind some boulders.
“It’s really quiet today,” Kirha said. “Normally, we would have seen at least a couple of guards, hunters, or the hunted by now.”
“Do you think the Savages left the island after the others escaped?” Clifford asked.
“It’s a possibility,” Charlie said, “but I doubt they believe they have anything to fear from the escapees or any of their remaining prey. We’re not seeing many of the hunted because there probably isn’t many of them left. Which makes things more dangerous for us.”
Jack rested his hand over hers as he surveyed the forest. Every killer instinct he had was on high alert as his fangs slid free. Fewer victims to hunt meant the hunters wouldn’t have as many distractions and would be more concentrated on trying to track down those who remained on the island.
They shouldn’t have come out here, but there’d been no choice. If he could be sure they would have Brian with them when his friends arrived, he would hide Charlie away, but without that certainty, they had to keep watch for Mike and the others.
“Okay, so maybe there are fewer victims left, but where are the Savages?” Kirha asked. “We haven’t seen any of them either.”
“And it’s giving me the creeps,” Clifford muttered.
“Normally, they’re crawling all over this island during a hunt, but they could be at the mansion. It’s not typical behavior for them during a hunt, but then nothing about this hunt has been typical,” Charlie said.
“Where’s the mansion?” Jack asked.
“It’s in the center of the island. It’s where they all stay during the hunt and where those who run the hunt reside most of the year,” Charlie explained.
“Can you take us to it?” Jack asked.
Charlie hesitated as she glanced at the faces surrounding her. “We’ve always gone out of our way to avoid the mansion.”
Jack rested his hand on hers as he gave it a tender squeeze. “If you don’t feel comfortable going to the mansion, we don’t have to.”
Charlie closed her eyes as she contemplated this. They stayed away from the mansion, but not knowing where the Savages were was more dangerous to them than being near the mansion.
“No, we’ll go. It’s better we know where they are,” she said.
With a sigh, Charlie squeezed Jack’s hand one more time before releasing it and rising. She gestured for them to follow her and started through the forest again. Fifteen minutes later, they were kneeling in the woods a few hundred feet away from the mansion. They crept closer until the hair on Charlie’s nape rose, and she held up her hand to stop the others.
She searched the trees and discovered six cameras a hundred feet ahead of them. Half of the six were pointing at the mansion while the other half were aimed at the woods. If they’d gone two feet to the right, they would have been within the camera’s line of sight. The cameras didn’t point at them, but every muscle in her body tensed to flee. She would bet cameras encircled the mansion.
“Have there always been cameras here?” Kirha asked.
“I don’t know,” Charlie said. “This is the closest I’ve ever been to the mansion. I want to say no, g
iven the new additions near the stairs to the boat, but they may have always been more protective of where they sleep.”
“Judging by the freshness of the marks on the trees, I’m guessing these cameras are new additions too,” Clifford said.
“I wonder if Mike and Doug came here too and that’s why they’ve added them,” Jack said. “Or if they’re just extra cautious now. Let’s circle around and see if there’s somewhere we can slip through the cameras to get closer. Keep an eye out for more cameras.”
He led the way as they walked around the mansion, careful to stay out of range of the cameras. The unnatural hush of the forest unnerved him. The dust motes dancing in the sun were the only other things moving in the woods.
He imagined the animals probably fled this area a while ago if there was a high concentration of vampires in it. However, he didn’t see any vampires either. Where were they all?
They’d made it almost all the way around the mansion when he stopped beside a large maple away from the cameras.
“We’re not going to find a break in the cameras,” he said and pointed at the tree. “I’m going to see if I can get a look at the mansion from up there.”
Charlie’s instincts weren’t screaming at her to get out of here but being this close to the mansion was making her edgy. “Maybe we should go,” she whispered.
Jack drew her into his arms and hugged her against him. Rubbing her back, he sought to soothe her as he kissed her forehead. “We’ll go.”
“We have to know where they all are,” Clifford said.
Charlie knew he was right, and she didn’t feel anything off right now; she just hated being here. Straightening her shoulders, she stepped out of Jack’s arms. “No, he’s right. Let’s get this over with. Be careful,” she whispered.
Clasping her cheeks in his hand, he bent and kissed her forehead. “I always am, and I’ll be right back.”
Charlie stepped away when he released her, and her heart lodged in her throat when he grasped a lower limb to swing himself into the tree. She tried not to chew on her nails as she watched him move through the trees with rapid speed before glancing around the woods. What if someone came now? He was vulnerable in the tree.
Her hand fell to one of her knives as she glared at the forest. If anyone came now, she’d have them bleeding out in less than a second.
Jack was almost to the top of the tree when a break in the leaves caused the mansion to come into better view. He found himself staring at the back side of the building as security members worked to replace a glass pane in a broken window.
Mike and Doug did come here, he realized with a grim smile. He did not doubt it as the Savages continuously glanced nervously around while they worked. His friends had caused some problems for the bastards on this island, and Jack planned to create a lot more. He would make them all pay for Doug.
A couple of dozen security members patrolled the mansion and, as he watched, more rotated into view from the front of the building. He suspected this amount of security around here was something new, like the cameras.
Did any of the hunters flee the island after the escape or are they all still here? Judging by the security, he suspected they were all still here. They probably paid a fortune for this, and they would get their money’s worth. Some of the sick fucks probably found the game more interesting because of all the problems.
Charlie looked up at Jack as an icy chill slid up her nape. Her hand clenched around the handle of her knife, and she slid it free of its holster. Kirha gave her a questioning look; Charlie ignored it as she searched the woods. She didn’t get the sense that someone was out there but more that something was going to happen.
But what?
Her visions didn’t reveal things about herself, but this wasn’t a vision, and this could be something about one of the others. It could be about Jack who was in a tree! She glanced up at him again and opened her mouth to give him a warning, but she didn’t dare in case she alerted someone to their presence.
She studied the forest as she prepared to tear apart anyone who came near them. Jack had said mated vampires could communicate telepathically, but she wasn’t sure how to do that. He had to get out of the tree now.
Something was coming. She could feel it barreling toward them through the trees, closing in on them like a wolf on a deer, and it was as unstoppable as the tide. Charlie strained to breathe as she tried to figure out how to communicate with Jack. And then he shifted above her. Charlie willed him to move faster as he descended with ease.
Jack’s feet had barely touched the ground when Charlie grasped his arm. She’d paled visibly, and her eyes were wild as they darted over the trees.
“We have to go,” she whispered as she returned her knife to its holster; she didn’t want to run with it in her hand. “We can’t be here anymore.”
“What’s wrong?” he inquired.
“I don’t know. I didn’t feel this way a few minutes ago, but something’s going to happen, and we have to go. Now.”
The urgency in her voice and the fact her sixth sense had kicked into high gear since they’d become mates caused his fangs to lengthen. The demon within him stirred and came alive with its need to destroy anything that came near her.
“I agree,” Kirha said as she gave Charlie a quizzical look.
“This way,” Jack said.
They jogged deeper into the woods. He wanted to run as fast as he could away from the mansion and whatever menace Charlie sensed, but rushing could prove as deadly as remaining where they were.
They were only twenty feet away from the maple when something exploded behind them. Though they were far away from it, the heat of the explosion licked against Jack’s back as he wrapped his arms around Charlie’s waist and pulled her to the ground beneath him. He shielded her body with his as pops and screams pierced the air. Beside them, Kirha and Clifford hit the ground and covered their heads with their hands.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked Charlie.
Before she could reply, the fire flashed through the trees overhead. The flames caused sweat to coat his body as the fire consumed the pine needles and leaves. The roar of the flames was almost as loud as the explosion before they died back to reveal the bare limbs of the scorched trees.
“Charlie, are you okay?” he asked again.
She lifted her head to look at him, and her eyes landed on the trees overhead. If they’d still been by the maple, they probably wouldn’t have been killed, but they would be a lot worse off.
“Charlie?” Jack asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m fine.”
Jack released her and rolled over to survey the damage. He suspected the explosion had come from the same area of the cameras. Whether it was set off manually, or if someone tripped something to cause it, he didn’t know, and he wasn’t going to stick around to find out the answer.
Through the rolling, black smoke, four humans charged out of the woods toward them. After the initial burst of whatever accelerant caused the explosion, the flames dwindled. The fire had gotten smaller, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t devouring the trees closest to it as it spread through the underbrush toward them.
“Shit,” Jack hissed.
As one of the men ran, fire licked up his shirt and curled against his nape. The man howled as he beat at the flames, but he didn’t stop to put them out. Jack took that to mean there was something worse than fire on the guy’s ass.
Clasping Charlie’s arm, he pulled her to her feet as Clifford and Kirha leapt to theirs. “Run,” he said as he released Charlie’s arm.
Rushing might get them killed, but the fire and whatever was coming with it would kill them. He’d rather avoid the certainty of death and deal with the possibilities of another trap.
“What happened?” Kirha asked as she ran beside them.
“I think they set up more than cameras around the mansion,” Jack said. “They set traps too.”
“And someone triggered them,” Charlie said. If she hadn�
��t sensed those cameras in the trees, they could all be dead or mutilated.
“Those humans,” Clifford said.
“I think they would have been nothing more than bits if it was them,” Jack said. “But probably someone they were with.”
Jack chanced a glance behind him to discover security guards charging out of the smoke. The man on fire collapsed to the ground. His wails resonated through the trees while the scent of burning flesh permeated the air. The other humans screamed as the Savages pounced on them and, like a vulture on carrion, tore into them.
A cluster of thin pine trees came into view, and then Charlie glimpsed the reflection of light from a camera lens on one of the trees. She was about to shout a warning when a click on her right drew her attention and the world exploded around her. The concussive strength of the blow flung her backward. A scream built in her throat when she saw the fire flash over Jack and he vanished.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The breath rushed out of Charlie when she hit the ground. A ringing filled her ears as she gazed at the clouds swirling in the sky. It took her a minute to realize they weren’t gray storm clouds over her but tendrils of smoke.
Her back felt as if someone had taken a hammer to it, and she realized she’d landed on something, most likely a rock. The smell of burning clothes alerted her that she was on fire. Unable to take stock of her injuries or surroundings, Charlie rolled across the ground before realizing she wasn’t the one on fire.
She was disoriented, but if she were on fire, she would feel pain, and other than her back, she didn’t feel any discomfort. Then tortured screams broke through the ringing in her ears.
Jack! NO! The last image of him flying through the air with fire all around him burst back through her mind. No. No. NO!
Terror clawed at her chest and throat as she pushed herself up to search for Jack in the chaos. She didn’t see him, but through the rolling smoke, two of the security guards charged at her. Charlie scrambled for her knives and pulled one free as the first Savage hit her.
Unforeseen: The Vampire Awakenings, Book 9 Page 21