Enraptured, p.16
Enraptured, page 16
part #4 of Vampire Awakenings Series
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 15
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 his 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.
He leapt up the porch steps in one bound and walked into the cabin where he found Paige emerging from the bedroom. Her blue-green eyes were troubled when they met his, but she forced a smile. Grabbing his clothes, he shoved them into the duffel bag Emma had given to him and slung it over his shoulder.
“Ready?” he inquired.
“Yes.” She waited for him to leave the cabin before following behind. Stepping onto the porch, Ian froze immediately as the strong stench of rot and decay drifted toward him on the breeze flowing through the mountains. He’d smelled landfills in August with a better aroma than what reached him now. A rock lodged in his stomach, he couldn’t see who was emitting the stench, but he knew immediately at least one murderous vampire was within five miles of the cabin. Throwing his arm out, he halted Paige before she could take another step.
“What’s the matter?” she asked nervously.
“The kind of vampire you dislike so much is near.”
Her mouth parted, her bag plopped onto the porch as she scanned the woods. “How can you tell?”
“I can smell it.”
She gave a snort of disbelief. “You can smell a vampire?”
“I can smell a killer vampire. A normal vampire doesn’t emit this particular aroma.”
Some of the color drained from her face. “How?”
Paige almost grabbed hold of him when he shook his head and stepped away from her. She strained to see through the trees his eyes were focused on, but nothing moved amongst the foliage. “I don’t see anyone.”
“They’re there,” he murmured.
Those words chilled her more than the thunderous look on his face. “They?”
“Yes.”
“Can we get to the pickup?”
“No.”
The word had just left his mouth when she saw figures emerging from the tree line. Paige’s heartbeat escalated, a chill slid down her spine as she watched two men and a woman step onto the cleared land. The fog drifting low across the grass obscured their feet and gave them the impression of spectral-like figures. Paige swallowed heavily, her fingers itched for a weapon.
“Stay behind me,” he commanded.
“Ian…” she started to protest.
“These vampires won’t play with you and tug on your hair, Paige. They’ll tear out your throat before you know they’re there. I won’t lose you.”
She swallowed down the lump in her throat as the three of them stopped before the porch. The woman reminded her of a fairy with her short pixie blond hair sticking up at every angle around her angular face. Her features were as small and diminutive as her size. Paige felt like she could lift her leg and stomp on her. She may look like a flyswatter would take her down, but Paige knew it would take a lot more than that.
The man to the right of the woman looked to be in his mid to late forties while the other looked closer to thirty. Both the men had bags under their eyes and shadows lining them. Their upper lips curled into sneers at Ian before they turned their attention to her. All of their eyes glistened like rubies in the dusk settling over the clearing. A smile curved the woman’s mouth as her gaze raked Ian from head to toe and back again.
“Well, now, who might you be?” the woman purred.
Paige bristled at the woman’s words and thrust her shoulders back. She’d gladly stomp the pixie looking woman if she kept undressing Ian with her eyes like that. “No one you should mess with,” Ian replied.
Ian’s gaze slid over them, mentally tallying up their weaknesses and which one would make the first move. He glanced back at Paige, but she remained unmoving with her chin jutting out. His eyes traveled to the still open cabin door. He could get her shoved inside before she knew what was happening.
“We have no bone to pick with you,” the older of the men said. “We’re only here for the girl.”
“What do you want me for?” Paige inquired.
One of the men smiled at her in a leering way that caused a snarl to tear from Ian. Paige’s hand on his arm stopped him from launching at the man, but the man did take an abrupt step back. “There’s someone who would like to see you,” the woman replied.
Despite her training to remain calm, Paige’s heart knocked against her ribs. Her gaze flew to the tree line, but she didn’t see anyone else out there. Beside her, Ian stiffened, his nostrils flared as he scented the air and scanned their surroundings. She couldn’t see anyone else out there, but she didn’t have his eyes, and she certainly didn’t have his nose.
Ian focused on the three before him again as the woods and surrounding area remained clear. Whoever had sent them here, had the brains to stay away. “If you plan to survive, I suggest you leave,” Ian told them.
“We really don’t want to fight you,” the younger man said. “Just give us the girl.”
Ian lifted his arm and held it in front of Paige, he moved forward in such a way his body almost completely blocked hers. “That’s never going to happen.”
Paige’s eyes flew up to him when the three vampires moved closer. She couldn’t allow him to be hurt because of her. “Look…” the younger man started.
“If you say one more word, I’ll rip out your tongue. Now, I’m only going to tell you this one more time; I’ll kill every one of you before you ever lay a hand on her. I suggest turning around, going back to whoever sent you here, and telling him he’s fucking with the wrong vampire. I will find him, and I will kill him.”
Paige’s mouth fell, not because of his words, though she couldn’t remember the last time someone had defended her, but because his skin looked to be taking on a strange, reddish black hue. It had to be because of the setting sun, she told herself. What else could it be?
The woman placed her foot on the bottom step and rested her elbow on her knee. Paige tried to move around Ian; he kept his arm firmly pressed into her shoulder and his body in front of hers. Frustration filled her, but she’d have better luck at moving a mountain than budging the large man before her. He pushed her back another step, angling her toward the door as the woman climbed onto the stair.
“We can’t do that,” she replied.
“Don’t come any closer,” he warned.
The woman’s eyes ran over him again. “And what are you going to do to stop me?”
“You’re not going to like the answer to that question,” Ian growled.
A smile played at the woman’s eyes; she licked her lips as her eyes flickered to Paige. “I think I will.”
The woman burst forward in a wave of speed Ian had been anticipating. He lunged to the side, throwing up his arm and pushing Paige back. He’d been hoping to shove her into the cabin, but she sidestepped at the last second and bumped into the frame instead of going through the door. The woman crashed into him, but it hadn’t been him she’d gone for, Paige was her main prey.
A knife the woman brandished from a holster on her hip sliced across his ribcage, spilling his blood. A hiss escaped him, he dodged backward, sucking in his stomach as she swung the knife at him again. He grabbed hold of her arm and smashed it over his knee. The bone gave way with a resounding crack, the jagged piece of it sliced through her skin and burst out of her forearm. The woman squealed, her fingers released the knife. It clattered onto the porch before he shoved her down the stairs.
The two men ran at the porch, but instead of running up the stairs, they leapt over the banister and landed only feet away from him and Paige. “Get inside, Paige!” he bellowed at her.
Paige’s head spun over the velocity and brutality of the attack. The realization Ian had been cut and was now bleeding caused her to take a step toward him. She couldn’t stand the sight of the blood spilling down his side. He didn’t seem to be aware of it though and showed no sign of discomfort as he spun to face the other two vampires.
The woman’s bone protruded from her arm, but she still spit with fury. Violence vibrated through the air; Paige could almost taste the coppery blood spilling onto the ground. Her hands fisted; she braced herself for the woman’s attack. She may not have a weapon, but she’d never backed down from a fight, and she wasn’t about to start now.
Before she could move to help him, Ian spun, grabbed hold of her arms and pushed her through the doorway. She took a staggering step and almost fell on her ass, but managed to keep her balance by spinning her arms. Turning away from the chaos reigning outside, she searched frantically for anything to use as a weapon. She sprinted into the living room, snatched up the small table beside the couch and lifted it over her head.
With a loud grunt, she smashed it onto the ground. Bits of debris scattered around the room, her arms vibrated from the force of the impact, but she was rewarded with a few jagged pieces of wood she could use. Grabbing hold of a foot long sliver, she spun away from the table just as the window of the living room blew apart.
A startled cry escaped her; she threw her arms up as glass and wood sprayed over her. Shards of glass sliced across her arms and tore into her flesh. Wood bounced off of her, knocking her back a step. Thrown through the window, Ian slid across the floor on his back. He came to a stop only a foot away from her. At first she thought it was blood, and perhaps dirt streaking his skin, but that made no sense, the blackish red color covered him from head to toe. She realized the color she’d believed she’d seen on him earlier hadn’t actually been the sun. It really had been his skin.
The reddish black hue brought to mind the images of demons she’d seen over the years in artwork and books. Paige couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping as her gaze continued to rake over his strangely shaded, massive frame. How was that possible?
Finally tearing her gaze away from him, she looked up as the younger looking male vamp, and woman, stepped in front of the ruined window. Before she could react, Ian shot to his feet and raced across the floor at them. She didn’t have time to blink before he launched at the man, seized hold of his throat and tumbled across the porch with the man in his grasp. The porch banister snapped like a locust tree in a hurricane beneath the force of their impact. The woman spun away from the window to go after them.
Shaking herself off, Paige turned toward the door, but then she recalled the brand new doorway in the middle of the living room. She ran across the room and poked her head cautiously out of the shattered window before leaping out. The disconcerting and stomach turning spectacle of the older vamp’s head lying only feet away, caused her to hesitate by the shattered remains of the window. She didn’t know where his body was, and she didn’t look in order to find out.
Ian and the other man rolled across the lawn in a blur of motion that made it impossible for her to differentiate one from the other. The woman had no problem as she raced across the lawn and flung herself onto Ian’s back. The force of her weight halted the aggressive rolling across the grass. More blood spilled from Ian as the woman beat at his back and tore at his clothes. Pulse pounding wrath burst through Paige, she’d wanted to pummel Ian more than a few times, but no one else was ever going to hurt him.
