Darkest Before Dawn Page 7

  “I like the purr of the engine, the way it feels between my thighs…” I smiled as he growled. “And the way I can run shit over,” I whispered, and listened as his lungs expelled a disappointed sigh. I took off, not waiting for a signal that he was ready, but then I really didn’t care if he fell off. It would solve the issue of the butterflies currently attacking my insides.

  We drove for several minutes in silence before he started talking, which I pretended to ignore. It wasn’t until he turned on the bike and his grip tightened that I slowed and made a point to listen.

  “Don’t slow down! Fucking hell, they must smell that thing’s diaper,” he growled and one hand released me as he pulled a gun from the back of his pants. “There’s a hunter’s perch about a mile up from here, can you make it there?”

  Make it there? I turned and caught sight of what had him on edge. There were wolves running right at us. I floored it. “Protect the baby!” I shouted as we hit a bump, but fortunately the ATV corrected and we continued towards the perch. “Hold on,” I warned as we hit a hill, which I normally would have gone around because it was steep. The wolves would be more winded though, and it would give us time to climb the perch. I knew where it was, but the woods could be tricky at dusk.

  “There,” he pointed to it as he narrowly missed a low hanging branch. I stalled the bike, clicked off the gas, and shut it down before jumping off the ATV and running to the back to grab the food. I tossed the duffle bag of army rations to Jaeden and climbed up the wooden ladder at a swift pace. Sarah was crying, and I couldn’t blame her; the poor thing had been through hell. The sounds the wolves were making would have scared anybody.

  I finished climbing and reached for the bag as Jaeden handed it off to me. I tossed it into the corner and started to undo the sling. Then I was turned around, and Jaeden was there helping me to undo the knot so I could secure Sarah safely in the small pile of hay hunters would sit in while waiting for prey. I kissed her little forehead before wrapping one of the thin shirts I kept in my pack around her.

  I pulled up the AR-15 and moved to the lookout window. The perch was bigger than most, but hunters around here took their hunting seriously. Hundreds normally converged to these mountains for hunting since it was teeming with wild life. These perches were built to last, as well as for comfort.

  I snapped the red dot on, and clicked the scope open before looking through it. “Eight wolves,” I said, and waited for Jaeden to say what he saw. When he didn’t, I turned to look at him. “See anymore?”

  “Holy hell,” he whispered as he moved closer and his finger traced my cheek softly.

  I blushed to my roots. My mask had come off somewhere between laying Sarah down, and grabbing the gun. “Stop it, and pay attention!” I growled. I felt naked and exposed under the heat of his eyes.

  “Twelve wolves, eight you can see, four are lagging behind. Three brown and the rest are gray, and you’re beautiful.”

  I blinked and looked out into the woods. It was getting dark fast, and I couldn’t see much, so how had he? I peered through the scope at the trees and sure enough, there were stragglers in the bushes. The wolves closest to us had their ears tight against their heads as they peered up at us.

  I aimed the gun at the front-runner, and fired a shot into the dirt, inches from his front paw. He growled instead of yipping, and bared huge fangs. “That isn’t normal,” I mused out loud. “Wolves cower when we shoot at them…these ones looks like they wanna chew off my face, rather than run.”

  “Shoot it,” he said as he brought up his gun and took aim at the leader of the pack. Right when he was about to shoot, a large pack of wolves burst through the brush and lunged at the pack circling the perch. “Fucking mutt,” he mumbled.

  I couldn’t look away from the wolves as they savagely attacked each other. It was eerie, and yet even though I knew I should, I couldn’t look away. The biggest of the new wolves, a black one, attacked the biggest of the brown ones, and I knew without a doubt that the brown one was going down.

  It was a grisly sight, but the moment the black wolf made the kill, the others took off as if hellhounds were hot on their asses. “Wow,” I whispered, which caused the black wolf to turn and look up at us. The sun had almost set, but even through the dimly lit forest, the emerald eyes were unforgettable.

  They sent a shiver through my skin and a frown to my lips. “Since when do wolves have green eyes?” I asked myself.

  I was about to turn and see if Jaeden had the answer, when he pulled me close to his body and his mouth captured mine. His kiss wasn’t just a kiss. He was declaring ownership of Hussyland with his mouth. His tongue pushed past my teeth and captured mine. I moaned against his lips as his hands came up to hold my face, while his tongue made love to mine. I pressed on his chest, fully intending to stop the madness.

  Madness…there was madness in my panties, in my stomach and I was pretty sure it was madness that my hands had dropped lower, until I was pretty sure I was groping him. The wolves howled, and I jumped, biting his lip as reality came rushing back.

  “You taste like heaven, woman,” he whispered huskily.

  “You kissed me,” I replied, dazed.

  ”Jeg har tenkt å gjøre det igjen, og mer, søt jente,” he replied with a wolfish grin. *

  Oh yeah, wolves! And had he just called me dirty names in a foreign language? And if he had, why was I all giddy over it, when I shouldn’t be? Oh yeah, ‘cause it was sexy as hell!

  *~*~*

  ”Jeg har tenkt å gjøre det igjen, og mer, søt jente.”

  Translation: “I plan to do it again, and more, sweet girl.”

  Chapter 6

  The wolves had disappeared into the woods, so I made myself busy tending to Sarah. Jaeden had insisted we stay put until morning, since the wolves still howled all around us. They were close enough to keep us stuck here until it was light enough to see them.

  Sarah had a rash, but that was a given since she’d been wearing the thing for more than a day as far as I could guess. What little remained under her onesie was laughable. I was reassuring her, and telling her everything I was doing as if she was an adult.

  “You do know she doesn’t understand anything you’re saying, right?” Jaeden said. He was sitting up against the wooden wall of the perch. He sat with one leg extended and the other bent at the knee. He looked relaxed and uncaring, despite being stuck in the hunter’s perch for the entire night.

  “You think I don’t know that? Why don’t you do something useful?” I asked and picked up the flashlight to check Sarah for wounds. Her mother had given her life to ensure this child survived, so I’d do my best to ensure that her sacrifice hadn’t been in vain. “Can you hold the flashlight?”

  He accepted it without question, and I started a full examination of the infant. I finished it, satisfied and relieved that she only appeared tired and dehydrated. “She’s a little dehydrated, but that’s about all, minus the rash.” I scooted the hay around into a little bed and set her down in it. I quickly made up a bottle of formula using the bottled water from my pack. Not exactly sanitary, but then again, what was these days? I sat down in the hay, pulled her back in my arms, and touched the nipple to her lips. Poor little starved thing latched on and suckled with long, greedy pulls, her little eyes drifting between concentration and contentment. “She’s obviously got an angel watching over her,” I mused and smiled as the child once again clasped her tiny hand around my finger. “Your mother was so brave,” I whispered to the child.

  “How do you figure that? She died,” Jaeden said.

  “Yes, but not before she hid the most important thing in her world, and made sure it was safe,” I replied, looking up into his eyes—that was a total mistake. Once I looked into them, I felt as if I was drowning. I absently chewed my lip, which kinda hurt, but I was too busy doing sexual things to those
beautiful sea green eyes. I started to say something, but forgot what I’d been about to say, and his lips curled into a knowing smile.

  “You keep looking at me like that, and I won’t be responsible for what happens,” he said as he lowered his mouth. I threw myself backwards, making the content baby start from her drowsy state.

  “Stay there!” I warned loudly, which scared Sarah and tore a cry from her throat. Shit! I tried to pat her back and console the baby, but Jaeden reached out and gently, but firmly, took her from me, startling the little thing into silence. My guess was she too got lost in those seductive eyes. Poor girl. “What are you doing?”

  “What does it look like I’m doing?” he asked as he pulled off this own shirt. “I think she’s cold,” he mused, and tucked the shirt tightly around her. God help me. I had to force my jaw to remain up as he cradled the baby in his arms. “That’s better, little one,” he cooed, patting her back until she made a wet burp.

  “So what was the name calling between you and Lachlan?” I asked curious as to how they knew each other.

  “That’s a long story,” he said as he leaned back with Sarah in his arms. From here I could make out a black raven perched on a skull on his right pectoral muscle. He had words written on his ribs, but it looked as foreign as the words he’d said earlier.

  I looked around and then back at him. “Like we don’t have enough time right now?” I know; pretty smart-assed thing to say, but really, we had time to kill. I sat back down in the hay and made myself comfortable.

  “He took something that was mine,” he stated, but didn’t elaborate.

  “So he stole a toy? What, were you both five?”

  He smiled. “He helped himself to someone I once cherished. It’s not something I like to talk about.”

  “He stole your girlfriend?” I knew my eyes were wide, but I was pretty sure this history they had started way before Rh Viridae had even been heard of, before the world had fallen apart.

  “He and I were friends once upon a time,” he continued. “Until she chose him, and then everything went to shit.”

  “How do you know she chose him?” I asked.

  “She taunted me with it for a long time. Sometimes bigger things happen and you’re forced to work together. That doesn’t mean I have to like the mutt.”

  “How long ago was this?” I asked softly.

  “I said I don’t like to talk about it,” he snapped angrily, his funky accent becoming more pronounced. Sarah started to protest, but he whispered softly to her and she closed her eyes again.

  I reached for the duffle bag and dug through it for two bottles of water. I offered one to him, but he shook his head. When I offered him the jerky Addy had made, he smiled.

  “You should eat it. I had a rather large meal before coming out to find you,” he said quietly as he absently rubbed the sleeping baby’s back.

  “You do know that stalking is against the law, right?” I ridiculed.

  He lifted a single eyebrow and looked around at the mountain terrain. “Who’s going to press charges? Or enforce them, sweet girl?”

  “You think I need someone to help me kick your ass?” I smarted off, and then considered the fact that I was alone with him, other than an infant, who wasn’t going to be much help.

  “You wanna try it? I’m up for it,” he said, setting Sarah down gently in a small bed of hay. “Rolling on the ground with you to see who wins, well let’s just say I’m up for the challenge.”

  “Are you crazy?” I asked and scooted back.

  “Absolutely,” he grinned as he stood up, his muscles bulging from the subtle movement. “Come on little she-devil, pounce.”

  He was serious! I waited for him to step close enough before I swung my leg out and kicked his out from beneath him, which wasn’t an easy feat, but somehow I managed it. Only thing was, I didn’t plan on him launching himself at me, or being taken to the hard wood beneath him. The wind from my lungs whooshed out, but he’d lessened the pain of the fall, and before I could figure out what had gone wrong, he was kissing my neck.

  “I win,” he whispered huskily before his lips kissed my neck seductively. I wrapped my legs around his, and tightened them right before I flipped him over. “Mmm, I like fighting with you,” he rumbled with a wicked smile curving his lips. “I’m guessing I’ll like fucking you even better.”

  I looked down at him with a disgusted look on my face. “In your dreams, buddy,” I countered.

  “That’s a given,” he said as he flipped me easily, as if I weighed no more than Sarah. He gripped my hands, and held them both easily above my head before lowering his mouth to my ear. “I’ve already dreamt of fucking you, and that was before I knew what beauty you hid behind the mask.”

  I swallowed and closed my eyes. He’d just said I was beautiful, and while it was a little disturbing that he’d dreamt of me, I was turned on by it. “Sure you don’t have a mask fetish?” I asked and then cried out as his teeth nibbled against my soft lobe. His tongue traced where his teeth had bitten. The sensation was erotic, and sent heat flushing through me.

  “I have an Emma fetish,” he grinned against my ear.

  “Obviously,” I said as I tried to scoot my ear from him, which wasn’t easy considering he was holding me down with his body, while his mouth violated my ear and his hands held mine captured above my head. “You do know there’s a baby here, right?”

  “She isn’t interested in us,” he assured me. “Look at me, Emma,” he commanded, hoarse. I trembled from his tone as his hot breath fanned where he had just nibbled. I knew I shouldn’t, but I looked up and was instantly aware of a few things.

  One, he was hot!

  Two, his eyes turned darker when he was turned on.

  Three, there was something between us, and it was growing.

  Four, it was hard, hot, and pressing against me in a place I was pretty sure had floodgates that had been opened.

  “This is how it will work. I’m going to kiss you. You’re going to kiss me back, and make those delicious little noises while doing so,” he rumbled decisively.

  “Is that so?” I asked. I couldn’t recognize the voice that came out. It wasn’t mine, that much I knew. This voice was thick, lusty, and full of seduction. I could have turned my head, but I found myself captured and held prisoner by his eyes. His lips grazed mine. His teeth nibbled my lower lip before sucking the fatty tissue between his teeth. He groaned right before he released it, and invaded my mouth. His kiss was searching, and the moment I moved my tongue against his, he growled and the kiss became hard and fevered.

  My body ignited as he pressed his growing erection against me. I moaned and parted my thighs as if my life depended on it. His hands released mine as he pulled at the vest I wore. It was a reality check that snapped me out of this compliant, drug-like state. I pushed against him as his lips left mine. “No,” I whispered as I fought to get up; he allowed it. I moved to sit beside Sarah, who was sleeping blissfully.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said as he sat opposite of me. “You should sleep. I’ll keep first watch.”

  I blinked at him as I absently trailed my fingers over my swollen lips. He’d kissed them hard enough to leave his mark on them, and he kept doing it. I knew he had to be suffering right now from his erection; having felt it against me, I was certain of his discomfort. Hell, I was suffering for stopping it. But no way in hell was I losing my virginity in a hunter’s perch, with a stranger to boot.

  I lowered myself to the wooden floor of the perch and curled my legs up as I cradled the sleeping baby. I wasn’t sure how I would manage to sleep with over six feet of I’m-so-sexually-charged-male sitting inches away from me. I could feel his eyes watching me, and the reminder of what had just happened was there where his hands had touched me. My kiss-swollen lips, where his mouth had left s
corch marks from the heat of it.

  Eventually my mind drifted to Sarah. What kind of life would she have? I’d found her, and wasn’t sure if this world was fit to have a child in. I had one can of formula, a bottle, and a dozen diapers. What would I be able to give her after that? I touched her cherubic cheek and watched as her small lips puckered, for more food probably. She was so tiny and defenseless.

  “She has a brave protector in you,” Jaeden said as he smiled.

  “I saved her, but for what? This isn’t a world kids should grow up in. It’s hard enough to find food for the group, but for an infant?”

  “You shouldn’t worry about what will happen tomorrow, only what you can do for her today.”

  “Winter’s coming and finding supplies will be hard enough; now I have to look for formula and diapers. I’ve never wanted to be a parent, but with my brother it was different. I had help, even if my father was busy prepping for the end of days; he still made time for him. This little one doesn’t have parents, and will never know her parents loved her enough to give up their lives. It just seems this world is too cold for such a small little thing.”

  “So you think, but even in the tragedy of her parent’s death, she found you. She found someone to care for and protect her. You have a shelter, and a place to keep her safe. You’ve managed to help others, and I’m guessing if anyone can keep this child safe and loved, it’s you. Now stop worrying and get some sleep, you can only do what you can, until you can’t.”

  “You’re an asshole, you know that, right?” I whispered with a small grin.

  “So I’ve been told,” he wiggled his eyebrows but it was short lived as growling sounded from below us.

  I sat up and looked down, and almost screamed. I somehow managed to prevent it from tearing from my lungs, but wasn’t sure how. Below us prowled at least seven wolves, with glowing red eyes. What the friggin’ honey buckets! “What the hell are those things?” I whispered unevenly.