“Trust you?”
A gust of frigid air breezed past her, offering a reprieve from whatever hypnotic effect her unexpected savior had thrown over her.Brow creasing, she wondered at his choice of vocabulary.
Humans.He’d called her human.What a peculiar word to choose.
“Why would I trust you?”She pulled in air.“I don’t even know you.”
“Oh, but you do know me.”He inched closer, yet still her brain acknowledged a comfortable space between them.
He was close, but not a threat.
Everything was okay.
Except it wasn’t.It couldn’t be.
He closed the distance between them that time, stepping into her personal space, yet as she blinked, she saw him there on the path, simply smiling at her.
It was the strangest thing to process.She sensed him around her, much closer than her eyesight judged him to be, the spicy scent of his body confirming his proximity, even though her eyes said otherwise.
“I-I don’t understand.”
Confusion fused with her racing adrenaline, casting a veil over her rational thought process.He was on her, but he wasn’t.She could feel the heat of his breath on the back of her neck, but that just wasn’t possible, and all the while, the intensity of his stare held her there, unable to move, scarcely able to breathe.
“It’s okay.”His voice was like velvet, soft and welcoming as it cascaded over her skin.“I have you.”
Kris tried to lift her head, focusing on the cold air, yet almost immediately, the power of his pull drew her back to him.She could have sworn she felt one of his arms at the small of her back, holding her up, and she longed for that caress, but blinking up at him, she acknowledged the space still visible between them.He wasn’t touching her at all.
What’s happening to me?
Had she been drugged?Had he somehow managed to spike a drink she’d consumed?But then, how could he have?Kris hadn’t drunk anything since she’d left the house, and whoever the mysterious stranger was, he hadn’t been at home with her.
“Don’t fight, little one.”He was definitely behind her then, an arm snaking around her middle and keeping her upright as her knees buckled.“Youaresafe now.No other man will ever trouble you again.”
She should have been more concerned by that assertion.Should have worried about the way he reached for her and took control, yet standing there, it was as though the spiraling events were happening to someone else, as if she was watching herself from beyond her own body.
She saw herself there, a tiny blonde cocooned in the giant’s embrace, but there were no feelings of panic watching his huge body envelop her.Nothing, save for the warm sense of solace emanating from inside her.At the same time, though, she intellectually understood that none of what was transpiring was normal.
Anger should have been sparking at the outrageous liberties he was taking, being so close to her and holding her.He had no right to touch her.Simultaneously, she supposed she should also have been frantic at the way her eyes were closing of their own accord.Why the hell wasn’t she struggling and trying to resist?Why was she so damn comfortable?
As it was, though, leaning back against the wall of his body seemed like the most natural outcome in the world, and when her feet left the ground and she was lifted into his strong arms, instead of fighting, she found herself snuggling into his body.
“What’s happening to me?”she murmured, inadvertently taking in that same tantalizing scent of the man.Earthy, masculine tones blended with something spicy that she couldn’t name.
“You’re being saved.”
His voice was distant, as though it was coming from somewhere high in the sky, although that was ridiculous.Even without her sight, she could feel the security of his body around hers, powerful arms keeping her in place against that same vast chest her gaze had lingered on earlier.
“Saved?”She turned her head, hoping to look up to his face, yet her eyes refused to cooperate.“But… you already saved me.”
“Not yet.”
She swore she sensed the vibration of his voice traveling along the length of her entire body.
“But don’t worry, little human.I will.”
Chapter Eight
Kronos
