Elyse gulped; now that he was awake, she didn’t know what to do. She’d had a lot of time to study the man while the snowstorm turned into a blizzard outside. During that time, he’d practically healed before her eyes until most of his cuts and bruises were gone.
And completely healed, this massive vamp was abigthreat to her. His broad shoulders were easily twice the size of her, and his jeans emphasized his tapered waist. His straight, dark blond hair fell to the collar of his sweater. He had a roman nose and full lips that were blue when she first dragged him in here, but now they were a pale red color. Dark blond stubble lined his high cheekbones and jaw.
Saxon sniffed the air. It took him some time to get past her cherry scent, but eventually, he smelled death and snow. However, he didn’t detect any of the garbage stench that came with the Savages.
“Who are you?” he asked again.
“Who areyou?” she retorted. “You’re the one who showed up here.”
Saxon twisted to see in the direction of the voice, but the woman remained out of sight. His fingers rubbed the cloth binding his wrists, and when he lifted his foot, he discovered his ankles were also restricted, but a couple of jerks on them caused more scraping and more give to his bindings.
“I said, stop that!” she snapped.
Elyse shifted her hold on the broken chair leg as she studied the binds she used on him. She’d taken one of the sheets off her bed and torn it into strips to tie his wrists to the couch. Afterward, she moved the coffee table closer to the door and tied his ankles to it. The bindings wouldn’t keep him restrained for long, but she didn’t have a whole lot of options to work with here.
Saxon went still again when bruised and bloodied feet came into view. The jeans above those feet were rolled up to hang at the woman’s ankles. Craning his head, he tried to see the woman belonging to those feet, but she moved away before he could see more of her.
Testing his bonds again, he realized he could break free at any time, but something kept him where he was. Judging by the rapid beat of her heart, the woman was terrified, and he couldn’t bring himself to scare her more. If she hadn’t killed him while he was unconscious, and this was the best she could do to restrain him, he didn’t see her as much of a menace.
“I’m Saxon Voyse,” he said. “And you are?”
There was a slight hesitation before she replied, “Elyse Hughes. What are you doing here, Saxon?”
“I’m not really sure. Are all of the Savages dead?”
“What are Savages?”
“The vamps outside, are they all dead?”
“Oh.” She’d never heard them referred to like that before, but it was a fitting name for the bastards who kept her here. “Yes, or at least I think they’re all dead. I’m not sure how many of them were out there, but I haven’t seen any since you killed those.”
Saxon frowned as he tried to figure out what was going on here. She was in a cabin the Savages were guarding, but she didn’t know how many of them were out there, and she was a human.
Why was she here, and was she lying to him about not knowing the number of Savages? He didn’t think there were any more Savages out there. They most likely would have all come for him, but they were cowards, and he wouldn’t assume they were all dead until he knew for sure.
Elyse gripped the stake tighter. While he was unconscious, and after she stopped pleading to die from the ordeal of defrosting, she’d wiggled his jacket off him and removed one of the stakes from it.
The weapon was far better than her chair leg, but she didn’t feel any reassurance about having it in her hand. She’d have to get close to him to use it, and she didn’t know if she could stab someone, even if they were a vampire. However, she required answers.
Taking a deep breath, Elyse padded back toward the vampire. His head turned toward her as she approached, and he stiffened as if he were about to tear himself free and lunge at her. Despite her instincts screaming at her to run, she gathered her courage to kneel at his side and hold the stake over his heart. Elyse found herself gazing into a pair of hazel eyes that were more golden brown than green.
“Tell me what you’re doing here,” she ordered.
Saxon didn’t know if he was more shocked or amused by the woman. Yes, she had a stake aimed at his heart, but he could break free of his binds and have the weapon in his hand before she touched it to his chest. Besides, she didn’t look strong enough to hold the weapon, let alone wield it.
The chocolate brown hair tumbling over her shoulders tickled his cheek as it fell in waves to her waist. Clear, arctic blue eyes held his as she lifted her delicate chin in a stubborn gesture. Her rosebud lips were set in a grim line of determination, and her thick eyebrows were knitted together. At around five foot four, she was a good eleven inches shorter than him.
If the shadows lining her eyes were any indication, she hadn’t slept in weeks. Her too-big sweater slid off her shoulder to reveal her collarbone, which stood out against her pale skin. She was so thin her cheeks were hollow, and the bones in the hand holding the stake were visible. The fast pace of her heart betrayed her steely look, but her gaze never wavered from his.
Despite her frail appearance, she was stunning, and he’d give anything to run his hand along the delicate contours of her face before caressing those lips with his thumb. Ever since he reached maturity and his purebred vampire instincts kicked in, he’d buried himself in more women than he could count to keep the demon within him suppressed, but none had ever left him as breathless as this tiny human.
Mortal and surrounded by Savages, what was going on here?
His surprise over her vanished as he realized this was not amusing. He was wounded, in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, and though she fascinated him, she was clearly working with his enemies.
“What areyoudoing here?” he asked.
“I’m the one asking the questions.” Elyse felt more confident now that she had the stake over his heart. If he tried anything, she’d kill him. The idea of it made her stomach turn, but she’d do whatever it took to save herself. “Why are you here?”
