“Go!” she and Julian yelled at the same time.
Her ankles were released and she slid a few inches forward. Fear slammed her heart into her throat as she struggled to dig her feet into the ground. The slow slide stopped as she managed to plant her toes into the soft dirt. Fear and adrenalineshookher as she stared down at Julian;his eyeswereeven wider in his small, pale face.
“I swearifwe get out of this Iam going to kill you!” she grated through her teeth.
Julian managed a wan smile as he cast a worried glance behind him. “Please don’t let go.”
“I’llneverlet go,” she assured him, and she wasn’t. She’d go plummeting over with him before she ever let go. Julian’s hands dug painfully into her skin as he lifted his head to look at her again. His eyes were bright with unshed tears as his lower lip began to quiver. “How do you manage to get yourself into these messes?”
“We were only walking,” he whispered plaintively.
Isabelle closed her eyes and dropped her head. The cool dirt filled her nostrils, and pressed against her face as she inhaled deeply, trying to ignore the tortuous pain in her arms and shoulders. Her legs were beginning to ache, and her feet were beginning to cramp from digging into the ground. She didn’t know how much longer she was going to be able to keep them both up. She grit her teeth, determined to hold on for as long as it took.
“Your hair is tickling me,”Julian said softly.
“Sorry,” she mumbled as she lifted her head.
Hands suddenly seized hold of her waist. She cried out as she was lifted easily off the ground, Julian coming with her. Stumbling back, she was set on the ground,her trembling legs barely supporting her. A strong hand in the small of her back quickly righted her. A small jolt of something ripped through her, but it was forgotten as Julian fell against her, his arms encircling her waisttightlyas he buried his head in her chest. She hugged him tightly, dropping her head to his as she absorbed the shudders wracking through his body.
“It’s ok,” she soothed, gently stroking back his dirtstreakedblack hair as the hand fell away from herback.
He lifted his head, tears slidthrough thegrimeon his cheeks, leaving clean tracks in their wake. Isabelle’s eyes widened in surprise,she hadn’t seen Julian cry since he was four years old,and that wasover eight years ago. He always tried so hard to emulate his older brothers, and he believed that tears wereasign of weakness that they would never show.
“Hey, it’s okay now.” She wiped the tears and dirt from his cheeks as he buried his head against her again.
“Are you still going to kill me?” he muttered.
She laughed softly as she hugged him tightly. “No, but I will next time.”
“It’s a deal,”he promised fervently.
He pulled away from her, wiping the tears from his face as his gaze traveled behind her. His eyes widened in surprise as his face turnedthirteen shades of red. Isabelle frowned as she turned to see which one of her brothers had pulled them from the hole. By the look on Julian’s face, it had to beEthan;he was the one that Julian most admired.
Her breath froze in her chest as her eyes locked on a pair of perturbed onyx ones. Stefan stood stiffly, his jaw locked, dirt, sawdust, and sweat coatedhis strong boned, handsome face. His shirt was off to reveal his hard,broad chest, and wide shoulders. Muscle and sinew rippled beneath the layers of dirt, and sweat, coating him. His stomach was ridged with even more muscle, and Isabelle suddenly understood the term washboard abs as her mouth went dry.
She swallowed nervously as her gaze slowly traveled over his narrow waist before moving further down. The filthy jeans he wore clung to his hard, well muscled thighs and the obvious bulge between his legs. Her heart leapt into her throat as her eyes slowly traveled back up. Thick dark hair curled over his chest, circling his nipples before traveling down in a V that would have drawn her attention lower again if she hadn’t adamantly refused to look. She couldn’t look back down there again, it did odd things to her body that she didn’t understand, or appreciate.
Her gaze slowly traveled back to his face. It was magnificent. His jaw was square and hard, with dark bristles just beginning to show along the firm line of it. His cheekbones were high and sharp, his nose narrow, and finely chiseled. His lips were full and hard, and compressed into a tight line. Isabelle shuddered as the sudden desire to kiss those lips tore through her, causing her knees to tremble again. It took all she had to remain standing.
He was a gorgeous, dangerous looking man, and he radiated an aura of power that shook her. She wished that Julian was still in her grasp so she could use him as a barrier againstStefan. Use him as a barrier against the racing of her heart, her suddenly dry throat, and the fierce urge to touch him that was wracking through her.
“You ok?” he asked in a deep voice that sent small shivers of delight through her.
Isabelle nodded slowly, not trusting herself to speak. She had thought, hoped, prayed, that the reaction she’d had to him last night had been some kind of fluke. She was dismayed to realize that it wasn’t. She wanted to flee into the woods and hide until he was long gone.
She didn’t want to be anywhere near him, and she fervently wished that he would stop staring at her like he wanted to devour her. Stop staring at her like he could see straight into her soul. His gaze was doing odd things to her body that she didn’t find unpleasant, but still didn’t like. It was a look she had often seen on her father’s face when he looked at her mother, and she didn’t want it directed at her. She wanted nothing to do with him, or anything that he might represent. Anger and resolve stiffened her spine.
“Thank you,” she said coldly.
Humor flickered through his eyes as his gaze traveled slowly over her. Isabelle stiffened even more as he seemed to undress her with his eyes. She scowled at him as he finally met her gaze again. “No problem.”
Isabelle forcefully turned away from himanddrapedher arm around Julian’s shoulder. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Julian shrugged her arm off and straightened his shoulders proudly. “I’m good.”
Isabelle grit her teeth in exasperation. When he had needed her help, she had been there for him, but now, when she desperately needed his, he was abandoning her. “Fine,” she grated.
“Thank you,” Julian said to Stefan as he strode proudly by, showing absolutely no sign of the immediate death he had just faced.
