This could be it; her chance to run. It wasearly enough in the day that she might be able to make it to a townbefore nightfall. That’s assuming she was lucky and went in theright direction. She’d had enough training from the hunters, not awhole lot, hence her embarrassing blood loss and subsequent captureby a vampire the other night, but enough so she should be able keepherself alive. Probably not against a grizzly, but that was ifthereweregrizzlies in the area. He’d probably been lyingto her. There were most likely mountain lions though.
Paige shuddered at the thought. She’dalready looked for a weapon, but she knew she’d never be able totake Ian down, even if she had a stake, maybe not even if she had abazooka, the man washuge. She wasn’t entirely sure shewanted to take him down anymore anyway; she found him almostpleasant, sometimes. Ugh, that made her feel like throwing up allover again. The idea of even attempting to run right now was enoughto make her want to crawl into bed again.
Yeah, you’re doing a great job atlearning more about vampires and figuring out a way to escape,she silently berated herself.
Captivity and Scotch had turned her brain tomush, she decided as she turned the shower on. But it wasn’t onlycaptivity, it was everything she’d witnessed and learned sinceshe’d been attacked in the alleyway. Ian and his family could havekilled her. Instead he’d saved her life. She could understand himsaving her if they’d proceeded to try and get information out ofher about the hunters, but he’d only asked a few questions beforeletting it go.
He hadn’t made one move to injure her, andshe didn’t feel like a prisoner in this small cabin. She stillwanted to go home, her small apartment may not be much, but it washers. She would most likely lose her receptionist job at the gym.It hadn’t been the greatest job in the world, but it had paid thebills and she’d gotten a free membership out of it.
Oh well, maybe it was time for her to moveon anyway, to find somewhere new to live, and some new people toassociate with. She wasn’t about to let go of her mission, but forthe life of her she still couldn’t remember where Nabel had gone,or what had happened in the alley the other night. Trying to recallit now did nothing to help with her hangover, and only turned theevil elves in her head into dwarves with mining picks.
She believed Ian when he told her she wouldbe let go. Maybe she shouldn’t, everything she knew about his kindtold her she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t bring herself to see himas the monster she knew him capable of being.
Resting her hands on the wall, she bent herhead and let the water wash over her hair. Maybe lust was cloudingher judgment. She’d loved L.J., she hadn’t been lying when she’dsaid that, but their relationship had been more a friendship thananything else. Her breakup with L.J. had been amicable, but she’dbeen the one to initiate it. They still remained friendly, and whenthey’d spoken last month, he’d told her he was planning to proposeto his girlfriend. The sex between them had been enjoyable, but ithad lacked fire. All she had to do was look at Ian and she couldfeel heat licking through her body, her toes curled and a deep achespread through her.
Her libido had turned her into a dumb ass,she decided. She should be planning her escape instead of standing,shaking, in a shower. Her rubbery legs had nothing to do with hermassive hangover right now, and everything to do with the memory ofthe firelight playing across his face last night. The flames hadcaused his hair to dance with shades of red and orange. That sexysmile of his did strange things to her insides. Butterflies didn’tkick around in her stomach around him; no, a whole car full ofclowns kicked around in there.
Had she been wrong all this time? Was it badmen who became bad vampires? Were there good ones out there? Maybeshe’d stumbled across some of them, but were they faking?
Her head felt way too foggy to begin to sortthrough it all; the more she tried the more confused she became.Paige turned the shower off as the water, stored on the roof andheated by the sun, began to run cold. She stood for another minutebefore stepping out of the shower and toweling off. With a sigh ofpleasure, she scrubbed her teeth, brushed her hair, and dressed ina pair of jeans and a loose fitting sweater from the supply Emmahad given to her yesterday. She actually felt somewhat human againwhen she exited the bathroom.
Making her way through the small cabin, shepeered into the living room. A crocheted blue and white blanket wasfolded neatly at the end of the empty couch. She glanced into thekitchen, but she didn’t see him there either. Frowning, she steppedonto the porch and shaded her eyes against the sun. The glowingball of light was far too cheerful for her liking right now.
Scanning the tree line, she searched forIan, but she didn’t see him amongst the woods. She could escape;she could walk straight across the clearing, into the forest, andbe gone.You’re not a prisoner,he’d told her, but hewouldn’t let her leave here, would he?
Had he walked out of here? Had he left herhere and gone back to his life? The idea bothered her more than shewould have liked. It didn’t bother her that she was stuck out hereall alone; she’d find her way home, but if he had walked out ofhere she would never see him again, and for reasons she didn’t wantto explore too deeply, that bothered her, a lot.
She hated the sick feeling twisting throughher stomach; a feeling that had nothing to do with the vastquantity of booze she’d consumed last night. Dropping her handdown, she tried to ignore the disappointment crashing through heras she threw back her shoulders. She turned toward the cabin togather her things, before taking the long walk to wherever theclosest town was. A rustle of leaves caught her attention, freezingher in place on the porch.
As she watched, Ian emerged from amongst thefoliage. Despite his massive size, he moved through the leaves andbranches as effortlessly as a deer. The realization he belongedamongst the forest, wild and free, crossed her mind. A feral airsurrounded him as he moved forward with the easy grace of apredator. And he was a predator, it was easy to forget that whenshe was around him, but it was true. She reminded herself of this,even as her heart began to race and her mouth watered.
The electric blue tank he wore made his eyesmore azure. His jeans hugged the powerful muscles of his thighs;his firm ass looked like it had been carved from marble. Yep, beingattacked in the alley and the subsequent events, or maybe it wasthe Scotch, had completely fried her brain and kicked her sex driveinto hyperactive mode.
The sunlight lit his hair, turning itblonder. His eyes sparkled as he placed one foot on the bottom stepof the porch and rested his elbow on the railing. She couldn’tresist the smile he gave her. “Good morning, Sunshine,” he drawled.“How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” she murmured while she eyed the bagsin his hand. “Where did you go?”
The scent of something entirely deliciousmade her stomach growl when he held the bags toward her. “There’senough food here to get you through at least a few days, but I’mnot much of a cook, and I thought you might appreciate somethingwarm to eat this morning.”
“I would,” she admitted. “Where did you getit?”
“I ran into town.”
Her ears perked at his words. “Where’stown?”
His smile widened; he dangled one of thebags from his two fingers before her. “About forty miles east ofhere.”
“Forty miles?” she squeaked. “You ran fortymiles? Did you sleep at all?”
“Like a log.”
She glanced over his tussled hair and thesweat barely beading on his enticing flesh. “There’s no way.”
“There’s always a way. I made it to town infive minutes flat. It was off my average time, but I blame thetequila. Now would you like this bacon, hash browns and eggs, ornot?”
The answering rumble of her stomach causedhim to chuckle as he climbed up the rest of the steps. She was tallfor a woman, nearly five ten, but she still had to tilt her headback to look at him as he towered over her. Her heart beat faster;her fingers twitched as he handed the bag out to her.
“My roommates tell me greasy food is bestfor a hangover,” he said.
