“Ow,” Samantha mumbled, pressing her hand against her neck where his fang nicked her skin and-
“Run,” Trace growled, as the scent of her blood worked its way through his body and-
“Run!”
*-*-*-*
“D-don’t,” Samantha managed to get out, as she grabbed hold of a branch and held on as her legs threatened to give out.
Don’t run.
Don’t run.
Don’t run, she told herself only to change that to, don’t pass out when the next roar that tore through the woods had her legs threatening to give out and her head spinning faster. She needed to stay calm, she told herself, releasing her hold on the branch only to grab onto it again when a wave of dizziness threatened to drop her on her ass.
She couldn’t do this, Samantha realized, struggling to catch her breath while she watched Trace as he moved closer, his red eyes locked on her as his lips pulled back to reveal a set of fangs that had her swallowing hard as her legs finally gave out.
“Oh, god,” she managed to get out only to wince when the sound earned another vicious growl. She shouldn’t have kissed him, she tried to tell herself, but even as she pushed herself back against the large tree, she couldn’t regret it.
She’d done a lot of foolish things in her life, but kissing Trace was…
Definitely one of them, Samantha decided, squeezing her eyes closed as she pulled her knees tightly against her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs when the next roar tore through the woods.
Don’t move.
Don’t move.
Don’t-
“Oh…God…” the weakly whispered words left her in a rush when the next growl had her opening her eyes to find Trace kneeling in front of her, his incredibly handsome face only a few inches away.
“Please, don’t,” Samantha said as he watched her as though he couldn’t quite see her.
“Trace?” she said, worrying her bottom lip as she watched him bare his fangs with a soft growl in response.
“Trace?” Samantha said again, this time more gently as she released her legs so that she could reach up with trembling hands and-
Pulled them back when he growled only to slowly exhale and reach over again so that she could cup his handsome face in her palms and said, “Trace,” as she gently caressed his jaw. For several minutes, she sat there, wondering what she was going to do with him as she continued running her thumbs over his jaw. He was so kind, so sweet, gentle, and…he was dangerous, which she shouldn’t have to remind herself.
This time when he growled, she accepted the fact that Nathan was probably going to have her committed after this as she leaned in and brushed her lips against his. She ignored his growl of warning and continued brushing her lips over his and nearly sighed when she felt his lips hesitantly move against hers and then…
“Samantha,” came the softly growled word, making her sigh in relief.
That is until she suddenly found herself picked up and thrown over his shoulder with a, “I told you to run, wife.”
“I felt that wouldn’t end well for me,” she pointed out with a sigh as she plucked a leaf off a passing tree and resigned herself to a night of glaring.
Chapter 35
Well, this was fun, Samantha thought as she laid there, staring up at the ceiling because that’s all she was allowed to do right now. She wasn’t allowed to read, watch TV, listen to music, or even have the light on since Nathan, who she wasn’t talking to at the moment, decided that it would be in her best interest to avoid anything that could delay her recovery.
The fact that she hadn’t had a headache since yesterday didn’t seem to matter and neither did the fact that she was a nurse and knew what she was talking about. Her brother refused to listen. He also refused to let her leave this room. Every time she tried, she’d find herself tossed back on the bed with a new asinine rule before Nathan left her in here with nothing to do but stare at the walls. If she’d only been dealing with Nathan, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but Kale on the other hand…
It had only taken one warning from the large man that came and went at all hours of the night to decide that it would definitely be in her best interest to stay in her room until this was all over. The terrifying growl that he’d released as his eyes turned silver and the two very large fangs that appeared in his mouth had made coming to that decision easier than she’d ever thought possible. Samantha had no idea why he wanted her here, but she doubted that Kale was making her stay here out of concern for her health.
God, she was bored, Samantha thought as she glanced around the bedroom that she’d been trapped in since yesterday and decided that it was time to turn over and face the wall. It took another twenty minutes for her to find the willpower to move. As she rolled over onto her side, she found herself thinking about Trace, something that she’d told herself that she wouldn’t do anymore.
He didn’t want anything to do with her and that was fine with her. More than fine, in fact. He could go to hell as far as she was concerned, Samantha told herself as she inwardly debated on whether or not this constituted thinking of the large jerk that she hadn’t seen since he’d shoved her in Nathan’s arms yesterday. That led to her shaking her head in disgust and reminding herself that she had more important things to worry about at the moment.