Lost & Found (Possessed 3)

Ace and Nick were nowhere to be found as she made her way through the cabin. Hearing Roxie’s yipping from outside, she slipped on a pair of boots and a jacket Nick had found for her and followed the sound of wood being chopped.

The cold air blasted her face as soon as she stepped outside. It was breathtaking—literally—but nonetheless refreshing. With every invigorating inhale she took, she felt her body relax. Breathing in the mountain freshness did something for her. She felt alive. Maybe it was the higher altitude making her light-headed or having so much nature at her fingertips, but she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else in the world.

As soon as the dog spotted her, she ran over, jumping around in excitement. Covered in snow, the animal danced at her feet.

Loud cursing drew their attention away from each other as Ace came walking around the front porch, carrying a large bundle of wood. With no shirt on. Sweat glistened on his skin, reflected by the sunshine. He glowed.

Before he noticed her, she drank in as much of his muscled and tattooed form as she could. His left arm was covered in a sleeve of multiple tattoos, crosses, rose petals, and brothers-in-arms. They showed that he was a man of passion. The constant flexing and rippling of muscles had an involuntary moan passing her lips before she could stop it.

Ace stopped in his tracks, slowly looking up towards her. She was sure he saw the heat in her eyes. The craving to feel something. Her body did funny things when she was around him and his cousin. She craved their searing touch. Their heat melting her into oblivion.

His eyes spoke of the same want. While his entire body was frozen, his erratic heartbeat could not be faked as she watched it pound against his chest.

“Hi,” she finally whispered, giving him a little wave.

Clearing his throat, he began to slowly walk forward again, not taking his eyes off of her. Once up the porch steps, he lay the wood in his arms in a pile by the door. Stalking towards her like a predator on the move, she back-stepped until her shoulders hit the wall. His chest nearly rubbing against her own made her wish she were as naked as he was. The need to feel his skin on her own was so strong.

“Hi,” he grunted, sounding animalistic. “What are you doing out here?” His voice projected an angry vibe, but the look in his eyes spoke of his controlled hunger.

For her.

“I had a dream,” she rushed out.

His big body moved closer. “About what?”

She felt…protected.

“My parents.” Breathless, she tried to concentrate. “I think.”

She watched in fascination as his eyes hooded and a bubble of lust surrounded them. What she had to say shouldn’t bring out this need in either of them, yet neither had any control.

“Tell me about it,” he demanded in a low voice, once again moving more carefully into her space.

She was completely boxed in by his body as she told him, “There was an accident. They died.” Her words were blunt as she muttered them.

When his hands came up to frame her face, she hadn’t realized tears began flowing as soon as she said the words. The constriction in her chest spoke of the pain she was feeling at having lost them all over again. She may not remember the accident itself, or the events leading up to it, but the anguish was no less real.

The floodgates opened as soon as he pulled her to his chest. She didn’t want this memory back, she wanted a good one. One that made her happy. One that would help her remember who she was.

“I don’t want this,” she sobbed into Ace’s chest.

“I know, baby.” He kissed her head lightly and neither said anything after that. Words weren’t needed for the agony as it ran in rivulets through her body, leaving scars. Making the pain even more magnified.

She wasn’t sure how long he stood there holding her as the tears flowed when she was shifted into another set of arms that easily lifted her shivering form into them. Warmth exuded from Nick as he carried her inside.

Sitting on the couch, he shifted slightly, so she was sitting fully in his lap. “Talk to me,” he commanded in a soft tone.

His woodsy scent wrapped around her in a comforting embrace as she told him about what she remembered from her dream. Her parents dying in front of her, the pain that emulated like it had just occurred.

All the while, he held her, soothed her tears. He absorbed as much of her suffering as he could through simple touches as he helped her remove her coat and Ace slipped o

ff her boots.

“Would you like to know what I found out at the lodge?” Nick asked her, eagerness in his eyes. After nodding her head, he told them, “First off, you need to know this lodge comfortably accommodates about three hundred guests at a time.”

“Okay,” she said, confused about where he was going with it.

“It’s not much, but,” the look he gave Ace said it might be more than that, “your name is Pepper.”