Page 29 of Trapped

Me too.

Gazing into his eyes, I yearned to say the words, but I held them back, too afraid to process his truth until I’d reconciled my own.Icouldimagine a life with Eli and all his masculine authority; a world where he put me front and center, and my backside regularly took the brunt of my errors.Oddly, that alternative universe wasn’t so disconcerting.I just didn’t know whether I could be the Erin he needed.

“Yeah, I…”

Hesitating, I wondered how I’d managed to maneuver myself into the latest labyrinth of words.I didn’t know how I felt about the idea of a relationship beyond the crazy cabin fever, but I feared the idea that he would walk away, and I’d spend the rest of my life looking for another man who made me feel the same way.

“You, what?”he prompted.

“I want that too, but I just don’t know how this…” I motioned between us, “...thing works outside of here.”

“We’ll figure that out.”He chuckled as though I was a pretty little puzzle he needed to fix, and even though a part of the woman I’d once been sensed she was infuriated by his tone, I couldn’t help but smile.He made everything sound so easy.“That’s the fun part.”

Chapter Eleven

Escalation

Eli

Watching the flames leaping around the final log, my mind was made up.We’d run out of time and needed to move, but the encroaching darkness around the cabin insisted we stick it out for one more night.

“Get under the covers.”I turned to find her perched on the bed, uncertainty flitting in her green eyes.“We’ll need to trap as much heat as we can once the fire goes out.”

“We should have left earlier.”Her trembling tone spoke directly to the snide voice echoing within myself, wondering the same thing.

Ifwe’d left earlier, how far would we have got before dusk had fallen?

Staring out into the darkness, there was no way of discovering that alternative truth.We’d stalled, waiting to see if any rescuers would come, and Erin had even sent a second message to another friend, but so far, we’d not seen or heard anything from anyone.The reality jarred, twisting unease inside me.

That was weird, wasn’t it?Not to have had a single reply from anyone?Sure, Baron could have been pissed off and decided to ghost me, but would both Erin’s mother and friend have done the same?I didn’t know much about great relationships, but to me, it seemed unlikely.

“Sir!”Exasperation rang in her voice.“Did you hear what I said?We should have gone when the sun was st—”

“I know.”

I didn’t mean to snap at her perfectly reasonable observation, but I’d been silently kicking myself about the delay for more than an hour, sensing the tension furling in my stomach as I contemplated the misstep.I’d gone to the door before night had descended too, checking to see if the wall of ice that had hindered her earlier escape attempt was still inhibiting our departure.Discovering enough of it had melted away to enable me to kick away the remaining ice had temporarily lifted our spirits, but the fire had been burning bright then, and the sky had still been sunlit.The evening had brought a gloomier tone, its morose influence stretching over the cabin while we considered our limited choices.

Weshouldhave left, but we didn’t.

Maybe it was just because keeping her there at the cabin had brought me so much joy, or because I longed for more time alone with her, but the hesitation had been mine.‘We’ hadn’t stalled—the fault lay at my feet.

“You’re probably right.”I pulled in a breath, hoping it would calm me, but all it achieved was inhaling the scent of embers.“We should have left earlier, but it’s too late now, little girl.The morning light will come soon enough, and then we’ll leave.”

Once the fire is nothing but a memory, we’re stone-cold from its absence, and practically out of food.

I tensed at the likely outcome of my inaction, mentally reproaching myself.It wasn’t like me to delay, and if he were there, no doubt Baron wouldn’t have recognized my hesitation, but that was what spending time with Erin seemed to have produced; a less certain man.A version of Eli who overthought every scenario and worried about taking risks.

Or, maybe that wasn’t accurate.There had been one other time when my hesitation had proved to be an issue—the same moment that found me standing in front of the court-martial—except that hadn’t really been about me or my mistake at all.My superiors had just chosen to follow Hawkins’ version of events and send me packing.

Balling my hand into a fist, I sucked in the ever-chilling air.The injustice of that moment was tattooed on my soul like a fucking brand.It had colored every decision I’d had to make ever since.

“Please.”My irritation was cooling as fast as the air around me.“Just get under the blankets, Erin.I want to take care of you.”

Which is why you should have led me out there long before now.The recrimination never left her tempting lips, but I saw it there, gleaming in her eyes.

“Okay.”With a sigh, she slid under the covers.“Will you at least join me, sir?”

Now, that was more like it.The idea of getting into bed with Erin was never going to grow old.

---