Page 151 of The Hunt
Me: I’ll think about it.
Tossing my phone into my purse, I hurriedly drove away from the Academy. If Fenris was still looking for me, he’d be running around town then go check my parents’ place. That meant I needed to head in the other direction. Into pack territory.
My phone buzzed with a message by the time I reached Fenris’s cabin.
Fenris: Where are you?
Me: Avoiding you. The only reason you want to talk is so that you can convince me I’m wrong. I’m not. I’m fine being your friend. I can’t be your girlfriend.
Fenris: My dad has no say in who I see or date. Adira made that clear to him and to me. I’m at the Roost. I’ll give you twenty minutes, nibbles. Then I’m seeking.
Why did that last line make my heart race?
Me: This is why I didn’t text you. You’re unreasonable. Stop bulldozing over my feelings in this. You were only one half of our relationship. I get some say, too. And I’m saying move on, Fenris.
I muted my phone and tossed it into my purse.
Wiping the tears from my eyes, I started the fire. I hated that Fenris was feeling as bad about the situation as I was. Well, maybe he hated it more because he saw me as a way out while I saw him as a temporary means to end my loneliness. Megan’s return would fix so many things.
Rubbing my hands on my pants, I stood and wondered what the heck I was going to do with the rest of my day.
* * *
Lemon cakes hadbabies with Boston cream pies. That was the only explanation for the odd creations that made a sudden appearance in my woodsy dreams. Cakey layers filled with lemon curd and topped with chocolate. The flavor was different but so good. And I craved more of it with an intensity that shook me even as I swallowed down what I was eating. It was like some deep part of me was sure I’d never taste these cakes again.
I ate ravenously, pulling in the flavors like a starving person. The thought didn’t slow me down. Instead, I became more frenzied as I fed until the trees shook around me. I’d been so hungry when I’d finally given in to sleep just after dark. That was way too early for a normal person, but it had been a welcome escape for me. An escape into my favorite cake-filled woods.
“Take what you want. I am yours.”
Inhaling deeply, I decided I wanted it all. Every last crumb. I gorged myself on everything the trees would offer. The number of mixed cakes decreased, replaced by a tempting variety. The old favorites were there. Spice cake, Death by Chocolate Cake, Lava Cake. But, there was a new one, too. Angel food topped with strawberries. It was the perfect end to the meal of a lifetime. I’d never felt so bloated.
The sweet, tangy burst of flavor from the berries was interrupted by a violent shaking that plucked away all the remaining cakes.
My cakes.
My food.
Gone.
Ripped from the dream, I snapped my eyes open. Fibers of the warm quilt stood out starkly even in the dim light cast from the fire. I didn’t care about those prominent details, though. Or the way the cabin shook around me or the way the wood creaked with the severity of the movement. I cared that something had stolen me from the place I wanted to be, where I could eat without care, and I wanted it back.
Arms wrapped around me.
“It’s an earthquake. We need to get out of the cabin.”
My bed partner started to lift me. Angry, I moved fluidly and flipped over the male who dared to touch me without permission. I pinned him beneath me, showing him who was in charge of the moment.
Fenris grunted, and his pupils dilated favorably as my hips settled over his.
“Eliana, you need to focus on the cabin,” he rasped. “On the shaking.”
He trembled beneath me, a delicious shiver that strengthened our physical connection.
“I feel the shaking,” I said, flattening a palm over his thundering pulse. His control was so thin, barely there. “You need to focus on me, Fenris. Feel me.”
The scent of his lust clouded the air, and I purred with satisfaction as my hips brushed his. He groaned beneath me, and his hands returned to grip my hips in an attempt to still my movement.
He, the one with so little control, thought to control me?
