Page 24 of Guided by the Stars
I notice Kai standing up as I walk past but I keep going, acting as if I haven’t seen him. I’m not sure what they were talking about, but I’m willing to bet all the money I have in my pocket that it was about me. “How much further?” I yell back. The thought of what he said runs through my mind.Blood? Like, what the fuck is that about?I glance back and something about him pulls me.No, come on Adriane. You’ve been with hot guys before. If there was a picture of toxic men in the dictionary, Kai would be there!
Before I can even turn around to face them, I trip over something and start falling forward, closing my eyes because it’s about to hurt. Warm hands wrap around me and I inhale cedar and smoke. I open my eyes and lock onto Kai’s icicle-blues. He is glaring at me as if I asked for this. He straightens me and I roll my eyes at him. “I hope you’re not expecting a thank you,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him.
He smirks at me, and maybe if this douchebag hadn’t kidnapped me, he would be my next conquest. I’m all for being handcuffed to the bed, even the rougher sex, but they took me against my will and threw me into a dark, cold, alternate world. That just isn’t my idea of a good time.
I’m still standing there, staring into his eyes, and I quickly turn and bump into a hard chest. I glance up and see Jax fold his arms with a smile. “That would have been a nasty fall, Beautiful, I would have had to carry you,” he says and flexes his arm.
I burst out laughing because I mean, sure, I’m in a shitty situation. But I guess after the life I’ve had, I’m so used to crazy situations that I find humor where I can. “Jay-man, come on now, it would be a privilege to carry me. One I wouldn’t allow either of you boys.” I smirk and walk around him. His laughter and footsteps are right behind me. “Are we going to be walking long? I’m pretty tired, I’ve been walking all day.”
There is a sigh behind me and someone touches my arm. “Yes, we know you are, and no we’re not, or we might be, there is no actual answer,” Jax says as Kai starts moving his hands around.
What the fuck is he doing now?
I feel the ground shudder as a tree sprouts. A light wind swirls around, revealing a small hut made from the branches. It’s magical, the way the branches intertwine. I stand there admiring its majestic beauty, baffled thathecreated this.
Kai grabs me by the arm and leads me inside. It’s like an entire house, but it’s all one room and I’m sure it is so they can monitor me. I yank my arm out of his grasp and sit in one of the chairs fashioned from the branches. “What did you mean by ‘yes, we know’?” I ask, raising my eyebrow andlooking at both of them. I cross my legs and tilt my head to the side . “Oh, I’m sorry, did you forget how to speak?” I say with as much sarcasm as I can muster.
“That attitude of yours makes me so happy that we got you instead of the other one. You sure like to liven things up,” Jax says. I shake my head. “We have been observing you both,” he finishes. My jaw hits the floor in astonishment. How could he just say this shit like it’s no big deal? These two creeps have been spying on Nora and I, but he says it like he’s recounting a trip to the store.
I glance at Kai and notice him shaking his head. He runs his hands through his hair, slightly pulling it at the top, and I can’t help but think that he looks even better with messy hair.
“Wait, watching us?” I say, shocked. Though I remember I had a creepy feeling at the waterfall. “Why? Wait, what’s with the cryptic answer? I mean, this is where you live, so how would you not know if we are almost to your home?” I sit back in the chair.
My heart rate picks up because even though I’m acting all cool, I am freaking out inside. I’m scared and confused. “We had been watching for a while. We wanted both of you because of your blo—”
Kai slams his hand into the wall and Jax cuts off. “It doesn’t really matter why or how long, because you’re here now and you’re not leaving,” Kai says angrily. “Listen, we keep walking and we will get to where we’re going. Now get some sleep.”
The chair transforms beneath me, becoming a bed. I put on my best flirty smile and blink up at him with the best fuck-me eyes I have, licking my lips while biting the bottom one. His eyes track every movement I make and Jax follows suit, but I keep my eyes on Kai. There’s an angry lust in his eyes. It’s working. “I promise I’ll be a good girl if you takethese handcuffs off,” I say, because if they remove them, once they go to sleep I can make a run for it.
Kai leans down in my face and stares into my eyes. His hand snakes around my throat and my pulse races. I lick my lips, because as much as this man scares me and pisses me off, I feel a connection to him, and right now I want his lips on mine. He puts a bit of pressure behind the squeeze and a moan nearly escapes my lips. “Red, how stupid do I look to you?” I open my mouth to speak. “It’s a rhetorical question, so don’t bother answering or I’ll tape your beautiful mouth shut.” He releases my neck, slinking away from me.
“So you like my mouth?” I ask, smiling at him and stretching my feet out on the bed he made for me, raising my cuffed wrists over my head as I finish stretching. I don’t know if he had hoped to scare me, but I was going to continue pretending to be unaffected. My shirt rises, exposing my stomach, and these two guys are eating it up. “If you only wanted me, why was Nora taken?” I ask.
Kai sighs and lays down on the other bed. Jax comes and sits next to me. “You’re both of importance, I’m sure you will find out why soon enough.”
My heart picks up and I meet Jax’s eyes. They’re so calming, his big brown eyes swirling with amber flecks as they start to glow softly, pulling me in. I feel a calm come over me. “You’re ok, stay calm.” He reaches out and touches my shoulder. My body starts to relax, my anxiety ebbs away. This is a foreign concept, never have I just calmed down like this in the middle of a high-stress situation. Then I remember he is a Greek god who has powers. Quickly I sit up , moving away from him.
“You’re doing something to me,” I say, kicking him. “Get away from me now and stop doing whatever the fuck you’re doing. I don’t like people fucking around with my emotions,and I don’t like you changing them or making me feel something I don’t want to. Do you understand?”
Jax puts his hand up. “Beautiful, I am so sorry, I only wanted to help you relax so that you could get some sleep, it’s been a long, stressful day.”
“Back up and keep that weirdness to yourself. I can handle my emotions just fine. I’ve been doing it long before you two came along and shattered all my illusions of normalcy.” I lay back down and turn away from them both. It’s not smart to turn your back on your enemies, but I need them to go to sleep so I can get out of here.
I stare at the wall and think of Nora. I hope she is doing okay. She has always been more fragile than I have, but she is also tough and she knows how to survive. After a bit, I hear even breathing as I lay there counting. I don’t want to run too early and risk waking them up.
My arms are hurting and so are my wrists, but I’m not a stranger to pain. I have lived most of my life in pain. That isn’t really what is bothering me, if I’m being honest. It’s the thought of swimming in that dark lake of souls that sends fear through my spine. I hear footsteps walking out of the hut and focus my attention on counting.
One hundred Mississippi. Ok, I’m going to go, if I get caught I’ll tell them I had to go to the bathroom.
I move around, noticing it’s only Kai and I in the hut, and he has his back turned to me. Jax left, but who gives a fuck? I have to do it.
It’s now or never.
I steel my spine, get up out of bed and tiptoe out of the hut. It’s misty and cold still. That constant emerald green light around me never goes away. This place doesn’t change, it’s impossible to tell time.
Fuck it! I don’t have time to figure out the mechanics of this place.
Taking off at a full run, I hear noises that sound like paws hitting the ground and snarls. I have my phone in my pocket. If I can get it out, I can use the flashlight. I twist my hands to my right pocket and try to wiggle it out with my fingers. When the sound of a low growl catches my attention, I turn around, forgetting about my phone. There are red, glowing eyes staring me down and the smell is horrible. It’s like burning rubber. They step closer, and that’s when I see them. They look like dogs; they range in size, some big as bears, others smaller. Snarling and slobbering all over their razor sharp teeth, they look at me like they are about to devour my soul. Their claws are long, white and pointed, and their fur is straight black. It looks like mist is curling around them. Fear spikes through me, making my knees shake, because these aren’t normal dogs.
