Page 94 of Monster Daddies
Shedidfeel some connection to Lium. No matter how crazy he was, or what stories he invented, therewassomething there. If the circumstances had been different… but they weren’t, and she had to go. It took a real effort to start walking down the dirt road, leaving the cabin behind her, but the further away she got, the easier it was to keep moving.
The lamp swung with each step, casting wildly moving shadows all around her, her feelings about Lium were quicklyburied beneath an ominous dread—a fear of the woods themselves. Her back kept twitching with a sense of being watched. Rumor had it that there were still bobcats and black bears in the woods, and in that moment every sound was a predator about to attack.
She went from walking slowly to jogging down the road. She wanted to go faster, but the oversized shoes and an uneven ground kept tripping her up and she knew she’d fall if she tried to run. Oddly enough getting dragged back to the cabin by Lium—no, by hercaptor. She needed to keep reminding herself of what he was—was the least of her concerns.
Something swooped down over her head, low enough to blow her hair forward. She screamed and ducked. She thought of bats, and the leathery flapping sound seemed to back it up, but whatever it was had passed, so she straightened slowly. She turned in a circle, lamp held high, straining to see into the darkness.
It was hopeless. The light pooled around her like a protective circle, but it didn’t spread far enough to make her feel safe. She cocked her head, listening intently. Something was wrong. It took her nearly a minute to realize that the night life had gone silent. All the chirping and clicking had stopped.
She swallowed hard, willing her heart to slow down so she could hear over the thumping. It could have been her, with the lamp, that had scared them into silence, but she didn’t think it was. It was such a vulnerable feeling. Alone, not being able to see what was out there in the dark, she wished she’d never left the cabin. At least she could see what was happening there and maybe she could have fought him off.
It was too late to go back. Who knewwhathe’d do to her for running away? Someone who was crazy enough to kidnap her from her home in the middle of the night might do just aboutanything. And yet… she really couldn’t talk herself into fearing him.
His comment about being her Daddy came back to her with an embarrassing heat. She knew what Daddies did to people who disobeyed them. She’d had plenty of fantasies about it, and somehow, she hadnotrouble believing he’d follow through. She could even picture it in her mind if she…
There was a rush of wind again, to her left this time. She spun to face that direction. “Who-who’s there?” she demanded, in a shaky voice. There was no answer, but she hadn’t expected one.
Ellie started moving again, with slow deliberate steps, senses on alert. She hadn’t taken more than a few when she felt something glide by close enough to brush her face. It was too much to bear. She took off running, without any sense of self preservation.
The sneakers flapped as she hurtled down the road, but she didn’t manage to get far before she tripped and fell. As she went down, the oil lamp flew out of her hand, smashing on the ground a few feet in front of her. She screamed as she hit the dirt with the blanket tangled around her, and fire began to spread in her direction with a terrifying quickness.
One corner of the quilt landed in the oil and suddenly burst into flames. She thrashed, trying to pull free. Raw, hoarse shouts of panic filled the air, and she only distantly realized they were coming out of her mouth.
And then a large black shape landed in front of her, cutting off the sight of the spreading fire. She was snatched off the ground before she could manage more than a gasp, and then she was in the air and moving rapidly away from the disaster. But the quilt, still half-wrapped around her body, trailed fire along with them.
They didn’t go far before a dizzy whooshing feeling in her stomach told her they were descending fast. There was ajarring thud as they landed. Ellie didn’t really understand what was happening; it was all moving too quickly. But in the next moment she was unceremoniously dumped on the ground, to be rolled back and forth with teeth-clattering vigor.
“Stop! What are you doing? Let me go!” she shouted, nearly biting her tongue as she was jerked forward and back.
“Hold on. Fire’s almost out.” It was Lium. A second later he was pulling her to her feet and spinning her around as he yanked the quilt away.
She could only stare at him with wide eyes. Too much chaos in a short amount of time had left her speechless. Which was fine, because Lium had more than enough words for both of them.
Chapter Seven
“What the hell were you thinking, Ellie?” he demanded. “I told you to wait. I was only gone ten minutes. Do you have any idea how scared I was when I came back and found you gone? There are dangers in these mountains. You must know that.” The lecture was biting. Every word snapped with anger.
The lantern was gone and even though he was just inches from her, she couldn’t really see his face. She did see two glowing coals where his eyes would be though. Intensely red and piercing, they fixed on her. Every few seconds they would disappear and reappear, blinking she supposed.
She recognized those eyes from earlier that evening. “I?—”
“And then I come to find you and you’re on fire.Literallyon fire! You could have been hurt!” The thought seemed to trigger the realization that maybe shehadbeen injured. “Are you burned?” he asked as he crouched down and checked her legs. Apparently, his eyesight was better than hers.
She had to think about it. Everything had happened so fast, she wasn’t even sure if she was hurt. She’d fallen and then there’d been the fire, and then… then she’d been up in the sky. She shuddered and shook her head.
Not going to think about that now, she decided. Instead she took a second to concentrate on her body. “Just—just a few scratches from falling, I think,” she said finally.
He straightened with a growl. “You were damn lucky, girl. Apparently, you reallydoneed a Daddy. That’s twice I’ve saved your life tonight.”
As if it wasn’t his fault in the first place. “I never asked you to save me, and I would have been just fine without you, asshole.” She pulled away from him, and turned on her heel, planning to stalk away whether she could see or not.
She made it all of two steps before his hand settled on her arm and she found herself being spun around. Before she could say anything, the air went out of her with a whoosh, as she was pushed down over something.
Not being able to see was disorienting and she had no idea what was going on, but she could feel the ground under her hands in front of her, so she struggled to push herself up. Unfortunately, before she got anywhere, something solid pressed across her lower back and stopped her. “Hey! What are you doing?”
“Spanking some sense into you.” There was that growl in his voice again. And suddenly a flurry of hefty smacks landed across the seat of her pajamas.
Her eyes flew open wide. Her mouth dropped. And her mind connected the dots instantly.
