Page 9 of To Crave Darkly
“Of course it does, I'm not dead.” She flinched at my harsh words and tucked her head back under my chin. I suddenly wanted to apologise but maybe it was for the best. She needed to be wary of me. I wasn’t a saviour. I was a fucking warrior and a killing machine. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by her. I had a fucking job to do and then I could finally be at peace. The day I got Miss Monroe to the Conclave I would finally be free, and nothing would get in my way. Especially not the five-foot three bundle of soft curves currently curled up in my arms.
Chapter 6
LORI
I listened to the slow beat of Jasper’s heart. I had thought vampires were dead, but the more I thought about what I knew about vampires, the more Jasper seemed to contradict it. He walked in the sun, his heart did beat in his chest and he did breathe, albeit rarely. It was weird how slow his heartbeat was. It was much slower than a human heart, only about ten beats a minute but despite this he was still really warm. Probably warmer than me. His chest was firm and solid under my cheek and I was oddly comforted by that; his arms around me made me feel safe. Maybe he wasn't going to hurt me after all. He did say he was here to protect me, though from what I still had no clue.
Could I trust him? Or rathershouldI trust him? He had scared the shit out of me back there. He had pinned me to the ground and then looked like he had some sort of internal war going on about what he was going to do with me. I was glad he stood when he did, part of me had enjoyed it a little too much. Thinking about how he held me with my arms above my head brought a flush to my face. And now his hands gripped my thigh and the side of my chest, and it was like the fabric of my pyjamas wasn't even there.
I needed to get some space between us before I did something I'd regret. I had this urge to touch him, to feel his chest beneath my hands. Since when did I let a man turn my brain to mush? Yes, he was attractive, but he had also pretty much kidnapped me. I wanted to hate the guy but the way he was tenderly holding me, protecting me and killing bad guys for me kind of had my heart melting for him just a little.
Thankfully, we made it back to the safe house without me jumping the guy’s bones. It was a quaint little cottage in the middle of the woods standing proud among the trees like something out of a fairy tale. A bright red door graced the front of the building and the luscious green ivy clinging to the walls added to the charming picture. It would have made a lovely painting.
Jasper carried me across the threshold and dropped me into an armchair.
“Can I trust you to wait here?” Jasper crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps flexing and drawing my eyes to the muscles there. He still looked pissed, but I knew I wasn't going anywhere. I was tired, my feet were probably shredded to ribbons and I had absolutely no clue where we were.
“I won't go anywhere, I promise.” I looked into his eyes when I said it. I wanted to make sure he believed me. He didn't say anything in response, just nodded once and left the room.
It was so quiet. I was so used to the nightlife of a busy city that the cottage sounded eerily quiet. There was such an absence of sound it was deafening.
I just wanted to go home; this was all too much, and I still wasn’t entirely convinced this was all real. I needed to get more information out of Jasper. He was the only person who could tell me anything, but judging by his past behaviour, I’d have more luck getting information out of a corpse. My shoulders sagged in defeat. I’d never felt this helpless.
I was in the middle of nowhere with only Mr. Grumpy Pants for company. I had no idea where he was taking me or why. He’d mentioned something called the Conclave but I didn’t know what that was. I’d never heard of a place called that, so I was still none the wiser to my final destination. And to top it off, my pyjamas were ruined and my feet stung like a bitch.
I looked down at my feet and winced. They were covered in tiny scratches and they were filthy. What a mess. I needed to clean them, but I had no idea where the bathroom was, and I'd promised Jasper I wouldn't move.
I sensed something stir in the room. I lifted my eyes and found myself looking at Jasper. My heart jolted in my chest.
“Don't do that,” I scolded, trying to regain control of my now rapidly beating heart.
“Sorry, it's a habit,” he replied stiffly. He did give off the impression that he did do a lot of sneaking around with his inconspicuous black clothes. I wondered what he really did? Or perhaps I was safer not knowing. He was intimidating enough as it was. He bent down and scooped me back up into his arms.
“If you keep doing this, Jasper, I might just get used to it.”
He snorted but he still carried me up the narrow staircase and into a bathroom with an old-fashioned slipper bath right in the middle of the room. The slipper bath was currently steaming and a floral scent drifted through the air. Sweet lord, there was a God.
Jasper placed me down by the bath and made sure I was steady on my feet before letting go of me. I didn't understand him. He was a walking contradiction. One minute he was threatening to knock me out and the next he was running me a bubble bath.
“I've put your things in the room opposite,” he said walking back to the bathroom door.
“Thank you.”
He turned to face me, his face in a deep scowl. “Don’t thank me, I’m just following orders. Once you have finished with the bath, go to your room and don’t come out until I come and get you.”
“Why?”
“Because I say so, that’s why.”
My jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. If you want to run away again then fine, but there are much worse creatures out there than me and theywillkill you or even worse. I don’t know who is hunting you, but you have a better chance of survival with me than without me. But by all means, feel free to take the chance out there on your own.”
Molten anger burned in my chest. “Who do you think you are?”
“I’m the one charged with protecting you and keeping you alive, but you are making that damned difficult,” he spat.
“Well, I’m sorry that I’m not content with being kidnapped.” I wasn’t backing down quietly.
