Chapter Twelve
Valen
“You’re staying here.” I pulled on my winter coat, using a tone that I knew made grown men step aside. “I can make it to town and back before dark if I leave soon.”
Losing the fuel and extra supplies was a big blow for us.
Not that I blamed her—I understood why she needed that bracelet—but the supplies were gone and needed to be replaced in case another storm blew through.
Up here in the mountains, there was only one certainty: just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, it did.
We needed to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
And right now, we weren’t.
“Like hell I am.” She grabbed her coat from the hook, that familiar fire flashing in her eyes.
God, she was fucking beautiful. She’d made the biggest mistake of her life saying yes to me. Because I wasn’t going to let her go now. I’d chain her to my bed if I had to.
Something told me she might like that. Like the way her pulse quickened at the base of her throat when I called her a good girl. She fucking loved the praise, and I loved giving it to her. And now that I’d tasted her? It was like throwing gasoline on a fire that was already uncontrollable.
She yanked on her boots with more force than necessary.
“It’s my fault. I’m the one who insisted on going after the bracelet.
I’m the reason we’re screwed. So let me help.
” The plea in her voice made me want to give in immediately.
She could ask me for anything at this point, and I would give it to her.
Deed to my cabin? Take it. My dark and twisted soul? I’ll sign it right over.
But every protective instinct in me roared in protest. The thought of her on the snowmobile, exposed to the elements and all the other dangers, made my jaw clench.
“Seraphine… it’s dangerous.” I took a step forward and gripped her chin gently.
“The snowmobile can barely handle one person on those trails. If something goes wrong…”
“Then we’ll figure it out together.” She placed her hands against my chest, gripping the collar of my jacket. “I’m not helpless, I can handle myself.”
“Can you? Because last time you handled yourself, you nearly died of hypothermia.” I regretted the words the second they left my mouth. Hurt flashed across her face, but instead of backing down, she tugged on my coat, bringing my face level to hers.
“Careful, before I spank your ass,” she murmured, throwing my words right back at me.
I chuckled, shaking my head. “Seraphine…”
“And what if Cyrus shows up while you’re gone?” She arched her brow. “What if this is exactly what he’s been waiting for? For me to be left alone and defenseless?”
White-hot rage ran through me at the thought. Something inside of me twisted, but I wasn’t ready to acknowledge what it was. She was right. The fear that had been roaring in the back of my mind since the moment I realized I had to leave her alone crashed over me.
I wove my fingers through her hair, tugging her head back. She gasped, her eyes searching mine. If I left her alone, even just for a few hours, and Cyrus got to her… The thought of finding her gone, or worse, made my blood run ice cold.
“If I’m with you, we can face whatever comes together.” She bit her bottom lip, her voice softening a bit.
I studied her face, seeing the determination there.
I could tell she wasn’t trying to prove a point.
She actually believed we were stronger together.
Now it was my turn for my pulse to pound as I brushed my lips against hers.
Despite every single instinct screaming at me to keep her in the cabin where it should have been safe, I knew she was safest with me.
“The trail is tough,” I growled against her lips, feeling her smile against me. “It’s steep, and sometimes hard to control.”
“I trust you.”
Fuck.
Those three simple words were going to be my undoing.
“Fine.” I grabbed the second helmet from the closet, already rethinking my plans on how to get to town. “But you follow all my directions.”
“You mean your orders?” She grinned.
I leveled her with a glare, which only made her laugh. The sound was airy and light, and I decided I wanted to hear more of that.
And her moans.
And screams.
And my name on her lips when she was coming.
“If I tell you to duck, you duck. If I tell you to hold on tighter, then you do it.”
She gave me a mock salute that made me want to spank her ass and then kiss it better.
“And when we get back, be prepared to pay for all your brattiness this morning.”
“I’m trembling with fear already.” She shrieked as I grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her to me.
“And if we run into any trouble,” I continued, trying to ignore the heat her playful tone was stirring up inside of me, “you stay behind me. I don’t care if the world is fucking ending, you do not try to play the hero.”
“Understood.” She took the helmet from me, and when our fingers brushed, electricity shot through me.
Fuck. I had to stop touching her so much, otherwise we were never going to leave here. All I wanted to do was strip her down and taste every inch of her body. Fuck the fuel, fuck the supplies, so long as my last breath was against her lips.
“How far away is your mysterious vehicle stash, anyway?” she said, breaking me from my unhinged train of thought.
“Three miles to where the county keeps the main road plowed. I’ve got a truck in a garage there.” I smiled at her raised eyebrow. “Bought it cash. No registration trail. Being paranoid about escape routes is a useful skill.”
“Unfortunately, I understand that all too well.” She struggled with the strap of the helmet, and I stepped closer to help, trying to ignore how fucking good she smelled.
“The truck’s stocked with some supplies, even a few guns. We get to town, get the fuel and whatever else we need, then get back before dark.” I patted the top of her helmet, then chuckled as she tried to smack my hand away.
“Sounds simple enough.” Her voice was slightly breathless, and I wondered if she was as affected by our closeness as I was. “What could go wrong?”
Everything.
But I didn’t tell her that.
Ten minutes later, we were on our way.
The snowmobile ride to my garage was a hell of a lot smoother than I expected.
I’d made my own trail after the first good amount of snow had fallen, and Seraphine did perfect.
She leaned when I leaned, holding onto me tight the entire way over.
Having her pressed against my back, gripping me, made it almost impossible to concentrate.
When we reached my small garage where I kept my truck, I pulled the snowmobile off to the side. The building looked just like I’d left it last month, but when we approached the door, I noticed something that had me freezing in place.
Footprints in the snow.
“Stay behind me,” I muttered and pulled out my knife. Kneeling, I examined the tracks made by large boots. They had the same tread pattern as the footprints by the lake. Someone had circled the building and then gone back to the main road.
“Those aren’t your footprints?” Seraphine looked at me with big eyes, her cheeks pink from the chill.
I shook my head, scanning the tree line for anything out of place. But whoever had been here was long gone. It could be random. Someone could have found the garage and got nosy.
And the same person just happened to end up on the lake right by your house? my mind screamed, but I kept my composure, not wanting to scare Seraphine. I hadn’t told her about the prints back at the lake for the same reason.
“Probably someone passing through. Wait right here.” I unlocked the garage, revealing my beat-up Ford. I double-checked nothing was disturbed inside, then helped Seraphine climb in.
The drive into town was one of the worst. The county had plowed the main roads, but just barely. What should have been a twenty-minute drive turned into nearly an hour as I drove over patches of ice and snowdrifts. Seraphine gripped the passenger door, every so often giving me a reassuring smile.
Our first stop was the gas station on the edge of town. I filled several cans with fuel while Seraphine waited in the truck. The attendant on duty barely looked up, not paying us any attention.
Before we left to the grocery store, I grabbed a thick wool scarf from my bag and wrapped it around her neck. I made sure to cover her nose and mouth, just leaving her eyes visible.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice muffled through the fabric.
“If anyone recognizes you, word could get back to Cyrus. Not to mention if people realize you’re with me, that news would spread like wildfire.”
We pulled into the small grocery store, the parking lot full. I helped Seraphine jump out of the truck, making sure the scarf kept her covered.
The second we walked in, I felt exposed. I grabbed a cart, Seraphine sticking to my side, but constantly scanning her surroundings.
Good girl.
“Valen Creed, as I live and breathe.”
I turned to see Jenny Harris, the owner of the store, who’d known my family since I was a kid.
A smile spread across her face that made my chest tighten.
She’d always been good to me, before prison and after.
Probably one of the few locals from these parts who never glared or pulled their kids close when I passed by.
“Jenny.” I grinned and pushed the cart over to where she stood next to the bakery table. “How are you holding up with all this snow?”
“Oh, you know how it goes. They finally plowed the roads, so everyone’s pouring in today.” Her gaze shifted to Seraphine, and Jenny eyed the scarf that covered most of her face. “And who’s this? Finally got yourself a girl, did ya?”
“Friend from out of town,” I said. “Got caught in the storm.”
Jenny smiled that knowing smile of hers, letting me know I wasn’t fooling her. Lucky for me, she was too polite to push for more information. “Well, any friend of yours is welcome here, honey. You two staying warm up on that mountain?”