Chapter 14 #2
“Oh, right. In the processed cheese powder.”
“Exactly.”
He chuckles and it makes my stomach flip again.
It keeps happening, and I tell myself to chill out, but something about the deep rumble just resonates with me and I can’t help my body’s reaction to it.
When we’re all rung up, I try to pay, but Becks shakes his head and hands the clerk cash. I feel a little bad that he’s been footing the bill for all our food and lodgings, but I resolve to make it up to him after all of this is said and done.
Assuming I don’t die, that is.
With that morbid thought rattling in my head, we get back in the car and make our way through narrow and windy roads toward the safe house.
After about fifteen minutes, the road turns into a one-lane dirt road.
Becks shifts the car into a lower gear as we crawl over the snow-covered ground.
I ask him if he’s sure we’re still headed in the right direction, because eventually the road seems to disappear.
It’s like we’re weaving through sparse forest rather than driving on a manmade road, but he assures me we are.
Another half-hour passes before we finally reach a small clearing at what appears to be the top of a mountain where a lone log cabin is nestled into the trees.
The cabin is modest in size, two stories and I’d guess about two or three bedrooms. There’s a stone chimney rising from the roof on the right side of the house, and a covered porch with two wooden rocking chairs and an end table between them.
From the outside, the cabin looks rustic, and I wonder if the inside has the same vibes.
Becks parks the SUV out front and we pile out, my feet sinking into an inch of fresh snow.
“Let’s go check it out,” Becks says, waving me over. “I’ll come back to get the stuff in a minute.”
I follow him up the few front steps to the covered porch. I should have grabbed my coat, because the icy mountain air nips at my exposed skin.
Becks reaches out, flicks open a rectangular panel next to the door, and presses his thumb to a small screen.
My eyebrows jump up. “It has a biometric lock?”
“Yep,” Becks says, and then I hear not one, but four locks disengaging.
“That seems a little extreme.”
He shrugs. “Talon isn’t one for taking chances when it comes to things like this. He texted that he had the cabin outfitted with all the latest upgrades in security measures. Besides the front and back doors, all the windows are bulletproof and have electronic locks.”
I glance at what can only be described as the wilderness around us. We haven’t seen anyone in almost an hour.
It’s not like this is a place someone is just going to stumble across. And on the way up, Becks told me Talon somehow even got the cabin wiped from public records.
“Again, that seems a little extreme.”
“Maybe, but Talon takes safety and secrecy very seriously. It was ingrained in him from the Society.”
“The Society?”
“The Arcane Society. It’s kind of like the creature world’s version of the Silent Order, but even more secretive. Talon’s family has been running it for generations.”
Hmm, that sounds interesting. I want to ask more about the creature world, but Becks is already opening the front door and cautiously entering the cabin. He scans the space once before stepping aside to let me in.
My first impression of the cabin’s interior is that it’s cozy, which feels at odds with all its high-tech security measures. The space is decorated with warm earthy tones, and the walls are stacked logs like the exterior.
We enter into a small foyer. Off to the right is a family room with a plush L-shaped couch in front of an open fireplace.
It looks perfect for lounging and reading a good book.
Directly to the left is a round wooden table, large enough to seat six.
Behind it is the kitchen, the cabinets a dark forest green with upgraded appliances.
I shut the door behind me and then wrap my arms around myself. It’s even colder inside the cabin than it was outside. My breaths come out in small puffs and hang in front of my face for a couple beats before disappearing.
“Talon said the bedrooms are upstairs,” Becks says, gesturing to the open staircase on the far end of the living room. “There are three. You can pick first.”
I nod, and a shiver racks my frame.
Becks frowns. “You look like you’re freezing.”
“Well, that’s funny, because I feel like I’m freezing too,” I say through chattering teeth.
He casts his gaze around the room, and spotting a thermostat, goes over and turns it on. I hear it kick on immediately, but then freezing air starts to circulate throughout the space.
“That may take a little while to warm up,” Becks says, stating the obvious. “I saw some stacked wood on the side of the cabin. I can make a fire. That will get this room heated up pretty quickly.”
I nod rather than answer because my jaw is so tightly clenched.
He comes over and rubs his hands up and down my arms, trying to warm me. It feels good, better than I’m willing to admit, but it’s not really working.
“How are you in a t-shirt right now?” I ask, the words coming out stilted.
“How many times do I have to tell you that I run hot before you believe me? You’re like a popsicle. I can hear your teeth chattering. Come here.” Wrapping his large arms around my back, he hauls me against him, plastering me against his chest.
I want to be indignant, but I’m too busy soaking up his warmth and breathing in a faceful of his delicious scent to drum it up. When he starts running a hand up and down my back, I have to bite back a sigh.
My muscles start to untense, and I melt into his embrace.
“Better?” he asks quietly, his deep voice sending a slight tremor skating down my spine.
“You’re still shivering,” he says, mistaking the reason, and holds me even tighter.
Without fully realizing what I’m doing, I press my face into Becks’ chest and take in a deep lungful of his addictive scent. Like a hit, it goes straight to my head, making my thoughts go a little fuzzy and sending warmth throughout my limbs.
I could live in his arms the rest of my life and die happy, my hazy mind thinks.
I don’t notice that Becks has gone still until he says, “Um, Haven. Are you sniffing me?”
Reality comes crashing back in, and I yank myself out of his arms.
“No!” I immediately deny. “I was definitely not sniffing you.”
Lies. I was so sniffing him. And I could die right now from having been caught.
Becks watches me squirm, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“Okay, sure. Just checking. I never did get that shower after working out last night, so I probably smell like week-old socks or something.”
I hold in a snort. Like that would happen. Everything about him is annoyingly appealing. His man sweat probably smells like sugar cookies or something else I’d want to gobble up.
But I’d never admit that.
I cross my arms, feeling awkward and exposed. “Well, now that you mention it, there is a little bit of a ripe stench in the air. I’m sure a shower couldn’t hurt.”
Becks barks out a laugh. “Noted. A shower will be a priority after I get that fire started. In the meantime, if you’re not going to turn into an ice cube anymore, why don’t you pick out a room.”
Cold? That’s the last thing I am right now. I’m burning up. A dip in the snow is starting to look appealing, but with a quick nod, I flee, hearing Becks’ chuckles follow me.