Chapter 7 - Brad
I leave my boys standing in the dust cloud of my retreat as I slam my foot to the pedal and wrench the truck onto the dirt lane towards Eccles. I cover ground so fast, I’m actually surprised to come up on the town so suddenly, though I barely slow down the whole way out to the gardens.
Leaving my truck poorly parked in the lot, I charge through the main entrance, following the scents of Alisha and Grace. When I come to the covered garden and see Grace, but not Alisha, I turn tail and shift, not hearing a word of what Grace is yelling to me.
I have to find her!
There is a hollow, cold feeling in my guts, assuring me that Alisha is in terrible danger. I don’t know if it’s from the very real threat of her violent ex, or because of my own incompetence when I left her alone all those years ago.
Actually, it’s both.
Her scent is thin, but I’m able to track it.
Soon, it gets stronger, and I know I’m closing in.
When I crest a rise and see her ahead of me, a little whine of relief echoes in my throat.
Pacing after her, I quickly close the distance, shifting just before I reach her, but not in time to catch her before she stumbles and falls.
I shift back to human, and Alisha looks up at me, her eyes filled with fear.
Her face is starkly white, with pink spots of exertion glowing on each cheek.
When she sees it’s me, her face softens, and I see her relax from head to foot.
I know she’s relieved to see me, but it takes a few minutes for that thought to catch up with my panic.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I snap, grabbing her shoulders and hauling her to her feet. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“Let go of me!” Alisha yells back, right in my face. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Saving your ass!” I yell back. “All I’m trying to do is take care of you, and you’re making it pretty fucking hard!”
“I don’t need you! I can take care of myself.”
“It doesn’t look like it, from where I’m standing.”
“You’re standing too damn close, maybe that’s why!”
I make a conscious effort to let go of her and step back, but fear is still simmering deep in my guts, rising into my chest to manifest as anger.
“I want you to tell me exactly what you think you’re doing,” I say, trying to keep my voice even. “I trusted you to stay at the garden, and Grace was looking after you. She’s very upset that you just disappeared.”
Alisha’s face flickers with an expression of shock, tinged with regret. “I didn’t even think of that…I thought she might be tired of me, or just humoring me for your sake. I didn’t expect her to really miss me.”
I shake my head. “Well, she was worried sick.”
“Did you see her on your way through? You talked to her?”
“She called me and told me you were gone. She was trying to tell me something when I came through, but I was in too much of a hurry.”
Alisha’s face hardens with suspicion. “She called you?”
“Yes.”
“To tell you I was missing?”
“Yes?” I repeat, wondering where this is going.
“Then I guess she cares more about your feelings than mine!” Alisha folds her arms across her chest and glares up at me.
“What makes you say that?” I ask, exasperated.
“She called you before she looked for me.”
“Would it have mattered? You’re halfway up the north ridge already. If you actually gave a fuck about her feelings, you would have said something, instead of sneaking away like a kid having a tantrum.”
“Oh, so this is a tantrum, is it?” she snaps, her voice rising. “It’s got nothing to do with the fact you fucking kidnapped me?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I cover my face with my hand. “I told you, I had no choice about that.”
“And I told you, I can take care of myself!”
I know that even if that’s true, she’s definitely in need of help right now, and if I hadn’t found her in the woods the other night, the situation could have gotten desperate within hours.
The biggest problem, though, is the military maneuvers going on. And a giant, fiery snake lurking in the hills.
God knows what it would do to a random human entering its territory.
“Alisha,” I mutter, shaking my head. I’m tempted to tell her just how dangerous these woods are, but I don’t want to scare her, and I don’t even know where to start.
There’s this big snake, right? Well, it might not be a snake. It’s made of fire? Maybe? It’s an ancient god and says it’s going to grant magic powers, but actually, it just blows shit up.
“What?” she says, sticking out her chin defiantly.
“I want you to trust that I am doing this for your safety. There’s a lot going on out here, and I need you to be really careful. Do you have any idea where you were going?”
Her deep violet eyes waver, just a little, as she breaks my gaze and looks at the ground.
She really has no fucking clue!
“I would have been fine,” she says tersely. “I’m always fine.”
“You weren’t fucking fine when I found you!” I yell, all my fear and frustration peaking again. “You were about to stumble into some of the most dangerous terrain in the state, and you didn’t even have any supplies!”
“I’ve been on the run for a long while now,” she shoots back. “And I’ve taken care of myself for years since you left. All you’re doing is getting in my way!”
As we yell at each other, our faces get closer and closer together, until I can feel her breath rush across my lips. My fear and my anger are still colliding in my guts, twisting in my chest. All I can think about is all the horrible things that could have happened if I hadn’t made it in time.
Maybe I should just tell her everything…
“Alisha,” I mutter, her name almost getting caught in my throat. “I just want to keep you safe.”
“Oh, yeah?” she huffs. “Well—”
A deep, powerful urge takes me over, and I grab her shoulders, tugging her towards me and kissing her. I can’t stand to be so close to her, so full of fear that I might lose her, and not reassure myself that she’s real, she’s safe, and right in front of me.
Immediately, Alisha relaxes in my arms, melting into my embrace. Her arms slip around my waist as she presses her body against mine, tilting her head back and inviting my tongue into her mouth.
Yes, this. Forever.
I run my hands down her arms, teasing her with my fingertips. I can feel arousal running through us both, begging to be satisfied as the kiss deepens.
More. Oh, God, yes. More!
Her fingers dig into my waist a little as she reaches up, pressing her lips to mine and lapping at my tongue. I grip her waist, tugging her against me as my hands slide down to grab her ass.
For a moment, we writhe against each other, caught up in the magic of our bodies coming together. I’m almost ready to hurl her onto her back and take her right there, but she suddenly squirms in my arms, hitting me in the chest with both hands and shoving me away.
As she staggers backwards, I gasp for air, trying to get myself under control. Alisha looks even more gorgeous than usual as she stares up at me with her wide violet eyes, her mouth red from our kisses, her hair in a tangled curtain around her face.
“No,” she says firmly. Her dewy-eyed look is replaced by a stern expression, barely concealing her fury. “Don’t touch me—and don’t ever kiss me again!”
The words hit like arrows, but I just nod, not trusting my voice. I can see—and smell—how turned on she is, but I know from her tone the denial is true, and it is also final.
“I’m sorry,” I say softly. “Please come back to the cottage with me. I really do just want to keep you safe. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you—either with your ex, or the townsfolk.”
She frowns, just the smallest little crease between her brows. She gives me a small nod, turning to walk back in the direction of town. I follow behind her, watching her shoulders slowly slump down as her head lowers until she’s looking at the ground.
I don’t know if she’s tired or just plain miserable.
When we reach the gardens, Alisha briefly waves to a concerned-looking Grace before following me down the main path to the front of the gardens. I see my truck parked half on the gutter with the driver’s side door hanging open.
“Jesus,” I mutter. “I don’t remember leaving it like that.”
Alisha raises an eyebrow. “You were really in a hurry, huh?”
“Yeah,” I answer. When I look over at her, she has a strange look on her face, as if she’s pleased and trying desperately to hide it.
The drive home is short, and the sun is just sinking behind the horizon as we pull up out front. I offer her the bathroom first, and she gratefully takes off up the stairs.
I realize we still didn’t get her any clothes today, so I search around until I find some old sweats that I’d been meaning to throw away and leave them by the door before I head to the kitchen.
It doesn’t take me long to throw together some chicken pieces with tomatoes, onions, and mushrooms and put them in the oven to bake. By the time Alisha comes down, I have some rice cooking on the stove and salad tossed in a bowl.
“Anything I can do?” she asks.
“Sure,” I answer. “Slice up some of that nice bread, and maybe melt a bit of garlic butter? I’ll just run to the shower. I won’t be long.”
It isn’t until I actually get under the hot water that I start thinking about how she could run away while I’m in here, and I wouldn’t know until she was miles away.
The idea makes me rush through my shower, but by the time I get downstairs, all Alisha is doing is sitting quietly at the table, munching garlic bread and sipping a cup of tea.
Even though this is the perfect opportunity to have a real conversation, my mind is utterly blank. I’m still stuck on our kiss and how good it felt to have her in my arms again. I focus on serving our food, so I don’t have to think too hard.
Even though we eat in silence, it doesn’t really feel awkward. I could almost believe this is a normal situation, and there’s no crazy ex, ancient snake, or past betrayal between us.
We clean up together, and after, I go into the living room to set myself up on the couch. It takes me a moment to realize Alisha has followed me and is standing in the doorway, watching me with a troubled look on her face.
“Is everything okay?” I ask, realizing too late that she could answer that in any number of ways.
Aside from being your prisoner, I’m just great, thank you, Brad.
“I’m…I’m just feeling a little scared,” she says softly.
I hurry over to her, but I don’t try to touch her. “What can I do?” I ask.
“Can you come upstairs with me?” she replies.
“Sure. I can stay with you until you fall asleep.”
“No,” she shakes her head. “Can you sleep beside me?”
“Okay,” I whisper, feeling my heart go into a gymnastic routine in my chest. I know she just wants comfort, and I’ve got practically zero chance at sex, but I don’t even care.
I’ll get to be with her, right beside her, and that’s all that matters.
I follow her upstairs, and we get under the covers together. I’m prepared to stay on my side of the bed, so I’m very surprised when she reaches for my hand.
“Thank you, Brad,” she whispers.
“It’s okay,” I say. “I know this has been a pretty fucked-up situation. I’m trying my best to do what’s right for you. I hope you understand that.”
She makes a little sniffle sound, and my heart goes out to her. I don’t dare move, and when she folds my arm around her to pull me over to spoon, I practically shiver with shock.
She was biting my fucking head off, now she wants to snuggle? Women are extremely complicated.
I briefly examine my own behavior and conclude that men aren’t much better.
Alisha wriggles backwards until her body is pressed snugly against mine. She still holds my hand, fingers laced together across her chest. Her breathing slows, so does her heart, and I get ready to drift into a deep sleep with her.
“Brad,” she whispers.
“Yes?”
“I have to tell you something.”