Chapter Sixteen
Kinley breathed in the crisp, clean air.
Dusk had fallen, but that was no barrier to her being able to see.
The nocturnal animals stirred as the daytime ones sought shelter for the coming night.
The mountain was breathtakingly beautiful, but her enjoyment was tempered by the knowledge of what was to come.
In less than a day, this peaceful setting would be the battleground for carnage.
I promise I’ll do whatever you tell me. The vow lay heavy on her shoulders.
She shouldn’t have made it, but she’d had no choice.
Eli was stubbornly determined to protect her.
If she hadn’t agreed, he would never have allowed her to come with him.
Sure, she could have snuck out on her own, but she was smart enough to know that would do more harm than good.
He and his brothers were experts in this sort of thing, not her.
In silence, they made their way to a lookout area about halfway down the mountain. Flat rocks gave way to a steep drop-off, offering an incredible view of the valley below.
“Having second thoughts?” Eli scanned the woods below before turning back to her. It was the first time he’d looked at her since they’d left the house. He’d been withdrawn, locked in his own thoughts.
“Second, third, and forth, but I gave my word and I’ll keep it.”
He ran his index finger along her jaw, his expression somber. “For both our sakes, I hope so.”
She couldn’t decipher his mood. He wasn’t angry. Not quite pensive. No emotions outside the bedroom. Maybe he’d relented back at the house, but the minute they’d stepped outside he’d once again pulled a cloak of detachment around him. “It wasn’t fair of you to ask it of me.”
He bent down, picked up a rock and threw it into the dense woods below. A sharp crack rang through the night when it hit a tree trunk. The sound of several small animals scurrying away was audible. “You gave your word.”
“You didn’t give me any choice.” It was wrong to be resentful, but it bubbled up inside her.
“Yes, I did. Your other option was to stay at the house.”
She scuffed the toe of her tennis shoe in the dirt, digging a tiny hole.
“Hide, you mean. This is all on me.” Not for one second could she forget Eli and his brothers were under attack because she’d approached him in the bar in Chicago.
If she’d let him walk away, if she hadn’t followed, none of this would be happening.
And she wouldn’t have gotten to know Eli as more than a man she’d hoped to hire.
She wouldn’t know what it was like to taste his hunger as he kissed her, to sleep safe and secure in his arms. Her entire life she’d wondered if she was destined to be alone, never tempted to seek out any of the men in her pack or any of the ones who’d visited.
After meeting Eli, her wolf instincts had kicked in, and she realized she’d simply been waiting for the right one. Now he was in danger because of her.
“No, it’s not on you. This is your uncle’s doing. He could have let you walk away. He’s the one bringing his enforcers here. Not because he cares what happens to you, but because you defied him, because he wants to use you to further his own agenda.”
That he was right didn’t negate her part in all this. “The same could be said for me. I could have let you walk away. I went after you, determined to use you for my agenda. I’m not so different. Maybe I’m more like Duke than I thought.” The very idea sickened her.
Hard hands caught her upper arms. Eli’s harsh expression was caught in the moonlight. “You’re nothing like him.”
“Aren’t I? You tried to walk away. I physically tackled you in a parking lot.”
“You were desperate, fighting for your life. Your uncle is power-hungry and manipulative.”
The night had gone silent, as if every creature had paused to listen. “That’s true, but I’m right, too. You know I am. Don’t ask me to run away and hide. I have to fight—for my life ... and for yours.”
Eli walked to the edge of the drop-off. Hands on his hips, he tilted his head back and peered up at the star-studded sky. “I can’t do this.” He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.
A knot formed in her stomach. “Do what?” She cautiously approached, ignoring the “back off” vibes rolling off him. She couldn’t forget for one second that Eli was a male werewolf. Primal by nature, he was dangerous, but then again, so was she.
He turned his head and stared down at her, his eyes blacker than the night sky.
“Pretend I don’t care.” The knot in her belly tightened when he gave a rough laugh.
“This entire situation has been a clusterfuck from the beginning. My life was simple and straightforward. I didn’t want any complications, did my best to avoid them. ”
She tried to swallow, but couldn’t get past the lump in her throat.
“Then I entered your life,” she whispered.
It was an emotional blow to be considered nothing more than a complication, even though it was the truth.
“As soon as this is over, I’ll leave, and you can forget you ever met me.
” Her wolf whined, upset at the thought of never seeing or hearing his voice again, but this wasn’t about her.
It was about what he needed. He was hurting, and she was the cause.
“It won’t matter.” The soft, emotionless tone cut her to her core. “Go or stay, I’ll never be rid of you.”
A knife to the heart couldn’t have hurt more. She took a step back. “I see.”
One corner of his mouth turned up in a grim parody of a smile.
“No, I don’t think you do. I told myself I wouldn’t burden you with this, not until after tomorrow night.
I keep telling myself it’s too soon, that it’s the intensity of the situation heightening my emotions.
My wolf knew the second I laid eyes on you.
My logical mind fought the obvious, searching for reasons to disregard what I knew in here. ” He tapped the area over his heart.
She shook her head in disbelief. Surely she had to be misunderstanding him.
“My daddy always said he knew the second he met our mama that she was the one for him. He told us that’s what it was like for the men in his family.
I always thought it was nothing more than a story, a way to make Mama smile.
Then I met you. I fought it, tried to deny it, but it seems I’m more like him than I thought. ”
“What are you saying?” This was all so surreal.
“If you hadn’t come after me and tackled me in the parking lot, I would have waited. No way would I have left you behind.”
“But you told me I could stay in your motel room for one night. You were adamant you were leaving the next morning.”
There was more humor in his smile this time. “I thought we’d already established I was an idiot.” But this was too important to make light of. When she didn’t share his smile, he sobered and sighed. “You’re it for me, Kinley. It’s up to you what you do about it.”
“What do you mean, it’s up to me?”
He reached behind his head, grabbed a handful of his shirt, and dragged it over his head. “When all this is over, if you want me or this relationship, it’s your decision. But it will have to wait. Distractions are deadly and lead to mistakes.”
Lightheaded, she threw her hands in the air. “You can’t drop something like this on me and then tell me it has to wait. You’re an idiot if you expect me to do that. I can’t turn my emotions on and off like you can.”
“Nothing is more important than protecting you.”
“I’m not sure considering any relationship is a good idea with circumstances being what they are.
” Ignoring the rigid set of his jaw, she wrapped her arms around his neck and dragged his head down until their eyes met.
“I’ve given myself all the same arguments, that our attraction is nothing more than proximity and the intensity of everything since we met, but it’s more than that.
It’s you, Eli Sin. That’s why I hate the vow you made me make.
I won’t survive your death. I need you to live.
” She dug her nails into his shoulders, desperately clinging to them.
He looped his arm around her waist and dragged her against his bare chest. “Say it.”
“Once the threat is gone”—the alternative was too monstrous to entertain—“I want to give us a try.” If Duke Wright was successful, they’d both be dead, because if Eli was killed in the upcoming battle, she wouldn’t stop trying to avenge him until her former alpha was either dead or forced to put her down.
The knot in her stomach vanished as the rightness of her decision settled over her.
Molten need shimmered in Eli’s eyes, but he didn’t move a muscle.
He’d said it was her decision. For better or worse, she’d made it.
She gently pressed her lips to his. His huge body shuddered.
Rather than deepen the kiss, he stepped away.
Sweat gleamed on his bare chest. A look of satisfaction was stamped on his hard features. “When our time on patrol is done...”
The sensual promise hung heavy in the air between them. Her entire body surged to life, her nipples hardening, her core clenching. Restless, her wolf began to pace inside her. Unable to speak, she gave a nod of agreement.
Eli shucked the rest of his clothes, giving her an excellent view of the hard-muscled body she’d be exploring later tonight.
Her breathing quickened. She curled her fingers into her palms to keep from stroking the sleek, tanned skin.
He was right about one thing. Now was not the time or place.
Not with Cyrus lurking nearby and the threat of enemies hanging over them.