Chapter Seventeen #2
Valen rubbed his hands over his face, muttering a slew of curse words. “You sure you’re OK?”
“No, I’m not. I don’t know if I ever will be. But I’m done hiding.”
He stood and wrapped me in his arms, squeezing me so tight I could barely breathe. His lips crashed into mine a second later, and I let myself get lost in him.
We didn’t know when Cyrus would show up, but I had no doubt that it would be soon. And until then, I was going to spend these remaining moments with the one man who made me feel alive.
*** ***
Hours later, after Valen worshipped my body until I was begging him to stop, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror staring at the reflection of someone I almost didn’t recognize.
My body was marked all over by his lovemaking, my face was softer, but there was something else. Something in my eyes that hadn’t been there five weeks ago. The haunted look that had stared back at me for years was gone now. It had been replaced by something stronger. More alive.
The woman in the mirror looked like someone who’d been thoroughly loved in the right way, but also like someone who’d set traps all day to catch a killer.
Five weeks ago, I couldn’t look at my own reflection without remembering that night. The blood, the screams, the terror. But now I saw a woman who’d survived hell and lived to tell about it. I was still standing and still fighting.
But underneath it all, I couldn’t ignore the tension in my body. The way my eyes kept darting around as if Cyrus was hiding in some corner of the cabin. Valen might have made me feel strong and beautiful, but he couldn’t make me forget what was about to happen.
I traced one of the marks Valen had left on my collarbone, a reminder that I belonged to him. I smiled at my reflection one last time, noticing it didn’t look forced anymore.
When I got back to the bedroom, Valen was lying on top of the covers, his hands behind his head. We were going to take turns sleeping throughout the night. Because we knew Cyrus would come, we just didn’t know when.
My instinct told me he would wait until the anniversary, which was less than a week away. But Valen wasn’t so sure. So, until then, we had to play it safe.
I slipped under the covers beside him, and he automatically lifted his arm so that I could curl into him.
It was such a simple gesture, but it made a lump form in my throat.
All these years I’d been afraid of being touched, of letting anyone close enough to hurt me, and now I couldn’t imagine a world where he wasn’t in it.
“You’re thinking awfully loud over there, little lamb,” he murmured, his finger tracing up and down my shoulder. “What are you thinking about?”
Nothing. Everything. The fact that I think I’m in love with you, but I don’t know if I can say it because you might not love me back and that might be worse than Cyrus killing me.
“Just regretting we didn’t get to explore my primal kink before we set all those traps outside.” I sighed dramatically. “There’s no way you can chase me through the woods now. I’ll get tangled in those tripwires.”
Valen’s laugh rumbled through his chest, vibrating against my ear, which only made me smile even more. “Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time to explore it afterward.” He leaned down, kissing me on my temple. “Anything else? Any regrets?”
“About the podcast? No. About the traps? Definitely not. About crashing into your mountain and trying to drug you? Maybe a little bit.” I threw my leg over his, scooting closer to him.
He was quiet for a long moment. “Are you having any regrets about anything else that happened after?”
I thought about it seriously. About the woman who’d crashed on this mountain in a blizzard with nothing but rage and a death wish.
About how empty I’d been. How Valen had changed all that and he might not even realize it.
I thought about how he called me his, and how that made me feel more alive than I had in years.
I tilted my head up, tracing my fingers along his jaw. “I have no regrets about anything that has happened on this mountain with you.”
He grabbed my wrist, kissing my palm. “Good, because I was serious when I said I wasn’t letting you go.”
“And what if I’d said I had regrets?” I poked him teasingly in the ribs. “What then?”
“I would have chained you to the bed until you changed your mind. It could take years, but I’m a very patient man, little lamb.” He dragged me up until I was straddling him, his lips soft and gentle against mine. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him. To scream it from the rooftop.
I love you.
Should I tell him that somewhere between him handcuffing me to him, the truth-or-dare games, and the way he held me after I fell through the ice, I’d fallen completely, madly in love with him?
If we were going to die, then shouldn’t he know?
Or would it make things harder? Would it change the way he fought when Cyrus came, make him more reckless or cautious or unfocused?
“Valen?” I whispered against his lips.
His arms tightened around me, his chest burning against mine. “Yeah?”
I paused, our breaths mingling together. “Thank you. Just thank you.”
He kissed me deep, his hands roaming all over my body like he was trying to memorize it. Like he might not get another chance to.
I closed my eyes, holding him tight. Tomorrow we might have to fight for our lives.
And maybe if we survived, I’d get the chance to tell him I loved him.
*** ***
I was making coffee the next morning, still wearing Valen’s flannel shirt and nothing else, when my phone started buzzing like crazy. To say I’d had the worst sleep of my life would be an understatement. I’d woken every half hour, my heart beating frantically, believing Cyrus was outside the cabin.
I ignored the first two calls, my body screaming for coffee. But the third time it rang, I glanced over and saw Emmeline’s name on the caller ID.
“Morning, sunshine,” I answered, yawning into the phone.
“Seraphine, thank God!” Emmeline’s voice was breathless. “Turn on the news. Channel Seven. Right now.”
“What? Why?” I fumbled for the remote, nearly dropping it. “What’s going on?”
“They caught him, Sera. They caught the fucking bastard.”
The remote slipped from my fingers, clattering to the floor.
They’d caught him. They’d really caught him?
Was my nightmare finally over?