Chapter 32
SCREWED AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY
NELSON
We spent the rest of the day exploring one another. We took a few breaks to heat up soup from our stash or break into the candy I’d gathered for Morgan, but now that I’d given myself permission to touch him, I couldn’t make myself stop.
It was decadent to spend the day like this, but we were safely tucked away in a cabin.
None of our enemies knew where we were, and we were safer here than on the road.
Besides, letting all the market attendees leave before we hit the road was the practical choice.
The roads would have even fewer supes on them tomorrow, right? Right.
Any longer than that, though, and Gage would be coming for us.
We’d worked together long enough we often anticipated how the other would react in certain situations.
If Morgan and I didn’t leave before dawn tomorrow, the cavalry (aka my old team) would be sent out to rescue us.
But Gage knew I would stay in a safe place until the risk was lower. We’d talked about it.
At some point after the sun had set, I got up and gathered our belongings. If we left by four in the morning, that’d give us plenty of time to get to Willow Lake well before lunch, even if we had to travel slowly over crappy roads.
I scrawled out a thank-you note to the cabin owners.
Morgan read it and added his own, more effusive, addition to the bottom.
Then we tucked it and a wad of bills into a cup on the counter.
I knew I should go back and leave a bit more money at the other cabins we’d raided, but I didn’t want to leave Morgan.
And he looked too damn enticing in front of the fire.
When we turned in for the night, it took me a long time to fall asleep because I wanted to taste him again and again. I wanted to feel his lips on mine. The weight of his body against me as he tried to wiggle closer, even though we were already as close as we could be.
I stared into the flickering shadows and wondered how on earth I’d ever come to deserve Morgan. Perhaps Gage would have some wisdom to share when I saw him tomorrow.
He might only have been mated for a few months, but he’d been walking this earth for centuries, and now that he’d bound himself to Willow Lake, he had a direct link to the Eternal Magic.
But even if I never discovered why the Eternal Magic chose me for someone as special as Morgan, I vowed I would give him everything I could. He would never know another moment of fear. I would make sure of that. It was my only goal now.
That feeling of purpose followed me into my sleep. I hoped it would chase me into my dreams too, because I wanted Morgan’s joy and happiness there too.
I woke with a start. I knew immediately I hadn’t slept long. So why was I awake?
Then came the crunch of tires on snow. During the day, I hadn’t noticed the traffic on the road too much, but in the dead of night… It was different.
Lights flickered across the room, as if from headlights as a vehicle turned into the entrance.
We hadn’t seen anything like that before, so it wasn’t from a car driving by.
Thanks to the concrete barriers across the driveway, they couldn’t drive right up to the cabin, but that didn’t mean the newcomers weren’t a threat.
Still, it could just be someone pulling over in the entrance to use their cell phone or something innocent like that.
I listened in the darkness as I sent out a few shadows to curl through the night to assess the situation. Since I didn’t shift, my shadows were sightless, but I could feel the vibrations in the air shift as a car engine was killed. Then car doors opened and were shut.
Someone had found us.
It was like my earlier happiness had jinxed us. Because if this was Gage, he’d have found a way to announce himself immediately. But our intruders hadn’t done that, which meant we were screwed, and not in a good way.
What a rookie mistake. I never should have let my guard down until I knew Morgan was safe. But at least our intruders weren’t trying to be quiet. They were giving me plenty of time to come up with a plan.
With the fire burned down to a few golden embers, the air had cooled again. Morgan was pressed against me for warmth, so at least I didn’t have to go looking for him to wake him.
“Hey,” I whispered as I brushed my hand over his hair.
His body jerked. “Huh?”
“Morgan…”
He lifted his head and looked around, blinking blearily into the shadow-cloaked room.
“Dark,” he mumbled as he curled his face against my shoulder. “Sleep.”
A second later, he wiggled against me. Having spent the entire day pleasuring him and finding pleasure with him, I knew what that wiggle meant.
“Hey,” I whispered again. “I need you to wake up. And not for sex.”
He groaned and pulled the blanket over his head, which meant it covered part of my face too. I pushed it out of the way.
“Someone is here. Outside the cabin.”
His head popped up again, and the blanket fell away.
As a shadow jumper, I could see in the dark.
It was where my kind lived, and of course the Eternal Magic had made sure we could navigate through the shadows.
So I saw every detail of his face as he squinted at me.
His left cheek had creases from where he’d had it pressed against the blanket.
His curly hair was in wild disarray. But what killed me was how fearful he looked as his fists clutched the blanket.
“Huh?”
“We have to get out of here,” I said. “Someone found us.”
He rubbed his eyes and sat up. “Do you want me to shift and skewer them with my horn? Then they won’t be so quick to attack people in the middle of the night next time.”
That was the last thing I wanted. Morgan should never need to harm someone to protect himself, especially now that he had me. I was darkness. I’d take care of the dark things.
But I really should have made a better plan before it got to this point.
I shook my head. “No. Get dressed. Remember your shoes and the jacket. Get ready to run.”