Chapter 16 Danny
I DIDN’T WANT Saxon to actually leave. But if I was going to finish out this semester, then I needed him gone.
“Listen to me,” he said.
Was he trying to use his power on me? He’d just declared that he wasn’t leaving. But no, I didn’t feel compelled. “Okay. Make it fast. I have class.”
He inhaled and pressed his lips together. “Please forgive me if my words are less coherent. I haven’t slept since I ended our relationship.”
What? Why would he be affected? This was all on him. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s the truth.”
‘Then why did you do it?”
“I was worried.”
“About what?”
“There are things that have happened in my past. Violent things. And those things happened because I’m a Fae. Seeing you near my aunt and my brother brought all of that to a head for me.”
“If you were so worried, why didn’t you just say so? You didn’t have to be cruel.” His words echoed in my head. I’d never forget them. “You said I was here for the money.” Could he have accused me of something worse? Probably. But that one stung.
“I regret that.” He reached out, very slowly, and touched my cheek. I didn’t pull away. “I will always regret that.” He brushed his hand over my hair next. “I was mean, on purpose so you’d want to be rid of me. I don’t think that, and I never would.”
“It would be hypocritical,” I said. “Seeing as you run a club that depends on that dynamic.”
“I know. I didn’t think it through. I saw you there at the same time as my family, and I was afraid for you. They’re playing games with me, which is nothing new, and I did not want you exposed to it.”
Should I resist him? Make him pay? I didn’t have it in me to do that. I wasn’t sure that I was ready to forgive him, but I wanted him in my life. But there had to be some limits. I was mild-mannered, but I wasn’t going to be a doormat. “You can’t say anything like that again,” I said.
“I will never say it again. I can guarantee it. It was difficult to force the words out in the first place.”
Was he sincere? I studied his face. I had no insight into how a Fae might deceive me. But the reality was that Saxon had nothing to gain by lying. I had nothing to offer him. Sure, he could say he wanted to practice dating, but the fact was that he could have any omega he wanted.
He was gorgeous, rich, and powerful. For some reason, he wanted to date me. Haven would say I shouldn’t be so down on myself. But I didn’t have low self esteem. It was just the truth.
“So you want to go back to the way things were?” I asked.
“Yes. That’s exactly what I want,” he said. He said something else, too low for me to hear. He gently tugged me into his arms.
I went willingly. I never thought I’d have this again. I wasn’t ready to declare myself celibate if Saxon and I weren’t together, but if I couldn’t have him, then I was pretty sure I didn’t want any Alpha at all.
I closed my eyes and let my head rest on his chest and shut the rest of the world out, even Cason, who was nearby, reminding me I still had class. For just a moment, nothing but Saxon mattered.
***
Three days later, Saxon asked me if I was ready to try another date. The weather was warm, the sun was shining, and the wind was barely blowing. And my Thursday afternoon classes had been canceled. “Today would be perfect for kayaking.”
I agreed. For the last three days, Saxon had called me, but he hadn’t pushed for a date, until today. I wanted to. Was I up for it? I wasn’t sure. When I thought about how he cut me off so abruptly with those harsh words, my hands still shook. My stomach still rolled, twisting and churning with each breath. I wasn’t sure when that would wear off.
“I’m going to hug you, okay?”
Tentatively, I nodded.
He carefully wrapped me in his arms. “I know it will take a while to trust me again.”
He was right. “We aren’t together. Not really,” I muttered into his shirt. God, he smelled so good.
He stiffened and then relaxed. “I still need to treat you with respect.”
My voice was muffled in his shirt, but I wasn’t up for looking him in the eye just yet. “Are we still on for the full six months?”
“Yes.”
“And if something changes, then what?”
“The only thing that would change was if you were in danger. And if that’s the case, then I will talk to you about it. Explain it. I won’t dismiss you again.” He kissed my forehead. “How do you feel about that?”
“I’m still unsettled. I can’t help it.”
He hugged me tighter. “I wouldn”t expect you to.” He held me, and didn’t pull away. Finally the churning in my stomach slowed. “Okay. I’m ready to kayak,” I said, with a great deal more confidence than I felt. Kayaking was another one of those things I’d always wanted to try, but I’d never had the extra money required to rent the equipment.
We drove north, toward upstate New York, to a lake surrounded by rocky cliffs. “The flat water will make learning easier,” he said.
Of course Saxon made everything look easy. An hour after we arrived, we were in our kayaks, paddles in hand, and he was teaching me to propel myself forward. I had to stop a few times to pull my phone from my waterproof bag. The lake was a deep blue and the sky was clear; there wasn’t a cloud in sight. To our left, the cliffs soared. On the right, the lake was surrounded with evergreen trees. It was the closest to paradise I’d ever been.
I managed to line my kayak up next to his, and we took a photo together.
Once I’d repacked my phone, he pointed his paddle to the left. “There are some caves off to the side that we can explore too.”
I looked, and sure enough, at the bottom of the cliffs, there were gaps in the rocks. “I’d love to peek inside,” I said. The water in front of me rippled. “I think there’s a turtle up there. Or maybe a fish.” We paddled closer, but nothing emerged.
We kept paddling. I soaked up the sun. After two hours, we stopped on one of the banks, spreading our blanket out. We ate sandwiches and fruit. Saxon had packed a few items for us to have a mini picnic, which just about had me melting, knowing an Alpha had packed a picnic for me.
I wandered off while he was loading the cooler back into the kayak, wanting to snap a few photos of one of the cave entrances. I was too nervous to go inside, but I wanted to get as close as possible.
I pocketed my phone and ran my hands over the rough outcropping. “I wonder how old these are,” I said to myself. I turned to speak to Saxon, but stopped short.
A figure stood in front of me. He looked male, although I couldn’t be sure. He was tall, thin, and utterly devoid of human expression. “Saxon,” I whispered, too scared to yell.
In a flash, Saxon was beside me. The figure hadn’t moved.
“It’s a demon.” Saxon barked. “Get in the cave.”
I didn”t want to leave him, but if this figure had evil intentions, I had nothing to offer. I would be utterly useless in a fight, especially against someone who was not human.
I scrambled forward, lurching toward the cave. Once I was inside, I paused, turning to look at Saxon, who was standing in front of the demon, hands raised.
The demon moved. With a swift lurch, his hand was around Saxon’s throat.
I gasped.
Saxon twisted away. He crouched and drove his shoulder into the demon’s ribs. They grappled, arms and legs twisting. Sweat shone on Saxon’s forehead. What kind of being could put up this kind of fight against him? He’d brought several feral wolf shifters to their knees.
“Danny! I said to go!” he roared.
I jerked into motion. Every instinct screamed for me not to leave him. But I had no choice. I wasn’t sure if he’d used his Fae abilities to sway me or not, but it didn’t matter. He was probably just as terrified as I was.
I stumbled over a few sharp rocks but made my way into the cave. Too soon, I was in total darkness. I crept forward, keeping one hand on the cave wall. Heart thudding, I kept going, blindly making my way until I reached a solid wall of rock in front of me. I pressed both palms against it, but I felt nothing but solid rock.
I reached for my phone, thankful that it was in my pocket. I could text my brothers for help. But no. I had no reception at all. There would be no rescue.
I turned the flashlight on long enough to see that the cave had ended. I was stuck. I turned the light off and sat on the damp cave floor to wait for Saxon.
Thank God I didn”t have to wait for long. Only seven minutes had passed when Saxon came charging in.
“Danny.” He dropped to his knees in front of me. “Are you hurt?” He took my face in his hands. Could he see in the dark? He must be able to, because he’d moved with ease, running toward me, but not crashing into the rocks.
“No.” I grabbed onto him. I hadn’t taken a full breath since I’d first seen the demon. “Is he gone?”
“No. I only knocked him out. He’ll wake up soon. Turn away from me, Face the wall and close your eyes. I’m going to bring down the cave entrance so he can’t get in here.”
“You can do that?”
“Yes. Do as I said, please.”
I did. I didn’t bother to get up. My legs were shaking so much I wasn’t sure I could stand. I just scooted around until he said stop. “Good.”
Then he was gone again.
Seconds later there was a thundering crash. The ground shook. Dust filled the air. I covered my head with my arms and squeezed my eyes shut. Debris hit the back of my neck, but the shards of rock were tiny, and only stung for a few seconds.
Then Saxon was back. “Are you okay?” he asked.
I licked my lips and tasted dirt. “Yes.”
He dropped to the ground with a groan and pressed his back to the wall. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but I still couldn’t see anything. However, I could hear his quick intake of breath. I grabbed my phone. “Are you injured?” I got the flashlight on the lowest setting and turned it toward him.
He flinched away, closing his eyes. “Don’t waste your battery. It’s not life-threatening.”
Not life-threatening? He’d told me that it was really hard to hurt a Fae. Just how bad was it? His voice was raw. And he was sitting there, not moving. I tucked my phone back in my pocket. Even if I’d kept the light on, there wasn’t much I could do for him. I had no medical training, and he had advanced healing. “What hurts? I saw him choke you.” I reached out and got my hand on his chest. I didn’t want to touch his throat in case it was bruised.
“Demon magic is one of the few kinds that can get to us. He choked me and punched me, and threw me around, just like I did to him.” He exhaled heavily. “I’ll be fine.”
Why didn’t I believe him? “What’s your definition of fine? Because it’s probably different from mine.” We’re stuck in a cave. If we weren’t, I can’t carry him. Dammit. I had to stop before I spiraled in a full-blown panic.
He huffed. “Probably. I’ll heal, eventually. I’ll just be moving slower for a bit.”
I wasn’t convinced. But I wasn’t going to push. “Are we trapped?” I asked.
“For now. I brought down quite a bit of rock.”
“Is the demon still out there?”
“There will be more, by now. They’ll have surrounded this entire area.”
“Okay. We just ate. There’s water flowing through this cave. I can hear it trickling. We can last a few days, at least,” I said. “We don’t have cell reception inside the cave, but we had it on the bank of the lake. Someone will be able to track our phones from there, once they realize we’re missing.”
“Pretty good tactical thinking,” he said. His voice sounded a little less strained. “Did you tell anyone where we were going?” he asked.
“I only said we were kayaking, not where. They might notice I’m missing if I don’t come home tonight.”
“Or will they assume you’re with me?”
“That’s a definite possibility. But I have a class tomorrow morning, and once I miss class, they’ll know. So we’re only looking at twenty-four hours, at most, before they alert someone who can help.”
His big hand wrapped around my wrist and tugged. I moved with him until I was lying against his chest. “I’m sorry I put you in danger,” he said.
I listened to the reassuring beat of his heart. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“It was,” he said. “My family was being cryptic, yes, but instead of pushing them I just walked away. And now you’re trapped in this cave.”
I didn’t understand his family dynamics, and now wasn’t the time to learn. “You’re trapped here with me. I’m not alone. So it’s okay.”
He sighed and wrapped his arms around me. He moved me until my entire body was resting on his. He said nothing else, and I let my eyes close.
***
I woke up with a start. I blinked, but nothing came into focus except total darkness. Right. I was trapped in a cave with Saxon. I was still lying on his chest. I had no idea how long I’d been asleep. A peek at my phone said it had been three hours. So we were well into the evening now. I had about seventy percent battery left.
Something sounded different though. Instead of a weak trickle, there was a rushing sound. Water. I peeled myself off Saxon, who barely stirred. I stopped to feel his pulse.
Thank God. His pulse was strong.
I took another minute to shine my light around the cave. It was about twelve feet across, and nine feet high. And we were about twenty feet from the entrance. On the opposite side, water flowed at a brisk pace. I inched my way over. Water was running into the cave at a steady rate.
A vague memory hit me, about a documentary I’d watched once, about the dangers of spelunking, because caves can fill up with water. How long did we have? I had no idea how to calculate that.
I shook Saxon’s shoulder. “Saxon. Wake up. There’s more water coming in. The cave could fill up with water.”
He jerked awake, grabbing my wrists and holding them tight. With a sharp intake of breath, he let go of me. “Shit. I grabbed you too hard. How do your arms feel?”
“They’re fine.” They’d bruise, but he didn’t need to know that. I should have known better than to shake him while he was passed out.
He pushed himself to his feet and went to inspect the water, which was now rushing through the cave. “I”ve sentenced you to death.” He grabbed my hand and held on tight. “Danny. I am sorry.”
I squeezed his hand. “Hey. At least we’re not alone.”
He turned to face me. I couldn’t see his handsome face, but his strong body felt so good against mine. “How are you so calm?” he asked. “I’ve been trained to remain calm in deadly situations, but you have not.”
How was I so calm? That was a good question. We’d been sentenced to die by drowning. It sounded fairly awful, but I wasn’t panicking yet. The fact that I was with Saxon seemed like a good way to go.
This wasn’t like me at all. I would normally be beyond agitated, dwelling on how my friends would feel when they found out I’d drowned in a cave. And Zander. He’d be left on his own, with no money. But an odd serenity filled my mind. Which wasn’t like me at all.
“I am going to get you out of here,” Saxon said, raking his hands through my hair.
A twisting pain stabbed my gut. My skin burned hot, from the inside out. And my hole ached as slick ran down my legs. Oh my God. This was completely out of the blue. I sagged in Saxon’s arms. I tried to press my legs together, but it was too late. “Ah. I think we have another problem.”
“What is –” He paused and inhaled. “Oh.” He pushed my hair back. “You’re in heat.”
“Yes.” It made little sense to me. My one and only heat had been so awful in every way that I should be freaking out. Instead I was more relaxed than usual. Maybe it had something to do with Saxon’s presence. Was it possible that my body recognized him as my Alpha? That would have been a problem, if we weren”t about to die. “At least we don’t have to worry about me getting pregnant.” I snickered. “Because we’ll be dead.”
“Don’t say that. Don’t give up.” His voice cracked. “I can’t stand the thought of you dying.”
Christ. I was an asshole. But I just could not find it in me to get upset. I didn’t want to make things worse for him though. “Don’t think about it then. We’re stuck in here, but maybe it’s not all bad. My first heat was one of the worst experiences of my life. I want this one to be good.” Would he want to fuck me? Would he want that to be how he spent his last hours?
I finally caught his scent as he sighed. “If that’s what you want. I would love nothing more.” His voice was back to normal. He nuzzled my neck. “I can give you that. If you’re sure.”
He pressed closer to me. His cock was rock hard against my hip. “That’s exactly what I want.” I pressed the flat of my hand against his erection, relishing his groan. “I wish I could see you.” I tried to remind myself Saxon was injured, even if he wouldn’t admit it. He was probably in pain. I should care about that, but it felt distant, and far removed.
He flipped his phone light on, illuminating enough of the cave that I could see him. “Now you can. We’ll save yours.”
I tugged at my shirt. “I’m so hot. My clothes are itchy.”
“I’ll get you undressed,” he said. With great care, he got my shirt off, then my pants. He saved my underwear for last. Once I was naked, I couldn’t stay still. I also couldn”t stand up anymore. I laid down on the floor of the cave.
The heat crept up on me quickly. The need took over. Now naked, I turned onto my hands and knees, not caring about the hard rock scraping my skin. I arched my back as his big hands roved over my body.
I was going to lose my virginity. I was also going to die, but that seemed less important at the moment. I would die with Saxon. And that made all the difference. My brothers would mourn me, but they had each other. They would help Zander.
I moaned, mindless with lust.
“You’ve taken my fingers before, and my toys. Now you’ll get my cock, and my knot,” he said.
My cock spurted as my hole clenched in anticipation. “Please, Alpha,” I begged. “Please knot me. I need you.”
Saxon’s lips grazed over the back of my neck while his index finger slipped into my hole. There was no resistance this time. Electric sparks zinged up and down my spine as he rubbed over my glands. Need consumed me. I put my face on the cool rock floor as he added a second finger.
“You’re gorgeous,” he said, licking over the shell of my ear. “A perfect little omega, all open and wet and ready to take my cock.”
“Yes,” I cried out. I arched my back as far as it would go. Slick poured down my thighs. My hole was ready, and so was I.
“I’m going to fuck you now,” he said with a growl. The tip of his cock rubbed over my waiting hole. He pressed in, spearing me with his hard length.
“More,” I said. He rolled his hips forward, moving steadily until he was fully penetrating me.
“Good,” he said. “You’re not a virgin anymore, omega.”