Chapter 24
2/5
When I go in, I see that he has started a fire in the hearth and
he’s laid out a thick blanket on the floor in front of it.
The smell of woodsmoke is both soothing and familiar.
The cabin has a bed against the opposite wall. A loft with
another sleeping area and what appear to be closets on
either side. Ahead of me is a kitchen. There’s one couch and a
table for eating.
“No running water, no bathroom. Is this a hunting camp?”
“Mostly. There’s a shower and bathroom through that door.
He points to the left. It’s an addition that you can’t see from
here.”
I’ll take his word for it.
“So, Aaron. Why are we here?”
His eyes are gold again and he stalks me.
But there is nowhere to run and I’m honestly more scared of
what will happen if I do.
“You pledged yourself to me, or did you forget?” he says.
“We pledged ourselves to each other. Years ago. When we
married.”
He grunts.
“I haven’t forgotten those vows, have you?”
“Not for a minute.”
3/5
He holds my gaze and I want to believe him. I want to think that he hasn’t impregnated some other woman. But how can I
trust this man?
He is ruthless.
He will do anything it takes to secure the wellbeing of his pack.
From killing to protect his lands. To framing an innocent-well, mostly innocent-man.
He pulls his shirt over his head.
Of all the outcomes I was anticipating-murder, punishment,
abandonment-this wasn’t what I expected.
“Uhhh.”
Aaron laughs.
We don’t have much humor between us, at least not in recent
years, so instead of lightening the mood, his laughter makes
Chapter 24
me more nervous.
“You’ve seen me without clothes a few times before, Leah.”
Understatement.
4/5
“Yes,” I clear my throat. “I guess I was expecting us to argue or talk, not to, uhh…”
His hands go to his pants and he steps out of those.
I’m angry and hurt and I want to cut into him about what he’s
done to my father, but the long drive sucked a lot of the fight out of me, and he clearly has something altogether different on his mind.
I hold my breath as he comes close.
Naked, he walks right past me and folds his clothes. He places them on the couch.
“There’s food in the bag,” he tells me. “A few books.”
My heart is pounding. I wonder if he can hear it.
His eyes glow in the firelight and the reflections of the flames.
dance along his skin.
“You promised to do whatever I wanted, yes?”
I“So eat. Sleep.”
“That’s it?”
5/5
Now he invades my space. His huge body crowding mine, his
hands on my hips. “For now…”
