MARKED (Hunter Awakened) (19 page)

“Teal.”

My name was hardly a whisper and I could feel
his desire radiating off of him. I took his hand and slid it inside
my shirt. As he cupped my breast, I made a sound of satisfaction. I
didn't know if it was the sound or the feel of my flesh against
his, but whatever it was broke the last of Elias's resolve and he
pressed me back against the bed.

His hands and mouth explored my body, coaxing
reactions from places that I hadn't known were reactive. They were
brief kisses and caresses but I felt them down to my core. His
clothes joined mine as I impatiently tugged at them, desperate to
see him, to feel him. He was just as beautiful as I'd dreamed, his
muscles defined and firm, but not overly so. I could feel the
strength beneath my hands as I explored his body.

When I touched him, he cried out, his flesh
hot and hard in my hands. I took him in my mouth, feeling the
weight of him upon my tongue, and he pressed his own mouth against
my most intimate parts. We worshipped each other's bodies,
prolonging the pleasure until it was nearly unbearable.

He had taken me to the edge so many times
that the moment he entered me, my release spilled over me. I called
out his name, my fingers flexing against his back, nails scraping
his smooth skin. For the first time in my life, I didn't hold back,
allowing myself to say all that I felt, as loud as I wanted,
knowing that no one would be around to hear or judge. It was only
Elias and me, out here in our own little world.

Elias's lips covered mine, swallowing the
sounds I made as he fed on my mouth. My entire body was burning
beneath his, electricity crackling between the places our skin met
and moved apart again. The rhythm was beyond natural, beyond
instinct. It was as if we were dancing a dance that had been ours
since the beginning of time. There was none of the awkwardness, the
worry that we weren't doing something right, or the uncertainty of
how each touch would be received. I didn't know if it was
confidence on our part, knowing all the right places, or if we were
both so responsive to the other's touch that each one was welcomed,
but I didn't care.

My heart began to pound frantically in my
chest as I felt myself riding a wave of pleasure so large that it
threatened to overwhelm me. I was going to explode. There was no
way anyone could survive what I felt coming. I dug my nails into
Elias's back as it built. When his hips jerked, thrusting himself
deeper inside than he'd been before, deeper than anyone had ever
been, I tore my mouth away from his and screamed, desperate for an
outlet, a release.

His arms wrapped around me, pulling me up
against his chest as he used his knees for that last bit of
leverage he needed to hit just the right spot inside of me and my
scream immediately became a rush of air without sound. The world
was a cloud of white light. The only solid being in existence was
Elias and I clung to him as he buried himself inside me once more
and stilled, every muscle in his body tensing as he emptied himself
into me.

We hovered there, in that space between life
and death, between earth and sky, existing in and with each other,
one being interlocked for eternity. In that moment, everything and
anything seemed possible. There was no obstacle we could not
overcome, nothing that could come between us or break us. And it
wasn't just the sex talking. Granted, it had been beyond amazing,
but I knew that it had only been that way because of this
connection Elias and I had.

Yes, he was a skilled lover, but I knew that
experience didn't always make for a good first time between a
couple. This hadn't been just sex. No matter how much my brain
wanted to argue that I couldn't use the 'l' word, I knew that this
had been making love.

Elias laid me down on the bed and started to
move away. I gripped his arm. “Please,” I whispered. “Stay with
me.”

He looked at me, his face unreadable, and for
a moment I was afraid that he was going to refuse. Then he nodded
and settled behind me. I snuggled back against his chest as he
reached behind him and pulled the green blanket over us. If I
hadn't been so sleepy, I might've taken the time to wonder why he'd
chosen his blanket to cover us, but as it was, I couldn't even
muster up enough energy to do anything more than pull his arm more
tightly around me before sleep claimed me once more.

Chapter Twenty-One

I woke when it was still dark so I knew that
not much time had passed since I'd fallen asleep. My brain was
fuzzy enough that it took me a moment to realize what was
different. Elias was no longer behind me. I rolled onto my back and
saw that he was gone. I frowned and climbed out of bed. The air was
chilly and I shivered as I gathered my pajamas from where they'd
been thrown on the floor. I pulled them on as I walked out of the
bedroom and down the hall.

I paused in the entry way as I spotted Elias
on the couch. He was facing the fire, staring at the low flames. I
couldn't see the expression on his face and wondered what he was
thinking. It could be any one of a thousand things. He could be
just trying to get the fire going to heat up the cabin and his mind
was wandering as he waited. He could be thinking about what we'd
just done, dwelling on each kiss, each touch, each look. I liked
that thought, though I doubted that was the case. He could have
been planning about what we were going to do next, how he was going
to find out who was stalking me and fix it so we could go home.

Things would be interesting when we did head
back. We could keep our relationship a secret, I supposed, though I
would prefer not to now that we'd taken that big step. I didn't
care what anyone else thought, but I had a feeling that Elias would
be concerned with appearances. We were two consenting adults who
were only a couple of years apart in age. The only thing that would
cause any controversy would be our positions.

We could just continue to keep things quiet
until he found another job and then we could go public, but I
didn't like the idea of him guarding anyone else, or of anyone else
guarding me for that matter. It wasn't that I was jealous or
thought that he'd make a pass at his next employer, but rather that
I didn't want him risking his well-being. If he was my bodyguard,
then at least I could protect him. Okay, I knew that didn't exactly
make sense since he was supposed to be the one guarding me, but all
I would need to do would be to make sure I wasn't in any dangerous
situations and that would keep him safe.

As for not wanting anyone else to guard me, I
just didn't trust anyone the same way I trusted Elias, the way I
had trusted him even before we'd slept together. Paul was close,
but he couldn't protect me twenty-four/seven. I would have to hire
another bodyguard, and I knew the chances of finding anyone half as
good as Elias were slim to none. I didn't see the point of hiring
someone who was only going to do a half-assed job.

There was always another option. I didn't
really want to consider it, but if it was the only way Elias could
see for us to be together, I'd do it. Money wasn't really an issue
for me. I lived a relatively frugal life, donating quite a bit to
charity and saving the rest. I wasn't dumb enough to think that I'd
continue getting lucrative contracts for the rest of my life, so I
made sure that I had enough in my savings to keep me afloat for at
least a couple of years without working.

I did have a contract with the network to
finish out the series, but I knew that I could talk to the show
runners and get my part cut down enough that I could eventually be
written out. I'd hate to do that to the show and my co-stars, but
if it was a choice between acting and Elias, I knew which I would
choose.

With all of this in my head, I walked towards
Elias. Now that I had a plan about how we could make this work, I
wanted to talk about it. I'd feel much more relaxed once a decision
was made, no matter what the decision would be. I'd always been
like that. Making the choice to sue my parents for emancipation and
damages had been excruciating, but once I'd made it, the rest
hadn't been as hard as I'd feared it would be.

Elias didn't look up as I sat down next to
him. In fact, he didn't show any indication that he'd see or heard
me at all. That kind of made me nervous. I let the silence sit for
a couple of minutes before I broke it though, wanting to give him
the opportunity to speak first. When he didn't, I did.

“Elias, I've been thinking—”

“What happened between us must never happen
again.”

I blinked. I hadn't been expecting that.
Maybe a 'we should reconsider' or 'I don't know if this is a good
idea,' all of the arguments I'd given myself. Perhaps I was
misunderstanding him.

“I know it's weird, with you being my
bodyguard and all, but I think we can work it out.” I kept my voice
calm and cool, though I felt anything but calm. I didn't want to
lose him. We could work through this. I knew I wasn't the only one
who'd felt this connection. These last few weeks had been the
happiest of my life.

“It was an error in judgement, Miss Rhines. I
never should have allowed us to become close.” Elias looked up at
me and his eyes were cold. “It should not have happened and it will
not happen again.”

“Elias.”

I reached towards him and he flinched. I
dropped my hand, a sharp pang going through my heart. I had never
been one of those people who found it easy to sleep with whoever
they could find. Granted, I wasn't a nun and I didn't require a
commitment, but I'd never had sex with someone who I didn't have
feelings for, even if they were confusing ones. I fought to keep
back the tears I could feel were coming. I refused to cry.

“Maybe the timing wasn't right,” I clenched
my hands into fists to maintain control. “But there is a connection
between us, something special. I know you feel it, too. I've seen
in on your face, in your eyes. You can't tell me that it doesn't
exist.”

“It does not matter.” This time, Elias's
voice wasn't so steady and he turned his face away from me, as if
he couldn't say those things if he had to look at me while he did
it. “I should not have acted upon those impulses. I knew that it
would be wrong to take such action, but I allowed my desires to
take precedence over what I knew to be right.”

He admitted that he wanted me and all but
admitted that he had feelings for me. That was at least a step in
the right direction.

“Your paperwork said you were single and so
am I. We're both past the age of consent.” I went through the list
of common 'wrongs.' “I wasn't drunk, so you weren't taking
advantage of me.” I managed a half-smile. “If anything, it was the
other way around. And if you're worried about the fact that I'm
your boss, we'll just keep things professional until we get this
whole stalker thing resolved and then you can find another
job.”

Elias shook his head. “You do not understand.
You cannot understand. Know only that nothing must ever happen
between us again. It's my job to protect you, that is all. I cannot
be responsible for anything else.”

Now I was starting to get annoyed. That was
good. I'd much rather be pissed than sad. “You do understand that
this goes both ways, right? I'm an adult, Elias. Don't you think
that I have a right to know what's going on and why you're behaving
like such an ass-hat?”

He looked at me then, a puzzled expression on
his face. “An 'ass hat'?” He said them as two words. “I do not
understand this.”

I stared at him, incredulous. That was what
he'd gotten out of what I'd said? Ass-hat? I didn't even know how
to respond to that.

I was still trying to figure out what to say
when Elias suddenly went still. It wasn't just he didn't move. It
was full-on stone-like stillness where I could swear he even
stopped breathing or blinking. This tension had nothing to do with
what had happened between us. This was something else.

Then, I heard it. A noise from outside the
cabin. I wasn't an expert in the sounds of the woods, but I was
fairly certain that what I'd just heard wasn't nature. Judging by
the look on Elias's face, I was right. I had a very bad and very
certain feeling that the person who'd been stalking me had found
me.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Elias,” I started to speak.

“Shh.” It was abrupt, but not rude. He stood,
but held up his hand in a wordless instruction to stay put.

Normally, I didn't take kindly to being told
what to do, but I could feel Elias's anxiety and that, more than
anything else, frightened me. A general rule of thumb when working
in this business: when the bodyguards or security are worried, it's
generally not good. The air was thick as we waited. Waited for
what, I wasn't sure, and I didn't like not being sure.

Suddenly, there was the sound of breaking
glass and one of the front windows exploded inward. Shards of glass
rained down on the floor, some pieces making it all of the way over
to the couch, but I was more focused on the masked figure swinging
through the hole. Dressed in all black, every feature covered, I
could only guess that it was a man, but before I could focus too
much on the intruder, he was moving to one side and two more were
following him through the opening.

The first one who'd come in was tall and
athletic, not quite as big as Elias, but the fact that he'd just
come through a window made me think that he knew how to handle
himself. The second one to appear was smaller, but not by much. The
third was the smallest, closer to my size, but I still didn't think
it was a woman. None of the three had any sort of curves to them.
Though I knew that wasn't a definite determination of gender, I
felt pretty confident guessing they were all three guys. Not that
their gender really made a difference to the situation.