“Don’t fight it,” he murmured, his eyes burning with fire. “Give in to your emotions.”
I set my jaw. “The only emotion I have now is rage. Now, before I follow your advice and seriously punch you, help my mother. Please, you promised me you would.”
“First, give me a little more incentive,” he said, cupping one of my breasts.
I slapped his hand away and glared at him. “You’re incorrigible,” I muttered.
He grabbed the back of my hair and pulled it to the side, exposing my neck. He slid his tongue just below my ear and down to my collarbone, nipping playfully at my skin. “I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he whispered. “I’ve never wanted anything as much as you. Hell, my hunger for you far surpasses my thirst for… other things.”
Feeling a rush of heat between my legs, I forced myself to focus on the issue at hand. “Please,” I begged. “We’re running out of time.”
He groaned and then released me “Okay, fine. But I expect a nice reward when I get back.”
“Ethan, I swear to God, if you save my mother, I’ll give you anything you want.”
His lips twisted into a devilish grin. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
I swallowed. “I’m serious; I’ll do whatever you ask.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
I raised an eyebrow.
He brushed away some dust that had settled on the mantle and cringed. “Sorry about this mess. You should be safe here, though. The gentleman who owns this cabin never comes here in the cool months.”
I looked around and noted the entire place was lacking any kind of cleaning, even in the summer months. Still, if he said I was safe, I wasn’t going to argue. “Okay. Hurry back though, I don’t like being all alone out here.”
“I will. I’ll make sure your mom is safe then I’ll come back for you. I’m looking forward to exploring these promises you’ve made.”
I blushed. “Okay.”
He stepped closer and brushed his lips on my neck and whispered, “I’m going to make you forget about everything else in this world, including Duncan.”
“Ethan,” I said, pulling away. “What happened to Duncan anyway?”
He scowled. “He’s fine. Probably licking his wounds, which, could have been a lot worse; I was easy on him.”
I didn’t think he’d been easy on him at all. In fact, I figured the only reason Ethan hadn’t killed Duncan was because he knew I’d never forgive him.
As if he could read my mind, he said, “I only kill when I have to, or when someone threatens those I care about. Duncan is just a fool who needs to learn a few lessons, one being that you’re mine, and I’ll strike down anyone who doesn’t respect that.”
The way he was looking at me gave me the chills. “I’m yours?”
His eyes traveled down the length of my body. “Yes, Nikki, every inch of you is mine, and if you haven’t noticed, I’m very selfish.”
I licked my lips. “Oh.”
He opened the front door and turned back to look at me. “You belong to me and God help anyone who tries to stand in my way.”
Then, in a flash he was gone, leaving me hot, breathless, and as always, worried.
Chapter Twenty-three
I sat at the table and stared outside into the darkness. It seemed like it had been hours since Ethan had left the cabin and I was now terrified that something very bad had happened. He was immortally fast and this was taking much too long. Several times, I considered leaving, but something inside of me urged me not to. There were many things lurking in the darkness around Shore Lake and I would be easy prey. For now, I would continue to wait; at least until daylight. As I stared at the moon and thought about the night’s events, my eyelids began to get heavy, and eventually I nodded off.
“Nikki,” whispered a soft, feminine voice into my ear.
I opened my eyes and raised my head from the table.
“That sleeping position doesn’t look very comfortable,” teased Celeste.
I wiped a little drool from my chin and cleared my throat. “What are you doing here?” I asked.
She sighed. “Ethan sent me here, there’s been a problem and I’m supposed to bring you to him.”
“A problem? What about my mother?” I asked. “Is she okay?”
Celeste nodded. “Your mom is fine. She’s with Caleb.”
I wasn’t sure how fine that was, but at the moment, I had no other choice but to leave with Celeste and go to Ethan. I licked my lips. “Okay.”
She grabbed my elbow. “Come on, we must go quickly.”
I stood up and followed her to the door. “How did you get out here anyway?”
She smiled. “I drove.”
I sighed in relief. “Good, because I’m getting tired of all this flying.”
“Not your thing, huh?”
“Yeah. Makes me too dizzy. I’d hate to throw up all over you.”
She cringed. “Well, it’s a good thing I drove then.”
It was still dark as we stepped off of the porch and walked to the car.
“Where’d you get the Mercedes?” I asked, admiring the pearly white vehicle.