Broken (The Captive #5.5)(32)

The distant look faded from his eyes, his tempting mouth curled into a smile that warmed her all the way to her toes. He pulled the horse up before bending his head to taste her lips. Pleasure swirled through her; she fisted her hands into his shirt and held him against her.

There was no thought of Felix when she was in Atticus's arms, Marie ceased to exist, and even Camille became a distant presence. He pulled his head back from hers; let go of the hold he had on her hair and repositioned her in his lap. Yes, in his arms was where she was supposed to be; she knew that as surely as she knew that the birds would sing come morning. He rested his palms against her cheeks and kissed away her tears. He had the most radiant smile, she decided, as she grasped his hands within hers and held them against her cheeks.

A rustling of leaves caused his head to shoot up. He moved so fast that she barely even realized she was moving before he had her swung around and planted firmly behind him on the horse. Genny struggled to grasp hold of his waist as she found herself staring at his rigid back. Though it was his cousin that emerged from the woods Atticus didn't relax. He stared relentlessly at the man riding his horse into the center of the clearing.

Merle's eyes briefly settled on her before focusing upon Atticus. "I've been sent to find you."

Atticus's brow furrowed as he frowned at him. "For what?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but we've both been summoned."

Atticus's jaw clenched, his hands tightened on the reins as a shudder went through his body. She was curious to know what was wrong but she knew it wasn't her place to ask. She would never question what went on in their world, it was a piece of his life that she could never be a part of, but she'd never seen that look on his face before. It radiated defiance, anger, and yet a strange resignation that she'd never thought she'd see from him.

She was the one that was resigned to the plight of her life, but he shouldn't be. He had money, power, security and influence over their world. She didn't have any of those things but she was beginning to realize he might have even less freedom than she did.

Atticus bowed his head in acquiescence. "I'll be there shortly." Merle hesitated; he glanced at her again as his horse backed up a step. "What is it?" Atticus demanded.

"I was told not to return without you."

She could actually hear Atticus's teeth grinding together as his nostrils flared. "I see."

He glanced back at her, squeezed her hands at his waist and gently pulled them free. He slid from the saddle and turned to her. Grasping hold of her waist, he plucked her from the saddle. The sensation of her body sliding down his as he leisurely lowered her to the ground caused a shiver of delight to run through her. The icy look left his eyes, the left side of his mouth quirked into a cocky half smile that told her he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

She had expected him to release her immediately now that they were in front of his cousin, instead he held her against him and kissed her sweetly. She stared up at him dazedly when he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. "I'll see you tomorrow," he vowed.

She glanced at Merle who looked hastily away. He became extremely intrigued by the treetops over his head. Genny would have laughed at the innocent expression he plastered to his face if it wasn't for the fact that she was troubled about why he had been sent here to begin with. "Are you sure you'll be able to get away?" she whispered.

"No matter what it takes, I will be here tomorrow Genny."

She squeezed his forearms before she took a reluctant step away from him. His eyes searched hers, he hesitated for a minute before turning away. He grabbed his reins and swung into the saddle without the aide of the stirrup. Genny took another step away; he stared lingeringly at her before spurring his horse forward. Merle finally looked toward her again. She'd expected him to spurn her; instead he bowed his head to her, lifted his fingers to his forehead and gave her a small wave. Genny tremulously smiled back at him, unreasonable tears burned her throat as she watched them disappear into the woods.

Exasperation filled her at the tears and the weakness she felt creeping through her system, but she couldn't shake the strange gulf growing within her. The sense of loss filling her was even more intense than it had been any other time that they had separated. What had their exchange of blood created between them?

She stood with her shoulders hunched up as she tried to regain control of herself. Her fingernails dug into her palms until blood trickled down her fingers. She had to pull herself together if she was going to make it through this night. Bending down, she wiped her hands on some leaves and rose again. Thrusting her shoulders back, she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other in the opposite direction from where Merle and Atticus had disappeared.

It felt as if she were walking through a fog as she pulled a small purse of money from one of her hiding places. She may not have made it into town today but Felix would still have to be paid. Jogging through the woods, she made it back to the main road that led through the vampire village.

Her thoughts turned to Atticus's reaction to Merle's words. She wondered what he had been recalled to do and if he would, in fact, return tomorrow. The thought made her already constricted chest tighten even more. It took all she had not to turn and run back into the woods after him but there was no way she could bring him back or find out what was going on. If he didn't return tomorrow, he would return as soon as he could, of that much she was certain.