Vengeance (The Captive #6)(47)

She didn’t know what she’d expected of him, but he pressed a tender kiss against her cheek and rolled with her to the side. He kept his arms wrapped around her as he rested her on top of his chest. “Do you mind if I hold you?” he inquired.

Unexpected tears burned her eyes, she should distance herself from him, but she found herself melting in his embrace. “No,” she whispered as he settled his chin on top of her head. She could stay like this forever, she decided as the scent and warmth of him lulled her into a peaceful sleep.

***

The fire had completely burned out by the time William woke again, but he found he didn’t care as he held Tempest. Her hair tickled his nostrils, but he didn’t bother to wipe it away. He found he enjoyed the sensation and relished her scent. Her fingers curled into his shirt as she slept.

His hands pressed more firmly into the small of her back. What he wouldn’t give to wake her and finish what had started between them earlier, but he couldn’t do that. She was right to put a stop to it, right to keep him at a distance. He had a goal, and he knew there was a chance he wouldn’t survive it.

His concern about physically harming her had abated after finally kissing her. He’d felt completely out of control around her, consumed by the lust she aroused in him, yet he’d somehow also felt completely in control. It had been the strangest, most unsettling sensation, but he’d remained restrained and he’d kept himself from taking more than she was willing to give.

No, he wouldn’t hurt her physically, but he could emotionally. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he most likely would if this thing between them progressed much further. He wasn’t good, especially not for her. He wasn’t sure he’d ever been good for anyone. He’d always liked to go his own way, do his own thing. Daniel was the stable, sensible one. He and Aria had always been more temperamental and unforgiving.

Women had always come and gone from his life. That was the way he liked it. He had to be free to move about with ease when he’d lived in the forest. After his rebel days, he’d spent most of his time traveling from town to town with Jack.

He’d never liked a girl enough to consider trying to settle down anyway, but then Aria and Daniel had been the same way. Aria had never really shown an interest in anyone before Braith; he knew she’d had a crush on Max at one time, but it had never been more than that. He’d rarely seen Daniel with a girl as his brother had always been more content with his drawings and blue prints for the traps he designed.

Now, he found himself wondering what it would be like if things could have been different for him. But then, he wouldn’t have been here if the things had been different. He never would have met her if he’d still been human, and if he had, who knew if anything would have happened between them. He couldn’t change the past; he could only accept what already was.

He turned his face into her hair, relishing the silken feel of it against his cheeks. He was so absorbed in her, he didn’t realize the whipping of the wind had ceased until almost another half-an-hour passed. Another reason to keep his distance, she distracted him and made him lower his guard.

She stirred and snuggled instinctively closer. He’d been planning to release her; instead, he found himself sucking in a breath and his arms clamping around her. Her head lifted, her lips brushed briefly across his Adam’s apple as her lashes fluttered against his skin. William remained motionless, unwilling to let her go.

“The storm stopped,” he told her as he brushed the hair back from her face.

Her mouth slid away from his flesh as she turned her head to listen better. “It did,” she murmured.

They lay for a minute before he reluctantly slid his arms away from her and she sat up. William stared at the ceiling, torn between grabbing her and pulling her back down and moving on, as they should. There was more than Kane at stake now, he reminded himself. There were thousands of lives, including Tempest’s loved ones and his family.

With a groan, he forced himself into a sitting position and met her eyes in the gloom. He never would have been able to see the color of them if he’d still been human, but his vampire vision picked up flecks of light he never would have seen before. Light that made the deep brown of her eyes almost luminescent.

“Time to tear down the wall,” he said and shoved himself to his feet. He felt his eyes on her as he moved around the cave, adjusting his cloak and gathering his bow and quiver. He slung them over his back and bent to grab his crossbow. He secured it to his waist again before lifting the saddlebags with the extra stakes in them. “Make sure to wear your cloak with the stakes inside.”

She stared at him through the darkness, her skin paling at his words. She shrugged out of the cloak she’d been sleeping under and tugged his on. With steady hands, she clasped the brooch at her neck and followed him down the cave to the wall of snow. Achilles was lying in the middle of the tunnel. He lifted his head when they approached, but dropped it back down after they’d passed.

Taking out a stake, he began to chisel his way through the compacted snow that had become more like ice throughout the storm. Tempest worked beside him, diligently chipping away at the wall. Light from the sun beat against the snow, turning it the color of blue ice.

After a half hour, the top of the wall broke away. Achilles decided to get up to explore when enough sunlight spilled in. Another half an hour passed before they managed to take down half the wall to reveal the world of white beyond. The sun beat down upon the snow in a blinding array. Turning away, he closed his eyes against the brilliant blanket of blinding white snow.