A Chase of Prey (A Shade of Vampire #11)(15)

I moved over to the far side of the blankets and lay down on my side, propping my head up with my elbow. I patted the space next to me. He eyed the spot I was touching for several moments before—to my surprise—he acquiesced. He lay down alongside me, though he turned his face away, his muscled back facing me. Reaching out, I traced his bumpy scars with the tips of my fingers.

Silence descended on the truck. We’d closed the windows to keep out the bugs, but I could hear the sounds of the rainforest through the fabric above us. The chirping of crickets, the croaking of frogs, the sighing of the wind against the trees.

“Caleb?” I whispered through the darkness.

“Hm?”

I bit my lip.

I wanted to tell him how much I was looking forward to having him live with us in The Shade. And I wanted to tell him why. I wanted to tell him how hard it had been to have him leave me the way he had. How much I’d struggled with myself in his absence. How relieved I was to see him again, even in these desperate circumstances.

I wanted to tell him how much he’d come to mean to me.

But I didn’t know how he’d take it.

I wasn’t sure if now was the time.

“Nothing.” I let out a sigh and rolled over on my other side, my back facing his.

I should just go to sleep. I don’t have much time as it is.

I closed my eyes and tried to coax myself to sleep. But the truck was hot and stuffy. My breathing was heavy and sluggish. It didn’t help that we’d had to close all the windows.

Perhaps Caleb had sensed my discomfort, or perhaps it was just my imagination. Whatever the case, as I struggled to drift off, he reached around my waist and pulled me back against him. The coldness of his skin seeped through the fabric of my dress, cooling my hot back. His hand rested over my navel, his body spooned around mine, our legs intertwining. I placed a hand over his and nestled closer against his chest. I felt his cold breathing against the nape of my neck. He was like my own personal AC unit.

This is more like it.

I closed my eyes again, relishing the feeling of his strength enveloping me. Protecting me. Keeping me safe. Just as he had done since the day we met.

Chapter 9: Sofia

I’d thought that talking to Mona would at least ease my uncertainty and doubts. Now I partly wished I hadn’t talked to her. Our conversation had only added more heat to my already burning mind. The worst thing was, there wasn’t anything anybody here could do about it. We had all these theories, but no way of actually confirming any of them since we were all stuck on the island. And if I was honest with myself, even if we weren’t stuck, there was still no way of knowing unless one of the black witches behind all this decided to reveal their true motives.

Derek and I had tried to comfort each other, but there were only so many times we could say to each other that Ibrahim and Corrine were the best people to find our daughter. Even though it was true, it didn’t stop anxiety eating away at us.

I left Derek at home and headed toward my father’s treehouse. We’d been promising each other that we’d make time for each other for weeks, but we still hadn’t followed through. It seemed that there would never be a perfect time, so I decided to go and visit him now.

I reached Aiden’s tree and ascended in the elevator. When I knocked on the front door, he answered after two seconds. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against him, kissing my forehead. Something about the strength of my father’s arms made me break down in a way that I hadn’t with Derek. I’d been trying to put on a brave face for my husband, because my breaking down in front of him would only increase his suffering.

While I knew my father suffered Rose’s absence too, somehow I felt like I could let myself loose without feeling as much guilt as I did with Derek.

My father led me to the couch and I cried for the next hour. He didn’t even try to offer me words of comfort, he just held me and let me feel my grief. I let out emotions I’d been trying to bottle up for days. He was there for me, the way I’d always dreamed he would be one day as I was growing up.

When it felt like I had no more tears left to shed, I sat up and dried my face with a tissue.

“Thank you,” I croaked.

He squeezed my hand and smiled. “Any time, darling.”

I looked around the room, craving a change of subject. The memory of Adelle opening the door to Eli’s apartment in her dressing gown came flooding back to me. To this day, I still hadn’t talked about Adelle with my father, and now seemed as good a time as any to broach the subject. Although I didn’t want to hurt him, I wanted to understand what was going on.

“You know that Eli and Adelle are going out?” I asked. I watched him closely, studying every flicker of emotion that crossed his face.

His smile faded. “Yes.”

“Dad… you like her, don’t you?”

He nodded, looking down at the floor.

“Did you ever ask her out?”

He sighed. “I was late to the party.”

While I was happy for Eli, my heart broke for my father. He deserved a good woman more than anyone after all he’d been through with my mother.

“But don’t feel sorry for me, honey,” he said, forcing a smile back on his face. This time it reached his eyes a little more. “You have enough on your shoulders already. I’ll get over her soon enough.”