Warrior (Relentless #4)(230)

Through the bond, I felt a swell of love and happiness – and a trickle of something else. I knew what it was when I saw a blush creep across her cheeks. My beautiful mate was remembering last night – in detail, I hoped.

“Can you read my mind?” she blurted.

I lifted an eyebrow. “No. But that blush makes me wish I could.”

Her mouth fell open, and she ducked her head, pressing her face against my chest.

Chuckling, I wrapped my free arm around her, pulling her close. I leaned down to touch my lips to her ear. “I love waking up with you in my arms.”

She looked up at me and surprised me when she tugged me down and proceeded to kiss the hell out of me. Her mouth was soft and insistent, her tongue teasing as she wantonly seduced me. Through the bond, I felt her desire, and my body stirred in response.

I pulled out of the kiss and growled at her sensual smile. “If you keep looking at me like that, we’ll never leave this cabin. In fact, I might have to find the owner and buy it from him.”

Her stomach rumbled. “Can we bring food next time? I’m starving.”

A laugh burst from me. Reluctantly, I stood and handed her clothes I’d hung to dry last night.

“Your shirt and jeans are dry, but your boots are still wet,” I said as I gave them to her. I didn’t add that her bra and panties were somewhere in the tangle of quilts.

As she dressed, I went to the small cabinet in the corner, which served as a kitchen, and took out the food I’d found earlier. I kept my back to her until I heard her finish.

I carried my meager offering to her. Canned tuna, saltines, and bottled water was not the breakfast I would have given her the morning after our mating, but it was all I had.

I sat beside her on the mattress. “Not exactly a five-star breakfast.”

She smiled warmly. “It’s perfect.”

I spread some tuna on a cracker for her. “It’ll be daylight soon. The storm’s over, so we should head out as soon as it’s light enough.”

“How far is it to the road?” she asked before she popped the cracker into her mouth.

“About fifteen miles. I won’t be surprised if we run into some of our people on the way.” I had expected Tristan and Chris to find us by now. But then, the storm would have wiped out all our tracks, and it was a large area to search.

I gave her another cracker. “We’ll be home before you know it.”

I watched her as she ate. She looked well recovered from yesterday’s ordeal, and she hadn’t mentioned the problem with her power.

“How do you feel today? Is there any change in your magic?”

She looked away as if she was testing it, and then she let out a shaky laugh. “I think it’s getting better. Whatever they shot me with must be wearing off.”

“Good. That means we won’t have to call the faerie.” Although, I’d put up with Eldeorin if she needed him.

She smirked playfully. “Jealous?”

“I might have been a little jealous once or twice.” I thought about last night and smiled with satisfaction. “But I got the girl.”

She leaned over and pressed a quick kiss on my lips. “You always had the girl.”

When she went to pull away, I grabbed her and kissed her again.

We finished our food and got up to tidy the cabin. I doused the fire and put the mattress back on the bed. Before we left, I stuck some money under the lantern to pay for the busted lock and food.

The storm might have passed, but the temperature hadn’t risen much yet. Our breath came out in steamy puffs, and Sara rubbed her bare hands together. I couldn’t find any gloves in the cabin, and I worried about the long walk ahead of us.

The cold wasn’t our only problem. The snow was deep and crusted over, and her legs would tire quickly trudging through it.

“It’s going to be rough walking with the snow iced over. Climb on my back, and I’ll carry you.”

She snorted softly. “You can’t carry me fifteen miles.”

“Are you willing to bet on that?” I challenged, already thinking of my prize.

“I don’t know.” She treated me to a saucy smile. “What will you give me if I win?”

I laughed at her playfulness and reached for her. “Anything you –”

It took me a second to recognize the sharp sting near my shoulder blade. Blood roared in my ears, and my vision dimmed.

“Sara…run,” I croaked as I fell.

“Nikolas!” she screamed.

My last thought before darkness took me was that I’d failed her.





Chapter 45





“Time to wake up, my darling.”

Sara?

I pushed upward from the dark void toward the sound of a female voice. A hand stroked my forehead, but the touch felt wrong. Something was off.

“That’s it. Open your eyes.”

The voice was familiar in a distant way, as if I hadn’t heard it in a long time. But it was also one I knew well. I struggled to focus on it, and slowly, from the mists of my memory, a face appeared. Heart-shaped with mischievous blue eyes. Long blonde hair.

“Elena?” I mumbled, finding it hard to concentrate.

It had been a while since I’d thought about Tristan’s little sister. For years, I’d carried the guilt over her death with me. In recent years, I’d thought of her less, and hardly at all since I met Sara. Maybe protecting Tristan’s granddaughter and keeping her safe had absolved me of the guilt of not saving his beloved sister.