Dragan's Redemption Book One of the Manor at Echo Lake Trilogy (18 page)

Reading her mind, Aaron realized that she was
nervous
in his
presence
.  Since
that was not his
intention,
he covered her hand gently.  “You have no reason to be
nervous
.”

“I am not….ok, maybe a little.”

“I really just came to meet you out of
curiosity
.  I get the
feeling
that my brother has taken a liking to you.”

“Has he?  I haven’t noticed.”

“I doubt that.  You strike me as the type to notice more than you say.  You have a very old soul hiding behind those gorgeous green eyes of yours my dear
.  I am sure not much escapes your attention
.”

Reaching the water
’
s edge
,
he watched as her eyes took in the
beautiful
picture
spread out
before them.  There was not a breeze in the air
,
and the water was as still as glass reflecting the morning sky
.  The pine trees that encircled the lake seemed to be standing
at
attention.  The smell of pine was very pervasive in the air.
He heard her inhale deeply stepping away from him to walk to the waters edge.  Bending down
,
her fingers made a circle in the water.

“It feels so warm this morning.” 
Seconds later he was s
hocked
as
he watched her quickly take her clothes off
,
and he breathed a sigh of relief noting her bathing suit as she dove
into the water. 

“Amira, get out of there.  Were you not just ill?”

Laughing
,
she swam away from him.  “I am not anymore.  Would you like to join me
,
Aaron
?”

“
You are a minx
,
and
I most certainly would not
!
”

“You know, all of you that live at that manor talk really funny.  You are all a little bit too uptight.  Maybe you should
loosen
up and live a bit.”

Aaron sat on the sand watching her.  He could not help but
smile
at her words.  “I tend to agree with you and take a bit of offense that you are
lumping
me with everyone at the house.  I can assure you that I am nothing like the people that live there.”

“I can assure you that I am nothing like the people that live there.”
  Her voice mimicked his
,
right down to the
British
accent before continuing to laugh.

“Amira, seriously get out of the water.  Dragan’s going to beat you when he finds out.”

“
Really
?  That should be fun.”

“
You
are not taking me very
seriously.
”

Stepping out of the
lake
, he watched as the droplets of water slid down her shoulders
,
sliding to her navel and lower. 
Diverting his
eyes as the water clung to her skin.  There was hardly anything
to her
bathing suit
,
and he could feel a need rush through him.  “Holy shit
,
” he thought.  W
hat was wrong with
him?
  

“
You can look now,
I am done.”

Looking back at her, he realized that she had dressed as quickly as she had undressed
. 
Her d
ressing did not ease his
attraction
to her as the wet material clung to every inch
leaving nothing for his imagination as he watched parts of her
react to the cool
morning
air.
  Aaron swallowed hard.

“You know, you and your brother seem to
have
the same reaction to a woman undressing.”

Aaron’s eyebrows rose.  “Really
?
  Undress a lot in front of him
,
do you?
”  Her face burned a deep red.

“No!”  Then glancing at him sideways, she smirked.  “At least not yet, but it hasn’t been from lack of trying.”
 

“
Tell me
,
Amira
,
h
ow
do you
know that
our reaction is not because of
you
?
”

Tipping her head, he watched as she ran her fingers through the
dark
strands shaking out the excess water.  The sun danced over the
dark
color
.
  She was
gorgeous
.

“Very flattering words
,
but
I know it is not just me.”

Surprised,
Aaron realized that she meant it.  She
really
had no idea how beautiful she was.  He found it enchanting
and very real
.  “You are very modest.”

“I wasn’t expecting anyone to be with me for my daily swim. 
Why should I change my schedule
just because you picked this time to
visit
?
”

“Point taken.”

Dropping to the sand next to him, she stared back out over the water.  “Now, do you want to tell me the real reason that you are here
,
Mr. Reynolds.”

Startled
, Aaron realized that she was
even
more intuitive then he thought.  Staring at her profile, he watched the pulse beat strong in her neck.  Feeling his fangs release, he pictured driving them deep in
to
her drinking
his fill of her
lifeblood.  Getting himself quickly back into control, he also stared out over the water.

“
What
is your intention with my brother?”

“
You’re
here because you are
worried about your brother?  He seems old e
nough to make his own decisions
,
Aaron
,
as to
who he wants to get to know.”

“There is a lot you do not know about my family
,
Amira.  You must t
read cautiously with him.
”

Laughing
,
she
turned her focus from the water to Aaron.  “Wow, those are almost the same exact words that James said.
”
  Reaching down
,
she poured sand over her feet
liking
the way
it
felt cool on her skin.
  Her head started to pound
,
and she hoped she wasn’t getting another fever.

“I know more than you think
,
Aaron
,
about your brother
,
and what I haven’t been told, I sense.
When I first met
Dragan
, I thought he was a bit arrogant
and cocky
but quickly realized that much of what I thought was just an illusion.  I am starting to realize the same about you.”  She watched as his eyebrows rose the way Dragan’s d
id when
surprised
.  “You come across as really nice, but I get the
feeling
that you would do anything to protect your brother.”  Looking him directly in the eyes
,
she challenged him.

“Tell me anytime if I am off the mark.”

Aaron’s silence told her everything she needed to know.
  Dropping back onto her elbows in the sand
,
her gaze returned to the water debating on how far to take this conversation.

“
I know he is a vampire
,
Aaron
.” 
Amira felt Dragan’s brother
stiffe
n
next to her.  “I am going to assume, since you look identical to Dragan
,
that you are
one
also.  What is driving you both nuts is that n
either one of you
has
any clue as to who I am or why I am here
at
Echo
Lake
.
 
I will tell you that both of y
ou are reading
way
t
o
o much in
to
me being here
as if I had some
ulterior
motive to
infiltrate
the Reynolds brothers
camp
. 
It is very simple actually
-
I need to rest and am taking stock of the direction in my life.  Here, at
Echo
Lake
, I am becoming at peace with my fate.”

“And what would that fate be
?
”

Laughing at him
,
Amira
slipped on her sneakers before standing and shaking
the sand
off
her body
.
  “
That
seems to be the question of the morning for the twins.  I am going to walk for a bit
,
Aaron
.  Wanna come?”

Standing up, he motioned for her to continue as they walked towards the woods.

Together they
walked a mile before he spoke
again
.  “Amira, you are correct.  I would do anything to
protect
my brother from getting hurt.  I am sure you have been in and out of many relationships.  My brother has not.  I just don’t want you to play around with him.”

Stopping in the middle of the path, she turned poking a finger into his chest
hard
.  “Let me tell you again, you know nothing about me
,
because if you did
,
you would know that the last thing I would ever do is intentionally hurt your brother.  What I do know is that life is too short
to not take chances.  You talk so much about Dragan
, but what about me?  What are the
intentions that your brother has with me? 
I am not going to lie to you
,
Aaron
,
Dragan and I
have a mutual attraction for each other
-t
he operative word being mutual. 
Stop acting
as
if
I am
forcing my way into his life.
”

With admiration, Aaron loo
k
ed down at Amira.
  If nothing else, she had guts
,
and her honesty was refreshing.  Aaron
felt envious that his brother
got to know her first
.

“I like you
,
Amira.”

Looking coyly up at
him,
she winked.  “I like you too
,
Aaron.  But I like your brother better.”

Aaron
roamed her face with his eyes as she looked up
smiling at him
.  Hearing a twig snap and then the click of a trigger, he only had seconds to move her aside before a
gunshot
rang out.
Amira’s
eyes widen
ed
in shock
,
and her fingers reached
for him
as she dropped to the ground.  His head snapping up, he caught her before she fell, his eyes scanning the trees
tr
ying
to
find the gunman.  Hearing footsteps running and heavy breathing
, he wanted to run after the
shooter.  Looking down at Amira, her
hand now pressing against the side of her forehead while blood streamed between her fingers, he knew he could not leave her
to take chase
.
Grimacing
,
he tried to hold his breath against the smell of her blood
.  S
he stood unsteady on her feet as
he
ripped
off
his shirt
, then t
earing
off a piece
he
press
ed
it against her wound. 
The
bullet had made a deep gouge in
her skin
,
and like all
head
wounds,
hers was
bleeding heav
ily
.
Picking her up in his
arms,
he felt her place her head on his chest smearing the blood over his skin. 
Wanting to get her to Dragan, Aaron started
to run
along
the main path heading in the
direction of the manor. 
Within minutes,
he
was approaching
the chapel with Amira still clutched in his arms.  Shadow growled as he approached
before c
atching Amira’s scent,
he
w
h
i
ned
frantically. 
Kicking
the chapel door with his foot to get Dragan’s attention, he was relieved to see
his brother
open it quickly.