Fire in the Smokies (Durham Wolves) (16 page)

Brianna wiggled free of his clutches and sat back. He still had his arm around her, but not as tight.

“Wait. What? You fought with the vampire?”

“Yeah. He set a trap and strung me up into a tree. It was fun. Except for the part where he took me hostage and dragged my wolf ass into a cave with the intent of killing me.”

“And you’re just telling me this now? You could have been killed.” She swatted his hand away from her entirely, her gaze narrowed on him. “You’re trying to convince me I’m all uber-important to you, and you don’t even think to tell me a vampire tried to kill you today?”

“What?” He threw his hands in the air. “I’m still alive. It’s not like I wasn’t going to tell you all the details. I just thought we’d—”

“Fuck first?” She could feel her skin flushing. Fury made her scoot away from him.

Jaxon glanced at the ceiling and sighed. “Bri, of course not. It’s not like that. You’ve had a bitch of a day, worse than mine. You’re tired. I didn’t think you needed me to heap my day onto your problems right now. After we get home, take a long bath, eat—”

“No.” She shook her head. “Jaxon, I need to think about all this. This—this—this thing between us…” she zipped her arm through the air in a Z pattern, “…it’s weird. It hit me like a freight train. Still is. I need space. Time. To think about what
I
want. I’m clear what
you
want, but I do have my own will here, you know?”

Jaxon shook his head again. The man was infuriating. “It’s not possible.”

“It
is
,” she shouted. “I insist. I’m not
asking
you. I’m
telling
you. You have to let me go home. Let me sleep for like a day and a half. And then let me think. I’ll call you. Don’t…suffocate me. It won’t end well.”

“Bri—”

“Jax, no. I’m all good with you dominating me in the bedroom, but the buck stops there. You can’t order me around when we aren’t between the sheets. If you do, you’ll find yourself awfully lonely.”

He took a deep breath and leaned his head on the steering wheel for a moment. When he lifted it, he looked her in the eye. “Brianna. Listen to me. I’m so sorry about how this happened so fast that I didn’t have time to fully explain how it works. You can’t actually choose to ignore it. It’ll pull you in. You won’t be able to rest without me by your side. And I won’t either. Your body will crave mine twenty-four seven. We’re…connected now.”

“Surely after all the sex we had last night and this morning, I can go a day or two without fucking.” She tilted her head and glared at him.
Right?
“I’m not telling you to take a hike. I’m just asking for some time. To adjust. Consider my choices.”

Jaxon sucked in a breath. He undoubtedly took offense at her use of the word
choices
, but he didn’t comment on it. “Okay. Look. Just so you’re clear. The fact that we had sex so many times in the last day does not help your case; it makes it worse. The drive,
need
, to fuck will take over until you can’t see straight. Granted, I’ve not experienced this personally, but I watched my brother and Juliana go through it and it isn’t pretty. It’s normal for our kind to spend a few weeks without coming up for air before the craving eases. It will abate…somewhat…eventually. But not tonight.”

When Brianna opened her mouth, he held up a hand. “Let me finish. Fine. I’ll take you home. I won’t leave, but I’ll take you home.”

“You can’t—”

“I won’t even come inside. You can have whatever time you want. I’ll wait outside.”

“Might get a bit cold and I’m thinking you’ll be rather hungry out there for several days.”
Is he kidding? Does he think this highhanded manner of his is going to change my mind?
She was stomping furious now.

“I’ll take my chances.” He put the car in drive and pulled away. “Where’s your apartment?” His voice was low, barely audible, but still rather cocky.

She didn’t even glance at his face for fear it would piss her off if he was smirking. How dare he try to control this situation?

They sat in silence as Jaxon drove her home. She had a modest apartment in Pigeon Forge and he cringed inwardly when he realized hers was on the second floor. At least he had a view from the parking lot. He hadn’t been kidding. He wasn’t going anywhere.

He just prayed it didn’t matter and she wouldn’t be able to hold out very long. He was banking on that. God, let him be right about this…

As Jaxon parked, he did not look at his mate. The last thing he needed was for her to argue about him seeing her to the door. He was nothing if not a gentleman. And furthermore, he had no idea about McKinney’s location. Hell, he didn’t even really know if the vampire was alive or dead.

Nope. His mate was not roaming around outside alone under any circumstances, even if the idea pissed her off. She could have her space. She could take whatever time she needed in that little apartment of hers, but not outside.

That was not debatable.

Jaxon rounded the truck and opened Brianna’s door. He bit his lip. It would be much easier to walk her to the door without saying a word than get into a verbal match about his chivalry and her lack of need for such things.

Jaxon exhaled when Brianna said nothing and led him to her place. She unlocked the door, grabbed her bag out of his hand and smiled up at him stiffly. “I’ll call you. You really don’t have to hang around here waiting on me. I’m fine.”

Jaxon nodded, while inside his head he was thinking a solid “fuck that”.

Jaxon sauntered back to his truck and climbed into the cab. He grabbed the wheel with both hands and squeezed. Perhaps the pressure would cut down on some of the tension.

“Not going to be home tonight, guys.”
It was official now. He had to let his brothers know.

Chuckles filled the connection. Sergius spoke first, sarcasm lacing every word.
“Shocking. What? You couldn’t just pick up a few things at her place and make it back here? She already has you naked and panting?”

“Wait? Why are you even talking to us?”
Micah added.

“Hardly. I wish it was that simple. Nope. My strong-willed, independent mate believes she can just go home tonight and ‘think’. She isn’t convinced we are destined to be together even though we—”

“Whoa whoa whoa. Stop. No details please,”
Sergius interrupted.
“Seriously? You aren’t planning to leave her there, are you?”

“What do I look like? Of course not. I’m sitting outside, freezing my balls off in the truck while she ‘thinks’.”
Jaxon rubbed his hands together. It really was going to get quite cold tonight. He’d have to run the truck every now and then to warm up. Hell, he’d have to run it for a while now to get completely dry. His clothes were still damp. Thank God he’d even had clothes to put on after ruining the ones he’d been wearing when he dashed from the cave earlier. He always kept spare clothes in the cab. His lifestyle sometimes depended on it.

“Dude. That’s bad.”
Micah sounded much more sober this time.
“How long do you think she can hold out?”

“How should I know? I’ve never been mated before.”
Jaxon knew he sounded snarky, but hell, he wasn’t particularly social right now. He didn’t need any ribbing.
“I hope it’s not too long or freezing will be the least of the problems my balls endure.”

“I hear ya,”
Sergius said.
“Keep us posted. We’ve got everything covered here, so don’t worry. Keep your eye on her. I don’t like to think about what McKinney is up to, but I wouldn’t let down my guard for even a second.”

Jaxon asked the question niggling in his mind.
“Do you think it’s possible he did die in that cave? Like, maybe his body disintegrated or something after I left?”

“No idea. I called several family members in Virginia to see if anyone had any experience with vampires. None of our immediate cousins or aunts and uncles knew a thing, but they were going to ask around and contact some more distant friends and family in Canada to see if any of them had any light to share. If I hear anything I’ll let you know,”
Sergius said.

“
’
Kay. Well, you know where I’ll be. Until Bri comes out of that apartment, I’ll be on constant vigil right here…in my nice, comfortable warm car…in the parking lot…yards away from my mate’s nice warm bed…the one she’s occupying…alone.”

“Good luck with that,”
Micah added.

Jaxon sighed and turned the key in the ignition to warm up the cab.
Please, God, let my wonderful mate see the light…soonish
.

Chapter Twelve

Brianna leaned against the door to her apartment as soon as it snicked shut and slumped down until she sat on the floor. Her hands shook. Her heart pounded. She was more tired than she’d ever been in her life, while at the same time her body thrummed with pent-up energy.

What the hell was wrong with her? What if Jaxon was right? What if she couldn’t stand to be apart from him?

No. She refused to believe all that mumbo jumbo. She was a human for God’s sake. Sure, she’d had to face the fact that humans were not the only beings inhabiting the earth. The world as she’d known it yesterday had expanded exponentially. But surely she could resist the allure of one very sexy man and regroup for a few days in her own surroundings. Nobody could possibly need sex as bad as Jaxon had insinuated after what she’d done in the last thirty-six hours.

God. Has it only been that long?
Somehow it seemed she’d met Jaxon months ago, not yesterday morning.

Brianna put her head in her hands and leaned over her bent knees. She was too tired to move, both emotionally and physically. Drained.

And her brain wouldn’t stop running on the fumes left to power it. Her tank had to be almost empty.

She needed a shower, a hot meal and her bed. And she wasn’t entirely sure in what order she was going to put those tasks.

Her stomach took that moment to growl. Fine. Food first, then.

Brianna lifted her head and stared toward the kitchen. It seemed farther away than it had yesterday. She considered crawling the distance but then decided against it. She didn’t know much about Jaxon’s true connection to her right this second, and she didn’t need the added embarrassment if he was spying on her.

It seemed like she was getting better at blocking him. After all, he hadn’t communicated a single syllable since she’d shut the door. But, on the other hand, he could be humoring her.

Would he really sit outside in his truck until…?

Dragging herself to standing, Brianna decided to make the trek toward the kitchen first. Ten or so steps later, she was peering into her freezer as if it might contain items other than the ones she had personally stocked it with.

She didn’t care. All she needed was any random red box of a single-serve meal. Without looking, she snatched the one on top and ripped it open.

Ah, her favorite. Chicken parmesan. About a half a serving of it as far as she was concerned, but it was a start.

Brianna popped the tray into the microwave and wandered down the hall. A quick shower was her specialty when dire situations called for immediate results. She could be in and out in the five minutes it took for the frozen meal to cook and head back to the kitchen to retrieve it before it cooled.

Brianna stripped her clothes off as she walked down the short hall, letting the pieces fall wherever they landed. She didn’t care right now. Hell, she didn’t know when she might care again. Her brain was overloaded.

Shower, eat, sleep. Don’t think about anything else
.

By the time she reached the bathroom, she was naked. Without opening the shower door more than the few inches necessary to fit her arm inside, she turned the dial all the way to the left and then stood back to wait for hot water. It needed to be hot. Scalding would be perfect.

A quick glance at the mirror made Brianna pause. God, she looked awful. Like she’d spent the day fighting a forest fire or something. Her face was smudged so bad with soot she could barely discern what her natural coloring was.

Her gaze wandered down to her chest. Her nipples beaded as she watched. Was it cold in here? She knew better than that. The second her eyes landed on her breasts, thoughts of having them worshipped by Jaxon flooded her mind.

Brianna jerked her gaze toward the shower. Steam seeped out the top and clouded the glass door. Heaven.

As she stepped into the decadent stream, Brianna sighed.
God, that feels good
. She stood for several moments, letting the water stream down her body, washing away more than the grime of the day. She hoped to wash away the stress too. One vampire. Three wolf shifters. Not to mention a forest fire. If not for the rain, she didn’t know how long she could have continued to keep up that pace and fake like she was just as strong as all the men.

Food. Bed. Brianna grabbed the shampoo and lathered her limp hair. She’d feel one hundred percent better just washing the drooping locks. As soon as she finished with her hair, she let her hands roam down her body, gliding easily over her skin and spreading the suds from the shampoo.

With her eyes closed against the onslaught of soap, she gasped when her hands skittered over her nipples. Her knees nearly buckled at the contact, the unexpected friction stiffening her spine and dragging her into a more wakeful state than she would have thought possible.