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Authors: Amy Richie

Timeless (Immortal Love Series) (8 page)

BOOK: Timeless (Immortal Love Series)
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He pulled me against his chest and held me tightly. I tried to remember something, anything that would give me a clue where I was. It seemed all wrong, but I didn’t know why.
I let myself relax in my stranger’s arms. The angel’s face flashed through my mind and I closed my eyes. Maybe it wasn’t a dream. Maybe I really was attacked by wolves. Certainly not werewolves, they weren’t real, were they?
Was I alone?” I asked, afraid of the answer.
“
Yeah.”
“
There were no….” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words out loud but he understood.
“
No, you were there by yourself. And there are no other houses for miles.”
“
But I saw a house. A small house made of wood.”
“
It was probably my house that you saw.”
“
Oh.”
After a few minutes he pushed me gently from him and got off the bed. “Are you hungry?”
“
What time is it?” I thought it was still in the night.
“
It’s midmorning.” He gestured toward the small window. Sure enough, the sun was streaming into the small space.
“
I guess I am kind of hungry,” I admitted.
“
What do you like?”
“
I am not sure. Oatmeal?”
He gave me a blank look. “How about eggs?”
I smiled. “Sounds perfect.”
“
Ok, I’ll be right back. You just relax. We’ll talk after you eat.”
I nodded my head. Did I have a choice? He brought his face close to mine, searching for something. I stared back at him, barely allowing myself to breathe.
Chapter Eight

 

Our brief moment of silence was interrupted by the rumbling in my stomach. “When is the last time you ate something?”
“
I’m fine,” I quickly assured him. My stomach growled again, contradicting me.
He chuckled lightly. “I’ll go and fix you something now.” He pulled himself upright.
“
Wait, I…” Panic overpowered my senses. I didn’t want him to leave me alone.
“
What’s wrong?” He turned back to me, concern all over his dark features.
My breath caught in my throat. This man was beautiful. His eyes and hair were similar shades of dark brown. Every feature seemed carved by a master artist, they were so perfect. The kindness and concern I saw in him just added to his beauty.
I finally realized that I must have been staring like an idiot when he cleared his throat and gave me an amused wink. “I’ll go and get you some breakfast,” he said softly.
I just sat there smiling stupidly until it reached my thought process that he was leaving. I grabbed his arm so tightly that it forced him to sit back down on the bed. “I’ll go with you,” I said quickly.
His eyebrows crinkled slightly. “I can get it easily. You can stay here and rest.”
I looked down at the bed but I didn’t loosen my grip on his arm. He must have thought I was a complete idiot, but no way was I going to let him leave me there alone.
“
You’re afraid.” It wasn’t really a question, more a statement of shock.
“
What if he comes back?” I asked in a small voice. I couldn’t raise my eyes to meet his.
“
He? You mean the wolf?” I nodded. “You don’t have anything to be afraid of here.”
His words brought back the chilling memory of my dream. I tightened my grip on his arm. He seemed perplexed but he didn’t say anything or pull away.
“
How can you be sure?”
“
In my house, you are safe,” he said with finality, “from whatever hunts you.”
I did look up then, and our eyes met. Something clicked then. His words went far beyond the wolves. “Ok.” I let go of his arm. I was afraid to look and see if I had left a bruise.
“
Listen, I won’t be long.” He gently brushed away a tear that I hadn’t realized had fallen. “You’ll be alright. There is nothing to be afraid of here.”
I took a deep breath and nodded more vigorously. My growling stomach made us both laugh. I pushed my hair behind my ears and looked back at him. “I’ll be fine,” I said.
“
Yes, you will be.” He winked again. “I’ll be right back.”
“
Promise?”
He laughed and brushed his finger on the tip of my nose. “Rest,” he ordered. He pushed himself off the bed and crossed the room to the doorway. He turned once more to look at me and then turned and disappeared through the door.
I let out a huge breath of air after he was gone. I clasped my hand over my mouth to be sure that I wouldn’t scream. I frantically searched the room for something familiar, anything that might explain who I was and why I was here. Nothing in the room was even slightly familiar to me though.
There wasn’t much to the small room. Besides the bed, there was a dresser with five drawers, a desk of sorts, and another small stand with a strange looking bowl sitting on it. How had I gotten here? What happened to me? And most importantly, what the hell was I going to do now?
My eyes stopped at a small window. I flung the blankets off my legs and stood up on wobbly legs. I had to lean heavily on the bed to stop myself from falling. I hated to imagine him coming back and finding me a crumpled mess by the bed. One rescue was enough. He already thought I was crazy, best not to solidify his opinion.
I made my way carefully around the end of the bed. I knew I wouldn’t have much time before he returned so I quickly let go of my crutch and hobbled to the window. My anticipation quickly turned to disappointment and I was sorry that I had chanced my luck. The only thing out there was trees.
Something waited just on the edge of my memory, but I couldn’t get a hold of it. I shook my head. Only trees. I could hear water running in the distance, maybe a mile away; maybe less.
A loud bang from the kitchen made me jump. I turned quickly from the disappointing view and hobbled back to the bed. By the time I had the blanket back on I was breathing heavy. I hoped he wasn’t too observant.
I had barely leaned back on the pillow when he returned holding a large plate of food. There were six eggs and three large chunks of bread.
“
I’ll be sure to have a better meal for you this afternoon,” he apologized. He only paused slightly at the doorway.
I looked at him with wide eyes. “You plan on cooking me the whole chicken next time?” I smiled as I took the plate from him. I was proud that my voice was steady.
He laughed and ducked his head. “I’m not used to cooking for a...a girl,” he chuckled.
I shoveled in a large mouthful of eggs. They were surprisingly good. I smiled unattractively around all the food in my mouth. “It’s ok,” I mumbled, “this is really good.”
He waited until I had finished eating before the questions started. “Where were you when the attacks happened?” he asked softly.
I swallowed the bread that was still in my mouth with an audible gulp. The wolf attack. My palms suddenly got clammy and I had to clear my throat before I could talk. I looked everywhere but at him.
“
I’m not really sure,” I croaked, licking my dry lips, “I don’t remember much.”
“
You said you saw a black wolf,” he probed, “was that the only one you saw?”
Why was he so interested in these wolves? If he thought they were dangerous — werewolves even — why wouldn’t he want to keep far from them? Maybe he did want to; maybe that’s why he was asking so many questions about them. He hadn’t even asked for my name yet, and I didn’t know his. What had he just asked me? “Umm,” I stalled.
“
How many were there?” he asked again.
“
I’m not sure,” I said in a slightly whiny tone, “I only saw a flash of black fur. I can’t even be positive that it was a wolf.”
“
But you saw blood?”
I closed my eyes for and for a moment I could see the dream perfectly again. “Yeah, there was blood.” I swallowed again and picked distractedly at the blanket.
“
Was it just your sister?” he asked more gently.
I concentrated hard to try and remember. The image of two men came to my mind. Who were they? Was I married? “Yeah,” I said shortly. I had to be careful what I told this man.
He nodded thoughtfully, with his finger to his lips.
“
What’s your name?” I asked abruptly, eager to change the direction of our conversation.
He looked at me curiously, perhaps only now realizing we knew nothing of each other and yet here we sat sharing breakfast in the same bed. He sat up straighter. “I am Nickolas Gant of Le Beaux,” he said formally, “and you are?”
I couldn’t think of anything to say to him. I didn’t even know my name. I only knew what the angel had called me in my dream and I couldn’t be sure that that was even real. “I am Eva,” I told him, hoping that would be enough.
“
Eva?” I nodded, keeping my eyes averted. “Do you not remember your father’s name Eva?”
I brought my fingers to my mouth nervously. I shook my head but didn’t say anything. I wondered if he would throw me out. Fear gripped me tightly, where would I go?
He was still for a moment. I was too much of a coward to look up at him. Then he leaned over and patted my knee affectionately. “If the rain holds off today—” his words trailed off and he got up and went to the small window. He peered outside, tilting his head to the side. He made a low sound. “If the rain holds off today, we’ll set off for the Colony at first light tomorrow.”
“
The Colony?” I questioned.
“
The Colony,” he said while he came back to the bed, “is a city, a safe city. Lady Neleh rules the Colony so it’s the safest place for you to be right now,” he explained.
“
How far away is the colony?”
“
It’s a half day ride. By horse,” he added.
“
And if the rain doesn’t stay away?”
“
If the rain comes today, the river will flood and we might be stuck here for a few days.” He pursed his lips as if the idea of being stuck here displeased him.
The rain started a few hours later. Huge, fat droplets of water. Nickolas sat in front of the window, watching the water gather on the sill. I stretched out fully on the bed. I rolled over so I could see Nickolas. The muscle in his jaw twitched rapidly. I wondered if that meant he was angry.
He turned to face me, as if he knew I was staring. “Looks like we aren’t going to be able to head out as soon as I’d planned,” he stated the obvious.
I gave a weak smile. “So what are we going to do?”
He smiled cautiously at me. “We’ll have to stay here and see how bad it gets. Maybe it won’t last long.” He looked doubtful.
“
Well couldn’t we go now? It’s not too bad now, maybe…” I let my words trail off. I didn’t really want to leave this place until I could remember things more clearly, but he seemed upset about staying.
“
No, we won’t chance it.” I was relieved that he left no room for argument. He must have misread something in my expression because he quickly added, “The rain here can be very unpredictable, I wouldn’t want you to get caught in some bad weather. And if the river rises—” he watched me to make sure I wasn’t going to argue. He didn’t need to worry.
“
Ok.” I nodded.
“
You don’t have to be afraid here Eva. My intentions are…”
“
I know,” I cut him off before he could finish. I wasn’t afraid of him. I didn’t know anything about Nickolas but one thing I was sure of, I wasn’t afraid of him. “I’m not afraid.”
“
Good.” He flashed a heart stopping smile. In two long strides he was standing next to the bed. I carefully masked my surprise. “I am going to go see about your chicken now,” he chuckled.
“
I’m not really hungry.”
“
It’ll take a little while to rustle something up. You can rest.” It wasn’t really an order, I told myself, just concern.
“
Can’t I help?”
“
That won’t be necessary.” He patted my leg comfortably, as if we’d been friends for centuries.
“
Are there really werewolves out there?” I asked quietly.
He crinkled his forehead in confusion. “Are you afraid?”
Was I afraid? I wasn’t sure if I was or not. My dream had left me wary, but I felt safe with Nickolas. I wanted him to stay with me. The realization took me a little by surprise. This man had a strange effect on me. When I said nothing he sank down on the bed beside me. He put his hand on my leg, just above my knee.
“
There’s nothing to fear while you are with me,” he said gently.
“
What if one of them comes here while you’re gone?”
“
First, I won’t be gone. Second, they won’t come here.”
He couldn’t be sure of that. Besides, I was more worried about him than myself. I didn’t want him to be hurt. “Yeah, but what if…”
He put his fingers lightly to my lips to stop my words. “I promise,” he met my eyes straight on, “that nothing will hurt you as long as you are with me.” How could I argue with that? Besides, I knew he was right. I nodded. He had to look away before I could.
BOOK: Timeless (Immortal Love Series)
13.51Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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