by Missy Jane
“Was that the only physical activity you engaged in?”
I blushed at the intimacy of him in my thoughts, as well as the question, and turned my face away from him.
“That’s none of your business.”
I busied myself with straightening the sofa cushions and keeping my gaze off Andor.
“There are other ways to work out your idle muscles before we make the long trek back tomorrow.”
“Indeed.”
“Such as—”
“Don’t even—” I began, with a shocked expression as I turned to look at him.
“Dancing,” he said with a grin.
“Dancing?”
He laughed at the suspicion in my voice.
“Hmm, where were your thoughts, Alexia? Surely you don’t plan on seducing me tonight?”
I snorted and rolled my eyes, before plucking a cushion from the sofa and throwing it at him. He plucked it neatly from the air and laughed.
“You’re terrible. Such a man,” I said with a huff, crossing my arms over my chest.
“But, my dear beautiful lady, I’m not a man.”
I shivered as Andor walked toward me with the pillow in his hand and a slight grin on his face. He dropped the pillow onto the sofa and stopped a breath away from me. I had to look up to meet his eyes and my pulse sped as he smiled at me.
“This may be our last night of true rest,” I said, unable to muster more than a whisper.
“Or our last night of peace,” he whispered back.
He wrapped his arms around my waist slowly, giving me time to push him away, but I didn’t. Instead, I unfolded my arms and laid my hands on his biceps. This was what I wanted. We’d been sleeping together for days, but he was always the perfect gentleman. He would hold me through the night but never anything else, and my body was aching for his.
“Alexia, I’ve wanted to kiss you from our first meeting, but I know what you think of my kind.”
“You are unlike any shifter I’ve ever known, Andor.”
His smile broadened.
“Is that permission?” he asked, eyebrows raised.
I began to say yes, but the word was lost in his mouth as he placed it against my own. He moved his lips gently but firmly against mine as he licked my lips into opening. I closed my eyes and gave in, allowing him to invade my mouth and knock down the many barriers I’d built around myself. With a kiss, I suddenly didn’t give a damn about his DNA or anything else. I fell into his warmth and was lost in passion, completely caught up in his arms. After a few seconds, the kiss began to deepen and he started to move his hands all over me. My hands took on a life of their own as they ran up his arms, over his shoulders and down his back. I loved the feel of hard muscles beneath his shirt, and ached to feel bare skin.
Andor heard my thoughts easily, as I didn’t attempt to shield them. He played with the hem of my shirt for a heartbeat, before slipping beneath and sliding over my ribs. He stopped with his fingers spread beneath my breasts, barely touching the underside of my bra, and causing my breath to catch. Then his hands were gone from my bare skin and I felt him lift me, and knew he was carrying me toward the bed.
“Is this truly what you want?”
The tenderness in his voice was astounding, but I also heard the hesitation. I was too far gone to think twice, and there was no way I was letting him back out either.
“Yes, Andor, I swear it is.”
“Thank the Gods!”
He placed me gently on the bed, never breaking our kiss, and I felt his hands everywhere on my body. I began to tug on his shirt, knowing I couldn’t get it off fast enough. I had both shoes and one sock off, and Andor was finally shirtless when he froze. His head jerked up and he looked toward the stairs, before spinning around, his entire body rigid and ready. I sat, panting, both confused and furious at the interruption. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but knew better than to distract him. I reached to the nightstand and grabbed my gun instead. I’d stopped walking around armed after our second day together, and kept my gun on the nightstand instead. My knives were on the coffee table and my machine gun was beside the dining room table.
As I checked my ammo, I finally began to hear the footsteps Andor had already picked up on. They were still at the top of the stairs, but whoever it was had obviously found their way into our hidden sanctuary. Andor motioned for me to crouch behind the sofa. He strode to the foot of the stairs while pulling his shirt back on. He stood to one side of the open doorway, weaponless. Andor himself was as deadly a weapon as I could hope for.
Once the footsteps reached about the halfway point to the bottom, a familiar voice called to us.
“Andor, it is Bjorn. We must speak…now. I have news.”
Andor visibly relaxed, but didn’t move from his spot, so neither did I. He looked over at me, saw me peeking around the edge of the sofa and frowned.
“Alexia, go wait in the bathroom.”
“Huh? I don’t think so. Whatever in the hell he has to say to you, I want to hear it too.”
“I’ll tell you all once he leaves. Please, go now.”
“No.”
“Damn it woman—”
Whatever Andor planned to say next was lost as Bjorn appeared in the doorway. He took two steps past Andor without turning and seeing him, then froze. He raised his hands into the air, showing they were empty. I stood with my gun pointed straight at his head.
“That is not necessary, Death. Andor, tell your woman to put down the gun,” Bjorn said with more than a little malice in his voice.
“I’m not his to command, but I may be death for you unless you explain why you’re here unbidden,” I replied.
“Is this how you welcome one you wish to call friend, Andor?”
“I thought you said that was no longer an option for him,” I replied sarcastically.
“She speaks for you now as well?”
“Enough,” Andor growled.
I shut my mouth, but didn’t lower my gun. Bjorn didn’t so much as flinch, confirming my suspicion he knew exactly where Andor was.
“Alexia, please lower your weapon. Bjorn, we were about to have dinner, would you care to join us?”
I smirked as I tucked my gun into the back of my pants.
“That is so not what we were about to do,” I teased.
“Of course it is, after I thoroughly ravaged you. Not mine, eh?” Andor replied, keeping his expression serious.
It was much harder for me not to laugh, and I turned away from them to hide my grin.
“That is much better. Dinner would be good, but I fear there is no time,” Bjorn replied.
Andor walked over to me and put his arm around my waist, whether for my closeness or to hold me back, I’ll never know.
“Why is that, Bjorn? What has happened? I must admit I didn’t expect to see you again. We planned on leaving in the morning,” Andor said.
“The morning? Hmm, that may not be soon enough. I was at the edge of the property not an hour ago, and saw someone you may not wish to encounter. Sandulf is heading this way, and there is no other house in the area. It is my opinion he is on your trail.”
“Sandulf? The Sandulf, leader of the Theodereiks pack and alpha of FNT?” I asked, disbelief clear in my voice.
“The very same, and that is not all. He is traveling with a woman, and if my eyes are not failing me after all these years, the woman is your wife, Andor.”
“His arrival could be very bad,” Andor said.
“You think?” I nearly shouted.
I was terrified. It was one thing to know we might be in danger from nameless, faceless thugs who were doing the bidding of the leader of a corporation, but to have the leader of an entire nation of shifters, the alpha, on our backs, knowing how he felt about me… I was sweating bullets.
“Calm yourself, Alexia. I can smell your fear, and so can Bjorn.”
“I don’t give a fuck if he knows I’m scared! It’s all I can do to stay in this house right now.”
/>
“And what would you do otherwise?”
“I don’t know…run?”
“Soon. Therefore you must remain calm as we plan our escape.”
I knew he was right. Both he and Bjorn looked at the food on the stove as I worked on calming my heart rate and my nerves.
“What will you do?” Bjorn asked.
“We will leave tonight. Immediately,” Andor replied, his calm voice never wavering.
“I hoped you would say that. Your wife was always a foolish woman. I do not think it would be wise to encounter her again.”
“She ceased being my wife years ago, Bjorn. She is nothing to me now,” Andor said in a low voice.
To me it almost sounded as if he was angry at Bjorn’s mention of her. I wondered if it hurt him to hear of her, especially if she was betraying him somehow. I still didn’t understand his relationship with Sandulf. From what little he’d told me, I didn’t have a very pretty picture in my head of the former Mrs. Olavson either. Any woman who would intentionally abandon her child simply because of her bloodline was nothing more than a bitch in my book. I might not like shifters a whole lot, well okay, that was rapidly changing as far as Andor was concerned, but as a woman who’d lost her child, I couldn’t fathom purposely giving one up. I missed my son more than words could ever express, and I would have gone through the fires of hell to keep him by my side.
I realized I hadn’t done a very good job of guarding my thoughts when Andor tightened his grip on my waist. He gave me a reassuring squeeze, but kept his gaze on Bjorn as they discussed escape routes. I wanted to jump into his lap and let him hold me until my melancholy thoughts drifted away. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time or privacy for that, and if I ever did break down in such a way Andor would probably think I’d lost my mind.
Chapter Fifteen
I clamped down on my thoughts and packed our food. I began to clear away the pans but Andor stopped me.
“There’s no need. We must go now, grab your pack.”
I went to do as he said without question or hesitation, feeling Bjorn’s gaze on the back of my neck. I was tempted to whirl around and flip him off, but fought my juvenile tendencies. Within ten minutes we were ready to go, loaded down with food for three days and more weapons than I’d ever carried in my life. Bjorn led the way up the stairs and through the kitchen. We didn’t go out the front door or even the back door as I expected. Andor led us through the living room to a large den with a fireplace big enough to cook a bull. He walked straight into the cold, empty fireplace and pressed his hand against the back wall. It immediately slid inward, revealing a man-sized gap which Andor slipped into. I followed him into the darkness quickly, ever wary of Bjorn at my back. Once we were all inside what turned out to be a hidden passageway, Bjorn pushed the wall back into place.
“This is one nifty house,” I said.
“If we had more time, I would show you all the passageways, but alas our vacation has come to an end,” Andor said with a grin, as he took my hand in his.
We walked down a small flight of stairs and into a hallway single file, though Andor kept my hand firmly in his. It was dark but my eyes adjusted to see pinhole shafts of light from various heights along the walls. After a minute or two we began to walk steadily downhill. I felt the air growing damp and colder around us. We walked on for longer than I’d expected, and the scarce light disappeared completely. All I had was the sound of our footsteps and Andor’s hand in mine. My other senses took over and I fought my rising panic. I smelled damp earth and water. I knew we were underground somewhere, but exactly where I could only guess. At that point I realized how much trust I was placing in both shifters.
We walked on and on until finally, Andor led me around a corner and abruptly stopped. I opened my eyes and was surprised I could make out a steel door before us. It had a combination lock and Andor opened it with ease. I was taken by surprise when I was met by sunlight, and even more shocked to see where we came out. The door was attached to what appeared to be an abandoned utility shack. The outside was nondescript and blended in well with the surrounding woods. I looked around but couldn’t see any signs of Andor’s house.
“I will circle around to the west and make my way back towards the house. Go to the river as I said, Andor. It is the only chance of losing them. Any other way and they will be sure to track you,” Bjorn said.
“I will do so, Bjorn. Thank you, old friend, may the gods guide your path.”
“And may you never stray into darkness,” Bjorn replied.
They shook hands, both looking as if a simple handshake was inadequate. Then they released each other abruptly and Bjorn left. Andor watched him for a moment then looked at me.
“Time to go, Alexia. Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied grimly.
He took my hand and we began to run.
The trees whipped by my head as we ran further and further away. I felt like I’d been taken back four years to the beginning of the nightmare, once again running through the woods for my dear life. I was alone the last time though. My husband and son had been dead for two days. I’d stayed at our house long enough to burn their remains and bury the ashes in our backyard before I left my entire world behind.
I thought of my son’s beautiful smile, my husband’s strong hands, not calloused like Andor’s, but smooth and gentle. He’d been an accountant, and had never seen a backbreaking day of work in his life. I didn’t mind at the time, of course. He was all I’d ever wanted. As I ran through the woods with Andor pulling me along behind him, I knew it was time to let my husband go.
I know, stupid time for such a revelation, but it’s amazing what thoughts run through your head when you think you might die soon. When I fought off my first shifter, our next-door neighbor who’d attacked my husband, I was thinking about my son. But when I’d hunted the piece of shit who’d ripped my son from my arms and mauled him in front of me, as I lay on the ground trying to hold onto consciousness, I kept thinking about my flower garden. I was thinking about fertilizer and whether or not shifters would make my bluebonnets grow. There wasn’t enough of that shifter left for a flowerpot, much less a garden, but those same thoughts went through my head as I hacked him to pieces with an axe.
My thoughts turned away from that scene, and Andor squeezed my hand. I realized I was letting him through again and fought to clamp down harder. Keeping him out was a necessity, but I was beginning to struggle with why. It still seemed like I barely knew him even though we both knew the facts of each other’s lives. We’d just spent a couple of weeks alone together as well, something I hadn’t done with a man in four years. But emotionally I wasn’t ready to be connected to Andor. I was attracted to him and was more than ready for sex but not much else. Or at least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
We continued to run for what felt like an eternity, but in reality was no more than a couple of hours. Andor slowed to a walk until finding a place for us to rest. We were deep in the forest, the tall pines sheltering us from the sudden rain. I was cold, damp and hungry, the worst combination. Andor didn’t want to build a fire, afraid it would be a beacon. We huddled together as we ate. It would’ve been romantic if I wasn’t exhausted from our sprint through the woods, and it wasn’t over yet.
“We can rest for a little longer but we cannot sleep through the night,” Andor whispered in my ear.
I shivered as his breath gave me goose bumps where it slid across my skin.
“Not even if we take turns keeping watch?” I whispered back.
“No. Most shifters are more powerful in the darkest hours. We don’t wish to give Sandulf any advantage.”
“I agree. You don’t think he’d be willing to talk to us first? I mean, I know he sent you to k-kill me, but—”
“It wasn’t his decision alone, and it wasn’t done in haste. I’ll need to convince others as well as the alpha that you are not the threat they fear you are. For now, our best bet is to get back
into Georgetown before he catches up to us. That is the only way I can guarantee your safety.”
I shivered again and his hold on me tightened, though it was no longer the cold that made me shake.
“I still can’t believe he would come after us himself. It hardly makes sense, even if we are enemy number one. What kind of leader would endanger himself to capture us?”
“You’re thinking in human terms Alexia,” Andor said with a slight smile. “In your culture the leader often surrounds himself with guards and allows others to face danger for him. That is not the way of most animals. For us, a strong leader is just that, a leader. He does not ask others to go where he will not. We don’t have a democratic system and any sign of weakness will be challenged.”
“You’re not surprised Sandulf is here?”
“A little. I didn’t realize we had his attention already. However, knowing we do, no, I’m not surprised he would come after us himself. He is the best tracker I’ve ever known. If he truly wants us found, find us he will.”
“Hmph, your power to make me feel better is amazing.”
“My apologies, dearling. I wish I could both be truthful and make you feel better. Unfortunately, it must be one or the other and I don’t wish to be deceitful to you any longer.”
“Any longer? Since when has your truthfulness policy been in place?”
Andor looked at my lips for a moment, making my mouth go dry and my pulse race.
“Since the first time you touched me. I will forever carry the feel of your fingertips upon my wings.”
My breath caught as he leaned in and took my mouth with his. The kiss was as sweet as our first one had been, but too short for my liking. He pulled back and looked into my eyes, a slight grin on his face.
“It’s so hard to stop once I start kissing you, Alexia, but we must move on,” Andor said as he stood.
“Okay,” I agreed breathlessly, allowing him to lift me to my feet.
We put our packs back on our shoulders and Andor pulled me close.
“We must run again for a ways. I can smell Sandulf on the wind and he is gaining ground fast.”
