Inheritance: (A New Adult Paranormal Romance) (Heart Lines Series Book 2)

by Heather Hildenbrand

“You said there’s a clearing, right?” I asked.

  “Yes. Through the trees, but—”

  “That’s where we’ll go,” I said.

  Sam didn’t argue and I took that as agreement. I trudged down the dirt trail, inhaling the scent of the woods. Pines and Oaks rose tall overhead mixed with low-lying huckleberry and other shrubs. The moon was shrouded by cloud-cover but it was warm for January. It was perfect.

  The comforter was thick and warm enough against the cold grass. I set Sam on her feet and spread it out before going back for her. Slowly, I peeled the silk camisole from her torso, her hair spilling down around her bare shoulders and half-covering her breasts. Pointed, pink nipples peeked out between her thick waves and I brushed her hair aside to take all of her in.

  “You are so beautiful,” I said, awed by the sight of her smooth, perfect skin. I let my gaze travel over her lazily. Nothing and no one was going to rush this. Not werewolves, not the venom inside me. Nothing.

  I wanted her to remember this moment long after I was gone. Hell, if there was a way to take a memory with me to the other side, this was the one I wanted.

  When she shivered, I reached for her and she came forward, smiling tentatively. Her fingers wound around the hemline of my shirt and I let her peel it up and over my head so that we were both naked from the waist up. She ran her hands over my chest and I bit back a groan at her touch. She felt amazing against me. Everywhere her hands touched tingled.

  Her arms wrapped around my neck and I cupped her ass, lifting her against me. Her body was warm and soft against mine, her legs wrapping around me, as I laid her down gently against the comforter. I lowered myself over her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling the blanket over us.

  “Better?” I asked.

  “Mmm.” She reached up and brushed a kiss over my mouth. My grip tightened, my hands finding new places to touch along her bare back and waist and then lower, cupping her ass in my palms.

  “You still have too many clothes,” I whispered, running a hand over her pants.

  “So do you,” she said and I caught a naughty smile curving her lips before she dipped low to plant kisses along my neck and chest. Her hands hooked into the waistline of my pants and I knew I couldn’t wait any longer.

  I grinned and grabbed her hips, slinging her onto her back with just enough roughness to earn me a gasp. That single, small noise did more to turn me on than any words ever could. I yanked at the clasp on her jeans, uncaring whether I popped off any more buttons. As long as her clothes disappeared.

  Sam watched me as I undressed her, and I felt the heat building inside me underneath her gaze. Suddenly, slow and steady was gone. In its place was need. Impatient and fervent.

  Now. I wanted her now.

  My fingers sought her out first, and she held on tight as I slid into her. Sizzling fire ripped through me, burning and tightening every inch of me. Feverish need. Desperation to the point that I could barely see past the edges of her face. Reason was gone. Only survival remained. And if I wasn’t inside her in the next few seconds, I was positive I would die.

  I felt her hips push against me and then her sharp inhale as I removed my finger from her wetness and positioned myself at her entrance. When I slid inside, she arched for me, opening, already asking for more as her hips moved against mine. My hands tangled in her hair and I stared down at her, already lost in our rhythm. In the way she made me feel. In the way her dark eyes held mine like I was underneath some sort of spell.

  Poison inside me.

  Me inside her.

  Both of us gasping for breath and just trying to touch and be touched.

  This time, it wasn’t the venom that threatened to undo me, it was the girl. And before it was over, I knew I didn’t belong to the venom like I thought I did. I belonged to Samantha Knight and she belonged to me. I was hers. Forever.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sam

  I woke shivering. A dazed confusion fogged my thoughts and for a second as I blinked, taking in the forest floor—and the fact that I was lying on it naked—I was utterly lost.

  I pressed a palm against the brown, dead leaves that were turning fast to a wet, mulchy blanket underneath me and looked around. Sunlight streamed in through the canopy, slanting its way across the greenery until the maple leaves almost glowed. Birds called all around me and for a moment, it was only their song and the muted sounds of my own short, nervous breaths.

  At the sound of a groan from behind me, I lurched sideways and toppled over. Alex cracked an eye and then two. “Sorry, did I wake you?” he asked and then tugged at my hip, pulling me close against his bare chest.

  My breath caught and a shudder ran through me as last night came rushing back in a wave of shocking clarity. Pleasure rippled through me and then a lazy fullness that made me want to smile and stretch and snooze the day way away. But right along with the pleasure came the nerves. I knew exactly how I felt about last night. What I didn’t know was whether Alex shared my feelings.

  “You okay?” Alex asked, smoothing my hair away from my face and searching for my mouth with his. His eyes were half-shut in lazy awareness.

  He kissed me before I could answer.

  It settled me.

  “I’m okay,” I whispered, my lips against his. “It’s cold,” I admitted, goose bumps pricking my skin as the sharp morning air hit me in a way it hadn’t even registered last night.

  I felt his mouth curve as he drew the blanket up around us like a cocoon. “I could warm you up,” he said.

  But then I realized the shaking wasn’t coming from me. “Alex,” I said, wrapping my arms around him for completely different reasons than he’d just suggested. “You’re shaking.”

  I felt him sag against me and hated that I’d had to remind us both of the harsh reality of our current situation. But I couldn’t let him get sicker because of me. In fact, I was hoping after last night, he’d get off his stubborn high horse and let me help him.

  A phone rang and I had to search for the source, my eyes landing on Alex’s discarded pants several yards away. How had they gotten so far from the blanket? I shook my head and Alex groaned as he got to his feet and went to retrieve it.

  I didn’t bother to look away, appreciating the flexing of his thigh muscles. Good Lord, even his ass flexed with muscles as he walked.

  “Yeah?” Alex answered, his frown deepening as he listened to whoever was on the other end.

  I propped myself on my elbows, suddenly very aware that I was naked. In the woods. In the light of day, it wasn’t so exciting. While Alex listened to whoever it was, I hopped up and searched for my clothes.

  I found my jeans and tugged them on before realizing the button was missing. My camisole was thankfully unharmed, though wrinkled and a little damp. I slid it on and found Alex already half-dressed.

  He fumbled with his pants while propping the phone on his shoulder. “No, I didn’t catch a scent of anything furry,” he said and I knew he must be talking about the aftermath of the break-in we’d stumbled upon last night.

  My chest tightened as I remembered the state of Kiwi’s house. I hated to call her and tell her but it had to be done.

  I listened while Alex finished relaying the details of what we’d found. A minute later, he handed me the phone. “She wants to talk to you,” he said.

  I took it and we fell into step together, headed for the house. “Hello?”

  “Hey, Sam, it’s me.”

  “Tara, hey,” I said, a strange discomfort settling in my stomach. I wasn’t clear on everything that had transpired between Tara and Alex two years ago, but the little I knew made it awkward to be hearing from her first thing after sleeping with him. “What’s up?”

  “Alex told me what you found at Kiwi’s,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

  I shot a glance over at Alex, wondering if this was also awkward for him, but his expression was unreadable. “Yeah. It’s awful,” I said. “I can clean it up but a lot of stuff is just ruined.�
�

  “Alex probably won’t let you stay long enough to do that,” she said wryly and I felt my discomfort launch itself into irritation at how well she seemed to know him.

  “We’ll discuss it together and decide,” I said a little too stiffly.

  “Of course,” Tara said quickly. “I just meant that he wouldn’t want to put you in harm’s way. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that we’ll send a team over to fingerprint and all of that. See if we can get a lead on whoever did this.”

  I frowned. “I thought Alex said it wasn’t a werewolf.”

  “From what he says, it wasn’t. But it’s hardly a coincidence at this point. We have to consider that, even if it was humans, they aren’t exactly unaware of Kiwi’s connection to you. Or your connection to the supernatural world.”

  I sighed. “Right.”

  “Alex is going to take you to his place. You can stay there while we figure things out,” she said.

  I stopped walking just as the backyard came into view. It looked so peaceful. So undisturbed compared to the inside. “No way,” I said.

  “Sam…” Tara paused and I planted my feet, ready for a fight. “All right. You and Alex decide together,” she said finally. She murmured a goodbye and a promise to check in later and hung up.

  I tossed the phone back to Alex who waited beside me and stalked toward Kiwi’s house. “Whoa, where’s the fire?” he asked, hurrying to catch up.

  “You are not allowed to plot behind my back with Tara about things that involve me.”

  “I didn’t—”

  I whirled. “And you are not allowed to answer her calls while you’re naked with me.” I raised a brow in silent challenge—because we both knew his answer would dictate whether we were ever naked together again. “Got it?”

  “Got it,” he said with zero hesitation.

  He shoved the phone back into his pocket and I turned back toward the house. Alex grabbed my arm, stopping me.

  “What?” I snapped.

  Alex’s expression softened. His grip turned gentle. His other hand came up to cup my cheek. “I don’t have feelings for Tara,” he said quietly. His gaze pinned me, making it impossible for me to pretend that hadn’t been my suspicion.

  I sighed, melting into the rough callouses on his palm and the way they scraped against my cheekbone. “Good,” I said. “Because if you ever speak to another woman while you’ve got me naked, I will give you more feelings than you know what to do with. All of them severely painful. Do you understand me?”

  He laughed but at my glare, managed to swallow it back. “Crystal,” he said, adding a mock solute that I ignored.

  “In that case, we can go to your house.” My gaze flicked to the wood at Alex’s back, but I didn’t see anything. Then again, I hadn’t expected to. Still, I could feel it there. Watching. “There’s something out there and I don’t think it wants to be friends.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Alex

  I grabbed Sam’s elbow and steered her away from the front door and around the side of the house toward my truck. “Why didn’t you tell me you feel followed and watched all the time?” I demanded, scanning the tree line as we walked.

  I felt her stiffen at my sharp words but I couldn’t help it. I was pissed at her but mostly, I was pissed at myself. I should have never slept outside with her last night. Even after the team had done a sweep and then posted at half-mile intervals. It had been stupid.

  I’d clearly been thinking with the wrong part of my body.

  If anything had happened to her…

  I swallowed down the fear and marched us to my truck, already fishing out my keys.

  “Maybe because I knew you’d react like this,” Sam said, trying in vain to tug away from my grasp. “It’s not going to hurt me,” she added, exasperation coloring her words.

  I stopped at the passenger door and glared at her. “How do you know?” I demanded.

  “Because… the voice inside me tells me it’s safe?”

  I stopped. “What do you mean the voice inside you?” I asked, cocking my head to study her more closely.

  She sighed. “I don’t know what to call it, but it’s the voice that tells me to help the wolves. And I think it’s the same thing that gives me the magic… I call it the Knowing.”

  “Sam, you have to tell me this stuff,” I said.

  “I was afraid I… it sounds crazy,” she said and I could see the fear in her. She thought I would judge her but she was wrong.

  “Sam, listen to me,” I said, taking her by the shoulders firmly enough that I had her full attention. Her almond eyes were dark and wide enough that I felt like I could just fall into them. “You are not crazy. I have never thought that and I never will. But you have to tell me what’s going on with you. All of it. Okay?” the words came out more forceful than I’d meant but it was too close to home. Too reminiscent of my past.

  Sam nodded, her head bobbing up and down quickly as she stared back at me. “Okay,” she said.

  I couldn’t seem to shake it loose. So I gripped her tighter and hardened my gaze. “Promise me,” I said.

  “I promise,” she agreed and I knew she saw that I was shaken, although she had no idea the reason why. “But I don’t want you to worry about what’s out there. Whatever it is—it’s been there for months. Maybe years. If it was going to hurt me, it would have done it already. It had plenty of chances.”

  I felt my skin go cold at that thought and shook it off before it could root itself in my psyche. How alone Sam had been all this time. Because of us.

  “We need to get somewhere safe. Get in the truck, Sam. Please,” I added and was rewarded with her reluctant nod.

  “Fine,” she said, stepping back as I opened the door for her. She stopped and turned back to me, her expression hard and determined. “But I want your word that when we get to your house, we’ll sit down and talk this out. Make a plan. I’m sick of playing defense. I want to take action.”

  I sighed. She was right, we needed offense. The problem was, her idea of a plan and mine were probably worlds apart. “All right,” I said. “Let’s go figure out the next step.”

  “Also, I vote that step should include more clothing. Can I grab a shirt from my bag?” she asked and I smirked, realizing she still wore only her sexy undershirt. I forgotten I’d ruined her shirt last night. And now that I remembered, I wasn’t sorry for it.

  I started the truck while Sam grabbed a new shirt from her bag still in the bed of the truck. She tugged it over her head before climbing inside the cab.

  “For the record, I like you best when you’re naked,” I said, shooting her a grin.

  “For the record, I like you best when you’re quiet,” she shot back.

  I laughed and started the truck, feeling lighter than I had in a while despite the venom.

  While I drove, I called Edie. It went to voice mail and I talked fast, skipping pleasantries. Sam listened in silence while I put in my request. When I’d hung up, she turned to me. “What are wards and why do we need them around your house?” she asked.

  “Wards are like magical walls. Some hunters have a gift for constructing them and when done properly, they keep things out.”

  “Things like werewolves?” she asked and I nodded but the rest of my answer was cut short as I spotted a road block up ahead.

  A car was parked lengthwise across the narrow road leading back toward town. On one shoulder was a Cliffside rising above us. On the other, a sheer drop toward the ocean below. We were trapped and I took one look at the person standing in front of his strategically parked vehicle and snarled.

  “Mason,” Sam gasped, her hand flying up to cover her half-open mouth. “What’s he doing here?”

  I could feel her eyes on me but I didn’t waver in my death-glare aimed at Harding. He wasn’t in his wolf form and his stance wasn’t aggressive but I didn’t give a shit. “I told him we’d reach out when we were ready to meet. Not like this,” I said.

  This assh
ole had screwed with Sam—with me—for the last time. I slowed to a stop a healthy distance from where Mason stood and left it running.

  Maybe, finally, I was going to get to kill him.

  Sam slid uncertainly toward the door but I grabbed her hand and shook my head. “Absolutely not,” I said. “You’re staying here.”

  “But he wants to talk to me,” she said.

  “We’re not doing the meeting here. I’ll tell him we’ll call him later,” I said.

  “Come on. He doesn’t look threatening,” she argued. “Look at him.”

  “Sam, the fact that he knew where we’d be and when is a threat,” I pointed out.

  Sam bit her lip as understanding finally dawned. But she shook her head, waving me off. “Don’t we still have a tail on us somewhere keeping watch from a distance?” she shot back.

  I sighed but didn’t answer. If I said yes, it was like agreeing to this crazy meeting. I wasn’t doing anything of the sort.

  She yanked her hand free. “Just give me five minutes.”

  I shook my head but before I could insist she stay in the truck, Mason took a step toward us and then collapsed, his knees giving out and his body crumpling on the pavement before us.

  Sam cried out and shoved her door open before I could stop her. I jumped out and hurried to get in front of her as we both approached a half-conscious Mason.

  His jeans were ripped in several places. Dirty everywhere else. And his button-down shirt was hanging open, revealing a chest that had been scratched bloody and left a mess. I ignored all of that and stared at the dark lines of his blackened veins.

  Sam crouched and reached for him, stopping short of actually touching the darkest of the black lines that webbed across his chest. “What the…?” I stared down at the interwoven charcoal-like design on his skin.

  “It’s like Bernard,” Sam said, her voice faint and strained as she studied the strange black outline marring the underside of his skin.

  “It’s for you…” Mason said, trailing off as his eyes fluttered closed. He reached a hand out and Sam grabbed it in hers. I bit back a snarl.