by Jenika Snow
All those thoughts and images had my heart beating harder, faster. To run or not to run…
Hell, it could have just been an animal. I was in the middle of the woods.
Where no one can hear me, and if I go missing, I might never be found.
I didn’t think anymore, just walked quickly back down the mountain. Fuck all of this. I might want desperately to know Dillon, but I also didn’t want to die in the process.
The sound of something running over the underbrush had me picking up my pace. I glanced behind me and saw nothing.
My fear rose higher.
I did run then, even though I thought that might only make this worse. I glanced over my shoulder, and that’s when I saw it.
A fucking squirrel.
I felt really damn stupid then and chuckled at myself. But just as I was about to slow and catch my breath, I tripped. I fell forward fast and hard, and the pain lasted a second before blackness took me under.
3
Dillon
I tracked.
I hunted.
I killed for my meals.
It was the life I chose to live, the way I decided to survive. The supplies I got from town were nonperishables and essential hygiene products. But meat, protein … that I found on my own. That I worked to get.
I also came down to get my disability check. It didn’t allow me to live in luxury, but then again I didn’t want to. I was a simple man with simpler needs.
I moved through the forest silently, making sure to scan my surroundings. I’d been tracking a deer for the last hour. It was close. I could feel the fear in the air, the fact that it knew it was being tracked.
I’d been doing this long enough this was second nature to me, something that was a part of me. For more than a decade I’d been out here, by myself. Being around people wouldn’t do me any good. With my brother gone and no other family, I was alone. But I had become used to it.
But wanting Lexi and knowing I could have her were two very different things.
And I would have her.
I stopped, listening. I heard the deer to my left and started going that way. My bow was at my side, my body ready, my heart rate slow, steady.
I was close to the path that led all the way up to my cabin, and moved toward it. And then I saw the animal. I crouched low, partially hidden behind a large tree. I got my bow ready.
Its head was raised, and its ears twitched. It knew I was here, but didn’t know where or how dangerous I was. This wasn’t a game to me. This was survival, food.
I was about to take aim when the sound of a female moan had me freezing. The deer ran off and I cursed, but the sound came again and I rose up and made my way toward it. I was close enough to see the path, but I didn’t see anyone on it.
And then I saw her.
Lexi.
Out here in the middle of nowhere.
Hurt.
I attached my bow to my back and made my way quickly toward her. My heart was at a steady pace, but every instinct in me was roaring to get to her. I needed to protect her.
I crouched in front of her and instantly saw the blood on her temple. She was on her belly, the rock she must have hit just an inch from her skull. She moaned again, but her eyes were closed.
I didn’t think about anything else but getting Lexi to my cabin and making sure she was okay. Town was too far away, and I wanted her surrounded by my things while I tended to her.
Territorial.
Possessive.
Mine.
Lexi
I felt something wet on my face right before full consciousness woke me. Or maybe it was the wetness that roused me?
“Lexi?”
The voice I heard was deep, husky. It was familiar.
“Lexi, open your eyes for me, baby.”
I did as I was gently commanded. My vision was blurry at first, but then it cleared and I saw Dillon in front of me. He helped me sit up, and I grimaced as my head pounded. I lifted my hand and touched the bandage that was on my temple.
“What happened?” I asked. My voice was hoarse, and I cleared it. He handed me a glass of water, and I drank it down. I hadn’t realized I’d been so thirsty until I’d seen it.
“Here,” he said and handed me two white pills.
I eyed them and then lifted my head and looked at Dillon.
“It’s acetaminophen. I’m sure your head is killing you.”
He didn’t show any emotion, didn’t have any expression. His face was like granite.
“Thank you.” I took the pills and washed them down with the remaining water. He had the glass refilled seconds later. I finished off that one, too.
“You must have fallen and hit your head on a rock. I found you while hunting.” My head throbbed as if his words were the reminder it needed. “But it appears superficial. I don’t think you have a concussion, but if you want, I can take you to the hospital in town.”
I stared into his eyes. I didn’t want to go anywhere, even if I was hurt. I touched my head again. That one spot was tender, but otherwise I felt okay. “Was I out long?”
“I found you a few hours ago.”
I glanced at the only window I saw. It was pitch-black outside. After handing the glass back to him, I watched as he made his way into what I assumed was the kitchen. There was a wood-burning stove, an ancient-looking icebox, and a makeshift sink. As I looked around, I realized this entire place was pretty rustic. He had one couch that had seen better days, and nothing electric that I could spot. I continued to take in my surroundings.
The cabin was small, tiny really. It was one large room, and the bed I was in took almost the entire left corner. But Dillon was a large man, and I didn’t think a twin mattress would sustain him through the night. I stared at the fire, which he was in the process of stoking. My stomach let out this low rumble, and heat instantly filled my face.
Dillon turned around, but his face held no expression. “When was the last time you ate?”
I thought about it. I’d eaten a decent breakfast but had only snacked during the hike. “It’s been a while,” I said.
He made a gruff sound and nodded before turning and walking over to where the sink was. I just now realized he had a freezer off to the side. It had been partially hidden by the wall that came out slightly from the kitchen area.
Okay, so he clearly has electricity to run that thing.
“A generator.”
I snapped my gaze from the freezer to him. He stared at me, his voice so deep it felt like it could actually stroke my flesh.
He pulled out a slab of what appeared to be meat, and my stomach decided to growl in that instant. Dillon glanced at me again, and although I saw something flash in his eyes, his expression remained stoic.
“Give me ten and I’ll have something for you.”
My head started pounding for a second before finally the pain relented. My feet were bare of shoes, but I was still in my hiking clothes. Then again, no matter what stories I’d heard about Dillon being a predator, he’d tended to me. He’d cared for me, and still was.
True to his words, ten minutes later he was walking back over with a plate in one hand and a freshly filled glass of water in the other.
“You think you’re good to sit at the table?” He tipped his chin toward the small wooden table off to the side. There was only one chair pushed up against it, and it looked aged and worse for wear.
I nodded and pushed myself up. Even with socks on, the wooden floor was chilly under my feet. Dillon set the plate and glass down and pulled the chair out for me. When I was seated and he leaned down slightly and pushed it in, I swore I heard him inhale. But he straightened and walked around the table a second later.
He leaned against the back of the scarred, torn couch, his big arms crossed, his gaze on me. Even though I’d seen him plenty of times over the years, right now, right here seemed different. The gray long-sleeved shirt he wore was pushed up his tattooed forearms. I stared at his hands, inked as well, and
imagined them once again on me, touching me, making me submit to his will. I lifted my gaze over his chest. The power seethed beneath the surface. I followed that strength up his inked throat and to his face. I swore I saw emotion flicker and make up his expression for a second.
“Thank you for helping me and making sure I was okay.”
“You’re welcome, Lexi.”
The way he said my name had my skin coming alive.
“No matter what you’ve heard, I’m not a monster.”
Although he said that, I watched this hard darkness cover his face.
“I never thought you were a monster.” I’d come here for that reason, to tell him I wanted him, that we’d be good for each other in all ways. But right now it seemed so misplaced.
Right now didn’t seem like the best time for it.
I focused on the food in front of me. He’d made me a steak. I started eating, my stomach growling again. Before I knew it, I’d eaten half of it. He came closer and pushed the glass of water toward me. I finished that as well.
“Thank you again.”
He grunted in response and took the plate and glass away. “Lay back down. You hit your head pretty good. Relaxing in bed for the rest of the night is probably best.”
“My back and ass hurts from laying down.” I went to stand, but a wave of dizziness assaulted me. I tipped slightly, the chair in my way causing me to go off balance. I thought I was about to hit the ground, but strong arms wrapped around my middle and pulled me back to a hard chest. For a second everything stilled.
I stopped breathing.
I heard my heart racing in my ears.
I felt the strength and maleness coming from him. The scent of him, and being surrounded by his things, slammed into me.
“Come on,” he said softly, but with a voice so deep there was no doubt he was all man.
I might have been dizzy at this moment, but I sure as hell could feel every ridge and dip of his hard body.
He helped me to the bed, and once I was in it, the dizziness passed and I breathed out. I closed my eyes, exhaustion settling in. This should have felt weird, me lying in Dillon’s bed, him tending to me.
But it didn’t.
It actually felt … right and comfortable.
I knew Dillon was staring at me because I could feel his gaze on me. And when I opened my eyes, I saw I was correct. He stood by my side, his body so big, so powerful.
“What were you doing all the way out here?” he asked, and I struggled for a second on what to say. Be honest, or make up some bullshit excuse because telling him why I’d been so close to where he obviously lived seemed weird as hell?
In the end I decided to be honest. That was always the best course of action.
“I was looking for you.” I shifted on the bed. Now resting on the pillows, my upper body propped up and my heart thundering because I’d admitted the truth, I waited for Dillon to say something.
He turned and grabbed the chair I’d just been sitting in and brought it close. The leg of it scraped along the wooden floor. The lighting in the cabin was all from lanterns and candles, and I found it a little odd, seeing as he did have a generator.
What’s so strange about it? This man clearly likes to live off the grid, and he enjoys a simple existence. Ho many people can you say that about?
“Why?” he finally said, and I glanced down at my hands. I had them twisted together, my nerves coming to the surface.
“I’ve watched you come into the grocery store every month for years.” I made eye contact with him. But Dillon was always a hard book to read. He didn’t show any external emotions, so trying to gauge his reaction to this was impossible. “And every time I looked at you, heard the rumors, saw the way you didn’t let it affect you, I knew you and I were the same.”
He lifted a brow as if what I’d said was ridiculous. Although that expression was pretty guarded as well. “So you thought it was smart coming all the way out here to what, tell me that?” He rested back on the chair and crossed his big arms over his chest. I shouldn’t have taken that second to look at how wide his shoulders were or how broad his chest was. I also shouldn’t have let my gaze linger on the clear definition of his six-pack under the thin material he had on.
But being in his presence made me feel like I was the most feminine person in the world, like compared to him, I was fragile.
“I didn’t say it was the best plan,” I admitted.
For long seconds neither of us said anything. But it wasn’t this weird silence that descended. He watched me, and as much as I wanted to look away because the focus of someone staring at me was pretty intense, I stared right back. He shifted on his seat and leaned forward to rest his forearms on his thighs.
“What if I hadn’t been hunting? What if I hadn’t been there, Lexi?”
No words came to me at that moment.
“You know there are wild animals out here, ones that wouldn’t have thought twice about going after you, especially with fresh blood in the air.”
My throat went tight.
“The thought of something worse happening to you…” He stopped speaking then, his face going hard, as if he were pissed. “It would have been fucking devastating, Lexi.”
God, the emotion in his voice was the most I’d ever seen or heard in all the years I’d known him.
He rested back on the chair again, his jaw tight, a muscle contracting and releasing under his stubble-covered flesh.
“We could have talked in town,” he finally said again after long seconds of silence.
“We could have.” I looked down at my hands again. I felt like a fool right now, like I was being scolded.
He’s right though. What if something worse had happened? It was pure luck he came when he did.
God, I didn’t even want to think about that. I just wanted to close my eyes and pretend that things were exactly how I’d envisioned them … Dillon telling me he wanted this just as badly as I did.
4
Dillon
Lexi had fallen asleep an hour ago, and although I wanted to tell her that being here, under my roof, in my space, was exactly where I wanted her, I’d kept my mouth shut.
She’d come out here to talk to me.
That realization had lust, intensity, and a slew of other emotions I’d always forced myself not to feel coming right to the surface.
She made this soft sound in her sleep, and I pushed my thoughts aside and looked at her. I didn’t want her to go, and the thought of chaining her to my bed and keeping her here played through my mind. I wasn’t a fucking creep, and even if I wanted her as mine no matter what, I wanted her here because she desired it.
She came to me. She wanted to talk with me.
True on every account, but how would she feel if I told her I’d been about to go down there and make it known I didn’t want to have those passing glances once a month anymore? How would she feel if I admitted I’d been fighting my attraction to her, that what I really wanted to do was pin her to my bed, force her thighs as wide as they’d go, and plunge my cock into her? I’d claim every part of her, fill her with my cum so she smelled like me … was marked by me.
I wanted that and so much more.
The years isolated from people had hardened me. I knew that.
I welcomed it, embraced it.
I never claimed to be the type of man that could give her a happily ever after, not one found in a fairy tale at least. But what I could give her, what I wanted to give her, was a life where she wasn’t alone. I wanted to show her how devoted I could be, how I’d make sure she always came first.
My life had been lived in solitude for so long that I was ready to end that. I was ready to let myself feel something other than the crushing loneliness and anger I’d held on to for years.
I stared at Lexi but thought about my brother.
Dean had his problems. He always had. Before I’d been deployed, I’d tried to be there for him, to keep him busy, let him know he didn’t have to
resort to drugs to feel alive. He’d done well, went to rehab, and had a job, a place. He’d been clean and sober for three years. I was so fucking proud of him, and it was then I decided to start living my life.
I’d been selfish, and it was my fault he’d fallen back into the life he had.
I scrubbed a hand over my face and breathed out. I had so much fucking baggage I was drowning in it. It would never go away, never disappear. I’d always have it latched on to me like a parasite, and no matter how much I buried it or covered it with my own darkness, it would always be a part of me.
But then there was Lexi. We hadn’t even spent one full day in each other’s company, yet I felt this lightness when I was around her. I felt this need to keep her with me, no matter what, but I also knew if I was going to make this work, to make her see she belonged with me, I’d have to be honest about the type of man I was, and that I’d go to any lengths to get what I wanted.
And I’d never wanted anything more than her.
Lexi
The following day
I’d woken up not realizing where I was at first. But it had only taken a moment for me to remember the hit to the head, Dillon, and everything that had come after that. But then again, there hadn’t been much that happened after he’d cooked me dinner. I’d been so tired, and although I’d wanted to talk with him, open up about everything, I’d fallen asleep.
Thank goodness I found the bathroom in the cabin. It was just a toilet in the corner, a tiny sink next to that, and a makeshift curtain to give privacy.
I stood, the wooden floor so damn cold. A fire was already started, and I walked over to it. With my hands out in front of me, the warmth seeping into my flesh, I thought about what I was going to do.
The morning light shone through the window. I was alone in the cabin, but I had a feeling Dillon wasn’t that far off. And then I saw him. He stood by a shed, the double doors open, and a deer carcass hanging on the inside. I covered my mouth, my stomach roiling.
Of course I wasn’t a stranger to hunting and what went with it, but still, witnessing it all, the cuts, the skin peeling back, all of it was unsettling.
