The Girl and the Lion (Sanctuary Book 1)

by Stella Night

  The cure had to be in there. If it wasn’t, it was game over for Dimitri. And Sadie would be screwed.

  She pulled the laptop out of the bag and flipped it open. The screen lit up thankfully. But the battery indicator said the computer was at fifty percent power. And the computer was old. Fifty percent could mean she had a few hours, or it could mean she had a handful of minutes.

  The clock was ticking.

  The answer was in her hands. Right at her fingertips. So close but so far away. She just had to figure out the password.

  She tried the obvious stuff. Birthdays, death days, anniversaries. Her name. Her mother’s name. The name of her father’s first pet. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

  Fine. It wasn’t something obvious. This was a fairly big secret. He didn’t want it falling into the wrong hands. So he had to go obscure. Something no one else would know. Something that couldn’t be found by looking at his life.

  What did that leave?

  She typed in everything she could think of. Every try elicited the same response. A red flashing warning that the password was incorrect, mocking her desperation. The words might as well have read “Dimitri is dying because you can’t figure this out.”

  She wanted to throw the damn computer at the cave wall in frustration. She was at ten percent battery now. The damn thing was on its last legs.

  With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and pictured her father. Not just the way he looked in her memory, but the essence of him. How kind he was. How patient. How quick he was with a smile and a sympathetic ear.

  After her mother died, raising a six-year old daughter as a single father was no walk in the park. Especially since little Sadie had been plagued with nightmares. She used to wake up screaming in the middle of the night, chased from sleep by one imaginary monster or another.

  To soothe her, her father began telling her stories about her mother in Heaven. How much fun she was having. What kind of adventures she was going on. And how she was watching over Sadie at all times. Her guardian angel.

  In life, her mother’s name was Sara. But her father told her she’d been given a new name now that she was Sadie’s guardian angel. And he told her, whenever she was scared or lonely or when she missed her mother, she could whisper the name like a prayer, and her mother would be with her. At her side.

  Seraphina.

  Sadie typed it in. holding her breath before hitting the enter key. She whispered the name again, for the first time in years, praying that her mother was watching over her just then. She tapped the enter key.

  Success.

  She was in. She whispered a quiet thank you to her parents. Still looking out for her after all these years. Then she dove into the files headfirst, hoping she could find the answers she needed in time.

  Chapter 6

  Dimitri awoke with the sun in his eyes and a foul taste in his mouth. He was cold and alone, but he was alive. That was a good start.

  His back was up against a cave wall. Before him lay the smoldering embers of a fire. Vague memories of the journey from the Sanctuary came flooding back. A lot of it was a blur. He hadn’t been in his right mind. The poison had crept up on him with a vengeance, stealing his strength and making him weak.

  He flexed his limbs, feeling the blood rush back into his tired muscles. The unfathomable weakness was gone. In its place was a tired feeling. But he could feel his old strength lurking behind that tiredness.

  Sadie was gone.

  He couldn’t blame her. He’d brought nothing but trouble into her life. The best thing she could do was get as far away from him as possible. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss at her absence.

  It was a ridiculous feeling. He’d only known her for a few hours. But in that time, he’d grown fond of her. She was easy to talk to, like they’d known each other for years. And she knew the truth about who he was. What he was. That was a rarity in itself.

  She’d taken the news rather well. And she hadn’t been afraid. Not of him, and not of the bullets flying around them. She had a warrior spirit just like he did. Another rarity, in his experience.

  And more than all that, she was gorgeous. Just the image of her in his head made his chest ache. He’d never felt that way before. The thought of falling in love with anyone always seemed impossible to him.

  He’d seen too much ugliness in the world. Done too many terrible things. His heart had hardened as a result. It was better not to feel. Not to love.

  But he’d never met a woman like Sadie.

  He grabbed a branch to stir the dying fire to life. Maybe once he got through all this. If he got through all this. He could find her again. Make a go of it for real.

  The snap of a branch outside brought his senses to high alert. Someone was coming. He gripped the branch like a club and crouched at the ready. The makeshift weapon wouldn’t be much good against an assault rifle, but he’d been though too much and come too far to go down without a fight.

  The wind shifted outside. He caught the scent of her. Like the smell of earth after the rain, clean and fresh. And something sweet, too. Like wildflowers.

  Sadie strolled into the cave. In the dim light, he could see her amused smile. “Looks like you’re feeling better.”

  Her grin was infectious, and he smiled back at her. His posture relaxed. “I am, actually. I’d like to think I’m too strong for the poison to kill me, but I have a feeling this was your doing.”

  She smiled enigmatically. “Maybe. Get that fire going and I’ll tell you.”

  He noticed she was wet. Her long, dark hair was dripping with moisture. She stretched her arms over her head and ran her fingers through her hair, wringing the moisture out.

  Dimitri’s eyes were glued to the curves of her. Her damp clothes clung to her like a second skin, leaving very little to the imagination. Heat rose up in him. Desire, hot and hard. It was like a punch to the gut, leaving him dizzy and breathless.

  He must have been staring because Sadie stopped what she was doing. “What?” she asked, more self-conscious than he’d ever seen her.

  He shook his head as if coming out of a trance. “You’re so goddamn beautiful.”

  “Oh,” she said. “Maybe you’re not out of the woods just yet.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You told me the same thing two days ago. I just figured it was because you were delirious.”

  “Two days? Was I out that long?”

  She nodded grimly. “I wasn’t sure I could save you. Well, I didn’t really. You can thank my father.”

  She explained what happened with the computer. Figuring out the password. Finding a treatment for the poison.

  “It’s only a temporary solution,” she finished. “I can treat the symptoms, but the poison is still inside you. We need the antidote.”

  “That wasn’t in your father’s files?”

  “Not that I could find. Maybe it was a bit beyond his skill level. My father wasn’t a chemist. He could only devise treatments using things he had around him. Which is lucky for you. Since I was able to find the herbs in the forest to make your treatment.”

  “Makes sense. How did you figure all that out?”

  “I didn’t. He had a journal file in there, talking about the work he’d done. I only had time to scan it before the computer died.”

  “I can’t thank you enough for saving me.”

  “Yeah, well. Get that fire going again and we’ll call it even.”

  “No, we’ll never be even. I owe you my life. And I’ll do whatever it takes to get yours back.”

  ***

  Dimitri stood shirtless by the stream. Sweat slicked his masculine chest, making him glisten in the sun. Sadie did her best not to stare, but she failed miserably.

  She watched him as he stretched and flexed, her eyes glued to every inch of him. Despite the rough couple of days, he was still a delicious looking man. It was a pleasure to drink him in.

  “God, it feels good to wash off some of this grime,” Dimitr
i called out to her.

  “Yeah, you were pretty ripe.”

  He shot her an annoyed look, but her smile seemed to take the sting out of her comment. His features softened into a smile. “Well, you could have given me a sponge bath. Take advantage of my unconscious state.”

  “Yeah, right. There’s nothing sexier than an unconscious man.”

  He laughed. “Fair enough. But I’m conscious now. You’re more than welcome to have a go.”

  Sadie forced a laugh, but inside, heat rippled through her in waves. There was nothing funny about the idea of running her hands over his naked body. Feeling the hard lines of him shifting under her hands.

  He’d called her beautiful. She’d sidestepped the question, uncomfortable with the compliment and nervous under his gaze. It had been a long time since any man had looked at her that way, much less a man as amazing as Dimitri.

  She couldn’t allow herself to believe him. He was being kind to the woman who’d saved his life. He needed her help. And he was just being nice.

  Still, it was fun to believe that someone like him could be attracted to her. She imagined taking him up on his offer. Stripping off the rest of his clothes, along with her own. Then plunging into the cool water. The only way to keep warm would be the delicious friction between their bodies.

  As if reading her mind, Dimitri unzipped his pants, exposing the deep chiseled V of his abdominal muscles. Pointing her eyes downward to the patch of hair peeking out.

  Her mouth dropped open at the sight, and her insides clenched. “What are you doing?”

  He spread his arms wide. The pants barely staying up around his hips. One move and they would fall, revealing everything. “I can’t go in there in my pants.”

  “But you’re not wearing anything underneath.”

  He smiled. “Well, I’m fresh out of boxers.”

  “But you’ll be naked.”

  He laughed. “Yes, I will. There’s no one around to see me. The bad guys are gone for now. There’s no one around for miles. I think I’ll be okay.”

  She shook her head. “But I’m here.”

  He shrugged. “You’ve already seen me naked. No sense in being bashful now. If you don’t want to look, don’t look.”

  With that, he turned his back to her and slid the pants down his legs. The tight curve of his ass came into view, along with his powerful thighs. Sadie knew she shouldn’t look, but she did anyway.

  His body looked like it had been carved from marble. Like the statue of some Greek god come to life. She felt a pang of disappointment when he slipped into the stream and his body disappeared from view.

  His head popped out of the water and he let out a wild whoop. “Man, that’s cold. Woo! Makes me feel alive.”

  “You would know,” Sadie called out.

  “I guess I would. Listen, if you’re gonna stay, come over here. So I don’t have to keep shouting.”

  She considered it. It would be rude not to accept his invitation, she thought. And it wasn’t like she would see anything. The water covered his manly bits. And if she caught a glimpse of him through the water, well, that wasn’t her fault.

  Sadie headed over to the edge of the water, where Dimitri was bobbing around enthusiastically. She found a large, smooth rock and sat down on it. The sun shone off the surface of the water, dazzling her with its reflection.

  For a moment, she felt like none of their problems existed. She felt like her and Dimitri could just be two people out on vacation. A new couple out in the woods on a beautiful day without a care in the world.

  She ached for that life. It was something she’d never had. Something she’d never really thought about much. She’d always had too much going on. Too many responsibilities and worries.

  “How can you do that?” she asked.

  “Do what?”

  “Swim around like that. Like you don’t have a care in the world. We’re being hunted by dangerous men. Your friend is in trouble. And there’s still poison working through your system.”

  He shrugged. “Life is hard. I know that more than most. It’s a series of terrible things one after the other. But every once in a while, you find yourself in a place like this. A beautiful place with a beautiful girl. A moment of calm in the storm. I’ve learned to take advantage of those moments. To appreciate them while I can.”

  “That must be nice.”

  “Tomorrow the storm will be back. Or maybe the next day. But right now, I’m just happy to be alive. To be with you. The problems will still be there tomorrow. But the peace, that’s only for today.”

  “I can’t stop thinking about tomorrow. Or the next day. I can’t put it out of my head. I wish I knew how you do it.”

  “Maybe I can show you how.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Come in and join me.”

  ***

  The struggle on Sadie’s face broke Dimitri’s heart. It had been such a simple thing to ask her, to let go of her problems for just a moment. To live life and just embrace happiness. But she didn’t seem capable of doing it.

  “I can’t,” she said finally, almost like she was ashamed.

  “Why not?” he asked gently, not wanting to push her too hard.

  “I’m not like you. I can’t just turn it off like you can.”

  “All I’m asking is for you to try.”

  He watched her consider it. Could see the wheels turning in her head. “I don’t have a bathing suit.”

  He smiled. “Neither do I.”

  “Yeah, well some of us aren’t as comfortable showing off our bodies as you are.”

  “You have nothing to be ashamed of. I can turn away until you get in. If that’s easier.”

  She nodded, then made a little twirling motion with her finger, telling him to turn around. He did as she asked, even though he really wanted to look. Some things were worth the wait, and Sadie was one of those things.

  He heard her slip off her clothes, followed by the sound of her entering the water. “Can I turn around now?”

  “Yes,” she answered.

  He turned around, anticipation burning inside him. He hadn’t meant for this to be sexual, but the mere thought of her being so close to him like this was enough to get his heart hammering in his chest.

  He forced himself to relax. The point was to get her relaxed, not to seduce her. But the temptation called to him urgently. It was almost impossible to ignore.

  Then there she was. Shoulder deep in the water. His eyes traced the line of her neck and the perfect skin of her shoulder. She still wore her bra and panties, dark blotches in the water hiding her treasures from him. He would have given anything for the water to stop moving so his gaze could penetrate its depths. To get a clear view of her.

  “So I’m here,” she said. “Now what?”

  He shook the lusty thoughts from his head. “Now I want you to close your eyes.”

  She did as he asked.

  “Take a deep breath. Smell the scent of the forest. Hear the sound of your heart beating. Feel the water flow over your skin. Let it wash away your worries. Do you know what all this means?”

  “No idea.”

  “It means you’re alive. It means you’re safe.”

  She snorted. “For the moment.”

  “Yes, exactly,” he said, circling around behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders. “A moment is enough. As long as you allow yourself to live in the moment. To experience it. To savor it.”

  His hands massaged the knots in her shoulders, eliciting a sigh from her. “That feels amazing.”

  “All of this is amazing. As long as you stop and take it all in. It makes everything else easier.”

  “So stop and smell the roses?” she asked.

  “Something like that. You asked me how I can let go of everything. Well this is how.”

  She leaned her head back against his shoulder. “I think it’s working.”

  The feel of her against him was electric. He felt close to her, and not just
physically. He’d been in a lot of trouble over the years. Most of it, he faced alone. But as guilty as he felt for dragging her into this mess, it felt good to know they were in this together.

  As she reclined backwards, her body stretched out and floated just below the surface of the water. It gave him a tantalizing view of the tops of her breasts. The pale skin seemed to glow in the sun. He felt desire rising in him again, making it hard to think. Making it hard to breathe.