“Just when I think one of you kids might notbe such an asshole, you prove me wrong.”
Vicky’s laughter followed him out of theroom.
CHAPTER 6
“It’s beautiful,” Mia breathed as she gazedat the pristine lake water. The fresh snowfall early this morningclung to the branches of the willows dipping toward the water. Thewhite-covered world around them reflected in the dark blue water insuch a way that it was almost as if she gazed into a mirror imageof their world.
“It is,” David agreed.
She looked at him as he stood beside thelake with his hands shoved into his coat pockets. The wind hadtousled his hair in a boyish way. His eyes were the color of arobin’s egg in the early morning sun filtering over him. Herfingernails dug into her palms as she resisted reaching out tostroke the dark blond stubble lining his jaw.
She wanted to be able to melt against him,to give him everything she knew he deserved from a woman. To takethe pleasure she knew he could give to her. His kiss had nearly sether blood on fire. What he could do to her with his hands andtongue might just make her spontaneously combust,ifshedidn’t have a panic attack first. Thatifwas more like aguarantee though.
After their conversation about matesyesterday, he’d stayed away from her for the rest of the day andnight. It had been the longest she’d gone without seeing him sincehe’d pulled her out of that warehouse. She’d spent all nighttossing and turning with the fear that he’d realized she was right,that he deserved better than her for a mate.
There had been numerous nights, after she’dfirst been freed, when the sound of her crying out from hernightmares had woken David and drawn him into her room. Unwillingto be alone, she hadn’t complained when he’d settled into a chairbeside her bed and sat with her for the rest of the night.
Most times, she never fell back asleep andwould watch him as he watched her, afraid that if she took her eyesoff him for one second, he’d vanish. She never would have made itthrough those nights, and the many that had followed, without him.Perhaps she should have wondered then if there was something morebetween them than a burgeoning sort of friendship, but she hadn’tbeen able to think past getting through one minute at a time.
She hadn’t realized how much he’d come tomean to her until she’d gone nearly a day without seeing him. She’drepeatedly cursed herself for being such an emotional wreck whileshe’d trudged her way into the shower that morning. Convinced he’ddecided to go back home without her and find a normal woman, she’dfelt as if her heart were made of lead while she dressed. To herdismay, she’d realized how much she would miss him and had alreadycome to rely on him.
Then she’d heard a knock on her door. She’dpractically tripped over her own feet to answer it when she caughthis scent on the other side. Breathless when she’d flung the dooropen, she’d nearly thrown herself into his arms before he could askher to go for a walk. She’d somehow managed to compose herselfenough to make it to the lake with him, but that need for more ofhim was growing within her again.
Without thinking, she stepped closer to him,drawing his attention to her. In his eyes, she saw the samedesperate want that churned within her. Lines crinkled the edges ofhis eyes as his jaw locked.
“Let’s take a walk around the lake,” hesuggested.
Mia bit her bottom lip as she tried tocontrol the ache in her body while she gazed at him. “Yes,” shemanaged to choke out.
He made a move as if to take hold of herhand before lowering his hand to his side. Feeling beat down, Miakicked her feet through the thin layer of powdery snow. She kepther focus on her borrowed boots, which were a size too big on her,as they made their way leisurely around the lake.
Lifting her head, she gazed at the trees. Nobreeze stirred their white-coated limbs. The birds didn’t evenchirrup, and nothing moved through the forest while they walked. Apeaceful hush hung over the world around them.
“It’s like we’re the only ones who existhere,” she murmured. “As if time has stood completely still.”
David tore his gaze away from her to take intheir surroundings. “It does seem that way.”
“I know it’s not your home, but do you likeit here?” she asked.
“At the training facility or by thislake?”
She smiled as she tipped back her head tolook at him. “The training facility.”
David hesitated as he debated how to answerher question. He didn’t want her to possibly feel bad about himstill being there if he told her the truth, yet he couldn’t lie toher. “Not really,” he admitted. “The lack of laughter isn’tsomething I’m used to. It’s far too serious for my liking. And thewallpaper in my room is enough to drive a man insane.”
Mia stopped walking to face him. She’d stoodin the doorway of his room a few times. “It is pretty awful inthere. All I can think is ‘Redrum’ every time I see it.”
He chuckled as some of the tension easedfrom him. “If I turn into Jack Torrance fromThe Shiningandstart wielding an ax, you’ll know why.”
Mia laughed. “I can’t see you as apsycho.”
His eyes twinkled in the rays of the sunfiltering over him. Those rays caressed his body in a way thatemphasized his broad shoulders and gentle smile. There wassomething so open and honest about his smile and demeanor. Unlikeothers she’d encountered during her time running around thestreets, and then in captivity, nothing sinister lurked beneathDavid’s surface. With him, what she saw was what she got, and shewanted more of it.
Before she could think about her intentions,she pulled off a mitten and stretched up to brush back a strand ofblond hair falling to the corner of his eye. He didn’t move totouch her when her fingers stroked across his temple and down theangles of his cheekbone.
His skin was smooth, a strong contrast tothe stubble she came into contact with next. The coarse hairs alonghis jaw prickled against her fingers as she ran them over his jawand around to his chin. The predatory way he watched her made herpulse pick up. Her increasing breaths caused a steady plume ofsteam to form in the chilly air as she dared to dip her fingerstoward his neck.
David watched the fascination playing overMia’s face as she continued to explore him. He’d been touched bymany women over the years, but none of them had ever stroked himwith such reverence. He wanted more of it, more ofher.
