Something about the bearded man tugged ather memory. She tried to place him, but he was too far away and toomuch in shadow for her to be able to see him clearly. She sniffedthe air to see if his odor might trigger her memory, but the windblowing around her carried the man’s scent away from her. She wasabout to take a step back toward the man when David spoke.
“Here we are.”
Mia turned as David slid the key into thelock, turned it, and pushed the door open. She forgot all about theman as she bounced on her toes and eagerly waited to see inside;the outside of the cottage was adorable, and she hoped the insidedidn’t turn into a disappointment. David reached inside the cottageand flicked on the light switch. She laughed in delight when theroom beyond was revealed.
“Definitely a place for hobbits!” shedeclared as she strode into the small room.
David ducked beneath the door to enter theroom. “Yes, it is,” he agreed and set the backpack on thefloor.
His gaze ran over the cream-colored wallsand double bed. To his left was a kitchenette with a fridge thesize of a pizza box. Until then, he hadn’t realized they madefridges so small. On top of the fridge was a TV that was evensmaller in size, and the one burner stove beside the fridgesparkled in the light. The cottage may have been tiny, but it wasspotless and it had Mia grinning from ear to ear.
Mia sat on the mattress and bouncedexperimentally on it. “Little hard.”
David plopped onto the bed beside her.“We’ll have to break it in and soften it then.”
She giggled as she leaned against his side.“We’ll do exactly that,” she said before jumping to her feet. “Canyou imagine the shower in this place?”
David watched her rush around the corner,her laughter filling the room when she saw the bathroom. She was sodifferent than the woman he’d first encountered in the warehouse;so different than the woman who had been brought to the trainingcompound. That woman had been afraid, wary of everything aroundher. He’d never seen her smile, let alone laugh. Now she radiatedjoy.
He knew she was still dealing witheverything that had happened to her, but every day she smiled andlaughed more. Every day she spoke of a future she never would havementioned a month ago. He loved watching her flourish as herconfidence grew and her sadness eased.
Her head popped back around the corner; hereyes danced with amusement when they met his. “I’m not sure you’regoing to fit in the shower,” she told him.
David rose and walked toward her. “If you’rein there, then I will figure out a way to fit into it.” She steppedback so he could look around the corner. “Or not,” he muttered whenhe saw the tiny stall with a simple showerhead propped over adrain. “Is that the sink?”
“Better the sink in the shower than thetoilet.”
“That’s a statement I never thought I’d hearbefore. I do agree with it though.”
Mia couldn’t stop herself from gigglingagain as she stepped closer to him. She felt like a completelydifferent woman, somehow reborn just as a new house had been rebornon the ashes of her old one. She draped her arms around his neckand rose on her toes to kiss his cheek.
“I’m so happy,” she murmured.
His arms cinched around her waist, he liftedher up and carried her over to the bed. “So am I,” he said as helaid her down on the mattress.
CHAPTER 18
David’s eyes fluttered open when a scrapingnoise pierced through his sleep. He pulled Mia closer against himas he listened for the sound again, but all he heard was thehowling of the wind and the rattling of the glass in the windows.Mia murmured something and turned into his chest. Her warm mouthsettled against the hollow of his throat.
He heard nothing abnormal, yet he couldn’tshake the feeling that something wasn’t right. Easing himself awayfrom Mia, he rose and tugged on his jeans before approaching thedoor. He couldn’t make it through the door of the cottage withoutstooping, but he could at least stand upright inside the smallbuilding.
He’d pulled the heavy yellow drapes over thecrooked window before falling asleep. Stepping beside the window,he peered around the edge of the drapes instead of pulling themback. He sniffed at the air, catching a whiff of blood on thewind.
His fangs tingled and adrenaline pulsedthrough his body as he retreated to the bed. Resting his hand onMia’s shoulder, he gave it a gentle shake. He placed his fingerover her lips when her eyes fluttered open. Her brow furrowed asshe gazed at him.
Bending down, he rested his mouth againsther ear while he spoke. “Be quiet and get dressed.”
Grasping the blankets, she held them againsther chest as she sat up on the bed. “What is it?” shewhispered.
“Something’s not right.”
Mia scooted off the bed and snatched herclothes from the floor, tugging on her jeans and sweater beforereaching for her socks. She froze when a new scent tickled hernose. Sitting back on the bed, she sniffed at the air. A cold chillraced down her spine. For a disconcerting minute, the entire roomtilted, and she was plunged back into a time when she’d wornchains.
Her chest squeezed as the sensation of thosevampires sitting on her,feedingfrom her, crashed over heronce more. There was no rhyming, no David to help stabilize her;she was thrown back into those days of terror too quickly to stoppanic from crushing her.
David took a step toward Mia when all thecolor drained from her face. She stopped breathing before shewheezed in a sharp breath and her hand flew to her chest. Davidtook hold of her shoulders as he knelt before her.
Ensnared in some memory, she didn’t seem tosee him as her eyes remained unfocused. He clasped hold of her chinand turned her head toward him. “Mia, what is it?”
