It had taken time, but she’d learned to stop hating herself for things that weren’t true. She wasn’t fat and ugly; she never had been, no matter how skewed her vision of herself was for far too long. Maybe she didn’t brim with self-confidence like Aida, but she knew who she was, accepted it, and most importantly, she’d grown to love herself.
But now Mike was telling her that she was uniquely special… tohim. Resting her hand on his cheek, she ran it across the blond stubble forming a scruffier beard on his square jaw. In the brief time they’d spent together, Mollie had come to care for him more than she ever thought she could care for a man, but was she willing to bind her life to his for eternity?
And not to mention, their relationship hadn’t gotten the most normal start. What if outside this life-and-death existence they found each other boring? She didn’t think Mike could ever be boring, but it could happen.
Mike gripped her fingers and kissed the back of her knuckles before drawing her toward him. “You have plenty of time to decide, Mollie,” he murmured against her mouth before rolling onto his back and dragging her across his chest.
“Mate or not, I’m still going with you tomorrow.”
Mike groaned as her eyes held his. This was a battle he couldn’t win without causing irreparable damage to their relationship. “You have to stay with me.”
“I will,” she promised as she bit her bottom lip.
Unwilling to give either of them more time to think and worry, he slid his lengthening cock between her thighs and smiled when she trembled against him.
Chapter Thirty-Two
The sun was creepingover the horizon when Doug returned and stayed with her while Mike went out to hunt for them. Mollie was acutely aware of his scrutiny, and she felt like a leper as the vampire with the warm smile went out of his way to avoid her.
“Mike told me what he thinks I am to him,” she said.
“He doesn’t think it,” Doug replied. “Heknowswhat you are to him.”
“Is that why you avoid me, or do you not like me?”
He gave her a sad smile. “From what I know of you, you seem like a very likable and resourceful person; you’re a little stubborn, but I like stubborn. However, I’ve been around enough mated vamps to know to steer clear of their mates when the bond isn’t complete. Mike’s been my best friend for over forty years, and he’d kill me for you.”
Mollie gawked at him. “No, he wouldn’t! He said he’d be more volatile, but he’dneverhurt you.”
“Normally he wouldn’t; the way things are between you now, he would. And since I enjoy my life, I’d prefer not to take any chances with him or you.”
“I see,” she murmured.
She contemplated his words until Mike returned and she devoured the food he brought. Afterward, they went out in search of Jack and more weapons. When afternoon arrived, they returned to the spruces with nothing to show for their efforts.
The sun was starting to descend when they reemerged from the trees and made their way through the woods toward the barn. Nearing the barn, Doug stopped in front of her, and Mike settled his hand on her shoulder.
To avoid the hill, they’d approached the barn from a different direction than the one they’d fled it from. Coming up around the side of the hill put them in a position to face the large front doors. The entire barn was red with white trim, but the two sliding doors were white and had two crossed beams on the front of them that formed an X. That X was painted bright red.
X marks the spot, she thought, and for some reason, a shiver of foreboding raced down her spine.
Mike edged closer to her as, behind the closed doors, a clattering bang sounded. He glanced at Doug when he realized the sound was one of the cages being thrown open.
“What the fuck?” Mike whispered.
“I don’t know,” Doug replied.
Mike’s eyes swung back to the barn when one of the large doors rumbled open. No one emerged from the space the open door provided before a shot rang out. Mollie jumped and instinctively leaned toward him.
Thirty seconds later, a man staggered out of the doorway. Throwing his hand up, the man blinked against the sun while he stumbled around the cleared land. Another cage clanged open, and then a woman fled out the doorway. She recoiled when the sun hit her but lurched forward with her hands in front of her to keep from running into anything.
The man’s frame had hollowed out until he was a scarecrow on two legs, but the woman had a healthy build, and Mike suspected she’d spent far less time in the cage than the man. She fled past the man and across the clearing until she came to the fence Mike leapt the night they escaped. Unaware it was there, the woman collided with the fence and stumbled back before falling forward. Gripping the upper rail, she pulled herself over and vanished.
Another cage clattered open, and a man bolted out the doorway. The first man was still reeling around the field when the man ran by him.
“Are they letting themout?” Doug inquired in disbelief.
“It seems that way,” Mike murmured when another woman exited. “Or at least they’re letting the humans out.”
