AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 18
NIKLAS
“Who was that… on the phone?” she asks as we’re both finishing the potato wedges and chicken I made. She kept quiet for a while, pondering whether she should ask me or not.
I could quite literally see the question on the soft wrinkles of her forehead as she was debating the best course of action. It almost made me laugh a couple of times.
“Connor. He’s the sheriff down in Bear Creek.” I could tell her more, but then again, maybe I should only give her the information she asks for, rather than everything I know. Her eyes go wide for a split second, just enough for me to notice, but not long enough for me to catch it if I would have blinked. I wonder what’s going through her head now, I wonder if she’s thinking of finding a way to contact him and turn me in.
“Was it about me?” She’s beating around the bush. I can almost hear her heart beating faster, her eyes a little brighter at the prospect of someone helping her. But Connor won’t help her…
“Yes.” My answer earns me a scowl. She wants more, but I’m giving her answers to her questions, it’s not my fault she’s asking the wrong ones.
I turn my gaze to the plate and take my last bite of food before I grab it and get up to rinse it in the sink.
“He doesn’t know about me, does he? He only knows about Adrien.” I hear her shuffle behind me.
I sigh as I think of what lies ahead. I don’t want Connor involved in this, mainly because I never involve anyone in any of this, but Connor could have his uses in this situation. However, his involvement could complicate things with Suki, with her presence here… more and more I feel like she needs to be here, as controlling and fucked up as that is… she belongs.
She belongs to this mountain.
She belongs in this world.
She belongs to me.
I put the plate in the dishwasher and turn to her, crossing my arms and lean against the countertop.
“I called him a few days ago to see if he knows of anyone being on my mountain, or in its vicinity. Anyone new to the area. However, you… he just found out about you.” I watch her features as she contemplates the information and I’m not sure what to think of her emotions.
Sometimes, I look at her and I feel feral with need, the need to have her, own her and make her mine. Trap her here on this mountain until there’s no conceivable way she will ever want to leave. Other times, I look at the glimpses of serenity in her eyes and I know for a fact that she knows she belongs. Yet those moments are rare, only slight twitches in her gaze.
I know she wants me, no matter how much I force my touch on her, she craves the force, she craves the fear and even though fighting is her game, she takes it all willingly. She wants exactly what I have to give her. When she screams in fear, she screams for more. She pushes me away and pulls me to her all at the same time.
All she needs is right here, in front of her, and I can see an internal battle going on inside of her, but I don’t know which part of her is winning and that thought scares the fuck out of me…
She’s the only person in this world that makes me feel like I have something to lose and the worst part is that she’s the one that can make me lose it.
“What happened the other night, when he came?” She asks me, pulling me out of my disturbing thoughts. I spend the next few minutes telling her about my walk through the woods, the cabin at the edge of the mountain and coming back for her.
“You heard me…” It’s more of a statement than a question.
“I did.” I take a few steps towards her seat.
“Both times…” Her eyes soften as she looks at me, and there’s unshed tears behind them, filled with a strange emotion I can’t understand.
“Both times.” I walk around the table.
“You came for me…” There’s a slight tremble in her shoulders and I think I understand… I came for her… someone came for her.
I move right behind her seat, put one hand on her shoulder and the other one on her chest, pressing it until I can feel her heart beating through me.
“I came for you,” I say as her body leans into me slightly, her shoulders relaxing.
Maybe a minute passes before either of us moves. We’re both pondering, both of us having unspoken words with our own demons. I know what conclusion mine has come to… I wonder what hers has decided.
I move away and go to make another coffee. I know I’m going to fucking need it, I have a lot of shit to sort through today and most of them are my thoughts. I hear her by the sink, but I don’t turn around. She’s not done asking questions, I know she’s not, and I can’t blame her, she barely found out anything.
Her cup slides in front of me and I just look at it. It’s a small thing, but even in this insignificant gesture I can see her confidence is there, no longer the meek woman curled up in the corner of my living room. I turn to look at her and find her gaze aiming straight at me. She doesn’t shift, move away, or drop it.
