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Her eyes closed as she leaned in, closer, her soft lips almost brushing mine. I pulled back and cleared my throat. “I should go see what I can find.”
It was a lame excuse but I got the hell out of there as fast as I could, not sparing her a second glance. Because if I looked back, if I saw the wanting in her eyes, I would break every vow I’d ever made to the Family.
And to myself.
* * *
I stayedout in the forest longer than I intended. But I couldn’t go back there, not until I knew I had myself under control.
Fuck.
The way she’d looked at me, the way my name had sounded rolling off her tongue. She didn’t know what she was asking for.
What she was asking me to do.
I had every intention of getting out of this, of saving her. How could I ever look Nicco and my cousin in the eye if I kissed her? If I touched her the way I was so desperate to.
It couldn’t happen.
Forcing myself to rein in my emotions, I climbed the steps to the cabin. Alessia had been right, I hadn’t managed to find much in the way of food. But so long as we had water, we would be okay for a while.
It was still light out, but the thick blanket of clouds made it a little hard to guesstimate the time.
What I really needed was some kind of plan. But I’d been over every option and none of them were good. When darkness fell, I could try and retrace my steps back to the warehouse, try and locate a cell phone or steal a car. But that left Alessia alone and vulnerable. And even if I found a car, I couldn’t drive it through the dense brush. No, she’d either have to come with me or we’d need to wander the forest and hope to find another way out.
It was hopeless.
We were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but trees. There had been nothing distinguishing about the warehouse. No markers or landmarks and I hadn’t stopped to search for a way in or out.
Maybe I’d been too hasty making a run for it. But the alternative had been too unthinkable, all I’d wanted was to get Alessia the hell out of there.
Slipping into the cabin, I found Alessia curled up in a ball, sleeping. The floorboards groaned and she startled, her head snapping up. “You’re back.”
“Sorry, I—”
“It’s fine,” she clipped out. “Did you find anything?”
“No.”
She shrugged. “At least we have water. How’s your shoulder?”
“Fine.”
“Good.”
Awkward silence filled the room, thick and suffocating.
“Alessia, I—”
“Don’t. Just… don’t.” She pulled the end of the blanket over her and I wondered if it was an attempt to create a physical shield between us.
Why did the idea of that hurt so fucking much?
“What’s the plan?” she demanded. “I can help. I know how to use the gun. Maybe if we double back, we can—”
“No, absolutely not.” Over my dead fucking body.
Yet, I’d thought of the same idea only minutes earlier.
