Enraptured (16 page)

Her mind spun as she tried to figure out
which direction to go, but it was a toss of the coin, and she
didn’t have one of those right now. In the end, she settled for
running down the mountain instead of up it. Turning, she put her
head down and continued to pump her legs as she raced over the
pavement. She’d never be able to run all the way, but she had to
put as much distance between herself and the cabin as possible
before exhaustion took over.

After a few miles, she slowed and moved to
the side of the road when a cramp in her side became too much for
her to take. Inhaling hitching breaths, she pressed her hand
against her side to ease the stitch there. She forced herself to
walk onward while she rubbed at the cramp. She wiped the sweat away
from her forehead with the back of her arm and pushed aside the
straggling curls stuck to her cheeks.

What have I done?
She didn’t think
she’d ever know the answer to that question, but despite the
growing urge to turn around and go back, to undo what she’d done
and see him again, she kept moving forward. Maybe he wasn’t the
enemy she’d expected, the enemy she’d grown to hate over the past
four years, but he
was
the enemy.

She glanced over her shoulder, but the
shadows of the trees dancing across the ribbon of roadway were
still the only thing behind her. An unexpected lump formed in her
throat, she forced herself to keep walking. She couldn’t consider
herself much of a vampire killer, if she allowed herself to be
swayed by a pair of sky colored eyes and a body that would make
Adonis jealous.

Rubbing at her head, she took another deep
breath before breaking into a brisk jog. No matter how badly she
lusted for him, she’d spent the past four years working toward one
goal, and she couldn’t turn her back on it now. The cool air helped
to dry the sweat on her body, but she would have given anything for
some water. She tried not to think of her thirst as she continued
forward.

***

Paige rested her head against the cool
window and watched the trees pass by in a blur. She’d spent the
early morning hours within the woods, sleeping with her back
against a tree and praying a bear didn’t come across her.
Fortunately, nothing had decided to make a happy meal out of her
during the fading hours of the night.

She’d re-emerged from the woods when the sun
broke over the top of the mountains and continued on. A couple
hours later, the middle-aged man sitting in the driver’s seat
beside her, had pulled his car up beside her to ask if she needed a
ride. She’d hesitated, wary of everyone right now, but the idea of
getting off her feet had been too tempting to resist. Besides, he’d
looked harmless enough with his twinkling green eyes, easy smile,
and graying hair. Looks could be deceiving, but she was convinced
she could take him if he tried anything funny.

The wheels of the car against the pavement
began to slow before the man pulled into the parking lot of a
silver, boxcar diner. Her eyes traveled over the small cluster of
buildings surrounding the diner, but the restaurant looked to be
the only place open at this early hour.

“I work at the feed store,” the portly man
beside her said and pointed toward the sagging, gray shingled
building across the way. “This is far as I go, but the bus comes by
at two. You can buy a ticket inside the diner.”

“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” she
said sincerely.

He gave her a cursory glance. “Do you have
money for the ticket?”

She didn’t get a pervy vibe from him with
the look and question, only a sincere concern for her. She’d told
him she’d been camping with her friend when they’d gotten in a
fight, and her friend had left her behind.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him and pushed
the door open. She had at least forty dollars in her pocket; it
would get her toward somewhere a little more civilized. If she
could find an ATM, she had enough money in her bank account to get
her somewhere far from here.

Climbing out of the vehicle, she stretched
her cramped muscles before walking toward the diner. The bell
overhead rang when she pushed the door open and stepped into the
cool, dimly lit building. Across from her was a long counter with
stools and an open view to the kitchen beyond. The scent of
pancakes, bacon and hash browns frying caused her stomach to rumble
eagerly in response. Her mouth watered at the prospect of food and
water. She pushed back the straggling strands of her hair, turned
toward the booths lining the outside wall, and froze.

Ian lifted an eyebrow at her from the booth
at the end of the diner. She assumed her heart would plummet into
her feet, instead it gave an excited little leap as she stared at
his massive body spread casually within the booth. Instead of being
terrified that he’d hunted her down, she found herself relieved. He
didn’t make a move to come at her, didn’t say a word, he simply
pushed the glass of water sitting before him toward her.

He wasn’t much in the mood for chasing down
an unwilling female, not after his endless, sleepless night, and he
supposed the cops might frown upon it, but he would if she bolted.
He gave her a challenging stare as he waited to see what she would
do. He didn’t know much about her, but she wasn’t the type to walk
away from a challenge, and given the rumpled and beaten look of
her, she could use a break from running.

Paige glanced at the door, but she didn’t
see the point in trying to outrun him again. Not when he was
sitting there, staring at her like he wanted to throttle her as
much as he wanted to kiss her. Not when she could almost feel the
heat of his body pressing against hers. Besides, she didn’t think
he would actually rip her throat out, and what could he really do
in front of all of these people?

With a resigned sigh, she cautiously
approached the booth. “I thought you might like some water,” he
said and gestured at the glass.

She slid into the seat but didn’t take hold
of the water. “How did you know where I was?”

A smile played at the corners of his mouth;
he folded his hands before him as he leaned forward on the table.
“I’ve known where you were since the second you climbed out the
window.”

She hadn’t been overly angry, and not really
astounded to see him here, but her chin jutted out at his
statement. “Then why didn’t you stop me?”

“I told you, you’re not a prisoner.”

“So you’re going to let me get on that
bus?”

The smile slide from his face; a muscle in
his cheek jumped. “I’m going to ask you to do me the favor of
staying for, at most, another week.”

Unable to resist the lure of the ice water
anymore, she grabbed the glass. She downed the water in one, long
swallow. She didn’t think she’d ever tasted something so crisp and
refreshing before. Staring at the ice cubes at the bottom of the
glass, she lifted it up and shook a couple into her mouth. She
would take every drop of water she could get right now.

Placing the glass on the table, she sucked
on two of the cubes as she focused on him again. “Why do you want
me to stay?”

Ian folded his hands before him. He hadn’t
known what to do when she’d climbed out the window; he’d almost
grabbed her and dragged her back, but he’d realized allowing her to
get a taste of freedom may make her trust him a little more. He
couldn’t let her get on that bus, not yet. “So I can make sure my
family is safe.”

“What will you do if I say no?”

He pressed his hands flat against the table.
“This is my family. My older sister is pregnant, some of my
siblings are still only children. I’m asking you to give them time,
to give
me
time to make sure they’re safe. I saved your
life, I’ve kept you protected, you may not like my kind, but
I
have never wronged you.”

Words stuck in her throat as she gazed into
his intense eyes. Everything he said was right. Everything she knew
about him warred with everything she’d thought she’d known for the
past four years. “Paige…”

“Can I get you anything?” The waitress
arrived in time to cut off whatever Ian had been about to say.

Ian leaned back in his seat and draped his
arm over the back of the booth. He tried to appear as casual as
possible, but inside he was a seething mass of turmoil. He was
concerned about more than getting her to stay because of his
family. He couldn’t deny the lingering hurt he’d felt ever since
he’d heard the window open and listened to her climb out. He’d
believed he’d been making headway with her; it stung to know he’d
been completely wrong.

No matter what, he couldn’t let her know
what was going on inside of him. She had to stay with him. She
couldn’t realize he was fighting the urge to tear this whole diner
apart with his bare hands, throw her over his shoulder, and drag
her kicking and screaming back to the cabin. That would be the sure
way to guarantee her hatred of him, but it would also make him feel
a little bit better to exert his dominance over her and make her
realize she couldn’t escape him.

A tingle of unease slid through him at the
thought. Of course she could escape him, he planned to set her free
when everything was settled with his family, and the vampire who
had attacked her. He refused to think about why that thought made
his hands fist on the table.

The waitress’s eyes slid to him; her mouth
curled into a pretty smile as her gaze slid hungrily over his
muscular form. She moved in such a way that she somehow managed to
shove her ample breasts upward. Paige fought against groaning and
rolling her eyes, but she found herself itching to punch the woman
in her jaw even more.

“Order whatever you want,” Ian said to
her.

The waitress didn’t look in her direction.
Paige didn’t blame her; she knew she could give Pig Pen a run for
his money right now. She obviously wasn’t much competition for
someone like Ian. It still made her teeth grind together as the
pretty woman undressed him leisurely with her eyes, and he smiled
sweetly back at her.

“I’d like an order of pancakes, sausage,
wheat bread, a coffee and another glass of water,” Paige said.

The waitress finally, reluctantly looked at
her again. A haughty expression crossed her face as her gaze ran
dismissively over Paige. She scrawled down Paige’s order before
turning back to Ian. “And for you?” she inquired with a flutter of
her lashes.

“I’m all set,” Ian replied with a grin.

The woman finally turned away and strolled
through the diner toward the grill. Paige scowled after her
retreating back before reluctantly turning to Ian again. “Do all
women throw themselves at you?” she demanded.

Ian’s gaze raked over her flushed face, damp
hair, and the smear of dirt across the bridge of her freckled nose.
Despite her disheveled appearance, he still found her completely
alluring. “
You
don’t.” She tapped her fingers on the table.
“So Paige, what is it going to be? I promise not to hurt you.”

She glanced out the dust streaked window to
the dirt parking lot. “I don’t think you’ll hurt me,” she
admitted.

He leaned to the side to get her to look at
him again. “Then why did you run?” he asked when he finally had her
attention once more.

“Because.”

“Because of what happened, or almost
happened between us?” he pressed. Paige fought against the blush
creeping up her neck and into her cheeks. “I’ll stay away from you.
I didn’t mean to frighten you, I won’t do it again; I promise.” The
thing that staggered her most wasn’t his promise, but the intense
feeling of disappointment accompanying his words. “You can trust
me.”

“I know.” She hadn’t realized she was going
to say those words until they were already out of her mouth. She
hadn’t known she believed them until she’d spoken them. “I
know.”

His shoulders slumped in relief at her
words. She hadn’t run because she feared him, she’d run because she
feared the way he made her feel. The urge to destroy something
dissipated faster than the click of a second. She
did
trust
him, she just didn’t trust herself. “Then help me, by staying with
me.”

All she’d wanted was her freedom in the
beginning. In the woods, she’d been convinced she’d made a mistake.
Sitting across from him, she knew she couldn’t deny him. All he
wanted was to protect his family, how could she say no to that?
He’d never hurt her and he’d had plenty of opportunity to do so.
How could she tell him she didn’t care what happened with his loved
ones just because the way he made her feel terrified her? She’d
never been a coward; she wasn’t about to start being one now.

She took a deep breath before giving a brisk
nod. She was saved from having to speak by the arrival of the
waitress with her coffee and water. Paige drank down her other
glass of water before turning her attention to the warm coffee.
“Why did you let me get so far?” she inquired.

“Because you had to know.”

“Know what?”

“That I could have stopped you, by force,
right in the beginning, but I’m putting my trust into you
also.”

Paige sipped at her coffee. “Fair enough.
And what would you have done if the man who drove me here had kept
driving?”

“I would have kept following you.
Hitchhiking probably wasn’t the smartest idea on your part,” he
admonished.

She shrugged. “I can take care of
myself.”

“Against a gun?”

She threw her shoulders back and sat up
straight in the booth. “I’ve been training to fight for the past
four years.”

“No human can fight a bullet.” Her jaw
locked; she didn’t say anything as the waitress arrived with her
plates of food. “I’ll teach you some things, if you’d like,” he
continued after the woman walked away.

“What would you teach me?” she asked as she
began to pour maple syrup over her pancakes.