Soul-Mate (Immortal Love 1) (2 page)

I wanted to say something to reassure her, but before I could open my mouth, she was slumped to the ground. I rushed to her in time to stop her from hitting the dusty pavement. She fainted into my arms.

“Miss.” I felt stupid calling her that, but I didn’t know her name. I caught her against my chest, and her scent hit me. She smelled amazing! No wonder those bloodsuckers wanted a taste. She felt right in my arms; we were made for each other, and I didn’t know if it was the mate bond acting out, but everything about her seemed perfect. I found myself closing my eyes and prolonging the blissful feeling that assaulted me in waves of hot and cold.

No one came outside. They knew better than to come outside; except for Sam. He came to see if I was still alive and woke me up to reality.

“Problem solved?” he asked, not making a fuss about it. Nothing that hadn’t happened before.

“Yeah,” I grumbled in reply, more concentrated on the human than on him. “Take care of her bike, will you?” I shouted over my shoulder.

“Right,” he answered, giving me a thumbs up in reassurance.

I carried her to my car then sat her on the front seat and drove home—my home. It was a waste of time to take her to see a doctor. She would eventually wake up, and a cup of tea would be enough to calm her down. Besides, once she awoke up and properly thanked me for saving her life, I was hoping that I could convince her to stay and give me a chance. We were meant to be together.

I needed to know who she was and why she was travelling with just a backpack. She looked young and fragile. It could have been my protective instinct kicking in, but I wanted to take care of her. Not to mention that I wanted to know everything about her.

While I was driving, it was hard to concentrate on the road. The woman was lovely. Even though my heart had almost stopped beating with the possibility of losing her minutes after finding her, now that the danger was gone, her scent relaxed me, and her presence ignited a sparkle of hope in my heart for being happy.

Her mouth was enticing. Just thinking about a kiss from those lips had me trembling. The sexual attraction was overwhelming. I wondered how it would be to have her husky voice in my ear, begging me for more kisses and sighing into my mouth with desire and pleasure…

I was losing it, and I should probably have stopped having those fantasies, given the growing tightness in my crotch. It would have looked really bad if I’d had a raging hard-on when she woke up in my home.

I needed to control my urges, even if she was a gorgeous temptation all wrapped up in leather. My sex fantasies were out of the question for the time being. I was more interested in taking care of her and making sure she was okay. She was not just some hot woman to spend a good time with. She was going to be my whole world. And I was hell-bent on making her realize that she couldn’t live without me, either.

HE HAD SHORT BROWN HAIR
with angelic curly locks on top paired with deep, soft, beautiful, blue eyes. Plus plump lips that seemed made for kissing. He had a face that could be immortalized in photos or paintings, able to compete with even the most gorgeous male models. He was the perfect height for laying my head against his shoulder and getting lost in the incredible, uncommon smell of freshness that I recognized on him when he sat next to me at the bar. That one-week-old beard was the last drop in the ocean that almost made me lose my mind, as well as my focus on the whole purpose of being in that forsaken place in the middle of nowhere. Saying that he was dreamy was not enough, but there wasn’t a single word good enough to describe him.

I’d followed every curve made by his shirt and jeans when I first noticed him at the back of the bar. Even with so many guys there, it was like my senses were drawn to him and only him. I could not deny that he was hot. He would be quite gorgeous in his birthday suit. A real temptation on legs! But one I couldn’t afford at that moment. Still, one I had difficulty resisting after listening to his deep, sexy voice as he tried to make conversation. I never expected him to come near me. I’d hoped to go to him. This weird pulling attraction to him was messing up my purpose for being there. But his coming to me was not in my plans. It was a damn distraction.

I tried to dissuade him and make him leave my side. I got nervous when I noticed that he had a revolver hidden under his shirt; from the corner of my eye, though, I understood why all the men went back to their seats and stopped giving me the same attention as when I’d entered. No one would dare try to pick me up with
him
next to me. No one would dare try to compete with him. Not even the dark figures I had tracked there. He was dripping with power and had respect among the others.

And
he had an amazing smile. I almost smiled back, but I couldn’t give him attention. Besides, it was not his species that I was interested in. I was more interested in making acquaintance with the three vampires in the darkest corner, surrounded by werewolves and shape shifters but, to my surprise, no humans. I needed information about their creator. However, apparently the gods had some twisted sense of humor and put that gorgeous, breathtaking man in my way.

The gods could suck it!
I was not looking for a playmate!

I regained consciousness and sighed deeply, inhaling the freshness and warmth of the cozy place where I lay. I could remember the events of the night before, but it hit me that I had no clue
where
I was nor
how
I had gotten here. I was really comfortable, though. Nevertheless, I couldn’t understand why the sun was so warm on my face. I felt safe, as if I were ten years old again and still living at home. I had never felt safe since the attack. It had been eight long years of running, chasing, and hiding. Sleeping a whole night without waking up covered in sweat with a racing heart was also something new.

How did I get here, anyway?
It was all a bit foggy. I remembered going outside, seeing the vampires, and watching the gorgeous man shoot them down. I was surprised and disappointed at the same time, because I wanted to talk with at least one of them. And then I did what any clever girl would do after an encounter with dangerous creatures and her savior. I fainted. At least, I pretended to..! Only to be held in strong and attentive arms. He smelled even better up close! I had to restrain myself from the temptation of wrapping my arms around him and letting a moan escape my lips.

I heard him talking to someone before putting me in his car. And because I saw the badge that was over the belt, next to the gun, I understood that he was the sheriff of those parts. Not a hunter like me; just the sheriff. He was a werewolf sheriff who knew what those things were and what they wanted to do to me. I understood the revolver and the quick decision to kill those who didn’t respect his authority. However, I didn’t expect to succumb to tiredness. It had been three long days, and I had barely slept, but I wasn’t used to putting enough trust in a stranger to willingly fall asleep in the seat of his car.

It was then that I opened my eyes in alarm, realizing I wasn’t wearing my leather suit. The feeling of freedom that came with the contact between my skin and the soft cotton sheets was definitely alarming. All I saw was the ceiling made of dark wood. I dared to move one hand and explore the rest of the bed before having a panic attack like any woman who wakes up in a strange bed with a strange man in a strange place after the strangest night.

“Hi,” a male voice said from next to the bed and reassuringly outside of it. I stared at him, and there he was: gorgeous, shirtless, and once again displaying the most amazing smile I could have ever imagined.
Was it possible for him to be even more gorgeous under the sunlight?
Apparently yes. And why was he shirtless while I had on nothing more than underwear?

“Hungry?” he asked, trying to get an answer from me. I looked at him, lost and confused. “Do you remember what happened last night?”

“No,” I answered with difficulty. I was beginning to panic, thinking about how I usually look in the morning, with my hair a mess and wake-up face.

Seriously! Was I crazy?
I was thinking about how I looked, when I was in an unfamiliar house, in the bed of a man whose name I didn’t even know!

“You fainted outside the bar. I brought you to my house,” he explained. I remained quiet, looking at his happy smile. I didn’t share his happiness. I was grumpy and confused, still assessing if I was safe or not.

“My clothes?” I asked, trying to conceal my discomfort. I was self-conscious about having been undressed by him and not even waking up. I should have known better than to let my guard down.

That had never happened before, though. I had pushed myself too hard the past few days.
How could I be so stupid?
My mind was like a symphony of reprehension, and I had to focus to stop the noise. I focused on him: on his amazingly sexy lips that were moving to reply to me. I swallowed hard when my mouth began to tingle with the urge to kiss him.
I was losing it, no doubt.

“There.” He pointed. “I also brought your backpack. You can clean yourself up in the bathroom, if you want.”

I looked to where he was pointing, making sure that I wasn’t showing my nudity, even if he had had the nerve to take my clothes off and put me to bed. I could think of worse things that could have happened. Having a sexy Greek god bring me to his home and put me in his bed wasn’t one of them. It was actually kind of nice of him. Strangely nice. Then I remembered: he was the sheriff.

I pursed my lips, lost in my thought. He would probably have a lot of questions for me. Or was he just thinking that he could get lucky? Probably the second option, I decided, since he
did
try to pick me up at the bar.

Nevertheless, he had been respectful enough and helped me. I couldn’t be ungrateful to him. But where had
he
slept? And why was he shirtless, showing off his perfect abs and breathtaking chest? It was getting hard to concentrate and speak. I was acting weird, and I probably looked confused and puzzled. Not that I wasn’t…

“Do you remember what happened outside the bar before you fainted?”

He wanted to know if I remembered the mean vampires that wanted to attack me and suck my blood. If I remembered them bursting into flames. It’s normal for his kind to fear being discovered. Especially since I expected him to think that I was human and didn’t know anything about supernatural beings. I had to play the naïve card. I couldn’t blow my cover.

“Everything is blurry. How much did I drink?” I asked, sitting against the headboard of the bed and covering myself with extra care.

“We’ll talk about that later,” he answered, staring at me. He wasn’t looking anywhere else than my face, though. That was odd. It was rare for a man to look a woman in the face if he could see other parts of her. But he was staring right in my eyes, seeming intrigued and actually concerned about my well-being.

I looked around, since looking in his eyes was making me feel dizzy and flustered. There was something about him that made my stomach clench and my body want to get closer.

The bedroom was amazing and made entirely of wood. It helped distract me from his overwhelming presence. I also had to evaluate where I was, in case I needed to run away fast. By the look of it, we were probably in some kind of cottage or a very large, modernized mountain bungalow, because I could see the enormous balcony and outstanding view. We were in a high place with privileged views over the forest and surrounding mountains. It felt like paradise! I’d always dreamt of living somewhere peaceful like this one, where no one could harm me or hunt me down. Where I could feel safe. But I’d understood rather quickly that nowhere was safe, not for someone like me.

“Do you like it?” he asked, noticing my faraway eyes.

“What?”

“The view.”

“It’s amazing…”

He smiled as if pleased by the answer.

“How far are we from civilization?” I asked. He probably thought that I was scared of my whereabouts, because his smile faded and he looked at me with concern.

“I have no intention of harming you,” he clarified, and I believed him. “I just didn’t know where you lived, so I brought you to my home.”

“Okay,” I said mildly, to dissipate any tension he might be feeling. He loosened up and smiled again.

“Meet me in the kitchen when you’re ready. I’ll be there making us breakfast.” He left me alone in the room.

There was no feminine touch in the bedroom; the bathroom was really clean, too, with no women’s objects or accessories of the kind that girlfriends tend to leave behind to mark territory. Maybe he wasn’t the type of guy who liked to have flings longer than they should be. It seemed like he was single and unattached, which briefly made me before I pushed aside such a girly thought. I had no time or intention of pursuing any kind of intimacy with him.
No
. I had to get dressed, get my things, and leave. I had a job interview that day and an important mission in his town. I had to stop remembering how gorgeous and attractive he was, but I found I couldn’t erase his smile from my mind.

I took more time than I’d intended in the bathroom because my body was sore, and the hot water was relaxing and soothing. Besides, monologues tended to take a bit of time to get resolved, and my mind was a mess of doubts and regret. I couldn’t ease the feeling that my hard work had blown up in ashes. My three leads were dead, and I was back at square one!

I dressed in my casual clothes, the ones that said I was a good girl and not a femme fatale in a leather suit. Then I entered the kitchen that was located just outside the door. The space was divided into a kitchen and living room. He definitely liked big windows and large spaces. The scent of cinnamon filled the air, making the place feel extremely cozy. He also had a simple taste in decor. I liked that.

My eyes met his. He was at the counter with a cup of coffee in hand. He looked at me from head to toe, and I couldn’t help but feel a little clumsy in my jeans, T-shirt, and wet hair. I was almost tempted to ask him if he would like to borrow one of my T-shirts, but I said nothing because I was enjoying the view. I shouldn’t be ungrateful for his reluctance to wear clothes, I figured, when it pleased me so much to stare at his chest. Besides, he smiled at me which made me smile back at him and lower my defenses. I didn’t understand
why
I smiled back at him, but he seemed so nice that I couldn’t help but feel good.