Surviving Passion (27 page)

“Give it a little time,” she coaxed, beginning to unwrap his shoulder.

He watched her face silently all the while as she unwound the bandaging, examined the wound carefully, and wrapped it again. Selena flushed, glancing up against her will. He looked pensive. It seemed as though he was waiting for something. She held his gaze.

“I need to check your ankle,” she forced the words out carefully, one at a time.

When Dan finally looked away, he tugged the covers aside, hiding the discomfort that she knew the motion must have caused. He seemed to breathe easier without the stifling blankets and scooted down the bed to lie back again. When he bent his leg, Selena removed the bandage easily. The swelling had reduced further, and her trained eye found the color better still. She wrapped it with a fresh bandage and, when she saw that he was asleep again, gently laid his leg down.

Selena resumed her sewing to keep busy and let him sleep for another few hours. By mid-afternoon, it was back to the kitchen. This time, she returned with a whole chicken, which Blaire had cooked to perfection, carved, and kept warm for him. She’d even given Selena a handy tray with legs so he could eat comfortably without leaving his bed. Before departing, Selena had made sure to share the good news to those she passed that he was recovering more swiftly than he should. Everyone’s relief was palpable, reminding her once again of how much they had come to rely on him.

When she returned, Dan awakened at the sound of her footfalls. As he saw the chicken on the tray, a familiar ferocity returned to his eyes.
I thought he only looked at me that way
, Selena thought wryly. He sat up in a hurry, watching the approaching food. When she drew near, he reached for the tray. Selena pulled back before he could get it.

“
Slowly
,” she warned him again, and only then set it down in front of him.

His hands looked a little shaky while he began tearing into the savory strips of meat. The more he consumed, the steadier they looked, but Selena had to remind him several times to pace himself. All in all, he ate too much too fast for her preference, but it seemed his stomach was as resilient as the rest of him. There was almost nothing left when he was done, and Selena offered him a washcloth to wipe his hands. This he barely managed before drifting off again.

Selena resumed her vigil, feeling her worries ebb away. He was in good condition and even if an infection flared up later, she was confident that the two of them could handle it. His wounds were numerous, but none all that deep. Now that she knew he was going to recover, her last great weight had been lifted. She shuddered at the thought of what a ridiculous end it would have been for him if he’d lived through everything else and died of an infection. When Selena finished picking the remaining meat off the chicken, she too became incredibly tired. She poured him a large cup full of fresh water and set the jug on the table. Taking her place on the floor, the first calm sleep she’d had in a long time claimed her.

When Selena awoke again, it was around sunset. Dan still rested peacefully and she was comfortable leaving him for now. Feeling the need to get outside and think, she crept quietly from the cabin. Diffused rays of golden sunlight ran across the sky as Selena wandered through the trees toward the path that led over the hill and away. The freedom it offered no longer held any lure for her. Without a thought, she passed it by for the beautiful grasses that lay nearer, dotted with trees.

The horses grazed here and she leaned against the trunk of an oak to watch them enjoy the sea of green. She recognized Buck, as he was the largest and darkest among them. He lifted his head, chewing with his ears pricked toward her. With no hesitation at all, he tromped his way over and sniffed her head, bumping her a few times with his velvet nose. Selena reached up to stroke his face, then stepped closer and wrapped her arms around the base of his big warm neck. The animal stood carefully still, but curled his neck to nibble at her pants. When her fit of affection ran its course, Selena gave him a parting rub on the nose and turned to head back.

Feeling finally ready, she made her way slowly back to the cabin. When Selena quietly opened the door, she saw light within. It looked as though Dan had been up and about. She passed into his room to see the glow of a few lanterns that stood around the end table. A hue of gold shone on his skin where he lay awake in bed.

When she was near, he propped himself up on an elbow, watching her again with that same look of suspenseful uncertainty. In that moment, he was completely vulnerable, both physically and emotionally. It had very recently been something she could never have imagined. Selena reached his bedside and pressed him back down again, surrendering finally to her fierce need to comfort him. His eyes never left her as she climbed up on the bed and perched over him on her hands and knees.

“Selena—” he began, but she put a finger gently to his lips. There was nothing to be said.

A shocking thrill sang through her as, for the first time, she held his powerful gaze and drew herself toward him instead of away. Selena leaned down very slowly and put her mouth gently to his. Her hesitance began to melt away.

His eyes were still open when hers drifted closed. He waited passively for the kiss to end, but it didn’t. She began to caress his lips with her own, surrendering to the charged sensation that radiated between them when they touched. He brought his hands tentatively to her waist. Despite the hardness that grew between them, he remained reluctant, so Selena placed a hand on each side of his face, stroking his skin softly and daring to lightly trail a finger around his ear. Feeling bolder, she softly pushed her tongue to his as she kissed him. Her head swam at the overwhelming sensation of intimacy that enveloped her like a warm cloud.

Part of her couldn’t believe what she was doing. This was Dan: intimidating, powerful, fathomless Dan. But she pressed on, because another part of her had finally come to understand how right it felt to be with him. She knew then that all along, she had been a slave to her fear. It had forced her always to think of him as nothing more than a great danger, so everything that had come to pass since they met wound up playing out accordingly.

The intensity of her kiss grew as she realized it could have been like this from the beginning. She had wasted all that time, and she was going to make up for it now. She knew he could feel her surrendering to her passion and his hands squeezed her waist reflexively as it all finally began to sink in.

Never for a second did Selena forget his wounds as her knees folded beneath her. She crouched until their skin met but she brought no weight to bear on him. Very softly, she moved her lips to his neck and took her pleasure there, trailing her way down his collarbone and to the generous muscle of his chest. Her mounting eagerness prompted her to tug her shirt off and cast it aside. Now she fixed him with her own heady gaze as she leaned down, grasping the hand of his good arm and stroking his palm firmly with her thumb. Drawing it toward her chest, she kept her eyes on his to reassure him that she knew what she was doing, and this was what she wanted. His hand reached the firm swell of her breast and he made a wonderful sound as he felt her there. She wanted to give him more.

Selena tugged his hand away and moved up on the bed. She slipped an arm under his head, cradling it to her as she leaned down to bring her breast to his mouth. He grunted, and his eagerness finally overtook him as he devoured the flesh with a growing urgency.

As he lay there, needing her, Selena wondered how she had ever been so cruel as to deny him. She’d never once set aside her pride enough to find out or care what he wanted. She felt a surge of guilt and regret at the torture he’d been through for her, especially that which she’d dealt him herself.

In this moment of retrospect, Selena discovered the real Dan. He had only ever seemed inhuman because the far opposite was true. The extent of his restraint was only as colossal as the depth of emotion that it controlled. Dan was, in all likelihood, the most human among them. Selena wished she had opened her eyes sooner. It was so simple. How could she have been so utterly blind? But there was no time for regrets. Now she would give herself over completely.

Selena pulled away to run her hands down his chest, slowly across his perfectly muscled middle and finally trailed a finger teasingly along the line where his pants began. The tan, smooth skin there seemed to beg for further exploration. Now that her fear was truly gone, Selena locked eyes with him unflinchingly and felt over the linen fabric to where his swollen hardness lay waiting. She rubbed up and down, firmly but gently, coaxing a low groan from his lips. His eyes slid shut as a strained expression spread across his features. He was beginning to fail at holding still, and she knew it would only get worse. Selena returned her hand to the top of his pants, this time trailing a finger lightly along the inside. While she watched him, her hand slid beneath the fabric, but she ran it gently down each of his thighs first. Finally, she grasped him firmly and with a groan, he raised his torso convulsively. She quickly pushed him back down again, holding her hand to his chest as she stroked him up and down, twirling her grip as she went. His breathing became ragged, and if she weren’t restraining him, he probably would have hurt himself. Selena eagerly pulled her pants off before tugging his down gently, just enough to expose him.

She perched over him again, giving him a much more passionate kiss than she had before. She took her time, making him wait. He reached up for her hips and tried to draw them down, but she caught his arms and pulled his grip away, never breaking her contact with his hungry mouth. When she felt too guilty to make him wait any longer, she bent her knees beneath her again, reaching down to grasp him and bringing his tip to her opening. Perched above him this way, she could easily control the contact as she rocked up and down. She fed him in with her hand, giving him only the tiniest bit more of her each time. Dan groaned in eager frustration. He feverishly tried to clutch at her with his good arm and pull her down against him, but she resisted, grabbing and pinning it by his side on the bed. Selena’s eyes rolled back as she continued rocking, slipping him in deeper and deeper, slowly giving him what he—and she—needed so terribly. She moaned with him at the torturous pleasure that held them hostage in its grasp. Selena was just as helpless as he to the delicious sensations and rapturous desire that carried them away when she allowed him completely inside her.

There was nothing in the world that felt so right. A sense of completeness hummed comfortingly beneath the violent desire that bound them tightly to one another.

In the same moment, the thrilling force overtook them both, and Dan could no longer be restrained. He pulled her against him hard and they cried out at once, clutching one other fiercely for a long time as they rode the cresting ecstasy, tangled deliriously in each other’s arms.

Selena felt their lives fuse then. She was certain that whatever they faced in the future, they would face together.

When it was over and they had finally returned to earth, Selena lay beside him, an arm draped across his chest. She had never been happier in all her life. Just resting with him was thrilling. She wanted to do this a thousand more times. There was so much she must still learn and she thirsted to know him completely, to unlock the many mysteries that made him who he was. She wanted to ask questions and wanted to answer his.

She wondered how it would be when the others were around. That would be interesting, she contemplated. Even if he never displayed his affection in front of them, they would still know everything. But he would, she predicted. Dan was now certainly the most respected member of the community, and strange though it seemed to Selena, she was not far behind. What did they have to hide? This place belonged to them as much as they belonged to each other. They had earned these rights with their blood.

Selena wanted to tell Dan out loud what he already knew. She loved him, fiercely and completely. She never wanted to leave his side. Several minutes of blissful silence passed, and she had just begun to think he was asleep.

“Selena,” he murmured.

She rested her adoring gaze on his beautiful face. His eyes were closed and he wore the littlest smile.

“Hmm?” she answered.

“Thanks for saving me.”

Author’s Note

Thanks for reading my first book! If you enjoyed it, I would be very grateful for a review on Amazon. As a new author, every voice makes a big difference! Thanks for your support!

I’m working hard on a sequel and hope you enjoy it too!

~Maia Underwood