Mortal Defiance (Dark Betrayal Trilogy #2)

Something made a beating noise in the back of Ree’s mind, but she couldn’t spare the attention to figure out what it was. When it happened again, her brain finally registered it wasn’t coming from her or Paden. She pulled away from him slightly, and he looked at her with heavy-lidded eyes. The sound slid through the room again, and both of them scrambled off the floor, gasping for breath. Ree pointed at her closet and Paden practically flew into it. Another knock sounded, and her door handle turned ever so slightly.

Chapter 3

“Ree?” Her father’s voice was quiet as he stuck his head in her room. Her father looked at her, eyebrows raised. “What are you doing?”

“What do you mean?” She moved to sit down on her bed and pulled one of her tennis shoes off before throwing it on the floor.

“What are you doing in the dark?” He flicked the switch next to the door, flooding the room in bright light.

“I was getting ready to go to bed. Why?” Ree tugged her other shoe off and threw it across the room. It landed near Paden’s wet clothes and her heart stuttered. “Um, did you need something?” She pleaded with the gods to not let her father notice the wet clothes in the corner. C’mon, you guys owe me… she thought desperately.

“I just wanted to see if you might need a sleeping pill. I know you have school in the morning, and your mom mentioned she didn’t think you had been getting much rest.” Her father leaned his head against her doorframe and frowned. “You look a little peaked. You aren’t coming down with something from standing in the rain, are you?”

“No, Dad. I’m just tired.”

“Do you want the pill, then?”

“Nah.” She shook her head and stood up, moving toward the door. “I think I’m tired enough to sleep tonight.”

“If you change your mind, let me know. And if you start to feel ill, tell us and we’ll schedule an appointment with the doctor.”

“Sure, Dad.” She moved to the door and grabbed the handle, forcing him to step back into the hallway.

She sighed in relief the moment the door snapped shut and turned the lock on the handle. The soft sound of her closet door opening had her looking over her shoulder. Paden stood there barefoot, with his hair tousled, looking sheepish.

“Maybe this wasn’t—”

Ree cut him off before he could finish his sentence. “Don’t even say it, Pay. I really will be able to sleep better with you here.” She pulled the blanket back and looked at the pillows.

“Throw me your quilt, and I’ll sleep on the floor,” Paden suggested, obviously sensing her confusion.

“Are you sure? The hardwood floors aren’t very comfortable.” She wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince herself or him. The thought of having him in her bed was intoxicating and dangerous. She still wasn’t exactly sure where they stood, and he hadn’t offered any explanation. She found herself wondering what had prompted the change in him.

“I’ll be fine, but I’d appreciate one of those.” He pointed at the mound of fluffy pillows she had moved when pulling her blankets back.

“Yeah, of course.” She grabbed one and launched it at him. He snagged it out of the air and watched as she climbed onto her bed.

“Are you going to sleep in your jeans? I can turn around so you can change….” He looked confused at her clothes.

“Um, actually, I’ve been sleeping in my clothes, just in case, you know?” She motioned to her tennis shoes. “Hey, I took off the shoes though. I should be fine.”

He frowned at her and shook his head. “I’m here tonight, and Sophie is on patrol. You should be comfortable and try to sleep.” He walked over to the wall and flicked the light off. “I’ll lay down over here. At least take your jeans off so you can sleep.” He threw his pillow on the floor and spread the blanket before lying down and rolling over so his back was to her.

“I thought Roland was on duty tonight.” She wiggled out of her jeans as quickly as possible and hopped into her bed.

“Sophie said she would watch since I was here.” Paden’s voice was muffled but she could hear the irritation.

“Why would that matter?”

“C’mon, Ree. I’ve seen how he looks at you. Don’t pretend you haven’t noticed.” There was definitely irritation in his voice now, and Ree couldn’t help but smile.

“He thinks I’m someone else.” She meant the statement to reassure him, but instead felt dread and frustration fill the room. “Paden?” She didn’t understand his response. He turned over on the floor so he was facing her bed.

“So, he told you?”

“Told me what?” Ree sat up in bed and watched his shadow move uncomfortably.

“About Tria. He told you about Tria.”

“Well, a little bit. He said the gods had promised Tria would be reincarnated. He didn’t say it straight out, but I think he believes I might be her.” Now it was her turn to be uncomfortable. She played with the blanket, kneading it between her nervous fingers. “I don’t see how that could be possible.”

“Ree, I’m a godling. You have a power most humans only dream about, and we’re in a war to save the world. Can reincarnation really seem that impossible?” Paden sighed and flipped to his back. Ree had to admit he had a good point.

“Do you think I’m Tria?” For some reason, her voice wavered, and she felt nervous about his answer.

“Would it matter if you are?” Paden answered her question with one of his own. “Would it change how you think of him?” His tone sounded so disgusted, she didn’t know how to respond.

“I don’t see how it would change how I think,” she said. But she wondered what would happen if she remembered Roland from before. He had seemed so familiar from the get-go. Could she have been responding in some way to a memory of a past life?

Paden didn’t reply and after a while she stopped waiting for one. She checked her alarm clock and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders.

“Good night, Pay.” She said it quietly so she wouldn’t wake him if he had already fallen asleep. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me, too. Goodnight, Ree.”

For the first time in days she fell asleep almost immediately.

Carrying the bucket of scraps, she hurried across the field and dropped the food in the pigpen. She put her hands at the small of her back and stretched in an effort to relieve the sore muscles that throbbed there. The sound of gravel being crushed made her jerk around in fear.

“What’s gotten into ye, woman?” Strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist, and she smiled up into the face of a handsome man.

“Ye shouldn’t startle me so!” She smacked his shoulder, making him laugh. She looked up into his green eyes and felt her smile grow.

“Aye, but I love seeing you all riled up.” He tilted her chin up with one strong hand. “You’re so beautiful with fire burnin’ in yer eyes.” He kissed her gently before pulling away to smile again.

“If yer gonna get me all riled up, then ye better kiss me better than that.” Ree grabbed his hair and pulled his face back to hers. He laughed deep in his chest and did as she requested.

“Ree.” She didn’t respond, so content in the arms of her beloved.

“Ree.” She pulled back and realized she was standing alone. The man was nowhere in sight.

“Ree!”

Ree sat up in bed in confusion. The alarm clock glowed dully, announcing it was only three in the morning.

“No! Ree!” Paden mumbled in his sleep. His legs thrashed out of the blanket and he flung one arm out to his side, hitting the wall. “Ree!”

Chapter 4

She jumped out of bed and moved next to him on the floor. If he was any louder, he might wake her parents. Not to mention he looked utterly terrified.

“Paden, wake up.” She touched his shoulder gently. “Wake up, it’s just a dream.”

His eyes snapped open and his breathing slowed. He stared at her for a moment, confused.

“You were having a bad dream,” Ree said. “Are you okay?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” He leaned up on one of his elbows and ran his other hand through his hair. “Was I really loud?”

“Nah, I woke you up before it got too bad.” She shrugged and looked down at her legs. That was when she realized she wasn’t wearing any pants and blushed. She looked at Paden and realized his eyes were traveling over her hungrily.

“Here,” he said, handing her his quilt. “I must have scared you.”

“Was it the same dream?” She wrapped part of the blanket around her and pushed the other half toward him.

“Yeah.” He looked down at the floor. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“I understand,” she said. When he looked up at her she was reminded of the green eyes in her dream and almost laughed. Of course she would dream about kissing a green-eyed hottie after earlier that night. Deciding that it was silly for him to sleep on the floor when he was so obviously miserable, she took his hand and stood up, pulling the quilt with her.

“What are you doing?” He stood and looked at her in question.

“I have a full-size bed. There’s no reason you should sleep on the floor.” She tugged him behind her as she walked to the bed.

“I can think of a few reasons.” His voice was rough with something that made Ree hot all over. “That’s the problem.”

“We’ll be good, but we both need a good night’s rest.” She dropped the quilt and climbed under the bedspread before scooting over so he would have room. “Besides, it’s no big deal. We’ve spent the night at each other’s houses before.” The bed dipped as he climbed in beside her.

“We were a lot younger then, Ree.”

“So?” She snuggled up next to him so that she was tucked against his side. He hesitated a moment before pulling her a little closer.

“Back then I didn’t think about the types of things I want to do to you now.” His voice was teasing, his breath warm on her face.

“Types of things? Like what?” She turned her head up toward his, her voice uneven with curiosity.

“Things we aren’t going to talk about right now.” He chuckled at her when she made a sound of disappointment. “Or neither of us will get any sleep.” His mouth ran over hers gently before he pulled away and planted a kiss on her forehead. “Good night, Ree.”

It took her a few minutes to fall back asleep, aware of the fact that Paden was lying in her bed. Apparently, he was having a difficult time, too. Feeling the warmth of him pressed against her was more than distracting. It took a while before his breathing started to slow, his hand fidgeting against her shoulder.

A few hours later, when the alarm clock flashed in the dark of her room, the annoying buzz made Ree grimace as she reached over to hit the snooze button. She almost squeaked when she realized she had rolled on top of someone on her way to the clock. Large hands grabbed her shoulders to steady her as she reached for the clock blindly and hit the off switch.

“Now this is an interesting way to wake up in the morning,” Paden whispered into her hair. Blood rushed to her cheeks, and she could feel her face heating up. As she wiggled to roll off of him, she realized he really had enjoyed the morning wake up call.

“Sorry,” she said.

“Don’t be.” His deep chuckle did nothing to relieve the heat coursing through her body. He rolled over so he was facing her. “I’m the one invading your bed.”

“Well, I did invite you. You’d think I wouldn’t forget there was someone in it with me.” She pulled at a string on her bedspread, too embarrassed to look at him.

“Hm. Maybe I should give you a reason to remember that I’m here.” She looked up at him just in time to see his face lean down to hers. She squeaked and covered her mouth.

“Morning breath,” she said from behind her fingers.

“Oh, well. There are other ways to make you remember.”

Her breath caught in her throat as he leaned down. She almost choked when he reached for the blanket, pulling it down from her shoulders to expose her T-shirt-clad torso. He ran his hands down her arms before pulling them up above her head. She couldn’t breathe when he pinned her wrists and gave her a mischievous smile. He moved toward her again, but before she could remind him about needing to brush her teeth, he did something she hadn’t expected.

His hands left her wrists and ran down her sides, and she sucked in a lungful of air as his fingers dug into her ribs, tickling her. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud, pleading in whispers for him to stop. She twisted and turned to escape until she realized she had other weapons at her disposal. Between pants, she grabbed the power and wrapped herself in a shield.

“No fair.” He laughed and fell back on the bed next to her.

She let go of the shield and turned to poke him in the chest. “Not fair? Not fair? You held me down and tickled me!”

“Yes. Yes, I did.” He chuckled again as he rolled over and faced her, propping his head on his hand. “But I bet you won’t forget the next time I’m in bed with you.”

“Will there be a next time?” She turned to face him, mirroring his position. He reached out a finger and traced a line down her cheek.

“I hope so.” Warm eyes held hers until she looked down.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but what caused the change of heart? You seemed dead set against having anything to do with me.” She bit her lip and hoped she wasn’t pushing him away with her questions, but she had never invited a boy into her bed before, and she needed to know it hadn’t been a random thing.

He was quiet for a few minutes, just tracing the planes of her face as if he was trying to memorize them. She didn’t interrupt him, letting him take his time.

“When I saw you covered in blood, I realized I could have lost the chance to have any time with you.” His voice was rough with emotion and she scooted closer to him, letting him tuck her against his chest. “At Claire’s funeral, I felt so guilty.”

“Paden, you couldn’t have done anything different.”

“There must’ve been something I could have done, but that wasn’t what I was talking about. I felt guilty because I was glad it wasn’t you.” His eyes glowed with emerald fire as he turned his head down to look at her.