Nicholas disappeared back through the trees, and Zach picked up speed, closing the distance to Lexi. When she came into sight and veered to the left of Iain’s cabin, Zach followed. His long legs ate up the ground as his body worked to get her back where she belonged—by his side, forever.
The next time she looked over her shoulder at him, he was within arm’s reach. Her chocolate brown eyes widened, and she tripped over the root of a tree.
Zach grabbed the back of her shirt to stop her fall, then gathered her in his arms. He didn’t stop moving. He swept her up and continued on to the nearest unoccupied cabin. It wasn’t as posh as the suites in the main building were, but there would be a mattress on the bed to cushion Lexi’s back and that was all that really mattered.
“I thought you were done running,” he told her. His voice was rough and harder than he’d intended.
“Let me go.” She was panting. Her cheeks were pink, and her chest rose and fell, pressing deliciously against his.
Zach booted the cabin door open and slammed it shut again once they’d cleared it. The doors bolted from the inside with thick, sturdy beams of wood over iron brackets. He bumped it with his elbow and the beam fell into the bracket, locking them in.
The place smelled a little musty, but the scent of pine made it tolerable. It was dark in here, compared to outside, with only a dim ray of tree- filtered light sliding in through the dusty windows. The cabin was small, maybe two hundred square feet. A bed hugged one wall, and along the opposite wall was a fireplace and a table with two chairs. In the far corner, there was a bathroom with all the necessary equipment, though none of it fancy. Other than food, they had everything they needed right here.
“Put me down, Zach.” Lexi’s voice shook and she no longer sounded like a woman confident enough to go up against a group of large men armed only with a metal pole.
Zach did as he was told and laid her on the bare mattress. Before she could try anything, he crawled on top of her and caged her in with his body. He kept his weight on his hands and knees, keeping as much distance between their bodies as he could. He didn’t trust himself enough to press his body fully to hers and keep control. As it was, his dick was hard and his blood was demanding he stake a physical claim on her body, and to hell with the luceria. He wanted her naked and wet and spread out for his pleasure. Just the thought of running his hands over her bare skin was enough to make him shake.
But he had to do this right. One step at a time, and that meant keeping his hands to himself and his dick in his jeans, much to his dismay.
“We need to talk,” he told her.
“I just want to leave, okay?”
“It’s too late for that. I don’t have the time to find you again.” He could feel his last leaf barely clinging to the branch. It was dry and withered, and he was sure he wouldn’t last until morning. Not without Lexi giving him what he needed.
Zach traced a finger over her throat. He could feel her pulse skittering under his fingertip. Her skin was warm and so silky soft he had to close his eyes and soak up the feeling, completely losing himself in that single touch for a long moment.
“You’re scaring me,” she whispered.
Zach didn’t want that. He wanted to make her happy. To make her feel good.
She’d told him that it felt good when he touched her, so Zach spread his hand over her throat, reveling in the striking contrast of his darker skin against hers, the roughness of his hands against the perfect silkiness of her neck. He willed a ribbon of energy through his arm, letting it spark between them, expanding into a million tiny fragments of sensation.
Lexi’s eyes fluttered closed and she let out a soft sound of pleasure.
“Still scared?” he asked, forcing his tone to remain gentle even though the need to claim her raging through him was anything but gentle.
She grabbed his wrist, wrapping both hands around it. She didn’t push him away, just held on, trembling in indecision.
Her bottom lip quivered, and he wanted to kiss it and drive away the worry he heard in her voice. “Helen says I’m wrong. Miss Mabel says I’m wrong. You say I’m wrong. You all say the Sentinels are the good guys. How can my whole life be a lie?”
Zach didn’t want to talk. He wanted to demand she give him what he needed, both her body and her vow to stay by his side for eternity. He knew it was meant to be, that they’d both be happy together if she’d shed the lies of her human upbringing and let him show her the truth of their kind. Her kind, too.
She pinned him with a look of desperation—one so strong he knew he had to slow down. She needed him to talk to her and soothe her, and in the end, he could deny her nothing.
Zach fought back his pounding lust and willed himself to speak. “No one can force you to believe. All I can do is offer you a means to learn the truth for yourself.”
Her gaze moved to his throat. To his luceria. “I . . . can’t.”
“Why not?” That question cost him another precious sliver of control, but he offered it nonetheless.
“If Mom was right, then once I put that on it will be too late. I’ll be imprisoned.”
“That’s not the way it works. I can’t force you to wear it, believe me. If I could, you’d already be my lady.”
“Another lie?” she asked with a hint of defiance lifting her chin.
Zach smiled. He loved that about her. Here she was, trapped beneath him, locked in a cabin inside a compound she couldn’t easily escape, and yet still, she didn’t give up. His Lexi was a fighter to the core, and he was a lucky man to have found her.
“There’s one way to find out,” he taunted. “Unless you’re afraid.”
Sparks of rebellion lit her eyes. “Get over yourself. You’re not scary enough to make me afraid. I’ve spent my life running from monsters scarier than you. Grow some claws or teeth or something and then we’ll talk.”
“So, what’s stopping you?” He tilted his chin, baring his throat. “Take it. It’s up to you how long you decide to wear it.”