Authors: Janet MacDonald
Chapter Nine
Anya awoke all
alone in Dante’s bed. She blearily remembered her dreams from last night, and
again felt herself blush. She moved as quietly as she could and slipped out of
bed. Her bare feet touched the cold floorboards and she shivered. Walking
stealthily toward the partially opened bedroom door, she could make out Dante
talking to Memphis.
“We do rotating
shifts today. I want the entire shoreline patrolled at regular intervals,”
Dante said.
“You really
think he would invade?” Memphis asked.
“No. But I’m
also not going to take that chance either.” Dante snorted.
“But what
happens to Anya if they do?”
“I’m not going
to hurt her, Memphis. I told her brother the terms. It’s up to him now to
deliver.”
Anya was
anxious. Tonight if her brother didn’t show up with Cora, Dante would mate her.
It sent a mixed rush throughout her. Part of her wanted him, part of her was
scared and still a part of her couldn’t imagine not being without him. She
waited until the conversation ended and stepped out. The smell of bacon, eggs
and toast wafted to her nose and her tummy rumbled.
Both men turned
to look at her, and she was suddenly self-conscious as she stood there in Dante’s
long shirt. The two of them looked her over. She saw Dante smile briefly, then
it vanished again.
“Your breakfast
is almost ready,” he told her in a near growl.
“Umm, maybe I
should leave,” Memphis said. He looked uncomfortable as Dante gave him a hard
stare.
Anya sat at the
table and looked at Dante as he ate. The man seemed restless, uneasy and almost
sad. He kept taking furtive glances at her, but didn’t maintain eye contact for
more than a few seconds. He spoke not a word to her the entire time they ate,
and after she finished he took her plate and put it in the washbasin on the
small counter. The silence was killing her.
As he busied
himself with cleaning the few dishes, Anya got up and walked over to where he
stood. She took the tea towel from the hook and dried the dishes. It felt
normal, as if this were what she should be doing with him. She glanced at him
as he passed her a wet coffee cup and saw him smile softly. It reached his
eyes, and she saw the tenderness in them.
Her heart
fluttered at the look. What the hell was happening to her, she thought.
“If you want we
can go for a walk. I can show you around the village,” he told her, breaking
the long silence.
“Yes, I would
like that,” she almost whispered.
“Would you like
to bring a lunch? I can pack us up a little snack or something, if you want.”
Dante seemed suddenly
shy, and she couldn’t help the smile that stole over her lips. She nodded and
watched his face brighten.
“We can take a blanket.
I’ll show you the old swimming hole and the Drummers Caves,” he said with a
hint of excitement in his voice.
“I’d like that.”
“Great. As soon
as we’re done we can get ready.” She noticed he now hurried to clean the
dishes.
Anya almost
laughed out loud. Something had changed. The alpha acted more like a schoolboy,
and she liked it. She watched as he rushed to get a small lunch packed and
grabbed a blanket to bring with them. As he finished getting ready, she went
back into the bedroom and slipped on the dress Beth had given her. It dragged a
bit on the floor as she walked back out.
Dante eyed her
from head to toe, a silly grin on his face. “Umm, that’s way too long on you.
You’ll trip.” He walked over and drew his knife from the sheath at his side,
then squatted in front of her. “I’m just going to cut it off enough so you can
walk.” He proceeded to slice the bottom part of the dress away.
Now the garment
fell to halfway down her calves, and she eyed his handiwork. The ragged edges
were far from a seamstress’ job. On the other hand, it allowed her better movement,
and she smiled as he held the door open.
“Thank you.” Her
voice sounded meek. For some reason, it didn’t bother her to sound so docile
this time.
As Anya stepped outside,
she found she needed his arm to help her walk. Her legs were still quite weak.
She saw the inhabitants going about their daily chores. Some were cutting wood,
others weeding gardens and a few herded a flock of sheep into an enclosure. Several
young children ran by them, clutching baskets of eggs. They giggled as one of
them dropped a few and they broke on the ground.
The place looked
like something out of a western movie, minus the cowboys. All the houses were
made from rough-hewed logs with stone chimneys jutting out from the tops of
their roofs. Many of them had smoke drifting lazily out of them. The air seemed
so much cleaner there, even with the heavy smells of the animals and wood
smoke.
As Dante led her
around, he introduced her to members of his pack. Everyone seemed pleasant,
telling her how nice it was to meet her and inviting them in for tea. Dante
declined their offers and continued to guide her on the tour around the
village. It was such a peaceful, tranquil place. With the absence of modern conveniences,
it actually made it more serene.
They made it to a
narrow path at the edge of the village and she saw it wound through the forest.
It seemed well-used, as the grass was gone and all that remained was the
hardened earth trail.
“Where are we
going?” she asked as they started down the path.
“To my favorite
spot to go and relax. Trust me, you’ll like it,” he said.
Anya felt like
Little Red Riding Hood out for a stroll with the Big Bad Wolf. A smile played
on her face at that thought. Dante didn’t seem all that bad, and her hunch was
he’d been putting on a show, trying to be the big tough alpha. Part of her
hoped it was true, because if it wasn’t, then tonight he would follow through
with his threat.
* * * *
They sat on the
blanket by the river bank. Anya was being quiet, seemingly taking in the
atmosphere of the area. The sun filtering down through the trees caused her
hair to look like silky golden strands in the sunlight. Her pretty blue eyes
looked almost bashful as he stared at her. She smiled and it reached them.
Dante then realized he’d blatantly been staring at her.
“What do you
think?” he asked. His own voice sounded shy to himself, and he felt his cheeks
flush a little. It really wasn’t something he was used to. He never blushed.
“It’s a very
peaceful spot.”
“Do you like
swimming?” What the hell kind of question was that, he thought. Idle chitchat
was not something he normally did.
“Yes. I practically
grew up at the beach,” she said with a light laugh.
Dante smiled.
All
right, that worked. Now what do I ask?
“Do you come
here a lot?” Anya asked, drawing him from the litany of questions he should
ask.
“Not as much as
I used to. Sometimes I sneak down here late at night and go for a quick swim.”
“I know how it
is. I have a favorite place I like to go to as well. It’s so breathtaking there
at sunset.” She smiled.
“Really, where
is it?”
“A bluff
overlooking the bay near my house. I always go there to clear my thoughts.”
“Does the place
have a name?” This was going much better than he thought it would.
“Yes, Maiden’s
Bluff. It’s supposed to be where young ladies would go to watch their lovers
return to shore.”
“Sounds romantic.”
“Yeah, I guess,”
she said, turning a little red. “I never told anyone about it before. No one goes
there anymore because the cliff face is too unstable.”
For the next
hour they talked. He learned she was an avid hunter, loved to go boating,
fishing and hiking. She also told him she was unmated, despite her alpha’s
attempts to find her a suitor. Dante was more than happy with how that
afternoon was turning out. Anya laughed, smiled and seemed relaxed with him. It
was a far cry from her first few days there. Maybe Beth was right. Maybe, even
if she left, just maybe, he could still win her over.
After they ate
they lay on the blanket beside each other. They stared up at the clouds lazily
drifting by in the bright blue sky as a little breeze cooled the late afternoon
air.
“That one looks
like a bird,” Anya exclaimed as she pointed it out.
She seemed to be
enjoying the day with him. It made him smile as they continued spotting
different-shaped clouds.
“What does that
one remind you of?” Dante asked as he pointed to a dog-shaped cloud.
“A wolf. That
looks like a ship,” she said and pointed to a large white puffy ship-shape
cloud.
That brought his
enjoyment to an abrupt end. They needed to head back soon as it was getting
late in the day. He’d only given Mitch until sundown to bring Cora home. Now he
needed to go and wait by the village’s dock. Mixed feeling swelled in him.
“We need to get
headed back now, Anya.” To his surprise, she looked saddened. That only made
what he had to do harder.
After they’d
packed up their basket and folded the blanket, Dante guided her to his home. Again,
he offered her his arm to help support her as she walked. She took it and
smiled, the warmth of her arm linked with his felt nice, and he took his time
walking. He didn’t want the day to end. Although she was still weak, Anya
managed to keep pace with him. She should have healed fully by now. He assumed
digging the hole through the floor of the shed had to have impeded her
recovery.
They made it to his
cabin and he saw Memphis already waiting on the step. He’d told him to guard
Anya while he was at the dock.
“Will Beth be
coming over after?” Anya asked.
“Probably not. She
needs her rest,” Dante said as they stepped inside after Memphis opened the
door for them.
“Don’t worry,
Anya, I’ll play cards with you,” Memphis said with a big smile.
“You need to
watch Memphis. He cheats,” Dante said, and it earned him a giggle from Anya.
He left her
there and rode his horse down to the dock to wait. His emotions were running high.
His nerves were frayed, and the men with him seemed antsy as well. Time drifted
by, the sun settled on the horizon and Dante became agitated. The longer he
paced the more his thoughts tortured him. There was no sign of Mitch or his
sister, and as the last rays of the sun died, rage flooded him.
He left his men
to keep an eye out for a possible attack, and Dante turned and stormed toward
his mount. As he rode back to the village, his anger grew. Not only because
Mitch didn’t come through, but now he had to do something he truly didn’t want to.
He didn’t even bother to take his horse to the barn when he reached his cabin. He
tethered him to the rail and stepped inside.
Memphis looked
up at him from the table. He was playing a game of solitaire, and his face
paled. The room was empty of anyone else. “Where is she?” He growled.
“S-She went for
a nap.”
“Get out,” Dante
ordered as he held the door open.
“But, Dante—“
“I said to get out!”
He had no patience
now. Memphis raced by him, and Dante closed the door. He turned on his heel and
headed toward his bedroom. He walked in and saw her lying there on top of the
blankets. She stared right at him.
Anya sat up and
made to get off the bed. He moved and made it to her in two steps, then pushed
her over onto her back. She struggled to get away, but he laid his weight on
her and gripped both her wrists in his hands. Her eyes went wide and he scented
the air. She smelled of fear, heat and lust. It stirred his beast to the
forefront. If Dante was to do this, he had to let the wolf take over, because
there was no way in hell the man could do it.
He leaned
closer, his nose brushing the flesh on her face as he took a deeper smell. She
made no attempt to gain her freedom, lying perfectly still in his grasp. His
wolf was pleased. She was being submissive, and it nearly had him ready to tear
the clothes off both her and him. He licked the soft skin of her cheek, tasting
her. It sent a rush over him. A groan slipped out of him. He couldn’t do this,
not like this.
Dante stared
down into her eyes, searching, looking for any sign that this was okay, that
she was willing. They were only lined with tears as she stared back up him. His
heart thudded hard in his chest. If she didn’t want him and he did this, she would
hate him.
“Do you want me?”
he asked, his voice still gravely and angry-sounding in spite of his best
efforts not to sound that way.
Her mouth opened
and her bottom lip trembled. His grip on her wrists loosened a little. She was
going to say something, tell him yes or no. His breath caught as he hoped it
would be yes. The sudden loud banging on his door he ignored, but it didn’t
stop. Then it opened and someone stepped into his cabin, uninvited. He growled deeply,
and the look in Anya’s eyes deepened.