He told himself not to look at her, but of course that was the first thing he did. Big mistake. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes glossy and sexy as hell. At least she was wearing clothes.

“When do you want to leave? I’ll take you wherever you want. You got family to go to?”

Her smile didn’t reassure him. “I don’t want to leave yet. If it’s all right with you, I thought I might stay awhile.” He slammed the axe down harder than necessary and the wood flew several feet away. She smirked at him. She had no idea what she was messing with.

“Well this is my place, my woods, my cabin. I say when you go, not you.” A flicker of panic formed in her eyes but was gone fast. Damn if she wasn’t hiding something.

“Did you hear me in there, lykaen?” He lost his grip on his axe and it went sliding dully to the floor with a thump. He sent her a withering glare, the kind that has sent lesser beings scurrying. She smiled big and bounced on her feet. Damn vixen witch...

“So you did hear me? Oh, good. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on that. Not when I got to participate in your fun earlier.”

He stumbled a step as he reached for the axe, thinking that she knew he’d jacked off outside the cabin. He gauged her expression but nah, she didn’t know. It was cool outside yet he was sweating like he was sitting in a sauna.

“So is this all you do out here,” she said nodding towards the pile of stacked wood on the side of the cabin.

“No, it’s not all I do.” She gave him a look that said she didn’t believe him.

“Then what do you do, lykaen.”

He ground his teeth together. “My name is Darien, and what I do is none of your business.” He picked up the logs he’d chopped and started stacking them on the pile he already built against the cabin. “Why don’t you tell me who messed up your face?” He didn’t like the way she stiffened or the way she turned away from him. The vampire was hiding something bad—it was obvious.

 “Well if it’s none of my business then I don’t see why my problems are any of yours.” She sighed heavily like the weight of the world was on her small shoulders. “I’ll tell you what, Darien. I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

It was hard to keep going through the movements and not show a reaction. He weighed his options. Did he really want to know her issues badly enough to spill his own? He didn’t answer for a while, and for once, she stayed quiet and let him think. When he finished, the logs were stacked neatly against the cabin. He turned to her.

She was pretty. Real pretty. Dammit. One thing was certain though, he and his beast were both in agreement on that. “Fine. I agree.”

He obviously surprised her because her mouth opened and closed several times. A worried, panicked expression filled her eyes.

“Relax, Cassie. You’re safe here.” Damn, he had never been great man, but he certainly had never made a woman look so scared before. She looked like she was about to bolt or break down and cry. He wasn’t sure which he preferred.

“I’m fine. I just don’t want to talk about this right now. Later, okay?” She spun around and went back into the cabin.

Darien barely restrained himself from hitting something. What the hell was that? He wanted to shout his frustration to the whole damn forest.

Fine, she can stay, but not for long. Tomorrow was the worst day of the year for him. The anniversary of the one day he’d never be able to forget.

Chapter 5

Cassie nibbled on her lip and debated leaving. He wouldn’t find her yet, and she’d love to stay and hang out with her lykaen, Darien. Darien, she sighed, what a sexy name. It matched him perfectly.

She couldn’t tell him about Daniel. Ever. Though why a part of her was telling her to throw herself at Darien’s feet and confess everything, she didn’t understand. She would only endanger him more.

Darien came into the cabin and immediately took up all the space. His expression was unreadable—somewhere between anger and defeat. He grabbed a bottle of water and chugged the entire thing in three big gulps. Cassie stifled her girlie squeal at his manliness--barely.

“I need to run to town,” he said after wiping his mouth with his wrist. She perked up exponentially at the news. Flashes of clean clothes, a toothbrush, and a hairbrush blinked before her eyes.

“That’s great. Let’s go. I need some stuff anyways.” She left out the part about her not having any money and smiled big and cute instead. He frowned at her, rubbing a big hand across the back of his neck.

“I’m going alone.”

She stomped her foot. “And you’re going to what just leave me out here all by myself? What if a bear happens by or something?”

“You’re a vampire,” he stated simply.

“As if that gives me the right to know Kung Fu or something?” He grumbled beneath his breath then finally grumbled, “Fine.”

She followed him out the cabin. He turned left and started marching into the woods. Frowning, she looked around but didn’t see a car. “Um, where did you park?”

“A couple of miles this way.”

“Great,” she grumbled under her breath. “So what do you need to get anyways?”

“Nothing.”

“Right, nothing.” Cursing him in her mind, she walked behind him in silence. Several times he was nice enough to hold her hand as she climbed over a rather large fallen tree, or he would hold up a branch so she could duck underneath it. Sweet, sweet man.

Sometime later, they broke through the tree line and came into a small copse with a circle of dirt where a big black truck was parked. Big and dark just like him, how fitting. A dirt path trailed behind the truck and was lined by tall trees that shadowed the trail through the sunlight.

He unlocked the passenger door and opened it for her. Like a true gentleman he waited until she was seated before he closed it and went to his side. Cassie sighed blissfully, she barely knew the man, err lykaen, but already he knew how to make her happy. At least he wasn’t angry any more about the blowjob she gave him. She barely managed to stifle her giggle by the time he hopped in beside her.

The truck started with a roar and then they were off. “So I need a favor.” He looked at her with an arched brow. Okay, so she clearly had no place asking for favors, but come on. “Just hear me out, okay?”

She took his silence for a yes, and just in case he was going to protest she quickly said, “So can I borrow some money?” He choked something that resembled a laugh, and then grimaced as if the action hurt. “What,” she said defensively, “I’m not asking for much. I just need some clothes and maybe a toothbrush. Got to keep the fangs shiny, you know?”

He drove without looking at her. His deep voice vibrated along her skin in the close confines of the truck. “Why don’t you have any money?”

“I didn’t exactly have time to stop and grab my wallet if you know what I mean.” She popped her elbow on the edge of the window and stared out at the forest. How could she go from perky to grumpy in a matter of seconds? Cute guys always did do funny things to her, and she’d never seen a guy this cute. Figures.

“And why were you in such a hurry?”

“I—” She stopped and glared at him. “How dare you try to--try to coerce information out of me. Information that’s none of your business.”

He turned his deep, sharp eyes on her. “Like you were hounding me for information? Or like how you want to know what my business is in town when it’s none of yours.”

She just glared at him. “Yeah like that,” she finally said when she couldn’t come up with anything better. God, I’m lame.

“Are you on the run, Cassie?” He asked it so softly the sound nearly broke her heart. He sounded like someone who actually cared. No one cared about her. The only person who did might just kill her someday. She blinked back the wetness that formed in her eyes and stared harder at the passing blur of trees.