Saints and Assassins (The Sentinels) (14 page)

He
sat
in the grass right by her clothes
. 

Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the half-naked man sitting there waiting for her
and it excited her. What did it mean though?
He had rejected her once already but she kept coming back for more.

“How long have you been awake
?”
S
he
smirked.

“Not long,” he replied. She didn’t know if she believed him or not. Eve chose not to say anything else yet,
since
she was deciding how she was going to get out of the water since she didn’t have a towel.

“Are you ready to get out?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

“I’ll tu
rn around while you get dressed.
”
H
e stood up and turned the other w
ay. She climbed out of the pond
and tried to pu
sh the water
off
her body while she dressed.

Ev
e stepped around to face Adam
.
She noticed that he l
ooked at her differently, lascivious in fact
.
Eve swallowed hard and reached up to check
his wound.

“The bleeding has
stopped. How’s the pain?”

Adam only nodded slowly as he stared at her.

“Hmm.”
Adam didn’t respond which only made her more curious as to what could be going on in that head of his.

“So, what’s for dinner?” she asked of him.
As if he were going to magically produce some food.

Adam
smiled
. He stood there with no shirt
,
just shorts, a gun in his waistband and dried
blood on his arm.

He couldn’t
have
been
sexier. That body of his
should be
savored and she could feel the saliva flow into her mouth. Maybe she could have him for dinner.

“I don’t know, but I’m starving,” he replied. “I don’t think there are any noodles here though.”

Sh
e froze
. She ate noodles for dinner
a lot
when she was at home, because they were easy and she could always cook just the right amount for one person.

How much does he know
?

“What did you say?”
she asked
.

“I’m, sorry. I was just saying that because I know you like th
em
.
” He looked away from her
as if to ignore her, but she
was not
going to let it go.

“Yes I do, but what else have you
seen
?” Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him.

How could he know that?
Does he have cameras in my
apartment?

“Well, just that you eat a lot of noodles and you shop at the corner market. You always take your coffee with you in the morning before your walk and I know that you usually do your laundry on Tuesdays,” he chattered.
Adam obviously knew more about her than she could have imagined.
The realization of him having watched her for the past year sank in.

“That’s
all
?”
He knew her every move, but he didn’t know
her
and that comforted her.

“Well there are other things, but you know what you do,” he answered as he took one step closer to her.

“Lik
e what?” She crossed her arms as
he took
yet
another step toward her which brought his face inches from hers. He slowly reached out and placed his hand on her cheek. Again her heart pounded uncontrollably.

Why is he
trying to be so damn difficult?

H
is
touch
electrified her
and it didn’t help when he ca
ressed her skin as he continued to speak.

“Well, for example. If there’s a day that you’re feeling exceptionall
y sad, you leave your hair down.
”
He
whispered
the words
as he briefly reached up and touched a loose lock of hair.  “You always hold a door open for just about anyone whenever you can. I’ve even seen you help a little old lady step into a cab because it was slick out.”

She stared int
ently into his eyes. His touch felt
so warm and she wanted it more than she had wanted anything in a long t
ime, but her mind and heart were going two different directions. Eve felt confused by his knowledge and even more confused by the way he touched her.

Not able to look anywhere but into his eyes, she struggled to find her voice. Finally, Eve forced out a whisper. “Adam.
”

“Yes.”

“I need to kn
ow something.
”

“Go ahead,” he stated. He was still touching her face, as if he
waited
for her to pull away but she didn’t.

“
Why did you continue to watch over me after Michael was gone?
”

Adam’s expression
changed, his eyes narrowed slightly a
nd
his brow furrowed.

“What difference does it make?”
He still cradled her face in his large hands.

“I just want to know.”

“Eve, don’t worry about it. You just need to know that I was paid to protect you and I’m trying to do just that, even though I may not be doing a very good job of it right now.” Adam leaned toward her fac
e. Only
inches
of space kept his mouth
from hers and she could feel his breath on her
.
Her heart pounded frantically
in her chest.

The proximity was mind-blowing and
Eve blinked rapidly as she remembered the point to her question.
It
did not
add up. She had no idea how much money he made “watching” people, but there was no way that Michael had paid him for all this time in advance.

“How long were you paid to watch me?” she insisted.
He wasn’t going to lean in to kiss her now an
d not answer questions.

Adam sighed and must have realized that she wasn’t going to back off with her question. “Three months.”

He had been watching her for over a year and she didn’t understand what could have possessed him to stay around, especially if he wasn’t being paid.
“But if you were only paid for three months, then why are you here now? Why did you keep watching over me?”
His eyes
focused
on hers at this distance.

Adam paused for a moment
and stared at
her as if he
was
trying to find the right
story to tell her
and then suddenly his lips
were on her
s
.
The intensity grew like a thirst that couldn’t be quenched as he
pulled her
face
against his, parting her lips forcing his
taste
into her.
She
gasp
ed
slightly for a breath
as his mouth moved around hers.

The blistering kiss seared her senses. His heady scent and the feeling of his hands on her tormented her further.
Eve placed her hands on either side of his face, securing the embrace.
She let out a moan, but
unexpectedly
against her
body’s desires
Adam stopped, and nuzzled her cheek.

He’s so confusing!

Eve opened her eyes to find Adam’s still closed. He breathed in short, quick breaths.

“That’s why,” he stated as he pulled his face away from hers.
Putting some distance between them, Adam stepped back.

In that moment, she realized
he wanted her and he had wanted her for some time.
She wanted him to touch her and kiss her again until
she was satisfied
and with the burning pain in her body, it was going to take
a lot
to satisfy her.
She wanted him inside of her.

“I’m sorry. I’ve tried for so long
not
to do that but I just can’t take it anymore,” he declared.

The gravity of the days’ events weighted her to the ground, motionless. It all made sense now. Adam had been
stalking
her for a year and wanted her, possibly even loved her. She had just met him and immediately felt a connection between them
, but he had pushed her away.

“You’re sorry!
”
she shouted.

He took one step back.

Adam’s eyes widened. Her hands tightened into fists at her side and she stepped toward him, closing the gap between them. Her blood boiled with frustration. Eve felt angry, confused and wanting all at the same time and it pushed her over the edge.

Raising her fists, she pounded them both against Adam’s chest before he could move
.
Repeatedly striking
him,
she screamed.

“
No! No! No!”
  

Frozen by her outburst, he stood there letting her release her anger while he decided what to do. He only wanted to soothe her, but if he tried to restrain
her,
he would
probably get punch
ed
again and he didn’t want that. Within
seconds,
her
movements slowed and she quietly sobbed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Adam wrapped his non-injured arm around her. What he wouldn’t give to take all of her pain away.

“Eve. I know this is overwhelming, but we have to go. I need to get you to safety.”

“Who’s going to make sure you’re safe?”
She hadn’t yelled at him at least, but h
er continued concern for his safety baffled him.

“I’m big enough to take care of myself
. I won’t let them hurt you though.” His heart ached at what he didn’t say. He would protect her e
ven if it cost him his life because she
meant the world to him. Eve slid her arms down to his chest and leaned back so that their eyes met.

Adam stared into those green eyes and lost all train of thought that he might have had. Words popped to the front of his thoughts but instantly disappeared as his heart pounded in his chest. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, but he couldn’t. In her
mind,
she didn’t know him and he feared that after all of the day’s insanity she would surely run away and disc
ard
his
feelings
.

What to say?
Nothing came to mind. Only her touch matter
ed and he seized the moment to
hold her hand against his chest
.
Sucking in a deep breath,
he knew he ultimately had to te
ll her the truth.

Not now, though.

“
We need to go.” Adam forced the lump in his throat down knowing that now was not the time to declare his love for her.

Eve nodded
and g
ave him a look
of concern.
I
f they had been in any other
situation,
he would have laid her down and
shown
her that the only thing she needed to be concerned about was how hard he would fuck her
.
However,
right
now,
he had to get her to safety and he knew just the place.

Adam led her, hand in hand,
up the hill
.
He
pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed
a number
.

“Yes. We’re alive. Are you on your way?
” he asked.
As he spoke to
Koa,
he reluctantly let go of Eve’s hand when she pulled away. Adam watched as she walked to the other side of a tree.

He charged Koa with getting the boat ready for laun
ch and gave their location so that someone could pick them up. Flipping the phone shut Adam walked around the tree t
o see Eve staring into the forest
.

“Are you
all right
?” he asked. Adam reached out to touch her shoulder when she turned to face him. A long stream of tears ran down one cheek.
The vast strength that he had seen her possess for the past year had broken.