The Awakening (3 page)

              The thought of the other stranger quickly sobered her. Green eyes, the snarl of a smile on his lips, and his obvious intent toward her. She stopped short, causing Turk to do the same. She felt the adrenaline run through her veins, and she suddenly felt very afraid. “It’s just my imagination,” she whispered. She swallowed, held her pack closer to herself and started walking again. Turk licked her hand, and then continued on his investigation.

              They explored in silence. Raina felt her nerves settle again. Nature caught her attention, and the dream slipped away.

              The rest of the morning went quickly. They spotted deer, squirrel, and some she couldn’t quite be certain of. Green was peeking through where the sun, when it decided to show up, hit the forest floor but because of the lack of sunlight in the heavy shadows, not many flowers were to be discovered.

              Around noon the sun did peek out for a moment. She took this time to rest against a tree and nibble at the lunch she had packed. She tossed Turk a sandwich, which he swallowed up. The morning trek had definitely worn her out. She leaned against the rough bark of the tree, and closed her eyes just for a moment. The sounds around her were stronger when she couldn’t see. She heard a song bird somewhere above her, the buzz of the bugs, rustling of grass, either by critter or breeze, she wasn’t sure.

              Turk sat beside her she knew not because she saw, but because she felt his soft fur against her hand. He sighed, she sighed, and both settled, content to not move. Raina felt her muscles relax, and drowsiness overtook her.

              She didn’t know what made her eyes open a crack, but when they did, she let out a startled cry, sitting up straight from her slouched position. Disbelief made her speechless. She tried to force a sound out, but nothing would come.

              Kneeling beside her, with his silver greys intently on her, was Silas. His hand was deep in Turks fur, and the dog was rolled over, wanting his belly rubbed. He smiled. “Did I scare you Aelan?” He sat down next to her, just close enough, and not touching.

              “It’s Raina,” she sputtered.

              He grinned, “Yeah I know.”

              She trembled at the grin. She leaned closer to him. Yes, that was his scent, minus the leather. Today he only wore a sweatshirt, and well-worn jeans. His hair swept back from his forehead, leaving a perfect view of his face. She could hardly believe he was here again…was she dreaming? Without thinking, she reached out and touched his cheek. It was warm beneath her fingertips. She brushed a finger down to the stubborn chin. She touched the lips, which had dropped the grin, and were set seriously.

              He took her hand gently returned it to her lap. She thought she felt his hand shake and then he lifted his eyes to her.

              “Why are you here?” She thought she sounded breathless.

              “I promised I’d protect you.”

              She glanced around them. “He’s here?” She tried to choke back the panic.

              “Was,” he corrected her.

              She slid closer to him, felt the moment of contact, the warmth of him. He visibly tensed. She couldn’t help the hurt feelings at his reaction.

              She pulled back. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

              He offered a smile. “No Raina, I am.” He strengthened his statement, by touching her shoulder. “You were hiking today? How much further do you have to go? I could walk with you.”

              She had planned on heading back home, but after his promise, she knew a couple hours would seem like ten minutes with him.

              “I was going to walk a bit further…there’s a stream up ahead. It’s beautiful. Have you been there?”

              “I would love to see it with you.” He stood gracefully, reaching down to her assistance.

              She took the warm hand, feeling the long fingers surround hers. He helped her up as if she weighed nothing…quickly, he released her hand. She had to force herself not to pout.

              Turk forged ahead, he knew the way. They walked without word. Silas took the lead slightly to help her over the deep ruts and tangled weeds. In a slightly more tangled area he took her hand, and held it protectively. Raina could have told him she did this often on her own, but she bit her tongue...enjoying his assistance more than she should.

              When they came to clear walking, he let go of her hand, casually shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. ; a pair of jeans that fit him very well. His broad shoulders filled out the top of the sweatshirt, and tapered down his lean waste. Her eyes traveled down the rest, and then back to his beautiful profile.

              He gave her a sideways glance.

Her cheeks warmed.

He hadn’t failed to notice she was noticing him. He wanted to chastise himself. He had no right to have pleasure in her attention. He hated the attention he usually drew from the feminine population, but it felt really good coming from this girl.

              He took advantage of her averted glance in the opposite direction to take account of her appearance. He had the sense that she did not approve of her figure…but that was just ridiculous. Her generous hips were appealing, as was her tiny waist. Her petite frame was well filled out, and he would take that over the bean poles that threw themselves at him.

. She was complicated this Raina, and sweet, and sad, and so very hurt. He would do all he could to shelter this girl from further pain.

              “Can you hear it?” She broke into his thoughts.

              They rounded a rather large tree, which had hindered the view, and there it was. Flowing freely, bubbling pass the rocks…clear and beautiful. And cold! He chuckled as she excitedly knelt close to the stream and trailed her hand in its depths.

              Raina laughed, tugging her hand out of the frigid water. “You would think I would have learned by now!” She rubbed her numb hand, and she shook off the icy droplets.

              He crouched down and skimmed the water with his fingers. “Such a wonder, huh?”

              She nodded in appreciation.

              He stared down into the water, wondering why he remained here with her. Why had he decided to prolong their time together? He had kept his word and protected her. He knew she rarely came this far, and would have already been heading home if he hadn’t tempted her to walk with him. He was making things tougher than they should be.

              “Silas?”

              He turned at the sound of her soft voice. “Yes?”

              “What do you do?”

              He cleared his throat. “Um, protect you,” he teased.

              She shook her head. “No, you… haven’t said who you are…who this Thanatos is. It’s all very strange.” She met his gaze. “You are, different, and there’s something not quite normal about you…about the both of you.”

              He grinned, still feeling he should keep the mood light. “I’m not Thanatos…quite the opposite. I will agree I may seem mysterious…showing up at night, protecting you from a green eyed demon. “

              She nodded. “I wondered…..and I have a couple opinions…one being rather childish.” She blushed. “Must be the intrigue of the dark…like you live in it…only, today, well, in the sun, which kills one of my opinions.”

              “Are you asking me if I’m a vampire?” He chuckled, his beautiful eyes glinting mischief.

              She blushed. “I like the idea,” she admitted. “But I don’t get vampire from you ….but you are built like it. Strong, tall, your features are stunning ….” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. She blushed again.

              He glanced away to help her recover from her awkward comment.

              They were quiet again.

              “So what are you?”

              He sighed, leaned back on his elbows, and crossed his feet in front of himself. “I don’t know if I’d be able to tell you that.”

              She shook her head, caught by the beautiful eyes.

              Turk made his way between them, demanding their attention.

              “Well, whatever you are, thank you.”

              He tilted his head. “For what?”

              She shrugged. “I have no idea what you are doing…who you really are, but something about you that makes me think you’re good for me.”

              He turned to look back at the flowing water. “You certainly are not good for me,” he chuckled.

              She turned to look at him in surprise. “That’s not fair, you don’t know me!”

              He was quiet for a moment. “Yes, I’m here to protect you,” he admitted. “And I don’t think you’re bad for me in the respect that you’re a bad person. It’s my job to protect you, but you are far more tempting then I thought you would be. I’m not here to enjoy your company as I am doing right now. It messes with my real purpose, and that can be dangerous to you.”

              She blushed for the umpteenth time today. “Do I distract you?”

              He nodded, his jaw clenching as if that were a bad thing

              “You distract me, “she accused.

              He sighed, and closed his eyes.

              She scooted closer to him. ‘Is that wrong? Can’t a person be drawn to another without it being a big deal?” She knew the craziness of that statement as she let her gaze drift over the closed eyes, the relaxed mouth. She leaned even closer.

              He opened his eyes, finding her leaning above him. He simply stared at her for a moment.

              “Silas…” she breathed in. She didn’t know what she wanted to ask him exactly. She knew what she wanted to do. That would be ridiculous! What if she could just kiss him once?

              He swallowed a couple times. He had to end this. He saw what she wanted of him, and that was not going to happen.

              The thunder started then, startling Raina. “Well that’s unexpected,” she giggled.

              Silas took that as a way to sit up, and shift from the temptation.

              “I still have a couple hours back to the house. I hope this thunder is not accompanied by rain!”

              He was up, brushing off his jeans, and reaching for her before she completed her sentence. “I think rain may be following.”

              She felt a shock when he lifted her up quickly. She held onto his arms, and stayed him for a moment, with a squeeze. She was sure if he let her go she'd be on the ground. She felt almost as if she were intoxicated by his very presence.

              “You okay?”

              She forced her head to nod and pulled back. “I’m okay. “ She really did feel dizzy at that moment, and what happened next neither could prevent. She fell back... her ankle twisted, and she was soon submerged in icy water, her breath knocked from her lungs.

              He pulled her out sputtering and spitting out water.

              “Aelan? Oh my God, I’m sorry…are you okay?”

              She felt humiliated! The shirt and vest felt as if they were freezing to her skin. She shook violently. “Ffffffine.” she chattered.

              “No you’re not!”

              He knelt beside her, and tugged his sweatshirt over his head. He only had a tank beneath, but it hid very little.

              He tossed his shirt at her. “I’ll turn around…there’s nothing you can do about the soaked jeans, but you need to get out of that wet shirt.” He promptly turned his back to her. A marvelous back, perfectly etched in muscle beneath the thin white cotton.

              “You’ll f-freeze Silas!”

              He chuckled. “I’ll be fine Raina, now hurry!”

              She prudishly stepped behind a tree. She pulled her wet clothes off, and slipped into the warm, wonderfully smelling sweatshirt. She shoved the wet stuff into her pack, and stepped timidly back into the open. “Thank you,”

              He turned around. “Better?” He smiled at her nod.

              “Won’t you be cold?” She stepped closer, trying to keep her eyes from what the his unveiling had revealed, and his tshirt did not hide. It was a near impossibility. She occupied herself by ringing out her wet hair.

              “No, not at all.” He swallowed when she came even closer.

              “Are you sure?” She thought of the warmth that came from him. “You’d think the cool air…and the rain heading this way might be problematic.” She stood in front of him.

              “Not for me. I’ll stay warm. “

              She smiled, shaking her head. “Is there anything imperfect about you?” She studied his frame, bolder now than before.

              “There’s more then you know,” he whispered. He had made a mistake, he could feel it. He let his desire to be around her over rule what he was supposed to be focused on.

              Turk barked ahead, as if to tell them to hurry.