Eighteen

“Answer my question, woman!” He gritted out between his teeth, and I didn’t make a mistake earlier. His eyes were glowing golden in the middle of all that messy hair and beard, and it mesmerized me. I was so conscious of his body against mine, I felt my nipples peak against his chest and a hard bulge against my stomach. So, I wasn’t alone in this torment. A crimson blush covered me, and tears pricked in the back of my eyes. I’ve never felt this lost, not even when my mother died.
“Sorry! It wasn’t intentional. I didn’t mean to blast at you, it happens when I lose control out of fear or anger.” A sob escaped my lips, and I was freaking crying in front of him. Shit! “I’m sorry!” It left my mouth in a whisper. “This is too much to believe in.” Then his eyes went back to that beautiful forest green.
“Please, don’t fear me. It’s been so long since I had you in my arms, dragă. I’ve almost lost you for the fourth time, you need to cooperate with me here.”
God, I had no clue what he was talking about, or how to get out of this situation! I had to think of something because he wouldn’t let go of me easily, and to tell the truth, I didn’t know if I wanted out of the situation either.
“Fine. How about we start over?” There was hope in my question, and he stared at me, wondering if I could be trusted or not. Maybe if I behaved like a good damsel, I could escape later. “Where are we?” I asked, sniffling. He didn’t move or freed me, but his body relaxed against mine and that was a start.
“A cabin, a few miles from where I found you, and by a lake. I brought you over, and that was two days ago.”
“It must belong to a hunter, it’s been long since we had a hunting season around here, that’s why it looks abandoned, but thank you.” For the first time, I looked at my surroundings. It was an old and cozy cottage.
“What for?” He had such an abandoned puppy look on his face. I just didn’t know what to do with him.
“For coming and taking care of me, thanks. Sorry if I’m not behaving the way you expected, but everything is just too surreal, you know?” I was being sincere for once. “I’m forever in debt to you, but I need to get going.”
“You’re going nowhere!”
“But…”
“You’re not going anywhere!” His grip tightened on me and his eyes fixed on mine. My lungs stopped working, making me reach for air. “You’re in no condition of going anywhere yet. I’ve almost lost you here, and that won’t happen again. Besides, you have to explain yourself.” His voice changed to a mixture of anger and grief. His tone was like a balmy caress on my skin, and that was bad. I’ve never felt this drawn to someone. Things were getting dangerous.
“But we can’t stay here forever!” Once more, I inspected my surroundings for options. The cabin had three doors, entrance, bathroom, and basement, and I was sure I’d find a power generator there, so for now I had to agree with him and stay. “I have nothing to explain to you!” He gripped me tight again.
“Yes, you do! How can you put yourself in such danger? What troubles have you got yourself into?” He glued his eyes on mine, waiting for an explanation.
“Who the hell do you think you are to demand I explain myself to you?” My voice came out in a hiss.
“I’m your husband, and I forbid you to put yourself in danger!”
The possessive way he spoke those words lit up a fire in my core. When I realised the lunacy and reaction of my body to them, I choked, coughing to push some air through my nose. My eyes watered and if they couldn’t get bigger, they did. He didn’t let go of me, not even for a second.
“Are you out of your mind?” I said between coughs. Was I dealing with a lunatic? I needed to get away from him as soon as I had the chance. “I’ve never got married in my life,” I yelled at him.
“Maybe not in this life, but you did in your past one. Make peace with your fate, because I’m back to stay.” His eyes flashed golden. If it wasn’t for the anger in them as he struggled to control himself, I’d say they were enthralling.
“I don’t even know you, please. Let me go!”
“Don’t lie to me! You recognized me, you said yourself! Your body remembers mine, or do you think I can’t smell your arousal and the way your skin heats under my touch, Liz?”
“Get the hell off me!” I hissed, and I got a smirk from him, the pig. “I’m gonna blow you!” Gosh, it was humiliating that my body betrayed me in such a despicable way. I looked at him, fuming with anger.
“You can try, but this time I’m prepared for you.”
“I need a bath, I feel all nasty and sticky.” I had to divert him. Maybe a change of tactics would be best.
“The fire is waning out, I’ll revive it to warm up some water.” Then he was grinning at me.
“Don’t get any ideas and don’t worry.” I closed my fingers on his arm. “I mean, I’m sure the shower is working and there’s hot water, but if you want to work on the fire, it’ll be great.”
“Shower, huh…” he repeated, pensive. “I remember something about it, so it’s improved!”
“Were you living under a rock or something?”
“You can say that. Sorry, I’m not used to all these new terminologies.” Mischief crossed his eyes, and suddenly he was looking at me like a naughty boy.
“It’s ok, and if you allow me, I’ll check the basement for power. I just hope they left here a gallon or two of oil, at least for a bath.” His eyes turned to a shade of golden, and his expression changed to elation. Gosh, I wanted to know what was going on under all that mess of hair. “What?” I blurted out, and he blinked like coming out of a trance.
“Nothing, I just…” His fingertips wandered with such caress on my cheeks. It felt so good I closed my eyes and tilted my head to them. “I can’t believe I’ve found you again, dragă. You confuse me, it’s you and yet… not.”
“What do you mean by that?” My eyes snapped open, bringing me to reality and the absurdity of the situation. “You know what? I don’t wanna know. Let me up, please?”
It took a few minutes before he moved away from me, and I felt bereft. I got to my feet, a little dizzy. My boots were right beside the bed and also my coat. I found a pack of candles in the small kitchen and I tried the door by the sink, heading downstairs.
“Where are you going?” I heard him behind my back, making me stop on my way.
“Find a source of power for us? You can come, if you don’t trust me.” Saying that, I went downstairs, and it was freezing cold!
By the moonlight coming through the small window, it was nightfall. Maybe he wouldn’t find me in these woods and I could try to get back to my sweetness, but I didn’t think I had my GPS anymore. Those fuckers had gotten my beautiful dagger, and dad was going to kill me. Shit! But I had to at least try to get away.
The cabin had a boiler, and yes, there were a few gallons of oil in a corner. I filled up the thing, and it took a few tries to start, but it did. It was old and rusty, but it would be enough for now. The warmth coming out of it felt nice on my freezing hands, and in a few minutes, we would have boiling water. Bless the progress!
Unfortunately, we had no electricity, no power generator around. Going back upstairs, I almost crashed into him since he was there, like a wall, waiting for me at the top. In the fireplace, the fire was strong and heated the entire room in such a cozy way, but I was about to lose my courage to venture into that freezing weather to escape from him because something ached in my chest just to think about leaving him behind.