17. VANYA: UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCES

My lips still tingled from his kiss, and my skin still burned where his fingers had gripped me.
Desire hummed through my veins, leaving me twitching. I wanted to do so much more than kiss him, but I couldn’t, because Ezra had ran away.
When Charlene had mentioned the fact that the women in town had been spreading rumours about Ezra being hung, I never expected it to be true.
Imagine my surprise when I saw just how hung he really was. It could’ve been my imagination, or the water could’ve made him look bigger than he actually was. But he felt big.
Shaking my head, I tried to focus on the current dilemma I was in; stranded on a rock in the middle of the pool near a massive waterfall. The sound was deafening even though I wasn’t that close to it, which meant that nobody would hear me calling for help.
Had I done something wrong? Was that why he had shifted and then took off?
I shouldn’t have kissed him, but I couldn’t resist. There was just something about knowing that no other woman had ever kissed him before.
But why had he run off? What if he was saving his first kiss for someone special and I had ruined it?
I sighed and lowered my head to stare at the small rocks bellow my feet. After another second’s hesitation, I slowly started to slip down the rock, but I had once again misjudged the depth.
I slipped right underneath the water the moment I was off the rock. Panic hit, but I forced it aside. You can swim, idiot!
I kicked for the surface and reached it just in time before my air ran out. Halfway to the edge of the pool, the depth changed, making it possible for me to walk the rest of the way.
I had just stepped onto dry land when a sound reached my ears. It was a loud bang that startled the birds in the trees. I stood frozen, staring up at the sky as the birds flew away, before I snapped into action.
Two steps and movement from the corner of my eyes caught my attention. I didn’t wait to see who or what it was; I instantly started running in the direction of the house.
But wearing wet clothes made it hard to run. It slowed me down and made it easier for whoever was chasing me to catch up.
A heavy weight slammed into my back, sending me falling forward. My head slammed into something, knocking me out.

***

“Is she dead?”
“No.”
“I killed her, didn’t I?”
“Stop talking.”
“But I—”
A vicious snarl instantly silenced whoever was speaking. “One more word and I’ll cut your tongue off.”
The haze slowly cleared from my mind, making me aware of a few things. One was the fact that we were moving, and two was the fact that there was a thick arm around my back and one under my knees, and my right side was pressed against a warm but naked chest.
“I’m really sorry. I—”
“Shut it, kid.”
I recognized the raspy voice as Obsidian’s. Why the hell was he carrying m? Where was he taking me? Who was the kid? And lastly, why was he talking to the kid like that?
Obsidian shifted me in his arms, making a moan fall from my lips as pain flashed through my skull.
His steps flattered but he kept on walking.
“Am I going to get punished, Alpha?” the kid asked.
Obsidian growled and came to a stop. He turned, probably to glare down at the kid. His chest expanded as he sucked in a breath.
“I’m not your Alpha. I—”
“You should be,” the kid interrupted him. “You’re mean and scary. We need an Alpha like you. Not that Alpha Devrim isn’t a good Alpha. He’s just—”
“Enough!”
A shiver of fear raced down my spine. There was a thud and a whimper. I almost thought that Obsidian had struck him, but he couldn’t have because he was holding me in his arms.
“Shake it off, kid.”
“I’m fine.”
“Good. Now get the fuck out of here and stay within your limits. If I find you here again, I’ll lock you in the basement for a week.”
The kid wanted to say more, but his words were cut off by the scary sound Obsidian made. His chest vibrated against my side as he growled.
“Three seconds, kid. That’s all I’m giving you.”
There was a short lapse of silence and then the sound of branches snapping. Obsidian blew out a breath that stirred the strands of hair on my head.
“I know you’re awake.”
I hesitated before I opened my eyes and tilted my head back against his shoulder to look him in the eyes,
“How?” I questioned.
His dark eyes darted over my face but lingered a bit longer on my forehead. “Your heartbeat and breathing changed.”
“Oh.” I frowned at him. “You can hear that?”
Obsidian looked away from me and started walking again. He answered my question after a few minutes of silence.
“We have very keen hearing.”
My eyes trailed over him.
I noticed that his hair was hanging lose and brushing the top of his shoulders as he moved, and that his skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat.
Being so close to him, I had a clear view of the dark ink that covered almost every inch of his skin.
I reached up and pressed shaky fingers against a tattoo on his right shoulder. Obsidian tensed and sucked in a sharp breath. I ignored his reaction to my touch and traced the outline of a petal. The flower was one I hadn’t seen before.
“Stop touching me,” he growled.
Instead of listening, I continued to trace his ink. On some parts of his skin, beneath the tattoos, I could feel the raised skin of old scars. Obsidian, I realized had a lot of scars. It was probably why he was covered in so much ink.
“Vanya,” he rasped. “Stop touching me.”
“Why?” I asked. “I like touching you.”
My hand slid over his shoulder and up the side of his thick neck and into his hair.
“I’m warning you.”
I tugged on the strands that curled around my fingers, earning a low grunt from him. Shifting, I wrapped my other arm around his neck to use as leverage to pull myself up so I could press my lips to his skin right behind his ear.
A shudder shook his big body. Obsidian muttered something under his breath when he stumbled.
I smiled as I kissed the same spot again, but this time I licked his skin afterwards.
It made him snap.