Finally, Arand groaned and slowly withdrew from her. It wasn’t easy, as he was still hard and her sheath was swollen and very sensitive. The moment he released her, she collapsed onto the bed. She was sweaty and very wet and sticky between her thighs. She needed a shower, but all she could do was lie there.
Strong arms closed around her and she found herself lying on Arand’s chest looking down at him. Neither of them spoke. After all, what was there to say? They were both intelligent people and knew the situation. If they survived the day, he was still immortal and bound to a goddess, and she was human.
She lowered her head and rested it against his shoulder. He closed his arms around her, but she felt cold inside in spite of the heat generated by his body.
Finding strength she didn’t know she had, Sabrina rolled off him and stood beside the bed. “I need to shower and dress.” She walked away without looking back, afraid she’d see regret on his face.
“This can’t be happening.” Jessica stood beside the front tire of the truck and stared. No matter how long she looked at it, it didn’t change. It was as flat as a pancake.
They’d already been delayed by a car accident that had closed the road for over two hours. Now this. It almost seemed as though something was conspiring to keep them away from Sabrina.
“I called a tow truck. He said it might be a while. Everyone in the area is busy because of the accident we saw earlier.” Tilly tucked her phone into her pocket and glanced down the busy road. “We should wait in the truck.”
Jessica kicked the tire and winced when her toes complained at the abuse. “If this was a car I could change that sucker.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Tilly pointed out. “There’s no spare.”
For some reason, there was no spare tire in Jules’ truck. Jessica hoped this wasn’t an omen. “I hope they hurry.” She shaded her eyes and peered in the direction of the bayou. They were still more than a half hour away. She wrapped her hand around the stone amulet she wore, hoping to gain comfort from it. It had belonged to her grandmother and was very special. She’d never worn it before today, saving its power for the right moment.
“We’ll go to the closest garage and tell them it’s an emergency,” Tilly said. “If they’re busy, maybe we can rent a car.”
“I’m beginning to think we should have done just that,” Jessica muttered.
Jessica climbed into the driver’s side and closed the door. She was driving because she had experience with big vehicles. Growing up on a farm in Kansas, she’d been driving trucks and tractors since she could reach the pedals. They both had the windows cranked down as the morning was starting to heat up. “Hurry,” she whispered, very aware the clock was ticking.
Chapter Thirteen
Freshly showered and dressed once again, Sabrina sat at the kitchen table and picked at one of the muffins Tilly had sent along with them. It was chocolate, but even that wasn’t enough to stimulate her appetite. “Where is he?”
Arand prowled around the small living space, stalking from the kitchen to the dining room into the living room and back to the kitchen again. Watching him was making her dizzy. “I don’t know.”
The clock over the sink said it was three o’clock. Sabrina was beginning to worry about her friends, but neither of them was answering her phone. “Do you think something’s happened to Jessica and Tilly?” That was her greatest fear.
Arand shrugged and continued pacing. His seeming lack of concern for her friends ignited the anger simmering just below the surface. She jumped out of her chair. “I know they don’t matter to you in the scheme of things, but they’re important to me.” She crossed the kitchen, heading for the back door, needing some fresh air and some space.
He pressed his big hand on the door above her head before she could open it. He said nothing, but his large body hovered just behind her, not touching.
“Let me go,” she whispered.
“I can’t,” came his tortured reply. She was whipped around and her back hit the door with Arand looming before her. His eyes were as black as night but blazed with passion. Thin lines radiated out from the corners of his eyes and his teeth were bared. “I can’t,” he repeated.
His mouth came down on hers, harsh and fevered. He clamped his hands down on her shoulders and dragged her to him. It was the first time they’d touched since she’d rolled away from him in bed. This was madness. The separation between them was good, necessary. But this was so much better.
Sabrina felt alive when he touched her, every cell in her body humming with profound pleasure at his touch. She clasped his head in her hands and returned his kiss, letting him taste her desperation.
The ticking clock mocked her, marking the passage of time. It was passing way too slow, but yet too fast. She wanted the curse to end, but that would mean her time with Arand was also at an end.
She pulled back, wanting to see his face. His features were harsh, almost cruel, but she felt no fear, only a deep pull. An ache started in her chest and spread to the rest of her body. “This is madness.”
He nodded, but yanked her back into his arms, burying his face in the curve of her neck. “Insanity,” he agreed.
“What are we going to do?” she whispered.
He straightened his shoulders, and when he spoke, his words were a solemn vow. “We will survive.”
She wanted to stay snuggled in his arms but knew that wasn’t smart. They needed to keep their minds on Hades. They’d been lucky as it was not to have literally gotten caught with their pants down. Not that it was such a big deal for Arand. After all, the guy was totally built, plus he could conjure clothing out of thin air. For her, it was a huge deal. No way did she want the devil or his minions catching her in her birthday suit.
“I don’t understand why we haven’t had some contact with anyone.” It was really starting to bother her.
Arand sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know. I expected something before now. A demand, a deal, something.”
Sabrina gazed longingly through the glass in the back door. “Let’s go outside for a minute. We could both use the fresh air.” His sense of smell was probably a hundred times more powerful then hers and all she could smell was his masculine, musky scent. It was making her crazy. She could only imagine how he was faring in the confines of the small house.
She turned the handle and opened the door. Immediately, the familiar scent of the woods, grass and water surrounded her. She could hear the heat—the low buzz of the insects and the almost inaudible hum of heat in the air. The afternoon had really warmed up and her top was clinging to her torso.
But she was used to the heat and embraced it. She walked to the end of the porch and sat on the railing. There used to be a rocking chair there where Granny liked to sit at the end of the day and watch the sun set. The chair was in the living room now. Sabrina didn’t like to leave it outside when she wasn’t here.
If she survived today, she planned on spending a week out here. It was time for a semi-annual cleaning, and she’d see to any repairs that needed doing. No way did she want to let Granny’s house get rundown.
She played with the amulet Tilly had given her and stared at the strand of beads Jessica had gifted her with. The beads were wrapped around her wrist, a bracelet instead of a necklace today. Her worry for her friends increased as she stared out over the encroaching swamp, listening to the birds and small animals flitting from tree to tree. Without someone living out here fulltime, the swamp was starting to reclaim the land.
Arand stood at the top of the two steps that led down to the yard. She could just catch a glimpse of the tattoo on his back and was conscious of the one on her own. It was beyond coincidence that they’d both have a wolf tattoo, hers more guardian and his all feral wolf. Of course, his tattoo was a representation of a very real creature, while hers would never be anything more than ink.