Enraptured by Brenda K. Davies

certain, he was a killer.
    Paige stood and stared at him before
glancing at the wood line again. He turned his attention back to
the contents of the shed. He didn’t know what he was looking for
inside, something to do perhaps, or maybe something to distract him
from the realization it was only the two of them up here now. At
least there was some outdoor equipment. He could keep himself
occupied with that when he found the lake he could smell in the
distance. The crisp smell of fresh water and fish tickled his
nostrils.
    “Go ahead,” he told her, sensing her
thoughts. “You’re free to go anywhere within a ten mile radius. Be
careful, there may be some grizzlies or even wolves in the
area.”
    She swallowed nervously. “Grizzlies?” It
came out as more of a squeak than she would have liked, but she
couldn’t help it. The idea of fighting a vampire didn’t rattle her,
but the idea of being Yogi’s picnic basket didn’t sit well with her
at all.
    “Probably some mountain lions too.” Paige
continued to stare at the trees, longing slid through her but his
words kept her riveted to the porch. “Just remember freedom almost
always comes with a price.”
    With a sigh, her shoulders slumped. She
turned around and walked back into the cabin. Standing in the
doorway, staring at the small home, she belatedly realized there
was only one bedroom in this place. The possibility of being bear
bait didn’t seem all that appalling any more.

CHAPTER 8
    Ian tossed another log onto the fire as the sun set
behind the mountains. He had no idea what Brian and Stefan had done
here, or why Brian would ever come back, but he’d only been here
for two days and he was about to go insane. He’d never considered
himself a technology junky; he’d often spent days on end in the
wilderness at home. Sleeping in a tent, fishing, hunting animals
with his bare hands, swimming in the lake, and lounging beneath the
trees had been the way he’d spent a good chunk of his childhood and
teens.
    He’d also had his siblings to keep him
company then. He hadn’t had to keep an eye on a reluctant companion
who hadn’t spoken to him since she’d stormed back into the cabin.
He’d never realized how lonely and bored someone could be in the
presence of someone else, he did now.
    He’d even enjoy listening to his twin
sisters, Abby and Vicky, prattle on about hair and boys right now
over this endless nothing. He glanced at Paige again, but she was
stalwartly staring at the flames with her chin on her hand. Her
legs were curled up on the couch beside her. The bowl of soup from
her dinner sat beside her on the table, a book from the shelf
behind the bar was open on her lap, but she wasn’t looking at it.
It didn’t help that he’d had no sexual release in the past couple
of days, or that he could see the pulse of blood in her neck, and
smell her apple scent. He was trapped in this cabin with a woman
who hated him, and all he craved was to pass the time lying between
her thighs. The days would fly by then, he knew.
    Normally going this long without sex would
have him ready to tear his skin off, and on the prowl, but the
urges weren’t as bad as they usually were, yet. You will get
through it when it gets bad; you’re a grown man, you can control
yourself, he told himself for the hundredth time that day.
    Unwilling to dwell on it anymore, Ian rose
to his feet, stretched his back, and walked over to the bar. The
single lantern in the room sat on the corner of the bar. Stepping
behind it, he searched the contents before pulling out a bottle of
whiskey and one of tequila. “Drink?” he inquired and tilted the
bottles invitingly. Her turquoise eyes darted to him. She shook her
head before focusing on the fire again. “It’s only going to be the
two of us up here for at least a few more days. We can pretend to
be civil with each other, and hopefully pass the time faster.”
    “Are hostages supposed to be civilized?”
    He pulled a tumbler from behind