Page 34 of Beg Me Angel

Chapter Nine

Vera

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What does he mean?

If he saved me, why would he need to protect me from himself?

I couldn't understand his cryptic message, his twisted explanation for his shift in mood and the way he was acting.

He said he was protecting me from himself, but why?

Was there something wrong with him, some disturbance deep inside his mind that I hadn't seen yet?

Maybe that's why he had a grave, for a dark seeded nature he kept locked away.

“Come on, we need to hurry if you're going to get what you want.” Pax was already halfway down the hill by the time I stepped out of my own head and looked up.

I had so many more questions, so much more I wanted to know and needed to know about what he meant. . . But this, this I needed more.

The demand to see where I had been was eating away at me and he was about to take me to it, laying it out on a silver platter.

There was no way I was going to fuck this up and possibly cause him to shut down. This could be my one chance to see the spot and maybe find something to help me understand.

Taking off down the slope, I bobbled over loose rocks and slipping gravel. The ground was uneven, sliding out from under my feet and forcing me to climb down on all fours. My still aching muscles were working double time, there was no doubt in my mind that any mending my body had done was completely erased right then.

I felt my muscles split at the seams as my joints popped and cracked with each bend and twist. The cage around my lungs expanded with a violent snap, forcing my chest to pound with every breath.

Reaching the bottom, I pushed myself up and gripped my lower back in pain. “Fuck, you made that look easy.” Turning to face Pax, a blinding ray of light hit my eyes, forcing my hand to shoot up and block it.

The sun was gleaning, hovering midway between the mountaintops surrounding the small clearing. The tops of the trees were sparkling, glowing in bright orange and red. Each tree was wearing a halo painted by the long arms of the sun, making me question how I could have been harmed in a place that held so much beauty.

“Pretty, isn't it?” he asked as he stared off into the mountains. “This is one of the reasons I stay, the sun never lets me down.” Stepping to my side, Pax fanned his arm out towards the horizon. “I get this view every single day and it never gets old.”

Smiling through thin lips, I nodded. “It's pretty, I don't think I've ever seen anything this beautiful before.”

Turning to face me, his mouth arched up in a high grin. “Yes you have, you see it every time you look in the mirror.” His eyes held mine, blistering with a sensual thirst. They bounced around my face, grazing my cheeks and absorbing my lips.

I couldn't look away, I was frozen in place, falling into the gold highlights burning in his stare. I wanted him to fold me in his arms and kiss me, kiss me like I was the first woman he had ever touched.

There was a war inside my body. My brain was screaming at me to stop, to forget the heat growing inside and focus only on what was important. But my insides were burning, turning so forcefully it felt like my stomach was filled with butterflies and rocks.

The tumbling grew stronger as we lingered in place, our bodies so close and still so far away.

Pax's smile grew bigger, like he was looking into my mind and reading my thoughts. Lifting his hand to my arm, I sucked in a silent breath as the anticipation sizzled through my body and percolated my blood like hot coffee.

Is he going to do it?

Is he going to kiss me?

Gently touching my elbow, he leaned in, placing his lips against the shell of my ear. Whispering softly, his breath curled over my lobe and seeped into my brain. “Time to go, stay close.” Unlocking his eyes from mine, he turned his back to me and started walking through the meadow of tall grass.

My body was buzzing, my lips perched slightly, ready and waiting for his. But he was already gone, nothing but cold air filled the space where his hard body had just been.

Blinking rapidly, I shook off the trance and quickly followed behind him. “Why did you seal yourself away here?”

“Why?” he said, not looking at me, and keeping his head straight. “There's a whole lot of reasons why, Angel, too many to count.” Chuckling, Pax sneered as he looked up at the sky. “Too many to count,” he said under his breath, in a tone that was barely audible.

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