Page 53 of Shadowlands Sector 2

Chapter 16

Meira

The door to the small cottage creaks as Dušan pushes it open. Staleness greets us. I cringe and stare into the darkness inside. Dušan enters first, the wooden floorboards groaning under each step he takes. He walks to the fireplace and dumps the armful of wood he collected. I grip my bundle, waiting at the doorway. As he vanishes into a corridor, I glance behind us. There’s no sign of Lucien, who’s hunting for food, and I have no idea where Bardhyl went.

Returning moments later, Dušan waves me in. “All safe.”

Then he throws open the ancient yellow curtains decorated with small red chilis and creates a plume in the air.

I cough. “This place has mountains of dirt.”

I head inside, set my collection of timber near the fireplace, and help him open the windows to freshen up the air. The main room has one long couch positioned in front of an oversized, old-style fireplace housing a cauldron hanging from a metal hook. Several chairs are on their side in a corner, and that’s it. No other furniture. The place seems lonely, barren, and sad. Walls are bare of images or any sign of the family who once lived here. Whoever they were, they had time to pack and leave after the curse took hold. I find a broom and start sweeping the floor clean of dust so I don’t sneeze all night. Plus, once night falls, we’ll need to close the windows and curtains to avoid getting the undead’s attention from a distance with flickering light.

Dušan walks into the room with his arms full of blankets and towels. “Look what I found in the closet. They’ll keep us warm.” He heaps them onto the couch, and I quickly grab the one that looks to be the largest and cover the couch with it.

He heads outside and returns with a bucket of water. “Sit down. Let me clean your bite mark.”

“It should heal quick enough on its own,” I say, but I still sit down on the couch.

He flops down next to me with a wet rag as I drag my top down over my shoulder to reveal the wound. Blood smudges my skin and sticks to the fabric. Gently, he wipes the blood away, focusing intently on what he’s doing.

“Thanks for coming for me, for protecting me, for tending to me. I’m not really used to someone being so…” I can’t think of the right word.

“Loving, caring, incredibly amazing?” he jokes.

I mean to laugh, but the rawness of the mark stings and I wince instead. Looking over to my shoulder, I see there are four clear punctures and several smaller teeth indentations. A perfect bite mark.

“Does it hurt a lot?” he asks.

“It’s not the first time I’ve been bitten. Won’t be the last, I’m sure.”

He wipes the bubbling drop of blood and places the fabric against the injury, applying pressure until the blood coagulates. “From now on, the only bites you’ll receive are from us three.” There’s burning fire behind his gaze, and my mind goes back to the woods when I took him into my mouth. I’ve never done that before, but it felt natural, and the hunger inside me for him was unlike anything I’d experienced. It’s stronger than before. Just the thought of it has a pulse dancing between my thighs.

As if sensing the sexual craving growing inside me, Dušan’s eyes widen, and I catch the skip of his breath. He’s on his feet in moments. “Let me get the fire started. Go and see what you can find in the other rooms that we can use.”

When he pulls away, my fingers tingle to reach over and draw him to my side. A burning intoxication crawls over me, and maybe he’s right. I ought to distract myself with something else before we end up rutting and Lucien returns with our meal to find we’ve done nothing else.

Dušan wastes no time and kneels in front of the fireplace, getting set to light it.

Up on my feet, I lick my lips and ignore the growing itch, then head into the kitchen. The cupboards are empty. There are only a handful of plates, some cutlery and even some candles scattered in the drawers. No oven. I wander down the dark hallway and into a gritty bathroom. The stink makes me gag when I spot the dead rat in the shower, so I shut the door quickly. The next room has a single wire bed, no mattress, with rags and paper tossed about on the floor.

The last room offers a large bed and even a standalone wardrobe. I peel back the curtains and cough from the dust it stirs in the air. Outside is a perfect view of the river about twenty feet away, water splashing against the rocks along the bank, and beyond that lies the forest. It almost looks tranquil, which is completely deceitful.

Hastily, I check the wardrobe that smells like mothballs. No clothes or shoes, but at the base I find more blankets. They’re blue, my favorite color, so I snatch them up and spread one out on the bed. Then I throw myself into it and smile.

For years, I slept on the wooden floor of my treehouse, or on branches in trees, so this is utter heaven just as it had been on the beds in the Ash Wolves compound.

The mattress indents near my legs. My heart skips a beat, and I jerk around, only to come face-to-face with Dušan.

Prowling, he crawls over me while I remain on my stomach, his blue gaze finding mine. This Alpha is a warrior, a leader, a survivor. He has so many following him, in awe of his beliefs, and I admire that about him. It seems impossible that such a man would be here with me now, looking at me like I’m already naked and he’s not releasing me until he stakes his claim.

He’s on all fours over me, and his fingers scrape over my neck as he brushes my hair aside. Hot lips find the tenderness of my neck, his breath on fire, while his erection settles against the curve of my ass.

“For days, I’ve been thinking about fucking you,” he whispers in my ear, leaving me shaking with arousal.

It doesn’t take much for him to turn me on. A kiss, a touch, a few words, and I’m putty in his hands.

“Would you like that?” His weight lifts off me, and his hands are on the band of my pants. He rips them off me instantly, jerking my whole body from his aggressiveness. A hard slap connects with my ass.

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