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An eternity, really, of having to hear signs of actual life in this place that has been cursed to remain dead.
Finally, Callista releases a little contented sigh that makes warmth bloom in places that have remained frozen solid, and the sound of chair legs scraping across the wood floor replaces that of her eating.
I sit and wait.
Her hobbled steps move toward the living room, and she passes around the fireplace, coming into my line of view. Those honey-blond locks fall over her shoulders softly as she tilts her head back, eyes wide, taking in the stonework.
“There will be rules.”
She jerks at my voice, whipping around to face me fully, her hand pressed over her chest. “Jesus, you scared the shit out of me.”
I have to fight the twitch of my lips.
Isn’t that the whole point?
My whole reason for existence has been to embody The Beast. A living, breathing threat. And this girl knows it.
Though, I shouldn’t call her a girl.
Callista is all woman. Lush curves in all the right places. Hips and ass I couldn’t help but notice when they were pressed against me as I carried her into the house, now accentuated by the skin-hugging black yoga pants. Her cleavage peeks out from the low V of her pale pink T-shirt that falls loosely off one shoulder, exposing her elegant collarbone.
She grips the stone of the fireplace with her right hand to hold herself steady and take pressure off her foot, lifting it slightly.
A pang of concern makes me shift forward slightly in the chair. “Does it hurt?”
Though I left her several pain medication options in the bathroom, I can’t help but notice how uncomfortable she appears to be with so little movement.
She glances down at it, then up at me, her brow furrowing. “What would you care if it does?”
I clench my jaw, fighting the swell of annoyance at her assumption. “No matter what you might think of me, I don’t wish to see you in pain.”
She scowls, the move tilting her perfect pink lips down in a defiant move that almost makes me grin again. This woman will never be easy to deal with. Every moment we spend in the same room will be a battle of wills. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have chased me through the fucking woods.”
Like that.
I allow one eyebrow to rise slowly. “Maybe you shouldn’t have entered my property uninvited and refused to answer my questions. Maybe you shouldn’t have tried to run, and I wouldn’t have had to chase you.”
Her jaw drops incredulously. “What the hell else was I supposed to do? You had a fucking axe.”
I growl low, digging my fingers into the leather chair’s arms to keep myself in place. “I live on a fucking mountain. We’re surrounded by trees. I chop firewood and fell trees around the property daily. My axe is my best friend up here.”
My only one, really.
She narrows her eyes on me. “Well, you don’t have to threaten people with it.”
Settling back casually, I shrug. “Did I?”
“Did you what?”
I fight a grin, her attitude both amusing and frustrating in equal measure. “Did I threaten you with it?”
“Yes.” Her brow furrows again, like she’s trying to remember the other night. She twists her lips, darting her gaze away from me momentarily. “Well…I guess not.” She points a finger at me, finally looking at me with accusation in her cool gaze. “But it was implied.”
Fucking implied.
I snort and push up from the chair, shaking my head. Even several feet away, I still tower over her, and I move closer, making her shrink back farther against the stonework fireplace. “Those are the kind of assumptions that get you hurt, Beauty.”
She flinches at the nickname.
