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Baring my teeth at her, she sighed and took a bite.
“Happy?”
I snatched the sandwich from her. “Never,” I muttered under my breath.
Within two minutes, the sandwich was finished, and my territorial urges to feed and protect Fallon had been somewhat sated. I didn’t even know I had this in me. I thought any compassion had been long since fucked out of me.
“So, where is this safe house of yours?”
“Why do you need to know?”
She rolled her eyes. “So, when I get to a phone, I can call for help.” Sarcasm laced her voice thickly.
“Keep hold of that attitude, and I’ll have to take you over my knee.”
The words had come out before I could stop them, and I instantly regretted them. One look at Fallon’s mortified face, and I wished I could’ve gone back in time and not said a goddamned word.
She turned her face toward the window, crossing her legs away from my body, and that was all I needed to know. She was disgusted by the thought of me touching her.
Good, I thought darkly. I shouldn’t encourage any more than platonic thoughts from her anyway. I was older than her by more than a decade, and my past had made my sexual tastes very …particular. A girl like Fallon wouldn’t be into the kinky shit I called normal.
That didn’t stop me from wondering though …
FIVE
FALLON
Orin’s words were still bumping and jostling around in my head.
Keep hold of that attitude, and I’ll have to take you over my knee.
Ugh, why did my body react like that was the best plan ever? It had gotten to the point where my face had flushed so bright and hot that I’d had to turn away, but my impulsive body had latched onto the idea of his large palm spanking my ass that it had sent a wave of moisture between my legs. Crossing them had only intensified that sensation, so here I was, sitting next to a man whose very presence should’ve scared me, but I found myself turned on by him instead.
I tried to remember the last man who I was vaguely interested in, but I couldn’t seem to recall a single face. The debilitating fear I was going to therapy for seemed to keep thoughts of men at bay, but Orin was different.
I cleared my throat, feeling his dark eyes land on me briefly before returning to the road. We remained in stilted silence until we turned off the N-road and onto a boreen. The rural lane was a single car-width in diameter, and as we continued down it, the stacked stone walls disappeared and were replaced by soaring oaks, pines, willow, and birch. The forest seemed to spring up around us the farther we went, and I wondered exactly where we were.
“It’s just a little farther up here,” Orin said.
I swallowed and watched as the road slowly began to widen. The dirt became gravel, and a small wood cabin emerged from the greenery. Everything about it was rough-hewn, from the shingles to the roof. There was a shallow porch on the front, with a railing that looked like it had been sourced from the forest and nailed into place.
I stared at the little structure, thinking it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
“It’s not much.” Orin’s voice held a note of joy. “But it’s mine.” Pulling to a stop, he cut the engine, and we both sat there a moment longer.
“Yours? Not the clan’s?”
“The clan doesn’t know about it.” He turned to face me. “And that’s how I want it to stay.”
“And if I did tell someone about it? Would you hunt me down and put a bullet in my head?” I’d only meant it as a joke, but Orin was serious when he nodded.
“If I had to.” Although the words were threatening, the tone of his voice said the opposite. He might do it, but he wouldn’tlikedoing it.
I swallowed again, then let out a deep breath. “Shall we go inside?”
We got out at the same time, each of our doors slamming in unison. The forest was alive with the sounds of birds. The sweet songs of blackbirds, willow warblers, and robins filled the air while the wind itself whistled through the leafy canopy. I turned my face up, shut my eyes, and listened.
“It’s so peaceful here,” I said.
