Shiver (Night Roamers) (20 page)

He sat on my bed and be
gan removing his shoes. “Faye is dangerous.”

“
So, I’ve heard. Is that psycho creature from hell your girlfriend or something?” I asked, watching him unbutton his shirt. He wore black dress pants and a dark blue shirt that brought out his eyes more than ever.

“Or something,” he said
, reaching for me. “Look, I didn’t come here to talk about her. I came here to be with you.”

I slapped his hands away again and stepped back. “You’re incredible
.”

He
leaned back against my pillows and gave me a slow, sexy grin. “You told me that quite a few times last night. Come join me on the bed and I’ll give you an encore.”

I raised my hands in frustration. “
Just stop, Ethan. There’s no time for this. Faye murdered someone I knew from school tonight and she came after me, too!”

His face darkened and he sat up. “What?”

I told him about my encounter with Faye and he stood up. “Shit,” he said as he began to pace around my room.

“You have to control your little concubine, or whatever the hell she is,” I said. “I’m not ready to die.”

He stopped pacing and stared at me. “I can’t control her,” he said. “Nobody can. But, I’ll protect you. In fact, we need to leave this place before she comes back for you. Right now.”

I stared at him incredulously
. “I’m not leaving with you, Ethan.”

He grabbed my arms and stared into my eyes
. “I’m not asking you this time, I’m telling you. We’re leaving.”

Before I could protest anymore, my balcony door opened and Duncan walked in. “Let her go,” he growled
, his eyes blazing with fury.

Ethan released me and snarled. “This is none of your business. Leave
us!”

Before I could comprehend what was happening, Duncan
launched himself at Ethan and they crashed onto my bed.

“Stop it!” I yelled as fists began to fly.

“What in the hell?!” hollered my brother as he stormed through the door.

“It’s
Ethan and Duncan!” I cried, stepping back as Duncan was kicked across the room. He landed against the wall but quickly launched himself back towards Ethan, who was already prepared for another attack. I watched in horror as his fist slammed into Duncan’s and blood sprayed all over my purple and green comforter.

My new comforter!

“Stop!” I screamed as Duncan opened his mouth and bit Ethan in the shoulder, adding more gore to my beloved bedroom linens.

Nathan grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room. “Let’s ge
t the hell out of here,” he said.

“But what if one of them gets really hurt?” I hollered, pulling away.

“What if you get really hurt?” he yelled. “Let’s go!”

But I was far t
oo worried about Duncan and Ethan. I turned to charge back into my room when Nathan picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. “Dammit, we’re leaving…now!” he grunted.

I punched him in the back.
“For the love of God, put me down!”

He ignored my
protests and rushed down the stairs while I continued to struggle and break free. As he got to the front door, he put me down. “Jesus,” he said, trying to catch his breath. “You need to lay off the pie at work.”

I glared at him. “
This isn’t funny, none of it is.”

He put his hands on my sh
oulders and gave me a stern look. “Listen, I know you’re pissed, but we have to go and check on mom. She called me a few minutes ago and seemed pretty upset. I’m really worried about her.”

I stared at him in shock. “I didn’t know. Let’s go
.”

He stared down at my robe and swore.
“You need something to wear. Check the dryer, I think it’s full.”

I ran into the laundry room,
which was next to the kitchen right underneath my bedroom, cringing at the loud banging and growls coming from up above. I was not looking forward to inspecting the damage in the room later.

Bending down next to the dryer,
I grabbed a pair of blue jeans and a green sweater, and then slipped them on as quickly as possible. As I turned to leave, I noticed the house was now completely silent.

“Come on!” hollered Nathan, from the entryway.

I flew out of the laundry room and ran smack into Ethan. His lip was bleeding and there was blood on his shoulder where Duncan had bitten him.

“Going somewhere?” he asked
, smiling grimly.

I nodded. “Yes. Where’s Duncan?”

He snorted and shook his head. “Duncan, that fool. He’s beginning to really piss me off.”

I glared at him. “
Just answer me, is he alive?”

“Pretty much
.”

I nodded. “
Okay, good. We’re leaving to check on my mother.”

“The only place you’re going is with me,” he said, grabbing my arm. “I have to keep you safe.”

I tried freeing my arm from his grasp but he only tightened it more.

“
Ethan, this is ridiculous. I can’t go anywhere with you,” I said. “My mom might be in danger.”

“I’ll check on your mom once you’re hidden. But right now, all I care about is making sure you’re out of Faye’s radar.”

Before I could protest, he picked me up in his arms.

“Stop it,” I d
emanded. “You can’t do this…”

“Put her down,” barked Nathan, who was
now blocking our path in the hallway. “Or I’m going to have to hurt you.”

Ethan chuckled. “
I like your spunk. Now,” he said, his eyes growing hostile, “get out of the way. I’m only going to ask you once.”

“Put
my sister down, you son-of-a-bitch.”

“Oh, so you’ve met my mom?”

“Don’t be an asshole.”

“Move.”

“Fuck you.”

Ethan’s face hardened
. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The next thing I knew, he reposi
tioned me over his shoulder, slammed Nathan against the wall like a football, and then took off out of the cabin with me as his captive, once again.

“Nikki,” murmured Ethan.

We were in a small cabin, nestled somewhere deep in the woods. I had no idea where we were, exactly, but it appeared to be falling apart and pretty much abandoned. When Ethan noticed me shivering, he’d started a warm fire in the small fireplace.

“Nikki,” he repeated, s
tepping away from fire.

“What?” I snapped.

He sighed. “I know you’re angry, but I’m doing this for your own good.”

I crossed my arms under my chest.
“I’m not a child, you know. I should be able to make my own decisions instead of being carried around like I’m only two years old.”

He step
ped over to where I was sitting, by a small round table pushed into the corner of the room. He knelt down next to me and took my hand. “You’re not a child, but you need protection. Quit begin so petulant.”

I snatched my hand back.
“Quit kidnapping me.”

His eyes lit up
. “Secretly, I think you enjoy it.”

I raised my chin. “You’re
obviously wrong.”

He touched my neck. “
Oh, I don’t know…your pulse is racing.”

I glared at him.
“That’s because I want to murder you right now.”

“Liar,” he whispered. Then, h
e lifted me up from the chair, grabbed the back of my neck, and pulled my mouth to his.

“Mm…
no…” I murmured, pushing against his chest. When that didn’t work, I locked my lips together until he pulled away, an amused expression on his face.

“Don’t fight it,” he murmured
, his eyes burning with fire. “Give in to your emotions.”

I set my jaw.
“The only emotion I have now is rage. Now, before I follow your advice and seriously punch you, help my mother. Please, you promised me you would.”

“
First, give me a little more incentive,” he said, cupping one of my breasts.

I
slapped his hand away and glared at him. “You’re incorrigible,” I muttered.

He grabbed the back of my hair and pulled it to the side, exposing my neck.
He slid his tongue just below my ear and down to my collarbone, nipping playfully at my skin. “I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he whispered. “I’ve never wanted anything as much as you. Hell, my hunger for you far surpasses my thirst for… other things.”

Feeling a rush of heat between my legs, I forced myself to focus
on the issue at hand. “Please,” I begged. “We’re running out of time.”

He groaned
and then released me “Okay, fine. But I expect a nice reward when I get back.”

“
Ethan, I swear to God, if you save my mother, I’ll give you anything you want.”

His lips twisted into a devilish grin.
“I’m going to hold you to that.”

I swallowed. “I’m serious; I’ll
do whatever you ask.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

I raised an eyebrow.

He
brushed away some dust that had settled on the mantle and cringed. “Sorry about this mess. You should be safe here, though. The gentleman who owns this cabin never comes here in the cool months.”

I loo
ked around and noted the entire place was lacking any kind of cleaning, even in the summer months. Still, if he said I was safe, I wasn’t going to argue. “Okay. Hurry back though, I don’t like being all alone out here.”

“I will. I’ll make sure you
r mom is safe then I’ll come back for you. I’m looking forward to exploring these promises you’ve made.”

I blushed
. “Okay.”

He stepped closer and brushed hi
s lips on my neck and whispered, “I’m going to make you forget about everything else in this world, including Duncan.”

“
Ethan,” I said, pulling away. “What happened to Duncan anyway?”

He scowled. “He’s fine. Probably licking his wounds, which, could have been a lot worse; I was easy on him.”

I didn’t think he’d been easy on him at all. In fact, I figured the only reason Ethan hadn’t killed Duncan was because he knew I’d never forgive him.

As if he could read my mind, he said,
“I only kill when I have to, or when someone threatens those I care about. Duncan is just a fool who needs to learn a few lessons, one being that you’re mine, and I’ll strike down anyone who doesn’t respect that.”

The way he was looking at me gave me the chills. “I’m yours?”

His eyes traveled down the length of my body. “Yes, Nikki, every inch of you is mine, and if you haven’t noticed, I’m very selfish.”