Chapter Seven
The first thing Celine heard was the quiet chirping of birds. She’d never heard birds so close as they sounded right at that moment.
After a moment, she realized, for the first time, that she’d slept through the night without trouble.
Slowly, memories of what had happened the night before came back to her. The hulking man-creature that Atticus had fought with. The piercing blue eyes from her dreams that had now become reality. The fact that she had been hunted by the things with red eyes. Before it’d all just been bad dreams, but now terror stalked her while she was awake.
Celine blinked her eyes open. The sun had not quite crested the horizon, the transition from night to dawn still ongoing. There was enough light to see things, but it was not so bright that it could be called fully morning.
It took a few moments for her to even register that the warmth she had been feeling wasn’t a warm bed like she thought. Instead it was two very large arms wrapped protectively around her from Atticus.
Something about his touch just felt so right, as if she’d waited her entire life to be snuggled up with him. Anassa’s explanations still didn’t make sense, but right then and there with Atticus, Celine couldn’t deny she was starting to believe she did have some sort of special connection with the man.
Celine stilled her movements and stared unabashedly at the handsome face in front of her. His eyes were now closed as he slumbered undisturbed by her. Despite all the fear last night, he now seemed content and peaceful.
So many questions still haunted her. She still didn't understand his bright blue eyes. In fact, she really didn’t understand much of anything that had happened, from the dreams to the bizarre attack at the Azilian compound.
What was hunting them? Why were his eyes like that, and just what had Anassa meant with all her riddles?
Not a bit of it made any sense, and the more she thought on it, the more irritated it all made her. She went to the Azilians to understand why she was having strange dreams. She wanted answers. Now she had even more questions than before.
Celine’s eyes drifted over his face and down the thick column of his neck. There was a nice amount of stubble starting to form there.
She paused as a slight bit of a blue tattoo peeked out the top of the T-shirt Atticus was wearing. It was shockingly bright. As bright as his beautiful blue eyes.
Her hand itched to touch the blue. It fascinated and called to her. She had never felt that way about tattoos before. To her, they were symbols of pain or standing out, and those concepts just didn’t really do much for her.
The tattoo on Atticus though was different, a marking of pure beauty.
Carefully she moved her hand to the bright blue and gently touched it with her fingers.
A spark of electricity shot through her. Every nerve in her body was on fire. She felt it then: more. A burning need for more.
Celine glanced at his face and was surprised to find his bright eyes fixed on hers. Not just bright, but actually glowing. She couldn’t help but wonder what they would look like in the dark.
She opened her mouth to say something, anything. She had no idea what, but the silence was overbearing. She struggled for a moment to come up with something until Atticus leaned forward and sealed her mouth with his own.
The kiss was demanding. Rough and primal. The sort of kiss that left her breathless and wanting more. She didn’t push him away.
The truth was she didn’t really know him at all. But when his mouth touched hers, nothing about it felt wrong. Whether it was his vibe or just raw attraction, she couldn’t say. All she knew was that she wanted him as much as he seemed to want her.
His mouth moved over her in full dominance. She'd always assumed that Atticus would be the quiet sort, but this kiss said otherwise. This was anything but quiet.
His hand wrapped roughly into the back of her head and tilted her mouth for a better angle.
They kissed in earnest now, their tongues wrapping together inside her mouth, his hands pulling her closer to his body. Fire still lit her nerves, not with pain, but excitement. It was like Atticus’s every movement was felt by her entire body.
Celine kept her fingers on the throbbing pulse of the blue tattoo, the connection driving her further into his embrace. The feeling was more intense than she had ever known. She was lost in him.
She shifted over him now, her legs straddling his lower half as she moved her body to the rhythm of their connection. Her need cried out to her to feel more of him as they kissed.
Beneath her, she could feel his length as it grew against her wet center. Undeterred, she moved her hips over his, sliding his length over her center, each time grinding her clit just a bit over him.
It was amazing. She’d had sex enough times to know that if the foreplay was this good, the sex was going to be mind-blowing.
A deep, low moan ripped from her. The need pulsed through her as she moved.
Atticus snapped his head back from hers. His eyes were no longer the blazing blue they had once been.
He stared at her as if he'd never seen her before. Slowly Celine slipped her hand from where it rested on his tattoo. The touch now seemed too intimate.
"I need to do patrol," he said gruffly. As if she weighed nothing, Atticus lifted her from his lap and leaned her against the tree.
"You should get more sleep," he said, not looking at her now. "You look as if you could use it."
Celine just stared at him as he walked away, his back rigid.
She still wasn't certain what the hell had happened. Before and after. It all seemed like some sort of strange dream that never ended.
The warmth of his body now faded, Celine lifted her knees to her chest for additional warmth. It was then that she realized the cut on her knee didn't hurt as it did before. In fact, it looked as if it had been wrapped.
She lifted up her pants and was surprised to find a piece of cloth tied around the wound. Blood stained the outer layers.
Carefully she untied the cloth to see just how bad the damage was. There was so little pain now, she had to think it must have clotted and scabbed over.
Nothing. There was nothing there. The skin was completely unmarred.
It didn’t make sense. With the blood pooled from the wound, there should have been quite the cut.
"I don't understand," Celine whispered, rubbing her temples.
Nothing made sense, and she had no answers for anything going on around her.
Crunching leaves nearby made her jump, and she was surprised to find Atticus standing over her.
"We need to move again," he said quietly. "We need to move farther, and we can’t stay in one spot for too long. If we do, they’ll come.”
“Those monsters?”
Atticus offered her a curt nod.
Celine lifted the bandage in hands shaking slightly. "I don't understand what's going on. And I need to.”
Atticus glanced down to her knee, and his eyes widened slightly.
"I was hurt now I'm not," she said. "I need some answers."
Something cried out in the distance. Their heads both swiveled toward the ungodly sound. Atticus stepped closer to her and held out his hand.
"I'll give you all the answers I can," he said. "But first we need to leave and find somewhere safe."
She didn't know much about whatever was tracking them, but it was clear Atticus did. It was also clear he was her only shot at making it out of this alive. She placed her hand into his and stood as he helped her.
He walked her over to the spot where they had been sitting and took the bloody bandage from her hand and stuffed it into his pocket.
"They’ll likely smell you a mile away, but we might be able to confuse them with some of the moldy leaves."
Celine nodded, still not quite understanding what he meant but figuring he knew best.
Atticus turned and stepped in front of her. He held out his hand, and she slipped hers into his.
"When we move, we’ll move fast with as little sound as possible," he said. "The more distance we have between us and them, the better it will be. I promise you answers, but as soon as we are safe. Until then, we just need to concentrate on getting away from them.”
He waited for her understanding, and after a moment Celine nodded. She didn't know why, but she trusted him. That was a good thing since it seemed like she would need to put her life into his hands.