Chapter Twenty
Lillian woke with a start. She hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep until her head lulled to the side on the couch. The soft crackle of the fire had been so soothing as the warm flames toasted her toes. It had been the perfect moment to relax and drift off.
Unfortunately, now that she was awake again, she was having a hard time finding comfort in all those things while Erik was gone.
She let out a long sigh and glanced at the clock on the wall. Just past two in the morning and still nothing from Erik.
It was hard for her not to worry about him out there in the woods. Despite the fact that he was a big bad werewolf, she knew he wasn’t impervious to everything, and the man they’d run into looked plenty dangerous to her, and that was even before thinking about the vampire woman.
Even if she still had trouble believing everything she’d seen in the alley, she accepted enough to understand how incredibly powerful both werewolves and vampires were.
The fire still crackled loudly as a log slipped down slightly into the grate. Her legs were drawn up on the soft brown leather couch and covered with a handmade blanket she’d found over her chair. The beautiful piece was lovingly crocheted in a deep forest green pattern.
It was a comfortable room, one she might have never associated with someone like Erik, but it still somehow seemed to fit the man and all his secrets. The place had a rustic charm. Various pictures hung around the room, providing a window into the man’s hidden past.
Lillian had taken the time to look at each one earlier, smiling at the happy people there. She wondered how many of them were werewolves in the pictures. They all seemed so normal, but it was hard to really tell. From what she could tell from the men she’d seen so far, there were no distinguishing marks or features of a werewolf in human form.
One thing that seemed to be lacking in all the pictures. She'd seen Erik in his wolf form: dark with deep brown eyes. He was a magnificent animal. But there were no pictures on the wall of Erik in that form. It seemed like such a shame since he really was an amazing animal.
Lillian frowned. It still wasn’t clear just how all of the werewolf aspects worked. Erik was still himself, but then he was also a massive wolf. It seemed right to call him both.
She’d thought about why he had no pictures in his wolf form. Likely it wasn’t such a great idea really, taking a picture of the animal you were trying to hide from the world. Still, it was a shame.
Lillian yawned and stretched a little. She’d tried to stay up as late as possible as she waited for Erik to get back, but that was proving far more difficult than she imagined. Maybe it was time to just give up and head to bed.
She moved down the hall and smiled at the pictures that hung there. She ran her fingers slowly over the smooth wood on one of the frames. No way something like that was bought, and it only made her love it more especially as she stared into the smiling eyes of a young Erik and his friends. This was what she wished she had back in her home, a sense of warm community, not just people being in her business.
The pictures made it obvious that his friends were special to him, and she envied that. Aside from her sister, Lillian never really had many friends. It was likely why her friendship with Gwen was so important. She wanted more than just Mr. Fuzzy Pants in her life.
Carefully she pushed open the first door she came across on the right. The room was full of gym and exercise equipment. Not so surprising considering how fit he was.
She chuckled. Apparently being a werewolf didn’t give you a free pass on exercise. Lillian turned off the light and shut the door again.
The next door she came across was on the left-hand side. She pushed open that door and was relieved to find a large four-poster bed inside the room. It was clearly his bedroom.
She stepped inside and turned on the light, nibbling on her lip. This room was just as rugged and masculine, much like the rest of the house. Every piece of it reflected the man who slept there.
Lillian pulled herself up on the large bed, then sat down. The blanket covering the bed was a soft brown velour and the sheets some sort of million thread count that felt like sleeping on a cloud.
Another yawn ripped through her. She was ready to just slip under those covers and forget the horrors of the day. It wasn’t like there was anything she could do.
Although not everything had been bad. Erik had kissed her several times, and he’d meant to. She smiled as she thought about it. There was something between them. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but there was certainly something.
Lillian pulled back the covers and glanced down at her clothes. Her red dress was covered by his black sweater, neither of which were exactly nighttime wear, especially considering how confining the dress was.
Erik hadn’t said anything about what she might put on for bed, but she decided he likely wouldn't care if she borrowed one of his shirts. It wasn’t like she could sleep naked in his bed.
She climbed down off the big bed and made her way over to the closet. Opening it up, she wasn't surprised to find a few flannel button-up shirts she could wear.
Lillian pulled a red and black shirt off a hanger and smiled at the feel of the soft fabric between her fingers. They would have had to have been worn and washed many times over to create that effect. If she closed her eyes, she could almost picture Erik outside chopping wood for the fire he'd built.
She turned off the light to the closet, closed the door, then made her way over to the other door and turned on the light to the bathroom.
Unlike much of the rustic space, the bathroom was something out of a decadent dream. A beautiful large tub rested in one corner of the room, big enough for Erik’s body plus some. Lillian couldn’t help that she pictured the two of them there, enjoying the bubbles. She nibbled her lip at the thought.
Next to the tub stood a shower with six showerheads. Lillian made a mental note to check that out later.
For now though, she wanted to get dressed and just head to bed. It had been a long and exhausting day. She was ready to just get some sleep.
She took off the sweater he'd lent her and folded it on the counter next to her. She then did the same to the red dress from Milan, glad to be out of the tight confines.
Lillian stared into the mirror. Her black lace bra pushed up her breasts in the most annoying way possible. She'd worn it so that it helped prop everything up for the best amount of cleavage, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable for sleeping.
She debated back and forth with herself. Was it decent to take off her bra? She couldn't really say. After all, she hadn’t really expected any of this to happen. She was supposed to be sleeping on her bed with Mr. Fuzzy Pants nearby, not in a cabin on land owned by werewolves. In the end, she decided it wouldn't matter much if she just made sure to put her bra back on before coming out in the morning.
She slipped off the black bra and placed it with her red dress. She then slid on the warm flannel shirt and buttoned it up. Not quite nightgown length, but it was mostly decent enough. And certainly better than sleeping in the red dress.
She pulled out the toothpaste she found in the cabinet and toothbrush still in its package. She made a mental note to buy him a new one when she got the chance, once everything was over.
Lillian scrubbed her teeth and thought about everything that it happened that day.
The day before she lived in a normal, rational world. Now she lived in a world where vampires and werewolves existed.
No one back in her small town would believe her even if she told them. She couldn’t help but be a little satisfied. Somehow she knew she was meant for more than what they could offer, but never imagined it’d involve something supernatural.
Erik and Corso also seemed convinced she was something more than human. She still wasn't certain what they were talking about.
They had mentioned some sort of light. In fact, Corso had said she was special. She wasn’t even certain what that meant. As exciting as everything had been, it’d also been terrifying. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be special if it meant dealing with things like what had happened in the alley.
Lillian rinsed off the toothbrush and then her mouth. She grabbed the clothing from off the counter and carried it into the bedroom where she placed it on the chair by the corner.
She yawned again as she did so and stared out the window behind the chair.
It was snowing again. Big flakes swirled around outside. A new blanket of snow would likely make it difficult for Erik and his men to get around or find much.
She worried about him out there in the snow. She wondered if he got cold or even noticed at all. It was hard to figure out what sort of standards to apply to him: wolf, human, or something else entirely.
A strange shadow crept into her view outside the window. Lillian leaned forward, wondering if it might be Erik and his pack coming back. She blinked. The shadow moved.
Lillian looked around, leaning closer to the window. Maybe she was mistaken, or maybe it was just the moonlight combining with the snow to trick her.
This time the shadow moved much closer to the house. Lillian jumped back away from the window as a low growl reached her ears. She doubted the moonlight growled.
Slowly she backed up away from the window. If whatever was out there came through, she wanted to have a place to run.
"Is everything okay?" said a voice from behind her.
Lillian screamed as she turned around, swinging her arms wildly in the air. It wasn't until Erik caught her hands mid-swing that she bothered to stop.
Her heart still pounded, and she took rapid breaths, her mind still registering that it was Erik and not someone else.
"It’s okay," he said to her, his eyes filled with concern. He released her hands. "What's wrong?"
Lillian pointed to the window, her hand still shaking as she did.
"Were you just out there?" she asked. "I saw something out there."
Erik frowned as he stepped over to the window and stared out in the darkness. She watched as he scanned the area before turning back around to her.
"I don't see anything," he said with a frown.
Lillian twisted her hands. She knew what she'd seen. There had been something out there in the darkness.
"There's something there," she said. "I know there is something there."
Erik nodded, stepped over to her, and took her hands into his. He held them both until she'd calmed somewhat.
"It was likely one of my men," he said. "Leif was going to take a few for one last run and then head in. We searched all over the land, and there were no signs of Hall anywhere.” He looked out the window and then back to her. “No matter what, I swear you're safe with me."
Lillian took a shaky breath and nodded. It was likely as he said. She had to remember that not all wolves were like Hall, and maybe it was just another of his men doing their job. Maybe she startled him as much he startled her.
"I know I’m safe with you," Lillian said quietly. "I trust you."
She stared down at their joined hands and realized that he was gently caressing her fingers as she spoke.
Her mind went back to the kisses they had shared.
"I see you found something to sleep in," Erik said, his hungry gazed fixed on her.
Lillian’s cheeks heated as she suddenly remembered the shirt she was wearing. Her ass was likely on full display when she'd been at the window. It was no wonder he hadn't said anything. He'd probably been surprised by her naked state.
She also realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt himself.
"I hope you don't mind,” she said softly.
A low rumble filled the space between them. "I think it's killing me," he whispered, taking a step toward her.
His mouth captured hers, surprising her, but she leaned into the kiss, desperate to taste him once again.