MINE 2 Read Free

Jesus, don’t let me suffer here,” I beg, falling onto my face. “Please just give me a sliver of moonlight.”
    It doesn’t happen because, of course, if there is any I can’t see it for the freaking thick canopy above me. When something furry scuttles across my bound hands, trailing a tail, I give up any pretense of calm and scream bloody murder, jumping to my feet and forward in a mad dash for any place but the area inhabited by that furry critter.
    Now you know I’m crying hysterically and begging for help, miraculously not hitting any trees, when suddenly I hit a brick wall with muscular arms and tree trunks for legs.
    “Nooo!”
    Thrashing and kicking out at the monster rampaging through my head, I struggle to get away in the hopes of dashing for safety. The arms tighten instead and I act on instinct, sinking my teeth into what feels like a pectoral muscle and bite down as viciously as possible.
    “Jesus, love, leave off, would you!”
    What I feel in that moment is crushing relief and an aching recognition that steals every rational thought but the most basic of all. My man has come for me; he’s saving me from the monsters in the dark and the villains in my head.
    He’s come for me, and I no longer have to keep myself together because his strong arms are here to hold me up and chase the demons away.
    “Lucian?”
    “It’s okay love. Shh, don’t cry, my darling, I have you,” he whispers, crushing me closer and stroking my hair as I fall apart and attempt to crawl right into his skin. “I have you, baby. Shh, don’t cry.”
    Can you blame me for pushing closer and ceding the battle? Is it pathetically stupid to fall into his heat and give up the last vulnerable piece of the heart now pounding in my chest?
    Maybe, but right at this moment I don’t give a damn. I’m safe and protected, and for the sake of not feeling so alone, I’m willing to give him everything I have just to see where it will take me.

Chapter Three
     
    Luc
    I’ve never felt this happy and furious at the same time. The emotions are stronger than any I’ve ever experienced, and not because I’ve not felt these things before but because the intensity is far beyond anything I’ve known.
    After seeing the empty, rotten bowels of that cabin I’d been ready to lose all sense of sanity. I’d looked into the darkness of the woods and felt my head spin with the desperation of a drowning man, when the shrill scream of my girl had lit the air, making the hair at my nape stand straight on end.
    We’d all run toward that sound, ready to defend against any attack. Honestly, I’d been ready to rip her father apart with my bare hands before assessing the damage to her and getting her to the nearest hospital.
    Thankfully what I’d stumbled upon was nothing worse than my frightened baby, running pell-mell in the inky darkness because some unseen animal had crawled over her skin.
    I’d caught her up, speechless with relief and so thankful to have her slight weight against me again that my knees had weakened. My mistake, I think ruefully, rubbing at my chest where her little teeth had bitten.
    The damn female had bitten me!
    And damn me if I wasn’t proud of her for fighting like a feral animal.
    “Her wrists and hands need some attention. Don’t think the gash on her eye needs stitches, but she’s gonna be sore when she wakes up for sure.”
    I nod to Frank and pull her closer, inhaling the scent of her twig and leaf matted hair. We’d had to sedate her when we’d reached the car as fatigue and shock finally set in, so she now rests comfortably on my chest, her even exhalations and snores making my heart settle for the first time since I walked into the kitchen and seen the carnage.
    “I’ve called the doctor. He should be waiting for us at home.”
    I keep my tone and volume even, not wanting to disturb her rest any more than I have to. Rage and the need for violence still seethe beneath the surface of my skin, but there will be