Chapter 14 Chapter 14
As Rayne chewed each bite slowly, she stared the candle flame, Camping, was not rating high on her ‘fun things to do’ list. She took another bite. But, she was doing it all on her own. How many things can I say that about? Her parents had coddled and sheltered her all her life, when they had died it had been Aiden’s father that looked out for Rayne, then eventually Aiden. This was the first thing she had truly done all on her own. Considering she had no idea how to do any of it, she thought she was doing a good job.
Rayne knew she should blow out the candle and try to sleep, but complete darkness didn’t feel comforting. The storm seemed to be louder in the small wooden space, and she admitted that she wasn’t that brave to be in the dark. She got up to find one of the little pots she’d bought and set the candle right into it. Putting it down safely away from where she was going to sleep, she went back to her warm cocoon. Shimmying all the way to the bottom, she rested her head on the rolled-up blanket. It wasn’t as comfy as the air mattress, but there was no way she was making a return trip tonight. At least it was better than the car. No matter, she was exhausted enough that she wouldn’t notice in a few minutes’ time.
~
Shaking the water off his coat, Devin padded around the cabin once more. This had to be the tenth time he’d gone around the stupid thing. There hadn’t been any movement from inside the for quite some time now. He sat beneath the window and looked up. Had she fallen asleep? He’d been shocked when she’d come out of her tent in her underwear and darted in the cabin. Had she been afraid inside the tent? Is that why she ran out? And why, his mind wondered for the umpteenth time had she been in her underwear? Or lack of—now that he pictured it again. He could still see her bolting into the cabin and could definitely see her perfect ass in very tiny underwear. Think of something else...
He looked up at the window again. Knowing it was wrong, he did it anyways. Without serious thought or focus he shifted back into his two-legged form, gritting his teeth when the water repelling coat was now skin and the cold rain beat off it. Devin looked in the window and his heart surged for a few beats. Candlelight reflected her sleeping form. She was all curled up inside the sleeping bag, hands under her cheek. She was almost angelic in that pose with the flickering light shining over her.
He argued with himself for a moment, wanting nothing more than to go inside and to carry her back to the house where she would be warm and comfortable. Although, waking up to a naked, wet man carrying you through the dark bush, might not be something she would accept calmly. A shiver ran over his skin as the rain continued to fall in heavy waves from the sky. He’d check on her after the storm passed. Wiping the water from his face, he shifted back to four legs and turned to run through the night.
Several miles later he realized no amount of running was going to stop him from thinking about Rayne. He had to figure out what he was going to do soon, or go insane. Staying away from her wasn’t working. Lurking in the shadows and watching her was frustrating, the constant need to see her was a revolving thought that nagged without pause. It pissed him off that he kept giving in, but not enough it seemed, to stop.
Stopping, Devin sat and just stared into the night. He should go home and sleep, something he hadn’t really done since Rayne appeared, but he didn’t want to leave her unprotected. How long will I continue to be caught in this whirl of emotions? He knew the answer or at least the options that applied to the question. He would be like this until he claimed her—and his place of leadership would follow that. Or he could walk away and from the way he was feeling— it would have to be far away and nowhere near where he could smell her scent.
Shaking the rain from his coat, he started a slow pace back to the house. No decisions would be made right now. In the morning, he’d try to resist going right to her and see how that turned out.