In Between Seasons

Chapter 14

I watched as the rain slammed against the ground and formed small puddles on the leaves already beginning to fill the ground outside the cave we huddled in. I grit my teeth to keep them from chattering and glanced over at Hunter to the side of me. He was facing forward, but I could tell his eyes were watching me.

We hadn't talked during our dinner, which consisted of a different flavor of toaster pastries Victoria said were her specialty. I didn't taste them as I swallowed them more out of need than want. I wasn't hungry, but I knew I needed to eat for the next day's trip.

I rubbed my arms as I sighed. I didn't want to think, yet my mind kept going back to Trevor with that gun pressed against my head. I had no doubt he would have pulled the trigger if Hunter hadn't appeared just in time.

"You're cold again?" Hunter asked as a shiver passed over me, and my body trembled. "Or is it something else?"

I leaned closer to the fire. "Does it matter either way?" I asked.

Hunter stood, going to the backpacks and pulling out a blanket before coming and sitting next to me. He tossed the soft material over our shoulders as he pulled me into his arms. I gave in, closing my eyes and placing my cheek on his chest as I relished the comfort of his warmth.

"We thought we were from two different worlds," he whispered as he tucked his chin into the top of my head.

I nodded as I breathed in his scent.

"Which is crueler—knowing the world you live in is going to destroy you, or not knowing anything is going on?"

"I don't know," he replied, and we were both silent before he spoke again, "You think a lot like I do."

"Except my actions don't match yours."

Like the fact I put myself right in the line of fire.

"You didn't have the knowledge to make the decisions I would've," Hunter said.

I swallowed as my chest tightened. I wondered if the knowledge would have made a difference, or if my family would have still ended up attempting to kill me.

I knew the truth. I would be dead.

Hunter's forearm tensed around my waist, and I felt him take a deep breath beneath me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, opening my eyes and tilting my head to take in his expression.

His brow furrowed as he looked down his nose at me. "I want to ask you something...but I know it's not a question I would answer myself," he replied, his eyes studying my reaction carefully.

I gave him a weak smile. "You never know, I might answer. You did save my life after all."

His chest lifted with a light laugh, and a fleeting smile crossed his lips before he took a deep breath and moved a hair out of my face.

"What were you thinking when Trevor had that gun to your head?"

The moment flashed through my mind, and I couldn't help the sharp intake of breath.

"Your face changed when you heard him start to pull the trigger...I watched it as I pulled the trigger on him."

I heard the trigger clicking in my mind again, felt the hammering of my heart against my chest as I prayed for Hunter. As I prayed for both of our souls; as I prayed that I'd see him again—feel the warmth and caring in his eyes. That Heaven existed, and he would be there with me, forever.

I blinked my eyes at him as my ears began to ring. I couldn't tell him...could I?

"I was thinking why the hell you hadn't saved me yet."

Hunter raised an eyebrow, and his tensed muscles relaxed as he stared back at me before replying, "Sure you were. That's not what I saw in your face."

I tilted my head towards him, and our faces were only a breath apart.

"Then why are you asking?"

His Adam's apple rose and fell before he answered, "I want to hear you say it."

His eyes raced over mine as he begged me to say it out loud; to admit that in the last moments of my life all I wanted was him.

"You already know," I whispered, and my voice was just audible against the pounding rain.

He let out the breath he was holding, and it washed over my skin, warm and sweet. I felt my eyes flutter as his lips hovered over mine, but as his face lowered closer to mine lightning streaked across the sky. I shot up, slamming my head into the rock ceiling of the cave and came down cursing.

Hunter pulled me into his arms, laughing. "Wow!"

"This day sucks," I grumbled as I caved into him, rubbing my sore head.

"It doesn't suck all that much," Hunter replied as he kissed my head where the welt was beginning to form. "I'll hold you tighter next time the lightning strikes, so you don't jump out of your skin. You're not scared of a gun pointed to your skull, but you have a heart attack because of a crack of lightning!"

"Shush," I replied, feeling how fast his heart was beating against my cheek. I could only wonder if he was scared of the lightning, or if he was feeling the same way I was.

I wasn't brave enough to test the theory and lean up and kiss him, but god, I wanted to.