Savage Cinderella

Chapter 23- A Hunting We Will Go

"I think it's best if we stay in charted areas until we can draw this guy out into the open." Justin took Brinn's hand and pulled her up a steep, rocky slope.

She smiled at the hand and took it, allowing him to pull her up beside him. "I want to go before the weather turns. I have some books and drawings that I left behind." She thought of Anne Frank, and the story of the little Jewish girl who had never known freedom after the occupation and infiltration of her homeland. Brinn felt obligated to retrieve the book. She was determined to put an end to the tyranny that had kept them both prisoners for so long.

She also missed the solitude of living among the wild things. There was a oneness she felt when she walked among the creatures, both seen and unseen. Here in the woods was the only place she felt the Angel of the Forest not far away. It was difficult to feel it in the city with all of the energy rolling off the steel and concrete—the distractions of people rushing about like ants.

As part of Brinn’s therapy, her mother agreed to supply her with charcoal of all colors and gave her free rein to draw on the walls of her room. She’d covered one whole wall with a picture that was an exact replica of the inside of the cabin, including windows that looked out over the forest and painted-on shelves with pretend jars of herbs. She drew a picture of her meadow on another wall, and Kitty and her cubs on another. The scenes made her feel a little more at home and her art occupied her sleepless nights.

Justin broke through her reverie. “I trust Cody’s judgment on this. We have to keep you protected, but we also need to bait this guy with something he can’t resist. Keeping you in the public eye might lure him in, but it should keep him from doing anything drastic out in the open.”

"It's been two moons—I mean months—since he came to the house. I think he realizes that he can't get to me as long as people are around. Maybe if we go to the mountains where he’s on familiar ground, he’ll think I'm easy prey." The thought made her blood run cold, but she wanted this man caught and put somewhere he could never come after her. Adjusting to her new life was difficult enough. This cat-and-mouse game grated on her nerves. She needed to put an end to it before she could ever truly move on. If it came down to the two of them, she would make sure he would never hurt anyone again.

"I think it's still too dangerous, Brinn. Let's just stick to the plan." He glanced over his shoulder. Cody’s large shadow loomed behind some shrubbery thirty feet away. "Besides, I think Cody is finally feeling useful again." He and Brinn shared a smile and the two walked for another little while before Justin stopped and turned to her, the silence having grown thick with their respective thoughts.

"Brinn, I've been wanting..." He paused, his breath catching in his throat. "Would it be all right if I kissed you?"

His brown eyes held a tender expectation that made Brinn's heart melt and beat furiously all at once. She looked away for a moment, feeling his hands tense on her shoulders and then she smiled up at him. "I was wondering when you might."

Justin’s face relaxed and they stared at each other for an uncomfortably long moment. He stepped closer, kept his hands very still, and focused on her lips. He tilted his head slightly and moved in with slow deliberation, sending her pulse racing. His lips brushed the corner of hers so lightly it was barely a breath. Then he drew back to watch her response.

Brinn kept her eyes open, wide with wonder. She wanted to see only Justin. Her lips tingled as they curled up into a tentative smile. When his lips dipped and touched hers again they felt soft, wet, and warm. The sensation set her heart fluttering and her nerves twitching with...desire.

Her whole body wanted him. From her toes all the way to the warm fuzzy sensation in her head, she wanted to melt into him. She closed her eyes and fell against him, her hands reaching for the soft waves of chestnut hair that felt like silk between her fingers. She gripped him and deepened into the kiss. She imagined she was falling down a waterfall, being carried by the force of nature into a deep pool of blissful surrender. He tasted sweet, like the apples they had eaten earlier, and his smell was like that of spring rain—clean and fresh, with just a hint of the soothing spice underneath.

His hands wrapped around her waist and he held her tight against him. She waited for the panic, but instead she was consumed with comfort and safety, as if becoming a part of him could save her from belonging to anyone else. Brinn opened herself up to the sensations that roared through her body, parting her lips and searching tentatively for his tongue, wanting to commit the taste of him to memory.

Justin responded, touching her tongue with his in a gentle, intimate dance that brought feverish heat to her body. Then something shifted. Panic rose up inside her and exploded to the surface. She pulled away, breathless and panting.

Justin immediately released his hold on her. "I'm sorry, Brinn. I didn't mean to...it's just that I...I'm sorry." He said again, at a loss for words and breathing heavy.

She hated that he felt a need to apologize. Why had she pulled away? She wasn't afraid of him. She trusted that he wouldn’t hurt her. Frustrated by her confusion, Brinn turned away, looked out over the quiet lake, and observed the families in paddle boats and fishermen enjoying the calm, hot summer's day. She shivered against a sudden chill, her stomach quivering uneasily as she scanned the strangers’ faces.

Dismissing the sensation, she turned back to Justin. "Please don't be sorry, Justin. You didn't do anything...wrong. I'm just a little confused, that's all." She looked down at her boots. "Kissing you felt...good...more than good." Warmth flushed her cheeks as she went on. "It makes me want to do more than kiss you, though. Is that bad? It feels right, but...I’m afraid.”

Justin caught the corner of his lip between his teeth before a self-conscious smile retreated from his face. He stepped closer and Brinn took a small step toward him so he would know it wasn’t him she was afraid of, but the feelings that blistered under her skin. He took both of her hands in his and met her gaze.

"What you’re feeling isn’t bad or wrong. It's totally normal. I feel the same way, but it doesn’t mean we have to do more. We just have to figure out where the boundaries are...for both of us.” He stood close enough for Brinn to feel the heat radiate from his body and she breathed in his scent. More than anything else, Justin made her feel safe and wanted. His voice was soft as he searched her face. “When the time is right—when you’re sure, and when you’re ready—we’ll get closer. I’m not going anywhere, and I’ll wait as long as it takes." He touched her cheek, his hand cool against her hot skin. "And when the time comes that we both want more, it will be gentle and beautiful, and you’ll feel only my love for you." He captured her eyes with the heat of his gaze.

"I want so much to believe that, Justin," Brinn fell into his arms again, resting her head against the comforting warmth of his chest. She was speechless. Could it be true? Did he say he loved her? He wanted her? And he would wait for her to be ready? Happiness flowed through her in a gust as if the wind had blown all the dust from the corners of her soul.

More determined than ever to put her past behind her, Brinn began calculating a plan of her own, one that did not include an audience, she decided, as she heard the low rumble of a male chuckle from the bushes.