The Noble Predator Ch. 02

"I'll return," she said vaguely with a hint of annoyance, as she laid down with her back to him. After a moment, Rüt gave in and pressed against her with his arm draped over her waist as she drifted to sleep.

Lira awoke alone in her tent, shivering from the cold. She hadn't realized how much Rüt's body heat had kept her naked body warm throughout the night and morning. She peered out of the tent. The rain was still coming down steadily, but she could see no sign of him. She sat back in her tent pulling her sleeping bag around her, smelling the intoxicating scent of him lingering in the air and on her sleeping bag where he had slept. But his inexplicable circumstances were troubling her. She sat contemplating his insistent request. How could she possibly live here, like a hermit, secluded from civilization? She could still feel the way his touch had burned like fire on her skin, but the pleasant memories were disrupted by his distressing demands. He wanted her to stay and give herself to him when she had just spent the last several months trying to stay clear from the manipulations of men. She scoffed at herself that even on this remote mountain, its one resident wanted to manipulate her and bend her to his will.

As Lira sat contemplating the full weight of what he was asking of her, the sudden urge to run overwhelmed her. She could avoid being used yet again to satisfy a man's sexual needs at her expense, avoid being charmed yet again by a man into believing that, after only one night, he needed her, avoid another messy affair leaving her humiliated and alone.

In a panic, Lira looked for her hiking boots and realized they were by the large granite boulder where he had discarded them after undressing her. She grabbed some clothes and spare sneakers from her backpack in the tent and threw them on before grabbing her pack and running from the camp and down the mountain, leaving her tent, her sleeping bag, her razor and other toiletries, and all her food behind.

The rain had begun to fall harder now as she descended. The rain soaked ground made running treacherous, and her sore legs were unsteady as they struggled to withstand the strenuous sprint down the mountain. Her sneakers were not meant for hiking and did not provide much traction. Out of breath, she stopped briefly for a rest and wondered how long it would be before he would realize she was gone, how long before he would come after her. After his behavior last night, he would not let her leave willingly, she felt certain. Yet despite the panic overtaking her, her mind was filled with images of their lovemaking from their previous night and early morning, and she felt a twinge of longing again. A part of her wished he would follow her down the mountain and stop her from leaving. But her brain fought off her emotional response and propelled her to continue her escape. As she glanced over her shoulder to see if she might see him closing in behind her, she stepped on a smooth rock covered in a layer of wet leaves. Her legs flew out from under her and in an instant she was on her back. As she sat up in the mud, feeling an ache in her backside, chilled to her bones, her fear of being trapped by this mountain man was outweighed by an aching need to be safe in his arms again. As she struggled with the battle going on between her head and her heart, she covered her face with her hands and began to sob. She felt a pair of strong arms pull her up and hug her to a warm chest. Slowly she felt his warmth invade her body and raise her temperature.

She looked up at Rüt as he stood naked before her, his wet hair pasted against his face, as water cascaded down his muscular shoulders.

"You found me," she said hesitantly.

He pulled away from her and looked down at his hand, holding out the car keys. They must have fallen out of her pack when she hurriedly dressed in the tent, she thought. He was not coming to stop her, but to let her go.

She slowly took them from his hand and looked up expectantly at him. He gave her a long, wounded look, before turning to head back up the mountain. She stood in the rain, which was starting to come down heavier, and watched as he made his way back up the mountain, watching his long legs effortlessly climb over rocks and dead tree trunks.

The words of her grandmother came back to her, "One day you will find someone who will love you, who will see all that beauty in you and cherish you for it, just as you are."

She stood looking up the hill at the man whose nickname for her was beauty itself. A man who had given her the most incredible night. A man who had made her feel beautiful and safe. A man who only asked that she stay with him. She ran toward him, the rain starting to fall harder.

"Don't go," she pleaded.

He turned to face her. "This my home," he said flatly, "I stay." He stared at her waiting for her response. After a few moments, he started to turn back.

"I will return," she promised. "In a month, I'll be back."

He looked at her accusingly, the rain coming in droves now, "You ran. You not come back."

"Yes, I ran," she yelled to be heard through the pounding rain, "I'm sorry. But I was scared."

"I not hurt you," he responded defensively against her implication that he meant to do her harm.

"No, that's not what I mean," she paused to consider her words. "I was not afraid of you. I was afraid of not being able to give you the answers you need to hear, not being able to give you what you want."

"I want you, I want you here," he stated simply.

"But I cannot stay. I can only promise to return. In thirty days, I'll come back here to see you again. I promise." She waited for his reaction, "Please, this is all I can do for now."

After a few moments, he walked back to her and kissed her softly on the lips, lingering.

"I wait," he agreed skeptically. "I wait for Belle."