The Guest & The Change - By M. D. Bowden Page 0,39

walked closer and she looked into his dark eyes.

‘Thank you for looking after me.’

‘That was not a problem. I love you.’

He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. His cool fingers sent tingles through her body, and her heart sped up. She wasn’t yet immune to his beauty - she wondered if she would ever be.

‘My children, my family. We have to get back! They won’t know what’s happened.’

‘We have to get you cleaned up first,’ he said, tracing his finger across the blood at her neck, smirking.

‘Are we still in danger? Where’s Sebastian?’ Sarah asked.

‘Don’t worry - we’re safe. Everyone’s safe.’ Daniel paused, ‘I killed him.’

‘You did? How?’

‘I’ll fill you in later, for now let’s get you cleaned up so you can see your children.’ With that he swept her up into his arms, and she let out a squeal of joy. Her skin tingled all over at his familiarity. He bolted through the forest with her in his arms, far faster than any human could. The trees went past in a blur as Daniel carried Sarah past them, narrowly avoiding branches, yet keeping her safe in his arms. Her heart felt light. She was safe.

She wouldn’t think about the loss now, she couldn’t - it was just too painful. She needed to block it out so she could keep her sanity. She was unbelievably relieved it was over.

The wind whipped through her hair as they traveled around the town of Hartland, not penetrating the outskirts, but staying out of sight, in the forest.

Sarah held on tight, looking around, looking at Daniel’s face. It was fixed with determination, concentrating on their route. He looked irresistibly sexy - she wanted to kiss him, but didn’t dare in case she distracted him, which could lead to a very fast collision with a tree.

Sarah shivered at the thought, and Daniel shot her a look, making sure she was ok, before speeding on. She admired his profile and leant against his jacket, breathing in his woody scent. A smile played at the corner of her mouth - she was extraordinarily glad to be with him, safe in his arms.

After whipping around yet another tree, Daniel came to a stop not far from a large hotel - The Woodman. He stayed far enough away that, if there was anyone looking out, they wouldn’t be spotted. Daniel set Sarah on her feet. She wobbled a bit, and laughed giddily, as Daniel took her hand to steady her. He led her on, towards the hotel. He looked around, peering at all the windows. He couldn’t see anyone so he continued up the steps and led Sarah to his room.

Sarah looked about the immaculately finished space - it was rather dull and lacked character, there were no personal touches at all. Housekeeping had been and everything was tidied away. There was a neatly made double bed in the center of the room, a hotel phone and a desk - that was about it.

A phone!

‘Daniel, can I use the phone? I can call my parents, let them know I’m ok - say hello to my kids,’ as Sarah said it, she longed to see them. It won’t be long now, she thought.

‘Yes, of course - but wait a minute.’

Daniel went through a white door and returned with a large glass of water. Sarah took it and gulped it down. God, it tasted good, heavenly. She put down the glass and rushed over to the phone, then she hesitated - what was she going to say?

‘We need to go see my family in a minute. Do you have any plan about what we should say happened to us? To Jo?’ she said pleadingly.

She felt a twinge at Jo’s memory, well, more than a twinge - the thought of it made her heart twist. It was painful. His death was still very recent, but she couldn’t focus on it with Daniel there, he was so distracting! And she wanted to see her kids, to be strong for them, to be strong for her family. After all, they had no idea what had happened and she didn’t want to let on that she knew anything about it. She’d have so many questions to answer, and what could she say? No-one would believe her. How could she explain to her children that they no longer had a father, that Jo was dead? How were they going to feel, how would they cope?

If she said she knew anything about Jo’s disappearance