Raven's Hell - Jenika Snow Page 0,26

he looked almost frail, even though he had this crazed, cockeyed look going on. He was filthy, with salt-and-pepper-colored long hair in thick dreads, and a scraggly beard. He also held a small light-blue camera, one of the old-school ones that took 35mm film and looked like it may have belonged to a twelve-year-old girl for her sleepovers.

He lifted the camera, and they tensed. He clicked it over and over again, and then started laughing in this crazed way that had the hairs on her arms standing on end.

“Welcome to paradise, children.” And then he lunged forward, grabbed Rebecca by the hair, and pulled her forward. She cried out from the sudden pain and tried to take his hands from her hair. But Collin was there, prying the asshole off.

The old man cackled in a seriously eerie way, and then she heard Collin grunt in pain. Rebecca took action, sliced out with her knife, heard the old man howl, and then he pushed away from them, stumbling back and slamming into the wall.

Collin pulled her close, and she saw a trail of blood move down his arm.

The old man lifted the camera again, clicked it over and over, and then darted out the front door. She moved to the broken window, watched as he disappeared behind the trees, and finally sagged her shoulders. She turned and faced Collin, saw him looking at the wound in his arm, and felt her heart beat even faster.

He didn’t need this right now.

Neither of them did.

13

“Come here. Let’s get that cleaned up.” She moved over to the farthest corner from where that psycho was, set her bag down, and gestured for him to come closer. He moved toward her, looking like he hadn’t just gotten stabbed with God knew what.

When he was seated beside her, and she had his jacket off and his shirt pushed up, she looked at the six-inch slice in his bicep. He reached out, grabbed her head, and pulled her close to kiss her gently.

“You’re okay?” he murmured against their mouth.

“I’m fine,” she said softly and pulled back, smiling. He tried to pull her in for a kiss again, but she placed a hand on his chest. “Collin…” She looked at his mouth. “Please, let me just get you cleaned up before an infection sets in.” She smiled, knowing he wanted to do a hell of a lot more than get his cut tended to.

“It’s just a scratch, Rebecca.” He grinned when she rolled her eyes. They had only kissed a few times, but she was anxious for more, and it was clear he was too.

“It’s not just a scratch, Collin. The blade was no doubt rusty. I hope you had your tetanus shot in the last ten years.” She went back to cleaning the gouge in his arm, washing it out with some saline she had and spreading some ointment on it. Once she had it bandaged, Rebecca said, “I hope it doesn’t get infected, but we need to keep it clean and watch it.”

“Okay, baby.” He reached out and cupped her cheek. He leaned in close enough that they shared the same air. “I really want to kiss you again, Rebecca.”

She looked at his mouth, wanting that too, even though this was the most inappropriate time. They could have died, both of their lives just snuffed out because of some loon who had been living out here in the woods, with infected roaming around him for far too long. “Then kiss me. But you should rest—”

Collin didn’t let her finish that sentence. He slammed his mouth on hers and speared his tongue between her lips. He slid his hand behind her head and curled his fingers into her hair. He tangled his fingers in the strands and tugged her head back, baring her throat.

Collin looked at her with this hard, desire-filled expression that made her feel as though she were naked before him, and he couldn’t get enough of the sight of her.

He groaned again. “I need you so badly, but I know I have to wait. Right now isn’t the time, especially not in an abandoned elementary school.”

She breathed out softly, and when she looked at him, she saw he was just as into this moment as she was. He lowered his head back down to hers so he could take control of her mouth once more. The sound of their heavy breathing and of his groaning had her so wet, so aroused.

This was so not the