Incipient A Dark Paranormal Romance - Bianca Scardoni Page 0,88

this mess in the first place. An eerie wail sounded from the shadows and I sat up a little straighter.

What if Dominic was coming back?

What if Gabriel came back?

At this point, I wasn’t sure which one I was more afraid of. The only thing I was certain of was that I needed to get back to the safety of my car and its locked doors. Not that locked doors would be able to stop a Revenant.

Rolling my bunched-up skirt back down my waist and then over my underwear (which was thankfully still there and untouched), I looked around for something I could clean the blood with. The last thing I wanted to do was stroll injured through the woods with a bloody hole in my neck. And certainly not in wolf country.

After attempting to use some dried-out leaves and getting nowhere, I picked up the bottom of my ripped blouse and used it to wipe off some of the excess blood. My neck stung as I rubbed the fabric against the open wound. I hadn’t even had a chance to heal from the last bite before he was right back at it, making holes in my body like I was his own personal pin cushion. Damn heartless bastard.

Pushing my back against the tree to steady myself, I slowly attempted to get back on me feet, only making it about halfway when Gabriel suddenly reappeared in front of me, his mouth and jaw completely covered in blood.

My heart stuttered to a stop, and in my rush to get up faster, I lost my footing and hit the ground with my ass.

30. LONG WAY FROM HOME

The moment my heart regained normal function, it decided to jump right out of my rib cage and lodge itself somewhere in the back of my throat. Every part of my body was shaking, trembling uncontrollably as I looked up and met Gabriel’s eyes. His very dark, very dilated eyes.

Raising his palms out to me, he carefully stepped closer. “I’m not going to hurt you, Jemma. I just fed,” he said, nodding into the woods as if to reassure me. Showing me the front and back of his hands to prove he was unarmed, he cautiously brought his hands up to his black leather jacket and then chucked it off his body.

I stared at him, my gaze unflinching, my heart not yet fully trusting, and watched as he took another small step forward and then offered me his jacket.

My instinct was to refuse the offering, to refuse anything and everything that came from a fanged creature of the night, but then I remembered that I was practically naked from the waist up.

I snatched the jacket from him and then quickly put it on, my eyes never leaving his in case he decided to pounce on me while I was distracted. Bracing my hands against the tree behind me, I clumsily lifted myself to my feet and then tightened the jacket around myself, holding it closed with one hand.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice as soft and unarming as it had been the first night I’d met him.

“No, I’m not,” I admitted, my voice quivering just as badly as my legs were. “I just want to get back to my car. I need to get back in my car and I’ll be okay.”

Eyebrows drawn together, he stared at me for a long moment and then nodded. “Come on. This way.”

I stood back for a few seconds to make sure that he was leading me the right way and not trying to take me further into the forest. When I was sure that he was heading in the direction of the main road, I pushed off the tree and followed.

Neither one of us said anything as we walked through the dense forest, crunching leaves beneath our feet as unknown animals called out to each other in the not-too-far distance. Afraid of what else was out there, I shuffled forward and fell into step with Gabriel. Apparently, my nerves and balls were completely frayed.

He gave me a sideways glance but didn’t say anything. Nothing at all. In fact, I wasn’t even sure he was breathing with how quiet he was being. I looked over at him again and tried to gauge whether his chest was rising and falling.

His jaw was clamped down rigidly and his body was perfectly still, save for his moving legs. He wasn’t breathing—probably to avoid taking in my scent. I guessed that whatever creature he’d