Reaching out she took his hand, and nodded, “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Eric took her to the street where she waited for him. The sound of a rumbling engine rounded the corner and she grinned. Eric was straddling a motorcycle. He navigated the bike through the rubble and stopped in front of her. “Get on,” he said. Natalia realized she’d have to touch him and hold on tight. She liked bikes, but Eric made her heart hurt. Ignoring the sensations, she grabbed his waist and flung her leg over the back of the bike.
“Where are we going?” she asked, tying her hair back so it wouldn’t blind her as they rode.
“Beach.”
She stopped, dropping her hands from her hair. “I don’t have a swimming suit.”
A mischievous grin spread across Eric’s face, “I know.” With that he revved the engine, and Natalia pressed herself tightly to his back. He handed her a pair of sunglasses and the two of them rode out of the city. The further they got from Rome, the less decimated the landscape became. Eric navigated the bike slowly at first, careful not to send them flying if he hit a hole, but once they were outside the city walls, he punched it and they flew.
After the war, people realized that their only hope of survival was to band together. Very few families still resided outside cities, in the unprotected countryside. Natalia turned her face and pressed her cheek to Eric’s back, watching the abandoned landscape as it flew by. Part of her was elated. The other part was terrified.
Eric could feel the pulsing fear moving through her body as Natalia held onto him harder. Out of all the things that frightened the girl—a motorcycle—really? But she was spooked, he could feel her heart pounding inside of her little body. Part of him hoped it was the swimming naked comment, but he thought there was more to her than that. She didn’t even blush when he said it, which made him think she’d done it before. Natalia said she wasn’t a virgin, and he believed her—and he didn’t care. Eric kept telling himself that, but he couldn’t deny the way he felt when he was with her. The thought worried him, but it was too late now. The curse would destroy her if he didn’t end things first. This was his small indulgence before forcing Ivy’s hand. He’d enjoy his time with Natalia. He’d let her see what he was, who he was, and if she didn’t run screaming—the thought made something stir deep inside of him. Gripping the handlebars harder, he accelerated again allowing the wind to blow away his thoughts.
Natalia felt the tension in Eric’s back. When she pressed her face against his shoulders, she breathed him in. His body protected her from the wind and bugs. As she leaned against his back, she could feel the curves of his hard muscles and wondered why he was so tense. She locked her fingers around his waist and relaxed as they drove, but Eric seemed tightly strung the entire time. There was no way to know what was going on in his head, though she wanted to.
As they came up on the coast, there was a stretch of white sand and blue water that went on for miles. Natalia loved the beach. She loved the sound of the waves beating the sand, and the scent of the sea. When Eric stopped the bike, she practically jumped off. Her hair was windblown so badly that it looked like someone stuck her head in a dryer. Eric laughed.
Natalia punched him in the stomach lightly, and then promptly smoothed her wild pony tail with a wicked smile on her lips. “Your hair looks kind of nuts too, but you don’t see me laughing.”
He looked at her from over the top of his sunglasses as they walked toward the water, “But, you’re laughing on the inside. And that totally counts.” The pain that normally filled Eric’s chest was replaced with something else, something warm. He couldn’t stop smiling, and he knew why. It was Natalia. There was something about her, something that made him wish things didn’t have to end. After all this time, maybe he found someone, but it didn’t matter. She was too late. Soon he would be gone, without a trace. Natalia would go looking for him one day, but he will have vanished without a trace. Eric pressed his palms into his pockets, watching the girl as she ran in front of him.
Natalia tore ahead, running for the waves. She didn’t stop when she reached them, like Eric expected her to. The girl ran straight into the water and started splashing like she was a Labrador. Eric sat on a sand dune a few feet away. The way she moved made him pause. It was like she was trying to contain herself. The girl was larger than life, just brimming with vibrancy. And Eric would fuck it all up and end her life sooner than she knew if he didn’t go through with his plans. The passion that burned in her eyes would be snuffed out. His eyes tracked her as she ran down the beach and back again. She’d tied off the tee shirt under the curve of her breasts, showing off her narrow waist. Her dark shorts were rolled up as high as she could get them. Long dark hair fell over her shoulders as she laughed.
Natalia turned toward Eric, noticing that he was watching her even though his eyes were hidden behind dark glasses. Her skin prickled like it always did when he looked at her. Moving slowly toward him, she came out of the surf. She pulled off her glasses asking, “We rode all this way and you aren’t going in?” He shook his head. What the hell? She frowned, “Why not?”
Eric shrugged, “We came here for you, not me.”
Natalia sashayed toward him, her gaze melting Eric’s. He could see her eyes through her dark glasses. Shadows did not hide things from him. It was part of the demon blood that flowed through his body. She knelt in front of him, the sand clinging to her wet skin, “Why on earth would you do something like that?”
Smiling he said, “To make up for last night, and the night before. Things have felt—tense.” He paused, his lips parted like he was going to say more, but he hesitated. Eric considered what he should say. He could tell that Natalia wanted him to go with her, but he couldn’t. It would make it harder for him to stick to his plans, and things had already gone too far to back out now. His days were numbered. Natalia’s were not. Not so long as he went through with it. Eric slid his tongue over his lips, and turned his face into the breeze. The wind whipped his hair, making it messier. “I just wanted to see you happy for a change.”
Her pink lips pulled into a sexy little smile. “I like it, you know.”
He didn’t follow. “Like what?” If he couldn’t see her eyes, he would have thought she was talking about the beach, but he could. Her pupils were far too dark for that, and her voice lost the levity that went with lighter banter. And the quirk of her lips, the expression that made him want to reach out and take hold of her and feel her in his arms—it was plastered across her face. He wondered if she knew what that did to him, how it made him want her.
Her finger brushed his leg, trailing down to his ankle, “Things to be rough.” It was why she was at Carina’s, well partly why she was at Carina’s. The look on Eric’s face told her that he was interested and she was so tired of ignoring the sensations that shot through her body when he looked at her. She was ready to admit that she screwed up—that Eric wasn’t the murderer she was looking for. And this, this felt natural, like they should be together. She only meant to tease him, to lean in close to his face and taste his lips. A kiss. She wondered if his lips were warm and smooth. They looked perfect. Natalia leaned forward, slowly, her gaze locked on his mouth.
Eric watched Natalia as she spoke, underestimating the girl. He always thought that at some point, she would fear him—that she’d recognize what he was truly capable of and her feelings toward him would die like a flame doused with water. But she didn’t see it, she didn’t see him.
Before her lips touched his, he grabbed her wrist, stopping her. Pressing his lips together hard, he breathed, “It’s not going to happen. It’s beyond that with me. Don’t ask again.” There was a warning tone in his voice. Natalia pulled her wrist away, noticing that he averted his gaze.
Her heart plummeted. The way he spoke, the tone of his voice, said that he wanted her as much as she wanted him—but he resisted. Her mind pulled at random facts, trying to understand: Eric was at Carina’s. He killed Jocelyn. Gruesomely. But she couldn’t see how. It didn’t make sense. The Eric sitting in front of her seemed soft. She knew he cared about her, he had to.
Natalia arched a dark brow at him from behind her glasses, glad that her eyes were hidden so he couldn’t see the choked expression. “So you’re just going to watch me swim?” She asked it like she didn’t believe him. Eric nodded. Her lips pulled into a smirk. Fine. If he wanted to pretend that he didn’t want her, then she would just make him as uncomfortable as possible for the rest of the day. She reached for the knot on her shirt and untied it.
Drawing the shirt over her head, she pulled it off and tossed it at him. “Good. You can hold my stuff.” Eric’s eyes lifted to the two swells of soft skin above her narrow waist. Natalia stretched, her breasts thrusting forward as she tied back her hair again. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Eric watching her. After her hair was secured, she kicked off her shorts. A beautiful, nude Natalia turned from Eric and walked back toward the surf, slowly swaying her hips as she went.
The breath caught in Eric’s throat as he watched her walk away. His body had grown hard watching her. He didn’t get what he needed last night, but there was no way he’d chance hurting her. But her body. Holy Hell, she was hot. The way those curvy hips melted into her sexy legs made it so that he couldn’t look away.
Natalia grinned all the way to the water. She didn’t expect him to remain on the sand, but he did. Tormenting him was fun for her. She knew he wanted her, and maybe this was a little much for payback over a kiss, but this was Eric. Doing things in moderation with him failed to catch his attention. And this, baring all, caught his attention. Not once did Eric take his eyes off of her. She could feel his gaze like hot coals raking over her bare skin. Natalia moved in and out of the sea all day, talking to Eric and acting like she was completely clothed, like his eyes on her didn’t faze her. Natalia hid her racing heart when Eric reached past her for his bag, brushing ever so lightly against her leg. For a second, she thought he finally caved, but he hadn’t. It was only food that Eric had brought for lunch. She leaned back on the beach and felt the sun on her skin. Between the sensation of sand on her body, listening to the waves, and tormenting Eric, Natalia was in a wonderful mood by the time they left.
As she pulled on her shorts, she sincerely said, “Thanks for all this. Your little seduction scene was well-played.”
Eric looked confused, his smile faltered as he watched her. As he stood up, he asked, “Why does everything have to be a game with you?” When he took off his glasses, and gazed at her, his golden eyes narrowed. His eyes slid over her breasts and landed on her face.
She was holding her shirt in her hands, the pit of her stomach twisting as he spoke to her. “Because it’s a game to you,” she answered flatly. Natalia stood completely still. The warm breeze lifted her hair, blowing it gently.