15. VANYA

I’m living with three Hybrids in a cabin deep in the forest.

It was the thought that kept me tossing and turning all night. I managed to fall asleep in the early hours of the morning, but it was short-lived because I was woken by a roar.

It was a sound so fucking scary that I almost peed my pants. I shot upright in bed with my heart ready to jump out of my chest. My eyes darted around my room that was already bathed in bright sunlight. Curiosity had me throwing back the sheets and racing towards the window.

Pushing the curtain aside, I gaped at the scene that greeted me.

Their house, I discovered, was built near a clearing with a huge ass waterfall merely a few feet away.

I stared at the water, glistering in the sunlight like a thousand diamonds.

The urge to go out and get a closer look to explore it was too strong to resist.

After changing my clothes and pulling my hair into a ponytail, I headed downstairs.

Nobody was home.

The dirty dishes from our late night sandwiches were still in the sink, but there was no sign of the men.

I walked out of the house, but paused a few feet away to turn back and stare at the place.

It looked much smaller from the outside. The whole house was made out of big logs. It was basically a cabin in the woods. How had they managed to get all the building supplies out to the middle of nowhere to build it?

Shaking my head, I spun on my heels and walked around the side of the house towards the back.

Confusion filled me for a moment because the view from the ground was a lot different from the view I saw. There was no waterfall. I walked deeper into the woods. Finally, I could hear the faint roar of water. There was a footpath that led right to the edge of the pool beneath the waterfall. The water was so clear that I could see the sand and small pebbles at the bottom of the pool.

A sound had my head snapping up.

My mouth fell open when a very naked Ezra suddenly stalked out of the trees and towards the pool. Without glancing around, he just jumped into the water.

 I watched and waited for him to resurface, but he didn’t. Panic hit when a few minutes passed and there was still no sign of him.

Did he hit his head when he dived into the water?

Without thinking it through, I kicked off my shoes and hurried into the water. Obviously, I misjudged the depth of it. One minute my feet were touching the sand and small rocks at the bottom of the pool, and the next, the water swallowed me.

I did the stupidest thing you could possibly do in such a situation—I panicked.

Arms flailingg, legs kicking, and mouth wide open.

A figure moved towards me through the water, and seconds later, an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me against his strong body.

I sucked in a breath the moment we hit the surface and instantly regretted it when I started coughing.

“Vanya,” Ezra muttered. “Are you okay?”

I nodded as I sucked air into my lungs. When my coughing died down, I blinked away the tears and stared at him.

So he didn’t hit his head.

We were close, so close that I could see the golden flecks surrounding his irises.

“You shouldn’t be out wondering around,” he scolded, “especially since you don’t know your surroundings.”

My hands shot out to grip his shoulders when he moved.

“I s-saw the waterfall from my window and wanted to get a closer look.” I swallowed. “Then you dived into the water and you didn’t resurface after a few minutes and I panicked.”

“Vanya,” he murmured. “We can hold our breath for a long time.”

“Oh.”

He smiled, but it quickly faded. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just didn’t expect it to be so deep.”

“You can’t swim?”

“I can.” Colour flooded my cheeks. “I’m just not a very good swimmer.”

The colour in my cheeks intensified when his eyes dropped to my mouth and stayed there. I licked my lips and watched as his eyes darkened.

“Vanya?” His eyes darted up to mine. “I really want to kiss you.”

I blinked at him.

Is he serious? He looked pretty serious. My eyes dropped to his lips that were only a few inches from mine.

“What’s stopping you?” I breathed.

Ezra swallowed. “I... I don’t know how.”

His words left me completely speechless, but it only lasted for a few seconds. I blinked at him and tried to stop myself from smiling like an idiot.

“Never?”

Ezra shook his head. I reached up and pressed my shaky fingers to his flushed cheek.

“How?”

He frowned at me. “How what?”

I blew out a breath. “How have you never kissed anybody before?” My eyes dropped to his chest, just visible above the water. “You’re super hot.”

He blinked and then looked away from me. A thought hit, and I voiced it without a second thought because curiosity was getting the best of me.

“Have you ever had sex before?”