5. VANYA

The hair at the nape of my neck prickled with awareness. I could feel eyes burning into my back, but whenever I turned around, there was no one there.

A few shop owners nodded in greeting. Even though I knew some of them were dying to ask me questions,  thankfully they didn’t.

I stopped at the stop sign and glanced over my shoulder. Everything seemed completely normal.

Where is this feeling coming from? 

“What are you doing here, Vannie?” Betsy asked as I entered the library. “You’re supposed to be at home.”

I smiled at her as I rounded the counter and dropped my bag onto the chair at my desk. “I’m fine. Totally cleared for duty.”

Her beady eyes narrowed on me. I held my breath and kept my face as emotionless as I could. I wasn’t a very good liar.

In truth, I felt like shit. After Obsidian had stormed out of my apartment, I had taken a shower and then crawled into bed. But falling asleep had been impossible. Thoughts of him had kept me awake for most of the night.

“Since you claim to be fit for duty”—she pointed to the boxes near my desk—“you can start unpacking the new books.”

I nodded, even though I knew it was going to be hell.

“Was everything delivered?”

Betsy turned and searched through the papers on her desk until she found what she was looking for. “All but two boxes. I called them and apparently someone forgot to load them. They’ll deliver it when the next plane comes in.”

“Great,” I muttered, taking the clipboard from her.

We’d have to wait another three weeks for it to be delivered. It was one thing I hated about living on the island. We had all the essentials—the island wasn’t that small—but for the rest, you had to order them online.

“Do you mind if I leave early, dear?”

“Of course not. Is everything okay?” My eyes darted over to Betsy in concern.

“I told you that my granddaughter’s having some trouble with her health, remember? I want to go and check up on her.”

“Do you need anything?”

She shook her head. “I need for you to sort those books. I called people to let them know that their books have arrived. They should start rolling in around nine.”   

“Okay.” I turned towards the boxes. “It’ll be a walk in the park.”

***

“There you go.” I handed the stack of books over to the woman with a smile. “Let me know if they are any good.”

“I will, thank you.”

I followed her to the door and closed it behind her. Lunch had started an hour ago, but there were too many people inside the library to close it. Betsy had left at ten after receiving a distressed call from her granddaughter. Unfortunately, she was going to take a few days off.

With a sigh, I flipped over the sign against the door and made my way back towards the counter where two stacks of returned books stood.

I placed them on the trolley and started walking towards the back.

The feeling of being watched hadn’t left me. I couldn’t understand how somebody could be watching me in the library when I knew I was all alone.

Shaking my head, I stopped to slip the book back into place before I moved forward again.

I froze when I heard a sound from behind me. Clutching the trolley handle a little tighter, I started walking again, listening more carefully. I heard nothing else, which made me consider if I imagined it in the first place.

I slowly reached forward and grabbed the nearest book. Counting to five, I spun around and threw it.

“Stupid,” I muttered to myself as I stared at the spot where the book had landed a few feet away.

Licking my lips, I walked over to pick the book up and check it for damage. Just as I turned around, I caught a movement from the corner of my eye. I froze.

Is it the man who stabbed me?

My hand unconsciously dropped to press against my stitches. Maybe he come to finish the job… 

Swallowing, I tried to think of something to do, some kind of plan.

The library was big enough to get lost in; there were a lot of hiding places, but there was only one phone and the man could kill me before I reached it.

I should really start keeping my phone on me.

Another sound came from my left. Something dropped to the floor, followed by a muttered curse. My heartbeat increased and icy shivers raced down my spine. I wouldn’t easily forget the sound of the man’s voice, but the muttered oath was too low to recognize it.

I had to move away. I could use the tall shelves to my advantage and make my way towards the exit. He wouldn’t try anything in public, would he?

My eyes darted towards the trolley. It squeaked whenever it moved. A smile spread across my face as an idea hit. Hurrying back towards the trolley, I threw the book onto it and gripped the handle tightly. I sucked in a deep breath and slowly blew it out as I counted to five.

Hope this works.

I gave the trolley a push and then spun around and hurried back in the opposite direction. However, things didn’t go according to plan; just as I was about to round the corner, a hand clamped down over my mouth and an arm wrapped around my waist before I was pulled back against a hard body.

“Silence.”

I held my breath as my feet left the floor. The voice was instantly recognizable, but only because I knew nobody else who had such a raspy voice. Obsidian stopped and turned me around in his arms. He kept his hand over my mouth as he pushed me back against the bookshelf.

My eyes darted up to his and widened.

Golden eyes stared down at me. What happened to his blue eyes? 

With the scars covering one side of his face and the strange colour of his eyes, he looked like a monster out of a horror movie, but there was still something about him that made me want to move closer and press my face to his chest. 

My stomach clenched as panic gripped me. I was starting to feel sick, and I feared that I might actually puke on him. All the questions I wanted to throw at him were completely forgotten when his lips parted to reveal his sharp teeth.

Obsidian suddenly leaned forward, making a whimper fall from my lips. He froze for a few seconds and then moved again. Lips brushed against the skin of my neck and a breath later, his sharp teeth followed.

Is he going to kill me for what happened last night?

Goosebumps broke out over my skin and a shiver raced down my spine. My hands shot up to grab hold of his shirt at his waist when my legs gave way beneath me as his tongue licked a spot beneath my ear.

Obsidian’s big hand gripped my hip in a bruising hold, stopping me from sliding to the floor in a puddle. I gasped again when his chest started vibrating against mine.

It was just like the night when Ezra rescued me.

Obsidian was purring!

The big scary man, who looked like he wanted to kill everybody, was actually fucking purring.

Why is he purring?

His hand covering my mouth slid down to grip my neck. I held my breath as I waited for him to snap it, but he merely tilted my head backwards and then to the side.

Pain shot through me when he nipped my skin with his sharp teeth.

“Ouch!”

He growled and bit down a little harder, but instantly soothed the pain with his tongue. My breathing sped up and my body started to react to his mouth on my skin. I had never gotten turned on so fast in my life. If it wasn’t for the confusion over my strange reactions to this man, I would have been reaching into his pants to find out if his dick looked like a human’s dick. 

Obsidian suddenly pulled his face away from my neck. My eyes shot open and locked with his. His eyes had changed again; they looked darker, and had taken the oval shape of a cat’s eye.

The man looked scary and sexy at the same time.

He blinked at me before his eyes dropped to my lips. I licked them and watched as his eyes narrowed. Obsidian swallowed loudly and sucked in a breath. His chest rumbled against mine.

“W-what are you doing to me?” he questioned.

Whatever bubble had wrapped itself around us popped when someone called my name. It sounded close. 

I blinked rapidly and tried to clear the lust-filled haze that his touch had provoked. It was hard, but when Obsidian stepped away, I could breathe a little easier.

My eyes dropped and without another word, I stepped around him and made my way toward the voice calling me.

What the hell just happened?