Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
There were a lot of secrets in his world, like now, he was gone again, and she was inside his home. Maybe it was a result of living your life in the wilderness. He was almost more animal than human in some ways. That had to be the explanation.
She moved toward the window, overlooking the main front garden, but all she saw ahead was forest. She quickly pulled away, because the truth was, the view reminded her of so many points in horror movies. She was not a horror movie lover.
Wandering into his kitchen, she opened up the fridge to see the meat in a bowl defrosting for tonight’s dinner. There were vegetables they’d gathered together from the garden. She closed the fridge and sighed.
Wilder did venture out into the real world, as he had shelf-stable milk and a pantry full of long-life staples. He promised to take her with him the next time he ventured to town. Apparently it was quite the hike, especially lugging the stuff back.
It wasn’t that she wanted to go into town or talk to anyone. She just wanted to help support him, to do couples’ things. She actually loved this life of living off the grid, relying on the land. She would never be good at hunting, but she certainly loved to tend the vegetables.
There were still so many questions without answers, and she didn’t want to keep prying.
All of a sudden, she was pulled out of her thoughts as Wilder stepped through the front door, and the first thing she noticed was the big beaming smile on his face.
“Well, you’re the prettiest sight to see,” he said.
He brought the freshness of the outdoors with him. She couldn’t help but laugh. Poppy moved toward him, throwing her arms around his neck.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” He pressed his face against her neck.
“Why do you keep going out and leaving me like this?” she asked. Then, she gasped. “Did you see that bear? Did you see the poachers? Are they still hunting us?”
He cupped her face and tilted her head back and he had this beautiful smile on his face. “Everything is all right. The bear makes its appearance from time to time.”
“And you’re still not frightened? It was a giant bear.”
“Nothing frightens me. I told you, I respect the land, and the animals know I’m here to care for them.”
She sighed. “Do you think there is ever a chance I won’t be afraid? I hate that you’re so kind and so open and I’m afraid all the time.” She pressed her head against his chest. “I don’t want to scare them away.”
“You won’t.”
“What about the poachers?” she asked, and that uneasy slice of fear rushed down her spine. Would they ever give up, or were they still intent on seeing her dead? She didn’t like thinking about it, and wished the problem just disappeared.
“They’re still close. They’ve made camp a few miles away.”
“This isn’t good,” she said. “Why won’t they leave?”
“They’re determined to get what they want.”
“I put you in danger.” She lifted her head, and she felt her shoulders slump. “I never wanted to hurt you.”
He kissed her. “Stop it, Poppy. You’re not going to hurt me, and some hum— I mean people, they just don’t know when to let something go. It has nothing to do with you.” He kissed her lips again.
“What if I just give them the memory drive with their pictures on it?”
He shook his head. “At this point, it wouldn’t change their intentions.”
She felt an answering spark flood her whole body as she looked up at him.
They stared at one another, and it was like his eyes changed color, they went from a dark brown to almost black, then back again to brown. Poppy knew she must have imagined it. Especially as, within the next second, he picked her up in his arms and was carrying her right to their bed.
****
The poachers still being close was not Poppy’s fault. They’d been close to the house when Wilder killed one of them, which had sent them packing, but just a few miles away. They were not giving up on killing Poppy.
The only problem they had now was trying to figure out what killed their friend. He did have them afraid, but not to the point they were willing to give up on Poppy, and he didn’t like that. Also, he sensed her curiosity was getting the better of her. She kept looking at him questioningly. She wanted answers. He got it. After all, he was a bear, and he wasn’t human.
Poppy was different. He glanced over to where she lay on the bed. To keep her questions at bay, he’d made love to her all night long. He couldn’t get enough of her. There were plenty of traps around his land, and he went and set more up, so he could keep Poppy safe.