Chapter 2
"Not sure," she shrugged. "Let me help you with that." She took a box from me with surprising ease and headed up the driveway.
"Riley, I managed to get—oh, who is this?" Sarah appeared, taking the box from Nina.
"Nina. I met her at the gas station. She lives nearby," I explained. "She was saying this house has been empty for a while. Are you sure you made the right decision buying it?"
"Riley," Sarah warned, her tone unusually sharp.
That was my cue to shut up. Once she set her mind on something, there was no changing it.
"Go and unpack the rest of the car. I'll fix us some hot chocolate."
"She looks young," Nina smiled after Sarah went inside.
"Thanks, but I've got it from here," I said, still trying to figure out her intentions. Was she being friendly because she wanted something, or just out of neighborliness?
"I don't mind," she shrugged, picking up another box. "Besides, my idiot brother has friends over, and I'd rather not be there."
"How old is your brother?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
"Twenty-four going on fifty." She smirked. "Bit of an asshole."
"How so?" I was digging for information, but couldn't help my curiosity.
"I'm sure you'll meet him someday," she replied with an enigmatic smile. "Do you have any siblings?"
"Only child."
As I made my way up the drive, I tripped, falling forward. The box flew up as I put my hands out to break my fall.
"Shit," I groaned, grabbing my knee where a stone had embedded itself.
My hands were bloody, my knee scraped.
"Need a hand, little one?"
Little one?
"Dominic," Nina warned.
Glancing up, a gasp escaped my lips. Who was he and where had he come from? Wait—why didn't he have a shirt on? Was I dreaming? I couldn't look away, couldn't break our stare. His perfectly sculpted body gleamed in the moonlight.
"You shouldn't speak to me in that tone, Nina," he finally looked away, and I felt like an idiot.
He stood outside my house shirtless.
It was freezing.
Blinking several times, I wondered if I'd hit my head when I fell. Why weren't they wearing shirts in Montana's frigid night air?
Wiping my hands on my jeans, I stood up. Everything from the box was now scattered across the driveway. Sighing, I began picking up my things.
"Dominic, please go away," Nina pleaded.
He didn't leave. He stood there staring, and I was beginning to feel uncomfortable. But when I noticed what he was holding, that discomfort vanished.
My mother's pendant.
Old and ancient, it was the only thing I had left of her, something that could remind me of happy memories. I didn't let anyone touch it, afraid it might fall apart, yet he was holding it like a toy.
"Dominic," Nina hissed.
"Hey," I hurried over to grab the pendant.
"Riley, what's happening here?" Sarah appeared beside me, her eyes immediately locking onto the pendant. "Young man, I believe what you're holding doesn't belong to you. Give it to me." Her voice was stern.
He furrowed his brow, his amber eyes meeting mine.
"Sorry," he said, his gaze never leaving me as he handed back the pendant. I grabbed it before Sarah could touch it.
I checked them carefully to make sure they were intact.
"Come inside. The rest can wait until tomorrow. Nina, you're very welcome to join us."
She didn't need to tell me twice.
"You girls sit down. I'll prepare some hot chocolate." Sarah said.
"I'll be right back. My phone's in the car."
Opening the glove compartment, I retrieved my phone and made sure the car was locked. What I didn't expect was to find Dominic waiting at the bottom of the driveway. I put the pendant around my neck, stopping a few feet away from him.
"Nina is still inside. I'll tell her you're here."
As I turned to walk away, he grabbed my wrist with incredible speed and pulled me toward him. I froze.
What does he want to do?
"Little one," he growled.
I was somewhat stunned, my breathing slowly stopping.
"Please let me go," my voice barely a whisper.
He didn't. Instead, his grip tightened as he buried his head in the crook of my neck and inhaled deeply.
"Fuck baby, you smell like the ocean."
I was frightened, my body rigid. Even if I wanted to move, I couldn't. Yet beneath the fear, a strange current flowed through where our skin touched. My heart raced, my breathing shallow—I wanted both to flee and to stay.
"You don't need to fear me, little one."
When I opened my eyes, he had vanished—melted into the forest shadows as if he'd never been there.
I was truly scared.
Back inside, I took the cup Sarah offered and sat on the sofa, the warmth of Dominic's touch still lingering on my wrist. I couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened. The way he grabbed me, pulled me close. God, he even smelled me. Who does that?
Yet strangely, despite my fear, part of me wanted him to touch me again.
"Riley, dear, are you listening?" Sarah laughed, interrupting my thoughts. "Nina was telling me she goes to the school you've enrolled in."
I had forgotten about school.
"Great, school," I said, erasing his image from my mind while unconsciously rubbing the wrist he had touched.
"Thanks for having me over. I need to get home now. Riley, here's my number in case you need anything." Nina handed me a slip of paper. I smiled as I took it. I had been skeptical of her before, but she was the only person I knew here, and I needed someone to help me.
"No need to see me out. I live just over there," she pointed toward a large house at the edge of the forest, then slipped out the door.
After the door closed, I looked at Sarah.
"She seems like a nice girl, dear, perhaps your first friend here. But that brother of hers, he seems like a bit of an asshole." Her voice carried a knowing tone.
I burst out laughing. I always found it funny when Sarah cursed. She was usually very reserved; profanity wasn't her style.
"But a good-looking asshole," she grinned. "I already think he's fallen for you. He couldn't take his eyes off you."
"Gran!" I groaned, my fingers unconsciously touching my neck. Sarah was my grandmother, but she wasn't old. She had my mother when she was sixteen, so she was still relatively young. People often mistook her for my mother.
"I'm just saying," she smiled. "Try to get some sleep. I know the conditions aren't ideal, but you'll have a bed tomorrow."
"I will. Goodnight, Gran. Love you."
"I love you too."
As I got ready for bed, his image flashed in my mind again.
I wasn't tired yet. My mind wouldn't turn off. Ever since we arrived at Moonlight Estates, everything had been strange. I absently rubbed my wrist where Dominic had grabbed me, the skin still tingling with phantom warmth.
Taking out my phone, I added Nina's number to my contacts and began typing.