Eclipsed Hearts

A Warm Embrace

[Bailey]

I hated crying, but I couldn’t hold back. Ian’s embrace was warm, like a heavy, dryer-warmed blanket. It felt right in a way that I didn’t fully understand. My entire body shook as he gripped me against him. He smelled so amazing. I didn’t like people touching me much, but I felt better in Ian’s arms.

Ian held me tightly. His comforting presence enveloped me like a protective shield. I could feel the warmth of his body seep into mine, easing the ache in my heart. With each gentle stroke of his hand on my back, the tears subsided, leaving behind a sense of peace that I hadn’t felt in a long time.

As I pulled away slightly to look into his eyes, I saw understanding and compassion reflecting at me. I knew he would understand me. He was like me. He lost everything like I did and I knew he would want the same sort of revenge I had if it were an option.

“Did the man you were talking to threaten you? Is that why he was hanging all over you? Talk to me, Mari,” he whispered.

I looked away, but he stopped my turn, gripped my chin, and pulled me to look up at him. There was a flash of anger in his face before our eyes met, then he softened. Was he mad at me? Jealous maybe?

No. He’s a hunter. He was only upset about missing something that could be a clue or a potential fight. I needed to remember that most hunters were the same. Their priority was the hunt, and everything else in life took a backseat to it.

Ian’s eyes bore into mine, searching for the truth behind my tears. I could see the storm of emotions swirling in his gaze, a mix of concern and a hunger for vengeance that mirrored my own.

“I‘m fine,“ I lied, plastering a weak smile on my face. “Just a little overwhelmed, you know? Thank you for being here.”

His grip on my chin tightened ever so slightly, his eyes narrowing as if he could see through my façade. In a flash, he had me pinned against the wall. He didn’t hurt me. In fact, he treated me carefully through each movement. I couldn’t move from his hold on my arm and his grip on my chin tightened, hurting me a little.

“Don’t lie to me, Mari. If we’re supposed to be partners in this hunt, you can’t keep ѕhit from me. You didn’t know there was a price on your head before we got to this island. Was it the man in the restaurant that told you or that woman in the lobby?” he insisted.

“How long have you known?” I asked, as my brain started working again. “How long have you kept this from me?”

“I found out on the boat. You saw me talking to the werewolf we’re hunting. He told me that he wasn’t going to take the hit on you, but that he did kill your family.”

Ian backed off, and a pained expression crossed his face. He had details. That monster told Ian what he did to my family, and it was plain that he realized now what I’d escaped by calling in my extended family and becoming a hunter.

Though I didn’t know what happened entirely, I heard little bits and pieces when people didn’t realize I was around. It was one reason it was so believable that it was a group rather than a single werewolf. It was the reason I could understand my great-grandfather and uncle not being able to settle on how many werewolves attacked for so many years.

“I thought if you didn’t know, it would be easier for you to focus on the hunt without unnecessary distractions,“ he finally spoke.

“It’s not like I was going to run off and hide or hunt down whoever put the contract on me. I can protect myself, but not if you keep important information from me. Thank God someone felt I deserved to know. When were you going to tell me, Ian? When someone had a gun to my head?” I asked angrily, pushing hard against him.

He hardly budged, blocking my attempt to escape from his hold. Instead of getting the hint and backing off, Ian got even closer and trapped me between him and the wall. My whole body jolted with electricity when his hard body pressed against mine.

Ian’s gaze was intense as he leaned in closer, his breath mingling with mine. The air crackled with tension, an undeniable force pulling us together despite the tumult of emotions swirling around us. His lips hovered just inches away from mine, a silent question hanging in the space between us.

In that moment, time seemed to slow down as I grappled with the torrent of conflicting feelings raging within me. The need for vengeance pulsed in my veins, hot and fierce, but beneath it all, there was a different kind of heat igniting between Ian and me. It was raw and primal, an urge that drew us ever-so-slowly together.

“I’m not sleeping with you, Mari. So you can stop thinking this is something more,” he murmured before his lips brushed mine.

When his lips met mine, an electric current surged through my body, setting ablaze a passion that threatened to overpower all rationality. Just as abruptly as it had started, Ian swiftly withdrew.

“This changes nothing between us,“ he stated firmly, his voice betraying a hint of vulnerability. “We have a job to do, and we can’t afford distractions.”

I pushed him away, my heart pounding in my chest as confusion and hurt mingled within me. How could he think that was what I wanted? Didn’t he realize the turmoil I was already in?

“Ian, you arrogant aѕѕ,“ I spat, recoiling from his touch. “Do you honestly think that’s what this is about? You think I’d stoop so low as to use this situation for...for that?”

Ian’s jaw clenched at my words, but he didn’t look away. There was a storm brewing in his eyes, a mixture of regret and frustration that mirrored my own tumultuous emotions. We stood there in tense silence; the air crackling with unspoken words and unresolved feelings.

Finally, Ian spoke, his voice low and strained. “I didn’t mean to suggest that, Mari. I figured it’d be good to set some boundaries, considering our situation. We can’t afford to lose focus, especially since the stakes are even higher than we thought.”

His words hung heavy between us, the weight of our shared past and uncertain future pressing against what we desired. I could see that he wanted me and I realized that the reason I lashed out was because I wanted him too. It was likely only physical, but it hurt to be told he wouldn’t sleep with me and then have him kiss me that way.

My cousin Mari loved romance novels and she would read passages she liked to me. It reminded me of one of the kissing scenes she read to me once. I remembered it well. We were fifteen and on a field survival trip. After we set up for the night, she used the dim light to read parts of the book and we talked about what we would do in the heroine’s situation and what we would want our hero to be like.

It was one of those rare moments of getting to actually act like a teenager, of letting myself be a normal girl. I wished I’d had more times like that. This was the type of romance I imagined having, though. One where we couldn’t be together because of duty.

Why did it have to be with someone who always managed to piѕѕ me off?

Ianto Thornwood was not the man for me. Maybe it was something about being thirty and not having anything but vengeance in my life and mind for so long. It couldn’t be that I actually wanted someone who didn’t really want me and probably only wanted my body.

“Get out of my room, Ian. You said we needed to be separate for today. Can’t let anyone think we’re together,” I said, brushing past him.

He didn’t say or do anything as I started getting things together for a shower. That was what I needed. A hot shower and a nap before the dinner and cocktails event that night.

Ian had somehow already gotten in good with the werewolf. It would help us along. Now I would be in charge of seducing him into a position where I could garner an invitation to his home. Ian had the same plan, essentially. As long as one of us managed that invite before the end of the week, this whole exercise would be successful in my eyes.

I heard him sigh, and then the door open and close. Good. He needed to go.

My fingertips touched my lips as I remembered how his kiss felt. I’d never had a kiss like that before. I glanced behind me at the door, partly wishing he would come back and partly wishing I would never see him again.