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Skylar

"It's too late and dark for you to cycle home alone. I'll walk you." Dmitri is looking at me with a look I can't read, waiting.

I almost decline. Not that it was a question, more of a demand. After considering for a minute, I nod my head in agreement. The image of the unknown shadow I thought I saw hiding in the woods the other night flashes through my mind. A shadow who I thought could be this very man standing in front of me, I remind myself. That fear, coupled with the fact that, as awkward as I feel around this huge Adonis, I still want to be in his company, saw me agreeing. I didn't want the evening to end. I want to be around him. My whole body screamed for it. I know he is trouble, but I can't seem to help myself.

"I'll follow your lead," he says before we fall in step next to each other toward my house. As soon as we exit the town and the source of light, I whip my torch out. I keep one in my bag for just these instances. When I first moved here, I had left the store late one night and did not have a torch. I was lucky to have my phone's light guiding me home, but just before I got to the house, the battery died. Making the rest of the way in the dark was not awesome. The next day, I invested in a torch and a load of batteries, which I keep in my bag at all times. The small price I pay for staying on the outskirts and away from people.

"How are you liking the town?" His face is expressionless as he looks down at me.

"It's great. Really peaceful. The people around here don't take well to newcomers, though, so don't expect a warm welcome," I warn him, looking away from him to the ground in front of me. Gods, he is gorgeous.

Speaking of warm, I'm beginning to feel the cold. I should have brought a thicker jersey. Had I known I would be out late tonight, I would have planned accordingly. I get cold way too easily, and now I have goosebumps all over my body. Thank the pope my place is not too far.

"You're cold." I whip my gaze up, thinking he must be a mind reader with that statement.

"Just a bit." As if to solidify that, a shiver chooses that moment to crawl over my body. He must not feel the cold as he is just in a t-shirt.

Before I know what's happening, a large arm circles my shoulders, pulling me against warm, delicious flesh along the side of his body. His forearm rests just above my breasts, his arm holding my shoulder and caging me in. Possessively almost. Tingles erupt where his forearm flesh meets the flesh of my neck, and I gasp, revelling in this feeling that doesn't seem to be coincidental. It's bizarre and gives a literal meaning to feeling a spark with someone.

I slowly look up at him as we continue walking, like this is normal. But he is looking forward, with nothing showing on his face. My gaze drags down his body, watching as our scents mingle, and the cold I felt moments ago morphs into something else. I can't tell if it's because he is very warm or if it is my traitorous body reacting to his. Either way, the chill I felt has been banished.

"So, whereabout do you live?" I hope composure I don't feel seeps into my voice.

"I live out of town at the moment, but I'll be moving to a house situated a little way from here in about a week." His voice is calm and even. I feel a little disappointed that our proximity seems to do nothing to him. I'm literally freaking out here, and this guy is cool as a cucumber.

"What do you do for a living?" I ask for small talk more than anything else. He could plant veggies for a living or blow up balloons for all the difference it would make.

That being said, he hesitates so long that I almost didn't think he was going to answer me.

"I run a security company. I keep people safe." Cryptic but not wholly unimaginable. He certainly looks like he could keep people safe, I think, looking at him sideways.

Mmmmm, yum. My brain has just turned to jelly.

"So, I'm in expert hands," I mumble quietly, looking over at the large hand gently gripping my shoulder. He grunts, and the rest of the walk continues in silence. I wish it were comfortable. But it's not. Especially not when his fingers gently start to rub my shoulder. It's as if he is erasing all of my logic and sensibilities with just a touch, replacing them instead with an ache that sits so deep, its existence is almost painful. It has been so long since anyone, let alone a man, has touched me.

We finally reach the forest driveway, the entrance leading up to my house, and while I am happy to be home, I am disappointed that it will end our time together. We are meters from my house when suddenly, Dmitri brings us both to a halt, making me squeal in surprise.

"Go home and lock the door," he mumbles, his nearly black eyes locked with mine.

"Why, what is it?" His tone and the even sterner look on his face are freaking them out. I look around, aiming the flashlight into the dark forest, trying to figure out what he saw, but there is just darkness.

"Just go. Only open the door if you hear my voice." He gently pushes me forward toward my house.

With a final look at him, I quickly made my way to my front door. The motion light comes on, and I bag my torch while fishing out my house keys. I'm so nervous and panicked, I drop them on the floor in my haste to get them in the lock. My heart is beating so fast. I look behind me and see that Dmitri is no longer standing where he was. He is nowhere to be seen. I pick up the keys and finally get my door open.

I lock the door behind me, palming my chest where my heart is trying to beat out of it. There is only one lock, and now I start wondering if that is enough. Perhaps I should invest in some sort of slam lock, I absentmindedly think.

I turn the light on and then edge forward, trying to steady my breath so that I can listen. But there is no noise. Not in the house or outside. The biggest noise is the sound of my heart beating in my ears from the adrenaline. I shake my head and then walk through the house, unlocking the sliding door that leads from my lounge into the sunroom. Looking out towards the dark forest, I see nothing unusual.

Where is Dmitri, and what did he hear?

I stand there, stock still for about five minutes, just peering into the dark of the forest before my feet start aching. Deciding that I can keep vigil just as effectively from the chair by the door, I take a seat and wrap a blanket around me. I'm super alert. Warm, but super alert. Nothing will sneak up on me.

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