Free Hadaen [The Marujan Brothers Series] Book One by Hannah888 Page A

she
knew that.

    What terrified her most was that she
knew she'd never manage to escape him a second time.
    "You can get the shower first," she
heard him say as if her intentions weren't obvious.
    Hadaen started to remove his shirt and
she took that as her cue to leave. Her feet carried her swiftly to
the bathroom, and she locked the door behind her and slid down to
the floor before her legs gave out.

    F ifteen minutes later, she was out of the bathroom,
fresh...and hungry. She followed the scent of bacon and cheese, and
the smell of warm bread. Her mouth watered and she turned to see a
white food bag on the table. Hadaen stood, placing ice in a cup and
then setting down a soft drink next to it. She wondered why he was
being so efficient; so thoroughly...nice. He then turned to face
her.
    A day's stubble had stretched across
his jaws, giving a sharp edge to his features. Amelia wondered how
she hadn't noticed it before. His hair looked shorter than it had
been back in Maruj. But no less beautiful, silvery strands
threading through the otherwise blackness of his hair. His eyes
were hard as they had been the last time she had seen him, however
somewhat tired. He looked as if he hadn't slept in forever. She
swallowed. If anything major had changed about Hadaen Maruj, it was
that he seemed even more handsome. The First help her
soul!
    Amelia cleared her throat. "Smells
good."
    "There's a cook shop across the
street. I was surprised to see it open."
    "Thanks." She felt like she had to
force the word out.
    A moment passed before he responded.
He had been staring at her again. "You keep shielding your mind
from me."
    "I don't believe I should give you
access to my most private thoughts."
    "Why not?"
    "Must you try to impose on everything
I call my own?"
    Hadaen strode to her, the scent of
sandalwood soap assaulting his senses. He breathed in deep and
stared her down, his mind going into a frizz whenever he was this
close to her. He brushed his fingers across her cheek; a touch so
light she wasn't sure if he'd touched her at all. She flinched
still and took a step back. He pursued her, step by step until she
was cornered between him and the wall.
    "Why do you run from me?"
    "I refuse to go down that road with
you again, my lord," she muttered. It was the first time she had
acknowledged him directly since she'd recovered her
memory.
    "This is no place for formalities," he
said, voice husky. "We are sharing a bedchamber... A
bed."
    Suddenly all interest in food
evaporated from her mind. She could not enjoy a meal knowing that
she'd be sleeping next to him. She'd rather take the cold floor.
She didn't trust herself around him at all.
    Hadaen leaned in towards her and
suddenly all panic broke loose. Her eyes widened as she dumbly
watched his head dip towards her. For the life of it, she believed
he was about to claim her lips with his own. A part of her was
scared, the other part eager to taste him again.
    But then he stopped short, a strange
look forming in his eyes. And he pressed his lips against her
temple lightly before striding away in the direction of the
bathroom.

Chapter Seven

    H adaen gazed to his north at the snowy-capped peaks of Mount
Lensai. It seemed tremendously closer now, which meant that the Hub
was not terrifyingly far away. It was then that it began to dawn on
him how close Amelia had been. He had spent centuries searching for
her; threaded through country after country, continent after
continent. How could he have thought she had been anywhere but one
dimension and a few miles away from him?
    His eyes never wavered from the
mountainous terrains which currently held his interest. To those
outside his dimension, it was known as Mount Tacoma. He inhaled
sharply and welcomed the stiff cool breeze of an on-coming autumn.
An odd inkling in the back of his head made him frown. Where had
that feeling come from?
    Thunder clapped overhead, hundreds of
birds flew across the sky in the opposite direction. Dark