Free Origins (A Black Novel, #1) by Jessa L. Gilbert Page B

smoldering blue the shade of the ocean in the middle of the night.
    Lost in the depths of his gaze, I’m no longer paying attention to what he’s doing and don’t even notice he has removed my shoe until he sets my foot back on the ground and stands up, disrupting my line of sight.
    “See?” He dangles my shoes in front of my face. “You don’t need these.”
    I am too distracted to speak as I remember the feel of his skin on mine; the smoothness, the heat. The lingering warmth of his hands slowly begins to dissipate, causing me to ache from the loss of it.
    “Come on,” he says, looping one hand through the toe straps on my heels and using the other to ease my hold off his shoulder. Taking a moment to twine his fingers with mine, he gives me a gentle tug, urging me to follow him as he begins walking.
    I am hyperaware of Vraiden’s hand wrapped endearingly around mine as he leads me through the woods, the warmth of his embrace making it increasingly more difficult to concentrate on my foot placement. Every time I stumble he slows our pace so I can regain my footing, eyeing me as he does so with a look of barely contained amusement. I’m not sure if he finds my clumsiness funny or if he has figured out the reason behind it. Most likely it is a combination of the two. I feel as though the flush in my cheeks will remain permanent and I am grateful that I can’t see just how red I actually look. The arrogant bastard is probably used to women tripping over their own feet when he’s around .
    I stop completely the next time I trip and scowl angrily at him when his eyes meet mine. “What’s so funny?” I snap, causing him to chuckle.
    “Isn’t it obvious?” he smirks.
    Ooh, he’s so infuriating! Sensing what I am trying to do he tightens his grip just enough so I can’t break free as I try to pull away from him and laughs outright at my glare. “I don’t need your help. I know how to walk,” I spit icily.
    “Could’ve fooled me,” he teases, grinning crookedly.
    “Maybe you should walk slower,” I retort.
    “Maybe you should pay more attention to where you’re walking and less attention to the…….view.” He suggests with a sly wink.
    I narrow my eyes. “Sorry. It’s kind of hard to concentrate when I’m traipsing around barefoot in the woods, in a dress, with a strange guy in the middle of the night!”
    Vraiden regards me silently for a moment before quickly closing the space between us, his eyes twinkling mischievously as he raises his eyebrows. “I could carry you,” he offers, his voice low, suggestive.
    His comment catches me off guard, causing me to inhale sharply. He grins slowly in response before gently tugging on my hand. “Come on. We’re almost there.”

    After a few more minutes of walking Vraiden stops abruptly in front of me, chuckling softly when I stumble into him before he turns towards me. “This is it,” he announces, a hint of pride in his voice.
    I take a step around him to get a better view of our surroundings only to have disappointment course through me as I glance around.
    “ This is it?” I ask incredulously. My eyebrows shoot upward in speculation. “This is what I had to hike through the woods, barefoot , for? Seriously? Wait……you didn’t bring me out here to kill me did you?” I add as an afterthought.
    “Believe me when I say there is no way I would have sat through all your stumbling and bickering so I could bring you here to kill you. If that’s what I had in mind I would’ve saved myself the headache and done it back at the jeep. Now, hurry up,” he says with a grin as he tows me further into the clearing in front of us.
    I had expected something special but the little semi-secluded area in front of us is nothing but a medium sized circle of dirt and half-dead grass surrounded by tall trees. The most interesting piece of scenery is a dead log lying off to one side, close to five feet in length, which Vraiden is currently directing us towards.