MATED TO SERIES COLLECTION

22. LARA: A TRIP TO WHERE?

"I don't think your father likes me."

Silas's lips stopped their descent down the side of my neck. His body tensed and his arms clenched around me for a few seconds before loosening. After a few minutes he started pressing soft kisses against my neck again. He pressed a hand against my lower stomach and spread his fingers apart. My eyes were glued to his tanned hand against my pale skin.

"He's not a very talkative person."

"Still." I hesitated. "It's the way he sometimes looks at me."

"What do you mean?" he instantly questioned. "How does he look at you?"

"I don't know how to explain it."

I sat up and turned around, causing water to slosh against the side of the big tub. For a moment I was distracted by the small water droplets that slowly trailed down his chest. One of the droplets got caught by his dusky nipple. My mouth watered and the urge to suck the water from his nipple intensified. Silas shifted, making my eyes snap up to his face.

His frown deepened when our eyes locked. It's been two days since his father arrived unexpectedly. Since then he's been staying in the spare bedroom. He usually went out early and returned during the afternoon. We didn't talk much except for the friendly greetings. Father and son didn't utter a word to each other. I had a feeling that they were hiding something from me.

"Sometimes I'd find him watching me with a small smile and other times he would be frowning at me. It's really unnerving."

"I know." He gave me a small smile. "It's really hard to tell what he's thinking sometimes."

I studied him silently as he studied me. Silas's lips parted as if he wanted to say something but he quickly closed his mouth again. Shaking his head, he sat up and grabbed the soap. Silas washed his arms and chest and then reached for me. I stared at his face as he washed me. There were little similarities between him and David. When Silas was done washing me, he pulled me onto his lap so I was straddling him.

"Why is he here Silas?" I asked him softly. "It's not just some friendly visit is it?"

"No," he sighed.

He squeezed my hips tightly before letting go and dropping his hands to my thighs. His eyes darted over my face—lingered on my lips—before darting up to lock with mine.

"He wants me to return home with him," he said softly.

"I thought you had no family," I admitted. "You never talk about them and you don't have any photos of them. The only time you ever mentioned them was when you told me that you left home at eighteen."

"You don't talk about your family either."

"You know why!" I shook my head as I pushed myself away from him and stood.

Before I could step out of the tub, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me down which made me lose my balance. Water splashed over the edge of the tub and onto the tiled floor. A gasp slipped from my lips when I fell against his chest. Silas instantly wrapped his arms around my waist so I couldn't get back up again.

"I'm sorry," he muttered against my ear. "I left for a reason and I've be trying to keep my distance from them."

"What changed? What made you leave?"

I slipped my arm out from between us and wrapped it around his neck. Silas tilted his head back to look up at me. He looked troubled and uncertain—like he really wanted to tell me but something was holding him back. I pressed my other hand against his cheek and leaned my forehead against his.

"Nothing you tell me will ever change the way I feel about you."

"Promise?" There was a vulnerability in his eyes that tugged at my heart.

"Promise."

"Good." He sat up. "Because we're leaving at noon tomorrow."

***

"Are you still mad at me, sweetness?"

I ignored him as I folded the shirt and placed it on top of the pile in the suitcase. Silas was hovering near the door. He clenched and unclenched his fists at his side as he shifted from foot to foot. I hadn't said a word to him since he dropped the bomb on me. How could he expect things to be okay after dropping a bomb on me like that? He could at least have given me enough warning.

"Lara? I'm sorry okay?"

I spun around with my hands on my hips. The words died down when my eyes locked with his. I actually forgot what I was about to say. He made it impossible to think straight when he looked at me like that. Shaking my head, I turned back around and focused on my packing.

There were a lot of things we needed to talk about, but where to begin? Silas has been invasive about exactly where we were going. Every time I tried to ask him questions, he would redirect the conversation. All he said about where we were going was the fact that I needed to pack warm clothes since it could get really cold at night.

"I use to live in a small town in the middle of the forest called Edenville," Silas started. "I have two fathers, a mother and a twin brother."

His words shocked me. I froze and slowly straightened. Silas moved closer with his eyes focused on the suitcase. He sighed loudly as he glanced up at me. Giving me a small smile, he took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"My brother and I use to be close but we drifted apart. Part of why I left was because of him and another part was because of the people."

"The people?"

He licked his lips. "There are a lot of things I can't tell you because I'm not ready and I know you're not ready to hear it yet." He swallowed loudly and glanced up at me again. "Trust me? That's all I'm asking. I need you to know that I will never do anything to harm you."

"Silas—"

"Please Lara. I can't do this without you by my side."

I blinked back the tears that filled my eyes. I hated the fact that he was keeping things from me. I hated that he won't tell me what's bothering him. I hated the fact that he looked so stressed and there was nothing I could do to help him.

With a small sigh, I dropped the pants I've been folding and made my way over to him. Silas spread his legs apart and reached up to grip my hips. He tugged me closer until I couldn't move closer anymore. I wrapped my arms around his head when he pressed his face against my stomach. His warm breath tickled my skin. Silas slipped his arms loosely around my waist. A low groan slipped from his lips.

"You can't keep doing this to me Silas," I said softly. "I need a few days warning if you're planning on taking me somewhere."

Tilting his head back, he gave me a boyish smile. "It won't happen again, sweetness."