Wayward ➳ Edward Cullen

9. Natures

The car raced down the road much too fast to hurl myself out of it without ending up seriously injured. The lights winked by, reflecting off the dash in strips of yellow that flickered. I gripped the door and squeezed the handle, debating.

Edward's brow was knotted deep in thought. "I wanted to stay away. I wasn't—strong enough." His jaw flared as he clenched his teeth. "I'm still not strong enough."

He was merging onto the interstate. The car headlights flashed by like strobe lights as he weaved in and out of the lanes. A glance at the speedometer showed he was at eighty-five and climbing.

There was nowhere to go.

My head felt light and dizzy. There was nothing but the road outside the windshield and the glowing red brake lights of the cars ahead of us. Not even the display console was lit. The brief flashes of headlights only emphasized the darkness that surrounded me. I suddenly felt how narrow the space was between our seats.

I swallowed and moved my hand towards the gun at my side.

"I was weak. And you smelled—" he paused. "Even without breathing, I remembered your scent. It's burned in my mind. I hadn't had time to become... acclimated to it. And you were just a girl. The only thing holding me back was—I didn't want to be the reason we'd have to leave and start over somewhere else. But your blood—" His eyes narrowed. "I can't put into words how tempting you are."

The holster was clipped shut. A little band of leather was all that kept the gun in place. Could I pop it open without drawing his attention?

"I was fighting with myself, trying to hold back. Leaving was already impossible. But then you woke, and the air stirred with your scent as you moved. I was about to lunge when I realized you were armed." Edward smirked, as if the memory pleased him. "I knew that wouldn't stop me. You had no idea I was there. But you found me. You looked so certain as you fired." His smirk grew to a smile as his eyes narrowed with happiness. "I'd never been shot before," he mused. "The sound of the gun going off hurt more than the bullet. But it—shocked some sense into me."

The tip of my thumb was under the leather, my nail pressed against the metal of the clip. I wet my lips, waiting for some sound that might hide the click.

"So I left." Edward stared at the road for a long moment. "But I couldn't stay away. Even in Alaska, you haunted me. The girl who slept with a gun."

My hand stilled. Did he know that I was moving for it? I had to remember to breathe steadily.

"And then I return and discovered you hadn't told anyone of what had happened. You seemed perfectly normal." Edward's tone was filled with an echo of that initial amazement. "I didn't understand. I couldn't hear your thoughts, and I couldn't even rely on normal human behavior to tell me what to expect. You constantly surprise me," he said, bemused.

"Is that why I'm alive?" I asked, voice soft. "Because I surprise you?"

Edward's brows drew lower. "It became a reason not to give in. You weren't just a girl. You were Sarah Winchester. A mystery. And the more I learned about you, the more reasons I had to resist."

"Even after learning who my father was?"

"Especially then," he confirmed. "I was already invested in your survival." Edward gave me a censuring look. "I had no idea it would be so difficult to keep a single human alive and well."

My hand slipped away from my gun's holster. "You're not worried that I'm a hunter? At all?"

Edward's head tilted as he gave a lopsided, heart stopping smile. "No."