9. The Green-Eyed Snake

Once we had been given the use of a car, I soon found myself alone with Jared on the way to I knew not where. Of course, I had asked, but my only reply had been a short and cryptic,

"You will soon see."

I also got the impression from Jared that he had a lot on his mind and well, I couldn't say that I blamed him. There felt like a small lifetime of things to say to each other right now, but neither of us knew where to begin. Time felt like it had unraveled for both of us, and we didn't even know at which point we needed to start from in hopes of putting it back together again.

Although I knew it was the fear of being separated again. A fear that obviously gripped us both, because Jared rarely stopped touching me during the journey, and doing so only when necessary. Like when needing two hands to drive the Bentley Bentayga, which was a luxury SUV and basically was so plush and expensive, I was scared to touch anything in it other than my seat.

But like I said, I had no idea where we were heading, only that it looked to be as remote as the cabin his brother had given him had been. We had been driving for about an hour and I felt like, in that time, we could have spent it telling each other everything that had happened. We could have covered a lot in the time the journey took us, but it was as if we were each too afraid to ask. Too afraid to share and even more afraid of what the other may discover.

We didn't even have anyone else in the car to break through the silence because his brother, Marcus, and Asher had taken another car and were going elsewhere… I know this because they hadn't followed us. But again, I had no idea as to where, I just wondered how that car journey had gone with Asher, who I noticed looked as if he had stepped into some technologically advanced alien world after seeing it. And well, with Marcus as his new tour guide into this unknown time, I couldn't help but also think once again… the poor bastard.

The only thing Jared had said to Orth had been to give us a few days, whatever that meant. A few days to hash this all out, a few days to reconnect and fuck like bunnies… I had no clue.

I only knew that the silence was killing me, and looking out the window as I watched the world rush by had gotten old about forty-five minutes ago. When finally, after turning down a dirt road that had a private property sign fixed to a tree, Jared asked me the question that must have made it to the top of his list.

"How long were you gone, Ella?" I swallowed hard before telling him,

"In all honesty, I don't really know. The weeks just seemed to all merge together." I watched as he stopped the car before closing his eyes as if hating the very idea of this. Even his hand on the steering wheel clenched, making me wonder if the material it was made from was up to the task.

"And what about you, Jared, how long were you gone for?" At this he opened his eyes and turned to look at me, telling me without hesitation,

"A minute without you is a minute too long, so whatever time passed, it was the length of my torture." I felt every word of this as if it had been whispered over my bare soul, meaning the emotions rose up quickly. I felt tears warp my vision just as I threw myself over the center console and into his arms, shouting,

"Oh Jared!" he held my now shuddering frame to him as the car came to a stop, cupping my head and holding it to his neck where he could feel my tears for himself as they soaked into his skin.

"Only the Gods knew of my pain, Ella,"he whispered down at me, making me lift my watery gaze to his, so I could tell him earnestly,

"No, they didn't. I felt it too."

There was so much more I could have said here. About everything I had experienced as well as being honest about his own past. But in the end, he broke the silence and shattered any bravery I was trying to find in order to make the words come out.

"Come on, let's get you inside," he said after allowing the moment to pass, and with it my opportunity to say more. I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked to see that we had pulled up outside another cabin, this time one much smaller but no less picturesque.

It was an A-framed structure with the walls made from thick whole logs that were stacked together horizontally. They fit tightly to form the walls, and the theme continued with the wrap around covered porch either side, made from thinner logs. Triangular shaped windows faced us, which no doubt would flood the main living space full of light.

Steps let up to the porch on the right side where I gathered a front door would be.

"What is this place?" I asked after getting out the car the same time as Jared did.

"Orth wasn't the only one who bought himself a cabin in the woods," he replied with a wink.

"Yes, but one of them is significantly closer to Afterlife," I pointed out, although this was when Jared shocked me by quickly correcting,

"Not just Afterlife, Red." I frowned at this before following him as he made his way toward the steps, and when I was within arm's length, I reached out to stop him.

"What do you mean?" I asked, grabbing onto his forearm.

"Been keepin' tabs on you since you were eighteen, Ella, what do you think it means?" he replied before slipping his forearm from my grasp, instead taking my hand in his so he could walk us both up the steps into his home. One that this time hadn't been gifted to him by his brother.

Which was most likely why I was more excited and nervous at the same time. Because this was a Jared-bought space and I didn't know what to expect. Of course, I knew him better now than when I had first been walked into his home. Which meant that as soon as we were inside, I wasn't surprised to see it void of Demonic hunting trophies on the wall in the way of mounted severed heads, and piles of bones in the corner. Instead, it was a beautiful cabin in the wilderness, complete with rustic charm.

Naturally the logs on the outside were also visible on the inside, giving it that more authentic log cabin feel. We walked straight into the living space from the porch, which I also couldn't help but notice had a cozy sitting space for two, thanks to the couple of handcrafted wooden rocking chairs sitting there. As for indoors, it was a nice open-plan living space with the kitchen area tucked under a mezzanine level above. To my right was a sitting area, with a modest three-piece couch facing the wall of windows and a couple of matching brown leather armchairs positioned at the sides.

A dark stone fireplace managed to break up all the wood, that matched the dark-gray window frames. It was decorated quite modestly, with the kitchen not being state of the art but still clean and tidy, with dark navy cupboard doors and light granite countertops. A small island big enough for two people to eat was at the center with a bigger, wooden dining table off to the right of the kitchen.

The appliances weren't new or shinning stainless steel but again, they were out of place, nor did they look worn or untidy. Off to the left-hand side was a staircase that led to the upstairs, that had railing along one side so you could look down into the living space. Up there was where I gathered the bedroom was, and a place I was hoping we would definitely be seeing sometime soon.

"Wow, this is…"

"Nothing like my brother's place, I know, but it will do us for…" I quickly interrupted him as he tossed the car keys to the kitchen table, and I did so by framing his face with my hands so I could pull him down for a kiss after I finished off my sentence,

"…Perfect."And kiss him he let me do, until he decided he had hit his limit on letting me lead. Which meant I was soon being lifted to make our height difference more manageable. This, naturally, made me wrap my legs around his waist as he started to walk from the kitchen area.

Well, I didn't know or care where he took me next, as long as it involved a bed, then I would be happy. However, when I finally came up for air was when I noticed we weren't in a bedroom like I hoped but instead, he had walked us upstairs and straight into a modest bathroom. A single sink vanity with a pale marble top was sitting on a carved wooden frame, with black wrought iron handles that matched the taps and faucet. A tall arched black framed mirror above, also tied in with the theme.

As for the rest, the bathroom didn't have a bath but, in its place, it did have a shower big enough for two. A place he clearly was heading for because he placed me down in the countertop next to the sink. Then without a word, he started to rid me of my clothes, making me start trying to tear at his own.

The second we were both topless, he pulled me in tight to his frame, moaning in my mouth as he kissed me. As if now being skin to skin had been something he had been craving to feel again. It was as if all our pent-up emotions kept spilling out of us but instead of being voiced as words, they were expressed through touch. As if in this moment, we didn't know how else to communicate them.

Which was why moments later, we found ourselves naked in the shower, using the simple bar of soap as just an excuse to touch every inch of each other. However, it was the moment Jared had just about worked his way up to my hair that everything came to a sudden halt. Because it was when he was soaping up my scalp that he came across the bite at my neck, a scar I knew from seeing myself now looked different than what Jared had obviously remembered it being.

"Jared?" I spoke his name, hoping the sound of it would jolt him from whatever emotion now gripped him. Because his fingers had frozen in place for long moments before finally, I felt them tracing the double bite mark.

My reply to this was a harsh and ragged question that nearly caused me to place a hand to my heart.

"He bit you?"I swallowed hard before shaking my head softly and telling him,

"No, you did."

He growled at that, because we both knew what he meant by the question and why he was referring to his past self as a separate person. I ended up sucking in a stuttered breath when he abruptly left the shower without another word. The warm, earthy tones of the small mosaic tiles now felt cold as I leaned my deflated body against them, this despite the warmth of the water still pouring down on me. In fact, I could have fallen to the shower floor and sobbed my heart out, for how it made me feel.

But I didn't do this. Because that wouldn't have achieved anything right now, like getting to the bottom of why Jared just walked away. Hence why anger started to replace all other emotions, making me wash the soap from my hair with unforgiving motions… I was surprised my scalp survived.

I was soon storming from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel with my hair dripping around my bare shoulders ready to give him a piece of my mind. But then the second I found Jared sitting at the edge of a rustic wooden framed bed, now leaned forward with his head in hands, the sight stopped me from just outright raging at him. Because he suddenly looked so vulnerable. So, fucking lost. I knew that, in that moment, I had a choice to make. I could either focus on my own hurt and make the situation worse, or I could try and help him through his own turmoil and therefore heal my own.

A sound plan, that nearly took a flying fuck out the window the second he asked,

"Did you fuck him?"

"What?!"I hissed, taking a step back in utter shock. He lifted his head and asked again, just in case I could believe that insanity had taken me the first time.

"Did you let him fuck you?"

"Are you being serious right now?" I asked, my tone saying it all. But then he started shaking his head as if this was all the answer he needed. The only answer to know the truth, when in reality he had no fucking clue.

"I don't need details, Ella, but I just want to know the truth," he stated making me suck in a quick breath.

"The truth?" I asked, shaking my head after asking this in a mocking tone.

"Yes."

"The truth is, I can't believe we are even having this conversation right now… I can't believe you would even ask me that!"

He turned his face away to look out at the smaller, triangular windows just as the sun was finally setting on this day. And this was how it was to end. Which was why I said in a pained way,

"I can't believe, after everything we have been through, all so we could get back to one another… this is what you focus on." I watched as he swallowed hard before telling me,

"I sat in that jail cell with nothing but you on my mind." I opened my mouth to speak but stopped when it was clear he had much more left to say.

"I asked myself over and over again what you were going through. What harm could befall your way. What dangers you could be facing and most of all… would I be there to protect you," he said this last part after finally looking at me once more.

"More than anything, I wanted to know that if you ever encountered me in the past, that I would be kind and gentle. That I wouldn't fuck it all up like I did the first-time around. That I would recognize who you were to me." I couldn't help but ask the question,

"Then why would you ask…" However, I never got to finish before he was interrupting me.

"Because I never gave any thought as to what would truly happen once I did recognize that you were mine. I could only focus on you being kept safe."

"And now?" I dared to ask.

"And now I can't get the picture of you two together out of my head. As soon as I saw the new claiming mark on your neck, I knew… I knew what all this time I didn't want to face." My mouth dropped at that.

"And what is that, Jared? That I fucked the man I love from another time?!" I snapped, no longer able to hold back the anger at the irrational guilt he was trying to make me feel. "Because I won't let you make me feel guilty for even a second of that! I won't let you taint it for me," I said, now walking toward the door, ready to get in that damn car and make my way back to Afterlife if I needed to!

"Taint it for you?" His question stopped me long enough to answer him.

"Yes, because I will never apologize for loving you in whatever time I am in, and asking me not to is going against every part of my soul… every part of my heart, and I would refuse to do so, no matter who asked me. Even if it came from you… I could never stop loving you!" This last part I shouted before turning away from him, now fully intent on leaving.

"Where are you going?!" I heard him bark, making me throw back over my shoulder,

"Back to Afterlife and away from this new brand of crazy you have going on!" I turned away from him and really, I shouldn't have been surprised when I found myself being grabbed from behind.

"No!" he shouted, making me reply with the only demand I could throw at him, one even I knew was pointless because he never would.

"Let me go!"

"I told you many times before, baby, I can't do that."

"Oh, but you can keep me here and hurt me… that you can do!" I shouted angrily.

"I would never hu…" I was quick to cut him off this time.

"Your words hurt me!" I told him, quickly feeling him tense behind me.

"You love me?" I swear I almost growled before answering him.

"Yes, you big idiot!" I snapped.

"I'm jealous," he admitted on a sigh, one I felt from where he still held my back tight to his chest.

"Of yourself, so yeah, like I said… idiot."

"I can't help it. The thought of the both of you…" He tightened his hold on me but thankfully stopped before it could hurt me.

"Then maybe you best look in a mirror again, because that is the only man I ever see making love to me, the only man that ever has, remember?" I said, trying to make my point and take away all irrational thought this man had on me cheating on him with… well, himself!

"But he…" At this I'd finally had enough, so I turned in his arms and placed a hand on his cheek, telling him,

"No, not he but you. It was you, Jared, and no one else. Don't you know by now, it is always you. It always will be, no matter how much time sets us apart. If there is a you in it, then I will be right there by your side. And I will never apologize for that, do you hear me?" I raised his face up as I said this last part and the sadness and regret I saw there in his eyes nearly broke my heart.

But then I felt his thumb caress the new scar made before telling me,

"Another time claimed you." At this I decided to fight the fire of jealousy with lust, now pulling him closer after fisting his shirt, so I could yank him hard to me and tell him the only words he needed to hear…

"Then, Beastman, the answer is simple…"

He gestured for me to go on with a slight nod of his head, so I rose up on tiptoes and whispered in his ear exactly what he could do…

"…Time to claim me back."