Blood Bond by Heather Hildenbrand Page A

head.
“That would be like melting the polar ice cap with a space
heater.”
    Wes laughed. In a lightning move, he grabbed
me again and yanked me under. I came up clinging to what I thought
was his ankle. It wasn’t.
    “Ow, what the …?” Cambria yanked free and
glared at me. I splashed her and Wes in one move.
    Our scuffle spilled over into Derek and
Bailey’s war with Cord and soon it was a blur of splashing and
shrieks.
    Wes and I ended up near the far bank. My
ribs ached from laughing. My chest heaved with the effort of
breathing and swimming and defending myself from his attempts to
dunk me.
    “Give up,” I said, ducking out from under
his hold and twisting his arm behind his back.
    “Never.” He whirled, freeing his arm and
pulling me against him. I stared at his bare chest, dripping and
smooth, against my wet shirt. The playfulness vanished.
    Behind me, I could hear the splashing and
yells from the rest of the group as each one tried dunking the
other, but it sounded faint. I couldn’t focus on any of it.
Something about the way Wes stared down at me made me tremble.
    “I missed you,” he said in a low voice. I
shivered, though not from cold. I wanted to press harder against
his chest, wrap my arms around his neck. I tightened my grip on his
arms, waiting for him to read it in my head so I wouldn’t have to
say it out loud.
    “Let’s take a walk.” His voice was
hoarse.
    I let him pull me up the bank. No one seemed
to notice our exit. The sounds of splashing water and squealing
laughter faded as the trees closed in around us. When we were out
of sight, Wes spun and encircled me with his arms. Despite the
droplets that clung to him, his skin warmed my fingertips as I ran
my hands up his shoulders and around his neck. He pulled me tight
against him and lowered his head so our foreheads touched.
    “Is this how you pictured it?” he
whispered.
    “Almost. You’re not kissing me yet,” I
whispered back.
    “Fixing that in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1.”
    His kiss was gentle at first, but I pressed
back, wanting more. The pull I often felt when he was near urged me
on, not that I needed any extra push. My hands tangled in his hair.
More. I needed more. He pulled me hard enough against him that my
feet left the ground, and then he kissed me back just as hard, just
as desperately.
    We broke apart, gasping for air. Wes’s eyes
were wide. “Where did that come from?”
    “I don’t know.” My face heated as I realized
what sort of mental images he’d picked out of my head. “Sorry.”
    He shook his head. “Don’t apologize. Is it—?
Um, I mean, do you always think like that about me?”
    I didn’t know whether to laugh or be
thoroughly mortified. “No,” I said. “Well, maybe. Not usually so,
uh, vivid, I guess.” I shrugged, trying to brush it off. “I’ve
missed you.”
    A smile played at the corners of his mouth.
“I missed you too, but if it’s like that, maybe I should go away
more often.”
    I swatted him, but not before his comment
incited another mental image. One that involved very little
clothing. The backdrop distinctly resembled our current location.
“I don’t know about this mind-reading thing,” I grumbled.
    He laughed. “Fine, let’s talk about
something else. How was school?”
    I hesitated, unsure whether he meant actual
school or something more, like a certain trainer he wasn’t fond
of.
    “I just mean school.”
    “I passed my classes,” I said. “For now. No
small thing considering some of the last-minute papers and quizzes
Professor Hugo had me do. That guy has it out for me, I think.”
    “And Alex?” he asked. He turned to face me,
looking guilty. “I’m sorry, but I picked up on something when you
thought of him. You seem worried about him. Is everything
okay?”
    I eyed him, brows raised. “You don’t care
about him enough to want to know.”
    “You’re right, I don’t care about him, but I
care about you, and if something bothers you, I want to know