trembling hands.
She gave me a sad smile and her fingers brushed my arm. “Much better.”
I shook off the overwhelming urge to touch her back. To close the space between us. No way should I want that. What the hell was wrong with me? I glanced over her shoulder at a lone shadow demon weaving its way in and out of the books, its cold battling with her warmth. “You said the closer I get the more appealing I seem,” I said, brokenly. “Why? What do they want?”
She ran a fingertip along one of the books and left a trail of gold sparks in its wake. “They feed off of souls. Usually ones fresh from the body. If they think you’re close…”
I stared at her incredulously, tying to comprehend what she was telling me. They wanted to eat my soul? This wasn’t as bad as I thought. This was worse. Much, much worse. It was like someone had suddenly turned over an hourglass of invisible sand to count down to my inevitable death. And those things were waiting for the last bit of sand to run out. “So they’re hanging around, waiting on my ass to die so they can have a freaking dinner party. Please tell me you’re joking.”
“You’re not going to go through this alone,” she whispered. “I won’t let anything like that happen to you.”
I grabbed my bag off the floor and slung it across my shoulder. “No. You’re just going to wait for me to die.”
She pressed her soft pink lips together and the light in her eyes dimmed. We stared at each other, my lungs eating up the air between us.
“You know what?” I pointed a shaky finger at the girl, all five foot four of otherworldly perfection, standing in front of me. “Stay the hell away from me.”
The way she made me feel was too confusing. No good could come from wanting to have my hands on a chick who wasn’t even alive. I took off down the aisle but I could still hear her voice as I walked away.
“That’s not an option, Cash,” she shouted. “I’m sorry.”
What wasn’t an option? Her staying away, or me not dying? As I pushed out of the glass doors and stepped into the sun, I couldn’t help but think she meant both.
Chapter 6
Anaya
Cash gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles looked as white as paper. His jaw was clenched, anger radiating from him like steam. I sat in the passenger seat of his Bronco and stared at the road stretching between the towering mountains as daylight turned to dusk. When I let myself look at him, my eyes insisted on focusing on ridiculous things. Like the way his paint-splattered red T-shirt clung to his biceps. Or the flicker of silver that appeared on his tongue every time he licked his lips. Yes. The road was definitely a safer view. Cash slammed his fist into the radio to shut it off and I flinched.
“You realize this is seriously creepy,” he finally said. “Stalking me like this.”
I shut my eyes, letting gravity take hold of me. When I opened them again, Cash was staring at me.
“You should watch the road.” I pointed to the windshield, anything to keep his eyes off of me. I had completely underestimated this boy. Even in a fit of rage, the way he looked at me made me feel stripped down to my insides. No one looked at me like that anymore.
Cash shook his head and returned his attention to the highway.
“Death is giving me safe driving tips,” he muttered. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“How do you do that?”
“What?”
“How do you know when I’m here? You shouldn’t be able to do that.”
Cash shrugged and kept his intense gaze focused on the road. “I don’t know. I…feel you, I guess. Everything gets warm and smells like it does right after a thunderstorm,” he said. “You’ve never met anyone else who can do that? Sense you?”
I crossed my arms over my chest watching him. “Not in a thousand years.” Unless you counted Finn, but Finn wasn’t exactly normal.
“Guess I’m just special then.”
I’d never seen Balthazar care about the fate of a
She gave me a sad smile and her fingers brushed my arm. “Much better.”
I shook off the overwhelming urge to touch her back. To close the space between us. No way should I want that. What the hell was wrong with me? I glanced over her shoulder at a lone shadow demon weaving its way in and out of the books, its cold battling with her warmth. “You said the closer I get the more appealing I seem,” I said, brokenly. “Why? What do they want?”
She ran a fingertip along one of the books and left a trail of gold sparks in its wake. “They feed off of souls. Usually ones fresh from the body. If they think you’re close…”
I stared at her incredulously, tying to comprehend what she was telling me. They wanted to eat my soul? This wasn’t as bad as I thought. This was worse. Much, much worse. It was like someone had suddenly turned over an hourglass of invisible sand to count down to my inevitable death. And those things were waiting for the last bit of sand to run out. “So they’re hanging around, waiting on my ass to die so they can have a freaking dinner party. Please tell me you’re joking.”
“You’re not going to go through this alone,” she whispered. “I won’t let anything like that happen to you.”
I grabbed my bag off the floor and slung it across my shoulder. “No. You’re just going to wait for me to die.”
She pressed her soft pink lips together and the light in her eyes dimmed. We stared at each other, my lungs eating up the air between us.
“You know what?” I pointed a shaky finger at the girl, all five foot four of otherworldly perfection, standing in front of me. “Stay the hell away from me.”
The way she made me feel was too confusing. No good could come from wanting to have my hands on a chick who wasn’t even alive. I took off down the aisle but I could still hear her voice as I walked away.
“That’s not an option, Cash,” she shouted. “I’m sorry.”
What wasn’t an option? Her staying away, or me not dying? As I pushed out of the glass doors and stepped into the sun, I couldn’t help but think she meant both.
Chapter 6
Anaya
Cash gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles looked as white as paper. His jaw was clenched, anger radiating from him like steam. I sat in the passenger seat of his Bronco and stared at the road stretching between the towering mountains as daylight turned to dusk. When I let myself look at him, my eyes insisted on focusing on ridiculous things. Like the way his paint-splattered red T-shirt clung to his biceps. Or the flicker of silver that appeared on his tongue every time he licked his lips. Yes. The road was definitely a safer view. Cash slammed his fist into the radio to shut it off and I flinched.
“You realize this is seriously creepy,” he finally said. “Stalking me like this.”
I shut my eyes, letting gravity take hold of me. When I opened them again, Cash was staring at me.
“You should watch the road.” I pointed to the windshield, anything to keep his eyes off of me. I had completely underestimated this boy. Even in a fit of rage, the way he looked at me made me feel stripped down to my insides. No one looked at me like that anymore.
Cash shook his head and returned his attention to the highway.
“Death is giving me safe driving tips,” he muttered. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“How do you do that?”
“What?”
“How do you know when I’m here? You shouldn’t be able to do that.”
Cash shrugged and kept his intense gaze focused on the road. “I don’t know. I…feel you, I guess. Everything gets warm and smells like it does right after a thunderstorm,” he said. “You’ve never met anyone else who can do that? Sense you?”
I crossed my arms over my chest watching him. “Not in a thousand years.” Unless you counted Finn, but Finn wasn’t exactly normal.
“Guess I’m just special then.”
I’d never seen Balthazar care about the fate of a
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