licked my lips, savoring the hint of flavor
she’d left. I wanted more. My vision started to change, and I tried
to concentrate on maintaining control.
She leaned in, rubbing her cheek against my
jaw. The move brought her dangerously close to my neck as she
pressed against me. The zipper of my loaned jacket dug into my
chest. My legs felt unsteady, and I gripped her waist, unsure if I
wanted to hold her in place or nudge her away. The feel of her
under my hands set my pulse thundering.
“I will not choose you,” she said, her soft
words brushing the shell of my ear.
Reality crashed upon me. She was too young
for Claiming. What was I doing? I was supposed to be keeping her
safe, not snogging her on the side of the road.
When she pulled back, I loosened my grip on
her waist and closed my eyes. I didn’t want to frighten her with
the evidence of how close the change was. The effort didn’t seem to
work because on my next inhale, her fear nearly choked me.
I forced the change back and opened my
eyes.
“Good,” I said as if nothing had just
happened. “Someone your age shouldn’t be choosing.”
I walked away from her and carefully mounted
the motorcycle. My body ached because of what she’d done. Maybe
later, when my brain moved from south to north, I’d start to wonder
why she’d done it. Right now, I couldn’t stop feeling her tiny
frame against mine.
“Coming, Bethony?” I asked, holding out her
bag.
“Bethi,” she absently corrected as she stared
at me.
Her nickname turned over in my mind a few
times. Bethi suited her more than Bethony.
Finally, she nodded and slowly approached the
bike. When she reached my side, she took the bag and settled the
strap across her body.
After her declaration, I’d thought she would
have hesitated to touch me. No touching would have helped calm me.
However, as soon as she settled on the seat behind me, she wrapped
her arms around my waist. It felt too good. Too tempting. Fatigue
wanted to rob me of resistance. I clenched my jaw and steeled
myself.
“Stay away from my neck,” I said as I lifted
my feet and twisted the throttle.
As soon as I’d managed a decent cruising
speed, she leaned into me, pressing her chest against my back. The
bike swerved ever so slightly, and I tried to create some distance
between us, but she kept following.
“Hold still,” I said.
She backed away for a few seconds then
returned. In addition to her chest against my back, her hands also
wandered around on my stomach every few seconds. The touching was
driving me crazy. But it was nothing compared to when she pressed
her cheek to my shoulder blade. The trust in that move struck a
chord I wasn’t ready for.
She sighed heavily, a sentiment I wanted to
echo. Why did she have to feel so good?
Her hold on me loosened. That was the only
warning I had before she started to lean too far to the right.
Panic gripped me as I caught her with my right arm and started to
brake. As soon as we were stopped, I twisted to look at her.
Her eyes were closed, her face relaxed, and
her breathing light and even. She was sleeping. I pulled her into
my lap, shaking.
“What the bloody hell was that?”
Her eyes popped open, and she blinked,
seeming not to see me.
“Well?” I demanded. She blinked again. Didn’t
she realize what had just happened? If I hadn’t moved when I had…If
I had been human or slower…I swallowed hard. Then, her eyes
widened. She glanced around before she pulled away and eyed me as
if just realizing her position in my lap.
“Crap! Did I fall asleep?”
“While I was flying down the road on a
two-wheeled death trap? Yes!”
She stiffened in my arms.
“Put me down. Please.”
“Gladly.”
Lifting her off my lap, I gently set her on
her feet beside the motorcycle.
She rubbed a hand over her face, then met my
gaze.
“I’m sorry. I’m tired.”
All my anger evaporated. Thin, tired, and
cold. And I was yelling at her. She seemed to sense the direction
of my
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