I searched Alex’s face. My hopes for saving my dignity deflated fast. “How am I supposed to do that?”
“Give me what I asked you for. You can tell a lot about a person from the way they kiss.”
“Is that so?”
He traced the line of my jaw. “I already know more about you from how you just reacted.” He came closer, caging me against the wall, edging my knees apart with his.
His request shouldn’t have bothered me. A kiss didn’t have to mean anything. I wanted more time to read the book, but I was hesitant. For some reason I couldn’t explain, I was reluctant to kiss him.
“Come on, Rayla. One kiss will buy you a week. I’ve already readjusted the shelf and wiped out the footage of you taking Roger’s book.” He grinned boyishly. “I should have brought it for you to watch. It was quite comical. The look on your face when I opened the door was priceless.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why would you do that for me?”
“I wish I knew.” He looked down at me, studying my face. He caressed my hair gently. “I would hate to see you get trapped in my world, I guess.”
What world? Unless he had the best glamour, ever, he couldn’t be fae. I had a hard time believing this kid was really part of the ancient organization that traded women for power.
“I don’t want that to happen any more than you do,” I said hotly.
He smirked. “Then give me what I’m asking for. It’s just a token, really.”
“Fine.” I readied myself mentally. “Go ahead.” I waited with my eyes closed, my back pressed firmly against the cold wall.
I felt rather than heard his chuckle. “You aren’t getting off that easily.” He traced my collar bone. “You need to give me a kiss.”
I had never instigated a first kiss in my life. I glanced at him through my lashes. He couldn’t be serious.
His gaze was firmly planted on mine. He was playing mind games with me. How could someone so innocent in appearance be so diabolical? I had underestimated him because he seemed harmless. I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“I’m waiting,” he said after a few moments.
Why was I finding this so difficult? It wasn’t as though I had a boyfriend. I held the secret desire that Zach would fill the position soon. I felt as if I would be cheating on him if I kissed Alex, which was ridiculous. I had only met Zach last week.
Alex shrugged. “I’ll take the book then,” he said with disappointment clear on his fallen features.
Why did I feel bad for putting that look on his face? “I just—oh, all right. But you’re road-kill if you tell anyone else about this.”
He made a zipping motion near his lips. His hazel eyes dared me to make the first move.
I rose onto my toes. “I’m just going to kiss you now.” How had I considered him small before? Had he grown eight inches in a few days? “It isn’t a big deal.” I placed my palms on his chest. His muscles constricted beneath my light touch. He was more chiseled than I had given him credit for. I swallowed hard. Why was my mouth so dry? I inched closer. My lips were a mere breath away from his. I gritted my teeth.
I couldn’t do it. After all that, I was still going to lose my book because I was too much of a coward to close the gap.
He moved so fast, I couldn’t stop him. I was suddenly in his arms. When I opened my mouth to protest, his lips covered mine. He pulled me flush with the hard line of his body, running his hands up and down my spine.
I had to give him props. He was a fantastic kisser. I couldn’t fathom how a guy like him learned to move like that, but I was a mess of conflicting emotions when he finally pulled away.
I blinked a couple of times. I tried to clear my head, but it wasn’t working. Why had he affected me so strongly? I wasn’t really attracted to him, was I?
“You passed,” he said smartly. “Make sure you have it back here in five days.”
I wiped my mouth. “You said I’d have a week.”
He brushed a lock of hair from my face. “I deducted four days because you chickened out at the last minute.” His eyes glistened wickedly as he tweaked my nose. “I gave you back two because you didn’t pull away from me.”
I took a measured look at this man-boy. Nature had done us all a disservice by disguising a devious mind under such a guileless face.
I should have seen it in his eyes. I could now. I was too curious about his experiment to keep silent. “So what do you know about me now that you didn’t a few minutes ago?”
He smirked, bringing a finger under my chin. “You follow. You only lead if you have to. You have plenty of pent up fire in you that ignites when you feel threatened, but you are generally timid. Most important of all: You are not the sort of girl who would sneak into my house to steal secrets for my enemies. You could never be that underhanded.”
I gaped at him. Everything he’d said was true…. Well, mostly. I wanted to be a leader. I just didn’t know how.
He lowered his face towards mine again. I ducked under his arm, sprinting to the door. He was not kissing me again. Ever. He sniggered behind me.
“What!” I demanded hotly, whirling around.
“You’ve whet my appetite, Rayla. Next time, I might just figure out what role you play in our little game.”
“There will never be a next time, Alex.”
“Delude yourself all you like.” He licked his upper lip, smiling. “I wouldn’t count on it.”
I left the room to find Brooke. I had caught the attention of the worst predator out there, only he had the innocuous, unassuming look of a kitten. What had I just done?
I kept glancing behind me expecting Alex to be lurking there. Distractedly, I rounded the corner. When I turned around, a massive torso blocked my path. I didn’t have time to sidestep him. He tried to keep me from falling, but I rebounded off him, landing on my backside.
“And here I thought you were trying to avoid me,” Zach said with a broad grin. He held out a hand and pulled me up.
“I’m so sorry. I just. Well.” How was I supposed to explain to him why I was this disoriented? I didn’t want him to ever find out I had kissed Alex.
“Were you?” He asked. His beautiful eyes searched mine intently.
I looked behind me. “Was I what?”
His brows furrowed. “Trying to avoid me.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Didn’t you get my message?”
I closed my eyes slowly, grinding my teeth. How had I forgotten that? “I meant to call you, but I was up really late last night.” I smiled to reassure him. “I was planning to call you later.”
Thankfully his expression brightened a bit. “What time do you get off?”
I looked at my watch. “In a few, but I need to study again. We’ll have to hang-out another time.”
“Let me give you a ride back to your dorm.” Zach tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I miss you.”
His nearness calmed me, giving me a sense of security that I desperately needed at the moment. Looking at him, I realized something very important: Alex wasn’t the biggest threat in the human arena. I was looking at him.
At least this lion didn’t make me feel like I was on the menu. “I’ll meet you in the lobby.”
I grabbed my things and clocked out. Not wnting to spend another minute in the library, I bounded down the stairs toward the exit. Would I ever find a safe place again?
“Ms. Tate,” a male voice I didn’t recognize called out behind me before I had even gotten halfway down the staircase.
“Yes,” I said, turning warily.
At the top of the stairs stood a distinguished looking middle-aged man with jet black hair that was silvered at the temples. He held a puzzled expression. “Didn’t Alex tell you I wanted to talk to you before you left?”
“It must have slipped his mind.” I wasn’t about to tell him that Alex’s tongue had been too busy doing other things. “Are you Mr. Hansen?”
He shot me an irritated expression. “Follow me, Ms. Tate.”
I looked longingly toward Zach, who waited for me at the bottom of the stairs. His expression said “Go ahead. I’ll be here when you’re done.” I hesitated.
My boss grunted in displeasure. “I assume you are intelligent enough to understand what I just asked of you. What is the matter, Ms. Tate?”
I looked at him with pleading eyes. “I’ve already clocked out, and my ride is here, Mr. Hansen. Do you mind if we meet on Wednesday?”
His face was indifferent. “Very well. Come to my office first thing.”
“I will. I…” There was no point in saying another word as he had vanished from view.
I spun around with a big grin plastered across my face. Zach held an arm out for me, and I gratefully accepted it.
“Long day, huh?” he asked, holding the door open.
“You have no idea.”
“Are you sure you have to go straight to your dorm?” he asked, giving me a sidelong glance.
“I really should.”
He smiled, slipping his hand into mine. “But…”
I was curious now. “What do you want to do?”
“Wipe that look right off your face.”
I nudged him playfully. “What look?”
“You’re obviously stressed when you should be enjoying life. Let me give you a bit of joy.”
I giggled. “How do you plan to do that?”
He squeezed my hand gently. “I’d like to see you hold onto that expression with the wind whipping through your hair at a hundred-miles-per-hour.”
I yanked my hand from his, backing away. “Oh, no I’m not.”
“Rayla, trust me. I know of which I speak.”
“I don’t know.”
He took my hand again, pulling me into motion. “I dare you to refuse my ride.”
He led me to his motorcycle. It was definitely different than the one I had seen on my way here. First of all, it wasn’t morphing into an eight-foot tall winged horse. Also, it had plenty of gleaming chrome, but this classic Harley was electric-blue, not black. The nagging suspicion I had about Zach had just been obliterated.
Whatever else he turned out to be, he wasn’t the man that followed me to campus. I let that thought circulate a few times.
I smiled brightly. “What are we waiting for?”
He gave me a ‘told-you-so’ look before climbing on. I slid behind him, not needing any encouragement. He turned around, fastening a helmet to my head.
“Where’s yours?”
He glanced down at me glibly. “That’s sweet of you to be concerned for me, Rayla.” He nudged the tip of my nose. “There is no need.”
“But—”
“Stop worrying already. Put your arms around me and hold on tight.”
I set my hands on his waist. What I really wanted to do was slide them greedily up and down his ripped torso.
He grabbed my fingers and tugged, placing one hand over the other in front of him. I was firmly planted against his back now. Oh, what the heck? I nestled into him. His muscles tensed slightly.
He pulled out, revving the engine. Once we got off campus, he opened up the throttle. The roar of the engine ate up the world. After a few minutes, my mind stopped racing as fast as the motorcycle. I was connected to him and the night.
For the first time in my life, I held no fear of the dark. I was amazed at the excitement swirling inside me. Adrenaline of a different nature coursed through my veins. I was more alive in that moment than I had ever been. I stopped paying attention to where we were and just enjoyed myself. I hadn’t done that in forever. It felt good.
Who knew how long we sped through the streets of South Bend. I didn’t care.
I couldn’t fight the impulse any longer. Zach gasped when my fingers traced the hard lines of his stomach. I ran my palms up to his chest and left them there. Then I buried my face into the hollow at his neck, inhaling his scent and closing my eyes. My helmet might as well have been nothing at all. I could have sworn I drifted off for a moment because my body was weightless, as if I were a bird riding a thermal. The road melted beneath us. The wind was a gentle caress against my skin. The crisp night air refreshed my senses.
He pulled off the main road, winding through the countryside. We finally stopped at a deserted park.
The equipment was old-school, nothing like the new things that look more like a spaceship than a playground. I felt at home instantly. In Castlerock, we were lucky to have a place to have fun at all.
Two swings waited for us to fill them. My fingers slipped around the cold metal links, and once I was settled, I pushed off from the sand. Zach stayed motionless in his seat, his gaze intent on me.
I leaned back, watching the stars blur as I sailed through the air feeling oddly liberated. “You have no idea how badly I needed this,” I said after a few minutes. “Thank you.”
He grinned. “I had a feeling. I love to see you smile.”
I gave him a big one. He let me soar through the night for quite a while before he caught my swing and pulled me to face him.
“I need to ask you something. I hate to even bring it up, but I worry for you.”
I frowned, not wanting this moment to end. “What is it, Zach?”
“Have you had a chance to talk to Grace lately?”
I scrubbed my shoes into the gravel. “I wish. I still can’t get my calls to go through. I haven’t gotten a letter from her, either. I have no idea if she even received the one I sent to her.”
“It’s very unlikely. Have the lords bothered you anymore?”
I looked at him sidelong. “Funny you should ask. Luke gave me a present today. He said I would want to talk to him after I opened it.”
Zach’s expression fell. “Have you seen what it was?”
“Haven’t had time. Other things keep coming up.” I looked over at him pointedly. “But I don’t mind some distractions.”
He didn’t laugh, in fact, his hands fisted and his jaw tightened. “Do you have it with you?”
“It’s in my purse.” My muscles stiffened in response to the look he gave me. “What’s wrong?”
He shrugged then gave me a reassuring smile. “Why don’t we see what it is before I pass judgment?”
I stood up. “I was planning on waiting until later, but I guess I could open it now.” I jogged to the bike and took my purse out of the saddlebag then ran back to Zach and plopped it in his lap.
I rummaged through the contents. The package was gone. “It was in here when I got off work.”
Relief filled his eyes. “What did it look like?”
“It was small, maybe fist sized, wrapped in blue foil. It had a pretty bow tied around it.”
We walked over to the bike, searching the surrounding area. Disappointment flooded me even though I should have been happy. I hadn’t gotten a real present in a long time.
He paced in front of me. “Maybe it fell out on the way here? It’s probably for the best. Fae gifts always come with strings attached.”
I grimaced. I hadn’t thought of that. “What sort of strings?”
He frowned. “It could have given Luke more power over you.”
I stared. “You just said ‘more.’ What power does he have now?”
His expression fell to nothing short of dismal. “Your name and compulsion.”
I knew it. Why had Cassie given them my name? “How do they use it?”
He sighed. “When they say your name in a certain way, it lessens your will.”
That explained my odd bus ride. “What would have happened if I had opened Luke’s gift?”
“If it was what I think it was, it would have connected you to him in a way that would have made you want to be with him so badly you would have done anything to make that happen.”
Had Luke really given me a booby-trap that would have made me a mindless zombie if I’d opened it? I gazed up at Zach. “I don’t want to be connected to him. He scares me.”
He nodded, folding his arms across his chest. “I’m taking you to work
from now on.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t.”
I turned toward him. “That’s too much for you to do.”
He took my hand, lacing his fingers through mine. His touch eased the tension inside me, as if we had been dating for years, not days. I still couldn’t understand why I felt so close to him. “I’m grasping for any excuse to be with you. Besides, I liked having your arms around me. I could get used to that.”
I didn’t want to take advantage of his kindness. “Zach.”
He pulled me into a hug, pressing my face against his chest. “I won’t let them have you. No more arguing. It’s settled.”
I lost the grip on my purse and it thudded to the ground. He bent to pick it up. “What’s this?” He grabbed the edge of the diary, pulling it out.
Why not tell him? He was trying to help me. Not even Cassie cared this much. “I found it at Roger’s the other day. It’s why I told you I couldn’t come with you tonight. I wanted to read it. I think it can help me figure out a way to get rid of the lords.”
He whistled. “That would be quite a feat. What makes you say that?”
I shrugged, but I instantly moved to protect the thing, just like when Cassie had held it. I made myself stop. It was extremely difficult for me to not snatch it from his hand. “It’s how I feel when I hold it. I can’t really explain it, but it’s as if I’m connected to it somehow. I need to give it back in a few days. So I have to finish it quickly.”
He thumbed through the pages. “My place isn’t far from here. We could read it together.”