Downfall

  ****

  I had to touch him on his bike, to press my arms and thighs around him so I wouldn’t fall off. He was solid. I don’t know what I’d expected but, for some reason, that surprised me. I was scared but also felt something I didn’t understand, something that made me tremble all over. It was just the exhilaration of speeding along the highway with the cooling wind rushing past my arms, right?

  Cain didn’t ride towards civilization but took us even further beyond Gaunt House ruins. It must have been a long ride because the light started to change. Could Cain feel how hard my heart was thumping with it pressed against his back like that? When we finally arrived back, the others’ cars were at the ruin. He cut the engine as we coasted to a halt. I let my arms fall but stayed where I was.

  “Where did you go, when you went out the other night?” I asked.

  Cain tensed and it took him a moment to answer. “What do you mean?”

  “And last week. Where did you go? What’s the big secret?” I twisted around him, trying to see his face.

  When he glanced down at me I knew for certain I was right. There was a secret. I nudged his back with my shoulder.

  “I don’t know what ...” he said, his tone mechanical.

  My frustration surged. “I’m not going to let it go. You invited me back here so what’s the secret? I bet the other three know. Tell me!” He gazed at me wordlessly. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” I was even shocking myself with this tough guy attitude. “Are you choosing the hard way?”

  Cain was startled, too. “What are you going to do?”

  I just slipped off the seat and headed for the ruin, leaving him to put the bike on its stand.

  “Francesca!”

  I heard from his hurried footsteps that he wanted to talk to me before we went inside―but could I trust myself not to betray what I was feeling? This big ... huge ... massive desire, just barely disguised by frustration? The other three were already in there. It would be safe in there. We wouldn’t be able to have this conversation anymore. I just needed to make it inside before he caught up to me. I clambered swiftly down the ladder and rushed blindly for the chamber but somehow Cain caught my hand to stop me an instant before I threw the door open.

  “Francesca.” He breathed my name warm against my neck.

  Liz, Owen, and Jude saw my hand caught in Cain’s, although he made an attempt to pull his away. Too late. A hot, uncomfortable flush hit me. They’d seen our breathless awkwardness, disheveled hair, and tangled fingers. Liz’s mouth fell open into a little horrified ‘O,’ and Jude frowned down at his cards. I sat beside Jude and, masters of self-control, we went on with the usual things: beer, poker, chips, and chat. Jude waited until no one else was looking and flicked my knee, giving me a hopeful smile. I felt bad and briefly squeezed his hand. We both went back to the game.