***
It took some convincing for my parents to be okay with it, but my dad must have seen the wisdom in letting me get away, because he finally said to my mom, “Lydia, Samantha needs some fun. It will be good for her. Besides, Mack’s going with them and they will be staying with Blake’s brother’s family. I think Samantha will enjoy it.”
He hadn’t said what we’d all been thinking—California would be far from whoever was abducting teenage girls here. Earlier today, while we’d been out flying, and fighting dragons, another girl had gone missing in Cortez, Colorado. That was only an hour away. And poor Cally is still missing. I hated that I knew that neither girl probably had a chance of being found. The bug got them, and if I’m not careful, I’m next.
I threw my clothes into a small suitcase. There was something bothering me about the bug, though. Why didn’t it take me instead of the other girl? It had the perfect opportunity. Blake and Mack were off fighting other dragons, who just happened to have showed up at the same time. Coincidence? Blake had alluded earlier to the fact that bugs don’t work well with others. They liked to fly alone, so to speak. A tap on the window interrupted my thoughts.
I would have been startled if Blake hadn’t told me that he and Mack would be keeping watch tonight. Good thing he at least knows how to be invisible. I’d hate to think what my dad would do if he discovered him in my room right now.
I went to the window and unlocked it. It immediately slid open, and I felt the warmth of his skin brushing against my arm.
“Coast clear?” he whispered.
“Yes, everyone’s gone to bed. And my door’s locked. You should be fine.”
Blake appeared before me, wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, his hair hanging in wet curls on his neck. Looks like he went home and showered. I was glad for the time alone I’d had before he’d showed up. I had jumped in the shower too, quickly shaving my legs and washing my hair. I’d left my short mane wet and spent the rest of the time debating on what to wear or whether to put makeup on or not. Part of me wanted to get dressed up for when Blake got here; the other part was exhausted and needed sleep. If I were honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what his intentions were when he had told me he’d come to my room later. I knew logically he wanted to protect me, but my room? At night? My nerves were a jumbled mess for the past hour, wondering what would happen now that there was no Mack to interrupt.
I had finally settled on a pair of flannel pants and a white T-shirt, with no makeup. Tomorrow’s a big day, and I’m not as strong a flyer as Blake or Mack. Today showed me that. I need some sleep if I’m going to keep up getting to the island. But seeing Blake in front of me, I wished I’d put on at least some mascara. I felt plain and underdressed compared to him.
He closed the distance between us, reaching out to brush my hair away from my face, tucking what he could behind my ears. His fingers lingered, his thumbs gently pushing my chin up to face him. My stomach felt like I was free falling as a rush of heat flooded my body. I’d wanted to kiss him for so long.
In that split second, he wasn’t the self-assured Blake I’d grown accustomed to. I saw the hesitation, the uncertainty in his eyes. He was the little boy who rescued me, who watched over me, protected me, grown to love me, and had thought he’d lost me forever this morning. He’s wanted this longer than I have. I wanted to savor this tender moment forever, freeze time if it were possible.
My heart ached for him. Instinctively, I cupped his face with my hands. It must have been the prompting he needed. He pulled me closer, his hands moving around to the base of my neck. The electric pull between us was palpable; I needed to be in his arms, almost as badly as I needed air, or my wings craved flying.
His mouth landed on mine, his lips warm. He didn’t push hard, not rushing. He caressed me gently with his lips, working my mouth open, tickling every nerve in my body with his tender kiss. I gasped and he pulled back, his eyes darting back and forth between mine. Was he worried I didn’t like it?
My head was swimming, my legs felt numb. I’d never felt like this before. I more than liked it. I inhaled deeply, trying to regain my bearings.
He must have liked my response, because he grinned and the assertive Blake I knew took over. This time when his lips landed on mine, there was force behind them. I staggered but he held me upright, one arm leaving my neck and wrapping firmly around my waistline. I returned his affection, kissing him harder than I’d ever kissed before, only semi-aware that my fingers were tangled in his hair, tugging at his roots. I felt frantic to get more of him. This is crazy!
His lips traveled across my jawline, down my throat, across my collarbone, and back up behind my ear. It was like he knew every button to push; I became mush in his arms. I was positive I’d have fallen to the ground if he hadn’t been holding me upright. When his lips found mine again, I felt the itch in my back, realizing for the first time that the damsel in me was about to come out. I couldn’t pay attention to that; Blake’s incessant kissing captivated all my senses at once.
I’d always wondered why kissing was such a big deal. With Jeremy, I’d found it sort of messy, sometimes bordering on gross if he just ate something, but this was nothing like that. I’d never felt so alive and dizzy at the same time; I couldn’t get enough of his mouth. I wanted to taste everything in it. When my tongue left my mouth and gingerly entered his, I shocked myself. His hands clutched at the back of my T-shirt, crushing my body into his, as his tongue met mine. No trace of old Pepsi, definitely not like Jeremy. Only the lingering tastes of mint, wet and warm. I’m going to pass out if I don’t get some air in.
He stopped abruptly, breathing hard as he stared back at me.
“Wow! That was better then I’d ever hoped for,” he said, grinning.
There was my little boy again. I flushed, embarrassed for some reason. “Really?”
“I’ve been fantasizing about kissing you since I was ten, so yeah, this is better.” He planted a few pecks on my lips. I giggled and he scooped me up in his arms, giving me a tight bear hug. His mouth found my neck and bit me playfully.
“I thought you said we aren’t vampires!” I squealed in a whisper. In all our passionate kisses, I forgot we did not want to wake my family.
He chuckled and set me back down. “Just one last nibble. You really need to get some rest, Sam.”
“Oh, easier said than done, with you in here,” I said, my heart still galloping. I tugged my shirt down, discovering it had hiked up a bit during our kissing.
“Why? Do I tempt you?” He raised one eyebrow.
I slapped his arm. “Stop it,” I growled. “You know you do.”
He grabbed both my wrists and next thing I knew, his arms had trapped me, his mouth on mine. I supposed I should have felt some measure of panic. I mean, there was no way I was getting away from him unless he let me, but he didn’t force his kisses. They were gentle and inviting. And I trust him.
Then Blake moved me to my bed, setting me down, his lips still pressing against my mouth. I was about to protest, worried we might go too far, when I realized his body wasn’t following mine. We’d stopped kissing, and he remained standing on the floor next to the bed. He ran his hands through his hair and left them resting on the top of his head.
“I need to focus on other things. You’re totally distracting me.” He let his hands drop, and his hair fell in a mess of curls.
“Oh, don’t act like this is my fault,” I protested.
“It is your fault. No dragon can resist coconut cream pie. You know that.”
“You’re such a dork. You know that, right?”
He flopped down next to me and pressed his finger to my lips. “No more kissing for you tonight. You’ve had enough.”
“You think you’re intoxicating me, huh?”
“You tell me.” He leaned in and kissed my throat, working his way to my mouth.
My own breathing embarrassed me. Darn him!
He withdrew his mouth. “Guess that answers tha
t.” He scooted off my bed.
“Wait, where are you going?”
“I have to keep watch,” he stated, peering around my room. “Don’t you have a chair or something?”
“Oh, come on; just sit on the bed next to me.” I hopped up, pulled the covers down, and climbed back in, covering myself up. “See, I’ll be a good girl and go to sleep.” I patted the top of the covers next to me.
He considered me for a moment and then sat at the foot of the bed. “This is probably better. Won’t do to be making out if the bug comes.”
“Or my dad,” I mumbled.
“Yeah and there’s that. Not sure who I’m more scared of.”
“Ha! Like my dad intimidates you.”
“If he doesn’t let me see you then yes, I am terrified!”