“Good,” Nomad said, dropping his hand. “Next, we’ll work on your breath.”
In the distance dogs bayed obnoxiously. Gods, he hated dogs. He shook his head as he watched the police bumble their way through the trees. A portly human took a tumble over a log and Nomad struggled not to laugh out loud.
Beside him, Borrin tensed. Nomad needed to get him out of here before the beast lost control and made a mess of that search party.
“Come on,” Nomad said, pulling a bag of Fritos out of his pocket. He took a bite, letting the salty flavor dance over his tongue. Then he nodded to the interior of the trees. “Let’s hit the road.”
Borrin stiffened and uttered a throaty whine, curved fangs glistening with saliva. He wanted to feed and had been promised the girl. Poor John. He was not going to take that well.
“Not yet,” Nomad said, walking into the forest. Nomad could smell her strawberry shampoo. He'd warned John not to get her involved. Now, he had no choice.
“Don't worry, buddy,” he said, tugging the beast into the dense trees. “You'll get your chance.”
John
Thursday 11:27 p.m.
John ran for miles. With Camila clutched to his chest, her arms around his neck, her hair fluttering against his face, he could run forever.
When he’d put enough distance between them and the cops, John skidded to a stop. A few feet away, a small cliff dropped off into a moonlit valley, shimmering like a Renaissance painting. Cutting through the valley, a river burbled over the rocks. Tall pines lined the hills, their dark bows bobbing in the breeze. John strained his ears for a single man-made sound and found none. The forest sounds were soothing: the gentle drone of insects, the wind stirring the pines, and the peaceful trickle of the river. He let out a tense breath and gently lowered Camila to the grass.
Once she was sitting comfortably, he bent down to examine her ankle. He gingerly touched the puffy joint. “I think it's just a strain, but I'd stay off it for a couple of days.” He lifted his eyes to hers.
“You ran so fast.” She was staring at him, eyes wide, and mouth open.
He gave a weak smile and shrugged. “I'm training for the Olympics?”
She shook her head, her mouth still gaping.
He sighed and sat on the grass beside her. An owl cut across the field and swooped down on its prey. “I'm going to tell you something crazy.”
She nodded, staring. “Tell me.”
He scooted closer until their arms were nearly touching. The breeze slipped over his skin, making him shiver. “Are you going to freak out?”
She shook her head. “Never.”
He moved his hand until it was inches from hers. “I'm not normal.”
She rotated her hand in a hurry-up motion. “Keep going.”
“I…” He lifted his eyes to the giant round moon in the sky. “Oh God, I'll just say it.”
“Say it,” she said.
He swallowed hard. “I'm not from around here.”
Camila shook her head, her mouth tightening. “Quit beating around the bush. You ran like… You ran as fast as a car back there.”
John sighed. “What I meant to say was I'm not from here.” He pointed down. “Here as in Earth.”
Camila sucked in a breath. She looked up at the sky, then back at John. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…” He clutched his hands together and tried to find the words. “I mean I'm pretty sure I'm from another planet.”
“Another planet? Like…up there?” She pointed at the moon, her finger trembling slightly.
He shrugged and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Really?” She drew her knees to her chest and hugged them.
“Really,” he said, chucking a rock out over the ravine. It sliced through the air and sailed for a quarter mile before falling out of sight. “And also, I can do things.”
She laced her fingers into the dry grass and gripped it like an anchor. “What kind of things?”
He ticked them off on his fingers. “Flight. Super strength. Super speed. Healing. That's all so far.”
“That's all?” Her voice rose.
“Oh, and I lied before about the cops.” He flicked his eyes to her face to watch her reaction. “At the gas station the cop shot me, but I healed. I just didn’t know how to tell you.”
Camila snorted. “I wouldn’t know how to tell someone that, either.”
They sat for a moment in silence. In the valley, a coyote howled. The silence was killing him. What was she thinking? Would this end it between them? “I’m sorry, Camila.”
She looked into his eyes. “John, why are you apologizing?”
John shrugged. “I don't know. I don't want to be different. I don't even know where I came from.”
Camila's face softened. “What did Nomad say?”
“He told me I was an alien scout sent here to do reconnaissance and report back.”
Her face tightened. “Report back to who?”
John shrugged. “We didn't get that far.”
“What about the killings? Did he know who did them?”
John looked out over the river. “He knows.”
“Was it him, John? Oh God, they showed me a sketch. At first it looked like you, but then when I looked closer I thought it might be Nomad.” She twisted the ends of her hair between her fingers and looked up at him.
He dropped his eyes. “I don't think it was him, but it wasn’t me. I swear.”
She dropped her eyes to her hands. “Are you going to meet up with him again?”
“No. I don't think he was too happy with me when I left.” John twisted a few strands of grass around his fingers. Nomad. Every time he thought about him, he wanted to take Camila and run far, far away. And yet, there was another side of him that wanted to pepper Nomad with questions and untangle his past. How could he have both?
“Listen,” John said. “If you see Nomad, I want you to hide, okay? He's not a good guy.”
Camila nodded. “Yeah. That’s what I was trying to tell you.”
“I should've listened to you.”
Camila reached for his hand. When her fingers laced through his own, tingles shot up his arm. His heart sped up.
“You needed to know,” she said, rubbing her thumb over his hand. “I understand.”
He met her gaze. Moonlight reflected in her brown irises. Her dark hair rippled in the breeze. She pressed her lips together and then parted them slightly. She blinked and leaned closer.
He could barely contain the beating of his heart as he pulled her to him.
Their lips met. The softness of her mouth, the sweetness of her tongue overwhelmed him. She tasted like spring. One of her hands locked at the back of his neck. The other gripped his shoulder. He cupped his hands under her chin as her body pressed into his, every curve angling, filling him up. He could feel himself coming alive, and more, his desire burned brightly in his chest. God, he wanted her. Every square inch of her.
She pulled away, breathless, her eyes searching his face. A small smile lit the corners of her mouth. “That was…”
“Magic,” he whispered.
She leaned in, laying her head on his chest as he held her in his arms. He inhaled and took in the scent of her.
“That was better than any kiss I’ve ever had.” She lifted her face to his, tossing a dark strand of hair out of her eyes. “Have you kissed a human before?”
He shook his head, twining his fingers through the hair that brushed her shoulders. “Not that I remember.”
She smiled. “Good.”
He looked out over the moonlit landscape. Hold this moment, he thought. There won't be another like it.
Camila
Thursday 11:47 p.m.
“So, you can fly?” Camila asked, her hand curling around John's arm. She couldn't stop touching him.
He nodded. “Like Superman.”
She pulled back a little. “Really?” Her eyes grew wide.
“Really.”
She hop
ped up excitedly. “Can you do it? Can you take me?” She'd seen the old Superman movie with her mother and how she'd envied Lois Lane. To be literally swept off your feet.
John stood, brushing off the back of his shorts. He shrugged sheepishly. “I'm not very good.”
“John, come on,” she said, smiling. “You are a bona-fide superhero. Don't be so damn humble.”
His cheeks flushed. “I don't feel like a superhero.”
“You are.” She took his hand and stared into his eyes. The moonlight on his face made him look like a Greek statue. She couldn't believe she was standing here. That he was real.
He hoisted her up in his arms like she was a child. God, he was so strong. Her pulse thudded through her veins as her eyes traced over his strong jawline, the stubble on his chin, the curve of his bottom lip.
He gave her one more questioning look as if to say, Are you sure?
She tightened her arms around his neck. “I'm ready.”
He took three huge steps and launched himself off the cliff.
As the wind whistled past and she felt them falling, she thought maybe it was all a mistake, that they'd fall to their death on the hillside below. She gasped and buried her face in his chest as the landscape streaked by. Her stomach lurched. She sucked in a ragged breath. Then they were rising.
They soared over the bubbling river, the waves flashing silver in the moonlight. A white-tailed deer bolted from the river's edge and into the dense crop of trees. They soared over the canopy, the leaves streaking along beneath them until it looked like a lush green carpet. Camila smelled the pine, the earthen swell of the land. They rose higher until the trees were just small circles. The river was gone, replaced with stretches of green, small brown rooftops, little cars that puttered after their headlights. Camila wanted to laugh, to scream, to burst this was so amazing. Flying! Dear God in Heaven if her mama could see her now.
They soared higher. The air that buffeted her was cold now, damp. A shiver ran through her and John looked down, concerned. He started to descend, but she shook her head. I'm fine, she mouthed as the wind sucked away her breath. He frowned. She shook her head. Go higher, she mouthed. He flashed a worried look, but did as she asked.
They flew through a streak of low-hanging clouds and moisture collected like dew on her skin. She tilted her head up and let the clouds kiss her face. Below, the dark landscape was surreal in its brilliance. Lights twinkled like stars below her feet. The river was a thin ribbon, carving its way through the dark.
She began to shiver, but she was enjoying herself too much to tell John to turn around. She gripped his neck and nuzzled into his warmth. The joy was making her lightheaded. But then the lightness turned to dizziness. Her throat began to constrict until it felt like she was breathing through a straw that someone was slowly squeezing.
The air, she thought as the world dimmed. I can't breathe.
Then the world was gone.
John
Friday 12:01 a.m.
As soon as she went limp in his arms, he knew what he'd done.
“No, Camila!” he shouted into the wind as her arms slipped from his neck. Her head hung over his arm, her eyes closed.
Was she breathing?
He dropped like a stone, descending far faster than he ever had, his heart tearing around his chest. Why had he gone so high? Why?
He hit the ground, burying both legs up to his knees in dirt. Pain rocketed up his ankles and, for a second, he thought he'd broken them, but his thoughts were locked on Camila. He set her limp body on the ground and leaned his cheek over her mouth.
Please be breathing, he thought. Please!
Slowly, softly, a breath pulsed on his cheek. He leaned back, digging his hand in his hair. She was alive.
Thank God. But then the guilt hit like a punch. He'd almost killed her.
He staggered back, resting a hand on a nearby sapling. His body pumped with anger. Didn't he know better? He'd risked her life for a joy ride. Stupid. Stupid.
He grabbed the sapling, tore it from the ground, and chucked the sheared tree a half a mile.
“John?”
He ran over and there she was, sitting up, staring at him with wide eyes.
“Camila, are you okay? I'm sorry. I didn't think.” He reached for her hand. His own was trembling.
She blinked and rubbed at her eyes. “I must've…passed out.”
He shook his head, hovering over her like a fret-less mother. “All my fault. I went too high.”
“I told you to,” she said, drawing herself to her feet. She pressed her palm to her head. She looked skyward. “I wanted to see what it felt like to be free.”
He looked at her, confused.
She shook her head. “What time is it?”
“Late.”
She pulled her cellphone out of her pocket. John watched over her shoulder as the screen reluctantly flickered to life. Two missed calls from Travis. Ten missed calls from Fer and a text. She opened it.
Get back NOW! Cops in your house with your MOM.
Camila
Friday 12:18 a.m.
John skidded to a stop at the edge of the tree line and set her down. They peered nervously into the field toward the trailer park. No barking dogs, no police sirens.
John clutched her hand, his brow stitched together. “I don't like it. What if they take you in for questioning? I should come.”
She shook her head. “So what if they take me in? They can't keep me. They might question me, but I'll just tell them that Fer was confused or high or something. It's not far-fetched. Thumb screws, water boarding, whatever. My lips are sealed.” She made a zipping motion over her mouth. “Besides, Fer's probably just lying just to get me back home.”
She peered toward her trailer in the dark. No sign of police anywhere.
“Still don't like it.” He leaned down and touched his forehead to hers. “I could take you away. Somewhere we'd be safe.”
She shook her head. “What if the cops do have my mother? I have to make sure she’s okay.”
John lifted his head, sighing. “Then I'm going to hang around.”
She nodded. “Don't get caught.”
It was the first time he'd smiled since she passed out. “Not a chance.”
She stood on her tip toes, turning her face up and closing her eyes. His soft lips pressed down on hers, his arms circled around her back and drew her in. He's an alien, was her fleeting thought before passion took over. Desire burned through her body as he pressed his chest to hers. His hands were in her hair. His mouth trailed kisses down her neck until she stopped breathing, until her body cried out for him. Heat pulsed up her veins, warming her, making her long for his touch. She wanted this hands everywhere, his mouth. The desire was stronger than anything she’d known possible.
When he pulled away, she felt a tug deep in her heart, as if John were anchored there.
He was the hottest man she’d ever seen. His eyes. His lips. The longing on his face. She had to leave before she begged him to stay.
“Camila,” he murmured. His chest was heaving.
“John, I… have to go.”
Then she turned and ran toward her trailer. She could still taste his kiss. A current sparked her skin like an electrical wire. She'd never sleep tonight thinking about him, about what the hell she was doing kissing a perfect stranger.
A very hot stranger.
Then she saw the red and blue flashing lights. All good feelings drained away.
Two cop cars sat in front of her house, their flashers splattering the night in garish red and blue.
Camila ran up the street, her feet slapping the pavement. As she neared, she saw police officers struggling with someone. She looked up, flashing wild caged-animal eyes. Mama.
Camila clutched her chest. This could not be happening.
The cops had her wrists pinned behind her back as they snapped on cuffs. Camila caught Spanish curse words as Mama kicked a cop in the shins. One grabbed her legs and began stuff
ing her in the back of his cruiser.
As Camila sprinted toward the scene, a hand clawed around her wrist and yanked sideways. She stumbled behind a dark shed.
“Let me g—” A hand clamped over her mouth. She fought with elbows and knees.
“Jesus,” her attacker said, scrambling to grab her hands. “Watch those elbows, Chuck Norris!”
“Fer!” Camila whispered as she pulled back.
Fer frowned and rubbed her stomach where Camila had hit her. Fer looked straight out of bed with her Sponge Bob sleep pants and matted hair.
“What's going on? What're you doing out here?” Camila asked, leaning around to look for Mama. The police were pulling out with her mother in the back of their cruiser.
“No!” she yelled, turning to run after it.
“Whoa!” Fer said, grabbing her arm. “You can't go out there.”
“I can't let them take her.” Camila gripped the shed wall and watched as the cruiser turned down the main road. “Fer, they have her!”
Fer shook her head. “There's nothing you can do tonight. The cops were asking about you. When I texted you, I thought maybe you could keep your mom from bitch-slapping an officer of the law, but it’s a good thing you’re late. They would’ve taken you with her. God.” Fer rubbed a hand down her face. “What're we going to do?”
Camila covered her eyes with trembling hands. “I should've been there.”
Fer gripped Camila's shoulders. “If you had been, they would've hauled your ass down to the station too for possession of stolen goods.” She dropped her eyes, shoulders sagging. “This is my fault. I never should’ve called the cops.”
“It's not. It's mine.” Camila's legs buckled. She slid down the shed into the dirt and put her head in her hands. “What am I going to do? I don't have bail. I’ll lose my job. We’ll lose the trailer…” She looked at her friend, tears spilling out of her eyes.
Fer leaned down beside her. “One thing at a time. We gotta get you out of here.”
“But why did they arrest her?” Camila stared at her sneakers and pictured Mama twisting around in the back of a cop car.
20 Shades of Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Collection Page 161