His lips were by her ear as he whispered, “Don’t even think it.”
Then his touch was gone and she could breathe again. Her eyes snapped open and fire rushed to her cheeks. The halls were mostly clear now, except for a few stragglers, and they were definitely staring in openmouthed shock.
As if the world had ended.
And maybe it had, because Cain had just touched her. Almost branded her. Out in public, where the whole world could see. He’d leaned in, and they didn’t know his words had come out more of a threat than an endearment. To them, Flint DeLuca had somehow tamed the beast.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His lips twitched. “Come with me.”
“No.” She stiffened her spine.
She wouldn’t be a silly girl. Not her. No way. Flint was tough and smart. Smart enough to know Janet and the surfer twins were right—she needed to stay away.
“The buses have already left, princess. You’re out of options.”
She rolled her eyes. “Then I’ll walk.”
“No. Way.” The mint of his breath tickled her lips as he thrust his face close to hers again. She inhaled greedily, wishing it was a kiss.
His lips curled, exposing his canines. They weren’t sharp and pointed like she almost expected them to be. It would be so much easier to believe that he was some sort of vampire enthralling her to feel these things. Light-headed and dizzy, clueless and hopeless, desperate longing so sharp it cut like a knife through her heart… but no, what she felt was impossibly human.
Flint was attracted to the forbidden.
And Cain was the fruit she shouldn’t eat but desperately wanted.
“I don’t understand you,” she finally admitted.
And his grin was as cocky as she’d ever seen it. Shoving his hands into his jean pockets, he jerked his chin toward the door as if to say “after you.”
Rolling her eyes, she walked out. They didn’t talk the entire way to the car. He’d parked way in the back of the lot. The sky was gray, but no clouds. He clicked the doors unlocked, and she rushed to her side, opening the door a split second before he could do it for her.
They were not dating. She wouldn’t pretend they were. Flint raised her brows at him, a silent challenge for him to back off.
Cain held his hands palm out. “You don’t want me to open the door, I won’t.”
She slipped inside and tossed her book bag in the backseat, then pinched the bridge of her nose. Why was he acting like this today? Especially when she’d finally decided to let the idea of “them” go.
As he started the car, she felt his stare on her.
“What?” she growled, refusing to open her eyes.
The car pulled smoothly out of the lot. “What did you do today?”
Cracking open one eye, attempting to ignore the building throb inside her temple, she threw the question back at him. “What did you do? Kill lots of bugs?”
He snorted. “That’s cute.”
Cain seemed relaxed. His shoulders were loose, his smile easy.
“You’re acting really weird,” Flint said and looked at him full-on.
He slipped off his glasses. The bruising under his eyes that’d been so visible this morning was now a pale yellowish green. He was almost fully healed. The swollen and cracked lips were gone too.
Blue eyes pierced through her. “Why? Because I want to know what you did today?”
Screwing her face up, she gave him a wide-eyed look. “Seriously, Cain? What are we doing? I’d swear if I didn’t know better that you’re flirting with me. Which is impossible, because it’s you and you don’t flirt, you growl.” She made gravelly noises in the back of her throat.
He laughed.
Full-on belly laughed, and it was one of the nicest sounds she’d ever heard.
No, nice was the wrong word. It excited her, made her body ache in weird and disconcerting ways. She hugged her arms to her waist.
“I don’t sound like that,” he teased her, and his eyes sparkled.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “You do. You go all Animal on me. I swear if I put some drums in front of you you’d probably go ballistic.”
“Animal?”
“The Muppets?”
He shrugged. “Never heard of them.”
“Really? How sad.” Her voice dripped scorn.
He licked his front teeth and her chest warmed. “And what if I was?”
She frowned. “Not following.”
Shifting gears, Cain kicked the car up from fifty to over eighty miles per hour. Trees rushed past in a blur.
“Flirting with you.” He looked at her and she waited for the smile, the mocking grin, but it never came.
Time froze. Not literally. But one of those strange moments in her life when she knew something momentous had just happened and her brain couldn’t quite process it just yet. Instead it focused on the mundane, making her hyperaware of the cold blast of air running through the car, the gentle glide of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed, and the way he almost seemed to hold his breath as he waited for her answer.
But then the moment shattered when a second later he grinned. “Yeah, I thought so.”
She blinked, not really sure if she’d just imagined that heated look in his eyes and the way his knuckles had gripped the wheel so tightly they’d whitened.
“So what did you do today?” he asked again and she could have kissed him, grateful beyond reason that he’d switched the subject.
Because for a split second she’d almost felt on the verge of tears.
Why?
She had no idea.
Flint cleared her throat, trying to remember to act normal. “Umm… Wickham asked me to help set up and take down the dance. Apparently I’m failing his class and this extra credit will give me the C I need to pass.”
His lips pursed but he didn’t say anything.
“I ate ten candy bars and a few more at lunch.” She groaned, patting her belly.
Cain chuckled under his breath.
“And oh yeah”—your friends told me to stay away from you—“I made out with the cute guy in gym class. You know, hot Joe.”
Why had she said that?
His nostrils flared as he worked his jaw from side to side. Red began to bleed through the blues of his eyes.
“Who is he?” There was no growl in the question, but ice so sharp it quickened through the air like a sharp blade.
She shook her head, instantly feeling like she needed to defuse the situation. “I’m sorry, Cain. It was a joke. I was kidding. There’s no Joe.”
There was, actually. And yes, the girls in her class called him hot Joe because well, he was hot. Tall, with thick brown hair that reached his collar and a smile that might have made her melt into a pile of goo had she never met Cain.
And yes, they’d actually bumped against each other today, but not because Joe had tried to make out with her. She’d been playing badminton and he’d been playing basketball, the ball had flown into her court, and he’d accidentally run into her, throwing her to the ground with him on top. There’d been lots of catcalls and whoops.
But for Joe’s health and safety, she thought it might be better if Cain never really knew the truth.
He blinked a couple of times, and Flint bit her bottom lip as she noticed his biceps start to twitch. The red in his eyes was growing bigger. He wasn’t talking anymore, and she didn’t know what to do.
“Cain?” she whispered.
Turning the wheel sharply, Cain pulled off to the side of the road and parked. His fingers curled and uncurled around the wheel, he was breathing harder, and his arm muscles looked like they were starting to swell.
So easy to forget who he was sometimes. When he was laughing and teasing her, he didn’t seem anything other than human.
Fear slithered through her soul, gripped her spine with its lecherous claws, and made her want to rip the door open and bolt as fast and far away as she could.
Not belie
ving she was doing what she was doing, she unclicked her seatbelt and gently gripped his warm upper arm.
He sucked in a sharp breath.
“Cain,” she whispered. “It was just a joke. I’m sorry.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, his entire body starting to shake.
The tension in the small car ratcheted up, making her pulse quicken so much she could taste the burn of adrenaline on her tongue. Sweat slid down her neck, but even though the fear was thick… his scent still called to her. Reached deep inside her soul and beckoned for her to do something.
Flint stared out the window, worrying her bottom lip. He could kill her. He was a killer. A terrifying monster, worse than the bug who’d put her in the hospital.
Crawling over the narrow space between them, she eased her way onto his lap. His thighs were hard as steel, the vibrations of him rattled her teeth. His eyes were clenched shut, his jaw no longer moved, but his throat worked up and down and it was obvious to her he was trying desperately to control the demon inside.
The wheel bit into her hip painfully, but she didn’t care. Flint grabbed his face.
“Open your eyes, Cain,” she murmured softly.
He didn’t do it.
“Open them,” she ordered again.
He blinked them open and they were a bloody, fiery red. The irises glowed as if lit from within; the pupils were nothing but a narrow pinprick of inky darkness.
She should be scared. Running for her life. Any sane person would.
But maybe Flint wasn’t so sane after all.
Maybe she really was the girl in the horror movie, because Cain was as dangerous as they came.
“You’re so beautiful.” She finally admitted it to him.
Something seemed to flit through his gaze, and she knew he’d heard her.
She nodded, refusing to deny the obvious. Refusing to take her words back. She’d laid them out there. For better or worse, he knew how she really felt. Flint had never seen anyone as gorgeous as Cain.
She touched the corner of his eye, searching him. “I’m here. Do you see me?”
His jaw moved, but no words came out. Then hard fingers clamped into her waist. It hurt. Bad. But she sensed that he barely had a leash on his sanity and wouldn’t move until she was sure it was safe to do so.
He nodded slowly.
She smiled.
So quick she didn’t know what was happening, Cain pulled her tight to his chest. His hands framed her back and he held on to her like a man adrift in a violent sea, looking for shelter. She was going to bruise tomorrow. But she didn’t care.
Nothing had ever felt so good. So right.
His body shook and weird noises spilled from his lips as he frantically rubbed her back up and down. There was nothing sexual about it, she wasn’t even sure if he was aware it was her, but whatever he was doing, it was definitely soothing him, because gradually she became mindful that his muscles were returning to normal and his breathing had become more even.
With one final exhale, he relaxed fully against her.
Feeling confident that she could finally move, she pulled back a little. His eyes were the blue of a spring sky.
“Flint,” he whispered in a broken voice and then with a loud moan pulled her face to his, and even though she closed her eyes, her world exploded with color.
The touch of his lips was red. His breath was blue. The sweep of his tongue was a vivid purple. A miasma of chaotic liquid color, it moved like molten lava. She melted into his touch, his kiss, digging her fingers into his shirt and bunching it in her fists.
His hands swept lower until they braced her back, right above the start of her hips. His whiskers rubbed her smooth skin, the abrasion rough but pleasant. And his smell.
It saturated her senses. Coated the inside of her nose, her mouth.
Fire and flame and the woods.
Madness and magic lay on his tongue.
Again and again he kissed her, his tongue and her tongue moving as one. All the words they’d not spoken, all the thoughts they’d not shared… they shared in that moment.
Reality intruded much too soon, and when he pulled back, they were both panting. He rested his forehead on hers, his hands back framing the sides of her face.
“You said my name,” she whispered.
His eyes searched hers with a look so deep she couldn’t fathom its meaning, but she felt it quicken through every inch of her. “I’ve always known your name, Flint DeLuca.”
And then he was kissing her again.
Chapter Twenty-Six
They stared at each other for the longest time, knowing things had changed but not knowing how. Cain looked less frantic now.
His hair was mussed, and her lips tipped up because she’d done it. She’d woven her fingers through his silky locks and maybe even tugged a time or two. But his kiss had made her turn into someone else. Someone who existed solely on taste and touch, like an exposed nerve, with no thought to right or wrong or today or tomorrow. Only now.
She curled her fingers into a fist, imagining she could still feel him.
He stared out the window. “Do you need to run?”
Run?
She felt like she needed to fly.
Flint stared at the dashboard. Her father would be waiting and wondering. Katy was probably already there. “I’ve got to get home. I’m already half an hour late.”
Cain tugged on the tips of her hair. “Tell him you were studying.”
She gave him a cross-eyed look.
He grinned. “I’m not ready to let you go yet.”
Pitter-patter. Skip.
The sound of her beating heart.
“Studying?” she asked him.
He nodded. “Studying.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. One more hour.”
A thrill of adrenaline shot through her veins like acid. Flint opened the door and ran toward the trees, not turning to see if he followed. She heard the sound of his muffled footsteps behind her.
Joy gave her wings. The ground opened up beneath her feet as she dug her feet into the dirt, her long-legged stride tearing across the distance. Her entire body tingled and she gave a jubilant cry as she raced toward the tallest, fattest tree and then like a squirrel scampered up the trunk, grabbing hold of the lowest limb before climbing from one to the other until she was scaling the heavens, fifty feet off the ground.
Up in the trees, there were no thoughts. No embarrassment. No questions. It was just her, breathing the air, tipping her face up toward the sky, tasting the first faint hint of water on the breeze. She was alive and she’d been kissed.
Flint wasn’t sure what it meant, but she knew she’d never be able to forget it.
His touch.
His smell.
His skin and lips.
Laughing, breathless, she hugged the tree and then leaned against it as the sweat trickled down her brow.
Scanning around, she finally saw him. He was grinning, leaning against the trunk of the tree opposite hers, staring up with his blue, blue eyes. And suddenly she didn’t want to be so far away.
In no time she scrambled back down, as limber and nimble as a monkey. His hands were in his pockets, his gray shirt hugging his muscular frame in a way that made her almost envious.
Realizing how silly she must have looked, she gave him an embarrassed grin. “Hey.”
Smoothest. Line. Ever.
He snorted and she blushed.
Biting the inside of her cheek, she rocked back on her heels. What now? How were they supposed to act?
“Do you have any more side effects from the bite?” he asked.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say her heart dropped. Stupid, but she’d hoped he’d rush up and grab her again. Kiss her. Make her forget everything but them.
She shook her head. “You mean besides my mad monkey skills?”
Laughing, he nodded. “Do you want blood? To bite?”
I want to bite you.
Would it be bad if sh
e said that out loud? Probably. She shook her head. “That’s gross. I want candy. Sugar. Food.”
Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a small baggie and tossed it at her. Snatching it out of the air, she frowned as she glanced down at it. It wasn’t Valentine’s Day, but somehow he’d managed to find a bag of heart-shaped candies.
Fighting the grin, she tore it open and pulled one out. “I love you,” she said and glanced at him, holding up the candy for his inspection.
For a second, he stood completely still, like a statue. But it didn’t last. “That’s what they all say, princess.” His insolent tone and swagger were back.
Narrowing her eyes, she snarled and then chomped down on it. “Whatever.”
Glancing at his watch, he jerked his head toward the direction of the car. “We’re about a mile away from the car, probably should head back if you want to get home in time.”
Had she really run that far?
Neither of them spoke, but they kept doing the awkward glancing dance. One would look up, then down, and the other would look up, then down.
And when they got in the car, it was even worse for Flint. She couldn’t stop looking at his lap, at the wheel, and remembering what they’d done.
What she’d done.
What she still wanted to do.
Taking the corner of her lip between her teeth, Flint turned to stare out the window. The air was charged, sort of like it sometimes felt after a heavy lightning storm. And it wasn’t just her; she felt Cain’s eyes like a brand and heard the constant tapping of his fingers against the steering wheel.
The scenery gradually became more and more familiar until she finally spied her apartment. Katy was already there, her black car parked in its customary spot. Her heart sank.
Cain pulled into the slot next to Katy’s and parked. Finally Flint looked at him—his jaw was clenched and the muscle flexing sharply.
Frowning, she grabbed her book bag. What should she say? Thanks. Bye. See you later. But it all felt lame and standoffish; then again, maybe that’s what he wanted. Hating the uncertainty, she huffed.
“What’s going on here?” Her words came out soft.
With a last heavy sigh, he looked at her, and within the depths of his deep blue eyes, she saw something that looked suspiciously like tenderness. Which of course only made her heart act all sorts of crazy and girly and perfect.
The Complete Tempted Series Page 26