Page 19

“Hanley,” Caleb spat out, confusing me. “We fight?” He asked with a mixture of eagerness and caution, as he glanced at Dominic for permission. A split-second pause and then Dominic spoke, “No, not the place.” His arm tightened around me and I knew his decision had to do with me. He pried me away from him, staring down at me with those eerie yellow eyes of his.

“Can you hang on to me?”

The question was so unexpected it took me a second to process it, but finally I nodded and he threw me on to his back. I hooked my legs around his hips and wrapped my arms around his neck, making a conscious effort not to choke him.

As soon as I settled in place, his arms locked around my legs tighter than steel bands, and he started running. I tucked my head into his back to block the wind, not pausing to think how he could run so easily with me on his back. Caleb kept pace with us, not even looking out of breath as Dominic’s long legs ate the ground.

After what felt like an eternity, they slowed and I picked my head up in time to see another path intersecting with the one we were on. Dominic nodded to Caleb, indicating he should go down it.

“Inform the…” he broke off suddenly, shifting his hold on me and I saw Caleb’s eyes widen as they slide toward me and then away as he stepped back. “Inform the others. About Hanley.” Caleb gave a quick nod and looked like he wanted to question Dominic, but a shake of his head had Caleb running down the other path.

We kept going, now at a slow jog instead of the run from earlier and I thought I should tell Dominic he could put me down now, but the firm grip he had on me indicated it would be pointless.

“What happened?” He asked, his words surprisingly steady given he’d been running with me on his back for over a mile.

“I was walking,” I croaked, the words barely a whisper as my throat tightened in fear. I cleared it, realizing just how closely I’d come to being assaulted. Dominic waited patiently, his stride never faltering and I felt a rush of gratitude toward him. “They drove past me…one of the guys was howling out the window….” Even with everything that happened, I couldn’t mask how stupid I thought that was and a low rumble escaped Dominic. “They stopped and then I saw they were turning around. I ran into the woods. I thought they might not follow me there.” My voice trembled and Dominic squeezed my legs reassuringly. He didn’t question me further and a few minutes later the motel came into view.

He slowed to a stop and I loosened my arms from around his neck, but he didn’t release his grip on my legs.

“Wait,” he whispered, scanning the parking lot from where we’d come out at the edge of the forest. “They could have circled back here.”

“How…how would they know I live here?” I asked, my heart racing at the thought they could come to my home.

He didn’t answer me, instead tugging at my legs wrapped around him. I unbent them as he released me from his hold and I slid down his back, the drop longer than expected as I landed on rubbery legs. He steadied me, his eyes watchful as he continued to monitor the parking lot.

“We’ll keep an eye on the place,” he told me cryptically, not bothering to explain who the ‘we’ were, and I edged back as embarrassment came rushing though me. I’d literally thrown myself at Dominic, and demanded he save me. After he’d already warned me about walking home alone. Humiliated didn’t begin to describe how I felt as I studied him carefully, wondering how long he was going to hold this against me, but not really caring since they’d saved me. I got a little distracted by his face as I was reminded why he was so popular among my female classmates and teachers. His dark hair framed a face that was simply…classic.

I shivered slightly as my gaze dropped to his massive build. Any questions about how he could carry me so easily were put to rest seeing him standing there. My breath caught as he turned those unnaturally luminescent eyes toward me and inhaled deeply. My natural inclination to make a joke about how he resembled a dog stalled as his expression changed.

The stoic expression I was accustomed to from him turned to one of complete and utter arousal. It was the only word I knew which could convey how his lips parted and his eyes grew hooded. I held completely still, some primal instinct warning me if I so much as twitched he’d pounce and then nothing would stop him.