Page 44

Theo might still be a stranger to me, but I have more faith and trust in him than I do in anyone else right now, and that’s saying something.

By the time we roll into town, the sky is dark and full of stars. I lean against the window, still not feeling the best. I’m guessing it’s because I’ve been cramped in this car all day.

We pass a weather-beaten welcome sign. It’s barely a town. A few buildings, a servo, a pub with a flickering neon sign, and a hotel with a crooked ‘VACANCY’ sign. Theo parks out the back and kills the engine.

‘Want to stretch your legs?’ he asks, already opening his door.

‘God, yes.’

I climb out. The air’s cooler now, with that dry, dusty smell of dirt in a place that probably hasn’t had rain in months. Crickets chirp in the distance. Several bones in my back crack as I raise my arms above my head and twist, stretching out my limbs.

He stands beside me, tilting his head back to look at the stars. ‘Have you ever seen a sky so clear?’

‘No,’ I murmur, gazing up at it. ‘It’s beautiful.’

‘Mm,’ he says, noncommittal.

‘There’s a pub here,’ I say, nodding toward the flickering sign.

Theo raises an eyebrow. ‘You want to go out?’

‘I want to feel normal for ten minutes,’ I say, nodding quickly. ‘Let’s have a drink. Sit at a sticky table. Pretend no one tried to kill us yesterday.’

Grinning, he flings an arm around my shoulder, like we’re two best friends meeting for our regular catch up. His scent washes over me. He smells so good. He always smells good. It’s not overpowering, but it’s just enough to make my heart settle. Like I can breathe a little easier when he’s near.

It doesn’t make sense. He’s not exactly safe, but something about his scent calms me, like having him close replenishes something inside me that I didn’t even know was running low. Even with everything I don’t know about him, there’s a part of me that already trusts him. It’s as if I know he will do what he can to protect me. He’s literally proved it.

Shaking my head, I stop my thoughts. I can’t think like that around Theo. He’s dangerous and I can’t forget that, no matter how much I want to throw caution to the wind and act on all the thoughts and impulses ebbing through my body.

My skin tingles at his closeness, and my head feels fuzzy. A part of me wishes he would turn around and kiss me senseless. God, I want to be kissed by him. Deeply. Hungrily. There is so much going on in my head, it hardly seems like the right time to be thinking that, but I can’t help it.

Theo’s eyes slice to mine, as if he can hear my every thought. My cheeks burn and I avert my gaze, shrugging out from under his arm and staring ahead at the building in front of us, quietly exhaling and trying to get control of my raging hormones.

The pub is exactly what I hoped for. Warm lights, a jukebox playing old Midnight Oil songs, and multiple free tables. It seems quiet, which was what I was hoping for, but now I’m realising that if it was busier, it would be easier to blend in. The bartender nods at us mid-pour of a beer, his eyes slowly moving over us, immediately realising that we aren’t from around here.

We sit at a corner table, ignoring the stares of the locals around us. I don’t think it’s me who is drawing the attention. Theo stands out, especially in a town like this. With his height, impressive muscles, those delicious tattoos and ‘black-as-the-void’ eyes, he certainly makes you want to do a double take.

Theo drops into the seat beside me, occupying a lot of the space, and I enjoy watching him as he glances around the room.

We order straight away. A soft drink and a chicken schnitzel for me, a beer for Theo.

‘I’ve been meaning to give you this, by the way,’ I say, digging around my pocket and pulling out the ring I swiped from the house. ‘I found it in the house. There was a box with your name on it, so I’m guessing it’s yours.’

Theo stares blankly down at it. He takes it, moving it in slow circles.

‘I have no memory of this,’ he confesses, inspecting it closely, before he slides it onto his finger.

We both wait, watching it carefully, as if expecting it to make a sound or do something, but nothing happens.

He scrubs a hand down his jaw, looking somehow nonchalant and tense at the same time. I fear I could look at him all night, every night, and not get sick of the sight in front of me. He’s almost too perfect. Too perfectly devilish, and handsome, and very, very much my type.

I didn’t realise I had a type until I met Theo.

‘Do you ever miss being human?’ I ask, genuinely curious, trying to stop my racing mind from going further down a track that it shouldn’t.

He looks up from his glass. ‘What makes you think I ever was?’

I blink. ‘Huh—’