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“Now, dear, how can you expect me to help you if you're not being honest with me?” She grasped Opal's elbow leading her farther into the room for some privacy.
Opal scrunched her eyebrow, deciding it was better to be honest. It's not like she could lie to Gerri anyway. “It’s not bad,” she admitted.
“But it's not great,” Gerri finished. “So tell me what’s troubling you.”
“This was great, really, mind-blowing even. But what happens to us after,” she said with a sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. “Our lives are just so … different.”
“It may seem that way, but everyone's story is different, and so is their love. You and Benton have something you each need from the other. That is the reason you’re mates.”
“But what if…”
“There will always be ifs and buts,” Gerri interrupted. She took her hands. Her steel grip was warm as it traveled up Opal's arms. Gerri’s blue eyes held the authority of the fates. They stripped Opal bare, leaving her with nothing to face but herself. “You have to take a leap of faith and trust that where you end up is where you're supposed to be.”
Her tiger mewled, and the longing in her cry settled like a shard of glass inside Opal's soul. He was her mate, and that had to mean something.
A leap of faith.
Opal decided right then and there that she would be doing just that.
ELEVEN
BENTON
The devil lived in French Lick, Indiana.
Benton was sure of it. There was no other way to explain the string of temptations which led him to his latest adventure. He placed the few items he had brought with him in his duffle bag before giving the hotel room a quick scan to ensure he hadn’t forgotten anything. Energy hummed through his body, suspending his mind in bliss. His tiger growled, satisfied with the twist in the tides of their evening.
He made his way to the lobby to check out of the casino. Benton had been struggling with saying goodbye to Opal. The thought left bile in his throat. He knew that once this ended, the reality of their lives would come crashing in, flooding the will of fate. By the time he was playing in the final match, it was all he could think about.
Even among the dense, sweating crowd, he could pick up the traces of her honeyed scent. It called to him, slow and even, whispering dangerous and seductive promises. Each time Benton gave in…wrapping his arms around the woman destiny had declared his…his will weakened. He needed her in a way that made him wonder how he had survived all these years without her. But that was crazy. Completely insane. He barely knew her. But there she was, the center of his thoughts. A fallen angel, beautiful and deadly, leading him faithfully into the jaws of hope.
As Benton sat across from his challenger, he awaited the sense of victory to settle on his skin. The familiar fuel that fed his life and gave it a purpose beyond desolation. It only took a moment to realize that it wouldn’t come. Not as it used to. Its touch was the ghost of an embrace where it had once been corporal. A hollow fire.
Benton couldn’t remember a time when glory hadn’t been the vixen in his dreams. He chased her illusive figure through the country, slowly crafting himself into a man slated by the security of her solitude. He never needed anything more, never wanted it either. With each new competition, he anticipated the flame that would rise in his blood as he neared his opponent’s defeat.
The hairs on the back of Benton’s neck rose. The heatless ember gave way to the thought of leaving Opal. Of leaving his mate. She swept through his mind like a dragon, burning the traces of everything he was with her fire. The realization left Benton stripped bare. His mind fought to resist the rising truth.
Suddenly, victory didn’t matter. Opal did.
He was planning on finding some excuse to stay after the competition ended. And then another to visit her while he was there, but she had beat him to it. After his interview had ended, he found her waiting for him, a rose among the thorned crowd. A slow purr filled his chest, and he allowed instinct to guide him to her as it had done every time he was in her presence. As he knew it always would.
Benton met Opal in the parking lot of the casino. Her curvy frame leaned against her baby blue Prius. She looked up from her phone, her eyes brightening when she noticed him. A pretty blush crept up her cheek just as it had done when she asked him to come to her home. He bit back a wince at the memory, recalling how eager he had been to say yes. But then he remembered how her full lips pulled up at the corners, the radiance casting an ethereal glow over her delicate features, and he knew that was the response she needed.
“All set?” she asked.
He lifted his bag. “I’ll follow your lead.” A cocky grin played on his lips as he walked three cars down to his motorcycle.
He strapped his bag to the back, fighting to slow his racing heart. Hopefully, he would be spending the next couple of days with Opal. Alone. Just the two of them and her ten-acre property. Delight trailed down the length of his spine, a purr slipping through his teeth before he could stop it. He shook off the alien reaction, wondering just how much of it was the mate pull.
Benton wasn’t a purring kind of guy. But he had purred more this weekend than he had in his entire life. Being around Opal was like walking into a siren's lure, the melody drawing you into a blissful oblivion. She obscured the lines of reality, opening a path he would have never entertained before her.
Hurry up before our mate leaves you, his tiger said, flicking his tail sharply, pulling Benton from his thoughts.
This was definitely the devil. Straddling the powerful bike between his thighs. He pulled up behind Opal's car, catching her eyes in the reflection of her rearview mirror. She lifted a brow, a wicked smile turning her beauty sharper, more seductive. Her car peeled off, taking the lead through a long winding road.
Chase her, his tiger urged.
Benton eased off the clutch following his little mate’s lead. He put more power behind his bike once they were clear of the casino parking lot. He remained close behind Opal. There wasn’t much happening in a small town like this, but the scenery was unbeatable. The soothing and lush landscape shifted between long green pastures and miles of untamed forest. His tiger paced, aching to be set free. The fresh air licked his skin, and it prickled with the need to shift as his tiger rode closer to the surface.
