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Maybe she shouldn’t have followed him like a lamb being led to slaughter.I’m not a lamb, she told herself, despite the lingering fear deep inside her whenever she thought of those days helpless within Felix’s castle. She wasn’t that girl anymore, that belief had become strengthened in the past few days. If Felix planned something untoward, she’d make sure he regretted it, even without Nikolas here.
As if sensing her wayward thoughts, he said, smile in his voice,Hold on.
The motorcycle below her gave a loud rumble before it shot forward like a speeding arrow.
Gabby’s heart jumped to her throat and stayed there, but it wasn’t fear. No, the same breathless exhilaration that had swamped her the first time she flew flooded her. She released her tight hold on Felix and threw her arms into the air. Her next scream was one of pure exuberant joy.
There were no more buildings now. No more sounds of the city or other people. Only the two of them and the open, endless road before them, leading them anywhere and everywhere. The moon was bright in the sky, illuminating the dark road and the barren landscape around them. She heard only their synchronized heartbeats, felt only the heat from Felix’s skin.
The mating bond glowed between them, their combined euphoria flooding into one another until she lost the distinguishing line between his emotions and hers.
She could’ve stayed there forever.
When Felix pulled them to a stop on the side of the road, only flat plains of cacti and dry brushes greeted their gaze. Everything had a slight silver-yellow tinge to it under the moonlight. When he looked over his shoulder at her, his heartbreaking grin had her heart skip a beat.
“See? You had fun.” He ran his fingers through his tousled hair, his ebony hair falling back into loose waves around his gorgeous face.
“Yes, I did.” She pushed back the loose strands from her face. “Why did you stop?”
Felix got off the bike and helped her slide off. It took her a second to get used to solid ground again.
“Follow me.”
Felix took off in a blur. She hesitated. It was foolish to trust him, to follow him blindly. But she was already here. What was she going to do? Run back to Vegas by herself?
Whatever he had planned, she’d be able to deal with it. And if he tricked her or defeated her somehow, Nikolas would never let him get away with it.
Just as she wasn’t a powerless human anymore, she wasn’t alone and friendless either. Nikolas, Maria, Stephen, along with the entire power of House Haven, would follow her.
The thought bolstered her confidence. She took off after Felix and caught up to him in seconds.
When did you learn to ride a motorcycle?she asked. What else did he know? Why the motorcycle since he could fly?
A few decades ago. It was a good distraction.
She didn’t wish to understand him, or his need for distractions. It had been his fault she’d had to leave, that they’d both needed distractions to get through their centuries apart.
Here we are.
She halted next to Felix and gasped at the view before her.
A red and black checkered picnic blanket was spread out on the ground, with a mountain of colorful pillows for them to lounge on. Next to it was a picnic basket and a low wooden table holding two sets of plates and utensils and a vase of brightly colored flowers in the center.
“You did this for me?” There was a slight quiver in her voice and she didn’t even mind.
“Come, sit.”
Dazed, Gabby didn’t resist when Felix led her to the blanket. She lowered herself between two pillows while he took a small bag out of the picnic basket. He walked a few feet away and placed something shiny on the ground at each of the four corners around them.
When he returned, he folded his large body beside her. She shouldn’t be this close to him. This wasn’t the motorcycle, but she couldn’t make herself move. Her body craved his nearness like the desert plants craved rain after a drought.
“Close your eyes.” His whispered words danced over her skin, setting her insides on fire. It was a gentle request, not a demand, or at least that was what she told herself when she closed her eyes without argument.
He muttered something that sounded like Latin. Magic lit up the air around them, its touch tickling her skin. She rubbed her nose from the itch it left in her nostrils. Her instinct was to leap up and fight. He was up to no good after all. Why else would he use a spell?
Then the scent of the ocean, of salty air, of home, hit her. The dry air of the desert changed to a cool breeze.
Gabby’s eyes snapped open, and she had to blink back tears.
