River Cast: Part Two in the Tale of Lunarmorte (14 page)

“
Hey!” She
turned to glare at him. “You’re ruining the ambience.”

“
Yeah, well,
I want to talk.”

“
You’re kind
of a girl, anyone ever tell you that?”

“
Yeah, well,
you’re kind of a ball breaker, anyone ever tell
you
that?”

“
All the
time.”

Sighing, he threw his legs
off the bed, and leaned towards her with his elbows on his knees,
his eyes boring into hers. “I’m serious.”

Jaeden groaned, switching
the television off with the remote, before turning to give him her
full attention. “I thought I had gotten away with it.”

He frowned. “Away with
what?”

“
Talking
about last night.”

He grinned at her.
“Really? Come on, this is me, you should know better by
now.”

She stared at him for a
long time, before returning his smile and rolling her eyes. “Yeah,
I guess so.” She shifted so she was sitting on the bed with her
legs pulled up against her chest. “So, what did you want to talk
about specifically?”

Ah, he wasn’t sure she was
going to like this at all.

“
Well?”

OK, man, just
say it... then duck.

“
I wanted to
discuss the idea of getting Caia to train you, to help you control
your telekinesis.”

He waited with his hands
clasped tightly in front of him, whilst she seemed to absorb this.
Finally Jae nodded, brushing a silky curl back from her face. She
pierced him with her clear-eyed blue gaze, and it got him thinking
about the other thing he wanted to discuss before this night was
through.

“
OK.” She
grimaced. “Since she knows about the… about what Ethan did anyway,
I doubt there’s any harm in confiding in her. I’ll talk to her when
we get back tomorrow.”

Well that was
easier than he thought. Smiling, Ryder got up so he could sit on
the bed next to her, especially enjoying how tense she got the
closer
he
got.
“I’m glad you’ll talk to her, but it will have to be when Caia and
Lucien get back from the Centre.”

“
Oh yeah, I
forgot,” she replied quietly, trying to shift away from him
inconspicuously.

He couldn’t help it. He
laughed.

Her head snapped up, her
eyebrows drawn together. “What?”

“
You,” Ryder
snickered. “Could you be more uncomfortable?”

“
I’m not
uncomfortable. Why would I be uncomfortable?”

“
You’ve been
jittery with me all day. I don’t bite... well... occasionally.” He
wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

“
Ugh, you are
such a male.”

He guffawed, “Yeah, thank
Gaia.”

“
And I am not
uncomfortable!”

“
Well, stop
moving away from me then!”

“
Well stop
crowding me!”

Ryder whooped, his eyes
glittering as they drank her in. Deliberately, he washed his eyes
over her from head to foot, lingering on her long legs, breasts,
and finally her lips. She was blushing madly by the time he was
done, and the heat between them had cranked up a hundred knots. He
stopped grinning and leaned towards her, his lips inches from hers.
“I’m going to kiss you now, and I would appreciate it if you would
shut up long enough for me to do it.”

“
How
romantic-”

“
Ah, ah. What
did I just say?”

She clamped her lips
closed tightly, glaring at him. Her rosy cheeks, however, told him
she was as affected by him as he was by her.

For minutes they sat like
that, until her mouth opened to say what he knew would be a smart
ass comment. Before she could, he closed the distance between them,
wrapping his hand around her neck and pulling her into his kiss.
Satisfaction slammed through him at the taste of her, and he
couldn’t stop himself from crushing her against him, pressing her
as close to his body as he could get her. Only one word remained
prominent in his mind as he devoured her.

Mate.

She felt like she was
minutes from bursting into flames.

Oh my
goddess.

Jaeden was only somewhat
aware of putting enough distance between her and Ryder in order to
slide her hands up over his chest and sink her fingers into his
thick hair, anchoring his mouth to her own as their tongues
mated.

Her blood seemed to bubble
under her skin, a heat so intense building inside of her she
thought she was going to incinerate them both.

Ryder was kissing
her.

Ryder.

Wow.

One of his hands slid down
her side, his thumb brushing her breast and setting off another
blast of fireworks inside her. Eventually, he curled said hand
around her thigh so he could wrap her leg around his waist.
Automatically, she did that with her other one, and found herself
flat on her back, whilst Ryder pressed his body into
hers.

Oh
goddess!

She gasped into his
mouth.

And then suddenly a breeze
blasted over her, and she opened her eyes to see Ryder pushing
himself back to the foot of the bed, his hand shaking as he brushed
his hair off his face.

Why had he
stopped?

“
That wasn’t
meant to happen,” he said hoarsely, his eyes round on
her.

With that, a crushing
sense of deflation swamped her. What? Did she think Ryder… the most
notorious bachelor in the pack, would actually be interested in her
seriously? Puhlease. Of course he had stopped before things went
too far. He was disgustingly honourable.

Plus her father would kill
him.

“
Yeah, I
guess not,” she snapped and then bit her tongue. Damn it. She
didn’t want him to know he had hurt her.

“
I didn’t
mean the kiss.” He shuffled towards her quickly, and she strained
back from him.

“
Stay back.
OK. I don’t need this kind of crap right now, Ryder.”

His eyes seemed to darken
in anger, confusing her.

“
Hey.” She
shrugged, unable to meet his eyes. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not
going to tell my dad. You’re safe.”

He made a
snort of disgust, and she looked up to see him glaring at her
-
really
glaring
at her.

What was his problem?! She
was the one who was going to end up with her heart broken if she
didn’t get away from his dumb, tight ass! As if she didn’t have
enough pain in her life without adding him to her already broken
soul!

“
What?” She
snapped. “What is your problem? Stop looking at me like
that!”

“
I’m trying
to decide whether I want to kill you,” he growled through clenched
teeth, “Or haul you underneath me and finish what we
started.”

“
Charming.”

Ryder’s hands flew up in a
strangling gesture. “Can you shut up for one second so I can
explain?”

“
Explain
what? Your almost molestation of me?”

“
I swear you
say one more word and I-”

She knew she should stop.
He wasn’t teasing. He was mad, and waaay bigger than she was.
“You’ll what?”

The next thing she knew he
had a hold of her, his hand clamped tightly across her mouth. She
wriggled but to no avail.

“
Ah much
better.” He grinned down at her.

“
Mm mmm hu
uhh uu.”

“
What’s that
sweetheart? I’m a little hard of hearing.”

Goddess, he was a
schmuck.

“
Now.” He
pulled her closer. “Let me talk before you continue jumping to all
the wrong conclusions, and decide I’m a bastard and that you hate
me.”

What was he talking
about?

His eyes had gone all warm
and buttery as they wandered across her face. She stilled, suddenly
too intrigued to fight him anymore. Did Ryder...? No... Could
he?

“
I stopped
kissing you because I was this close to making love to you, and I
would rather we did that after I’ve spoken to your
father.”

Huh?

He laughed as if he could
read her reaction in her eyes. “Jae... I think we have something.
You can deny it all you want, but there’s something more between
us. Something real.” He smiled, suddenly looking unexpectedly shy.
“I think we could be mates.”

Jaeden’s eyes widened, and
she tensed. Was he serious? Was Ryder Alexander, the biggest crush
of her life, actually suggesting they were mates?

“
I don’t know
how it happened.” He unclamped his hand from her mouth and cupped
her face tenderly. “But the thought of not being able to spend
every day bickering with you and then kissing you quiet, knocks the
breath out of me, and when we get home I’m going to ask permission
from Dimitri to court you, if that’s OK with you?”

“
Then why did
you stop?”

He chuckled as the
question tumbled out of her mouth with a life of its own. “Because
I want to do things right with you.”

“
Ryder,” she
breathed, resting her forehead against the top of his chest. “Are
you sure? I mean... if you hadn’t noticed I’m not exactly Miss
Normal right now. I mean... Are you sure?” She laughed in
disbelief.

His cheek slid against her
own, sending sparks running throughout her as he breathed in her
ear, “Completely. You’re mine, Jae.” He pulled back. “If that’s OK
with you?”

As he smiled down at her,
a weight, she didn’t even know she had been carrying, floated off
of her body and out of the room. She knew she looked too serious,
but she couldn’t help it. “I’ve had a crush on you
forever.”

His eyes widened and he
appeared all of sudden smug. “Oh really.”

She slapped at him
half-heartedly. “Now don’t be going and getting yourself a big head
there, cowboy.”

“
I can’t help
it. The untouchable Jaeden Rodriguez has a crush on me.” He pulled
her closer again, and brushed a soft kiss across her lips. “Why
didn’t you say anything to me?”

Jae snorted. “Yeah, right.
You barely even noticed me.”

His hand slid down her
waist to her hip and he squeezed her to him. “I’m noticing you
now,” he growled.

Giggling, she shifted away
from him. “I think we better cut that out before you deflower
me.”

“
Deflower
you?” He quirked an eyebrow. “Does that mean...”

She blushed; she couldn’t
believe she was having this conversation with Ryder. “Yes,” she
heaved an exaggerated sigh. “I am a virgin. Scared?”

His eyes darkened, and she
shivered as he shook his head, his throat thick with a
possessiveness that should have alarmed her, and yet only stirred
the heat in her. “Glad,” he managed, seeming just as surprised as
her. “I think I’d have to take the head off of any other guy that
had touched you.”

She smiled. “How caveman
of you.”

“
Yeah, you
love it.” He grabbed her and started nipping playfully at her
lips.

Jae melted into him, and
would have happily let him do what he would with her, but somehow
Ryder shook himself into focus enough to sit back on the other
bed.

He shrugged ruefully at
her questioning look. “It’s safer.”

She blushed again as she
tried to articulate what she wanted. “I wouldn’t mind... if
we-”

“
I would,
sweetheart.” He cut her off with a soft look. “I want you. But as
my mate.”

Jae nodded, completely
shocked that somehow this three day car journey with Ryder had
turned into a long ago fantasy she had had before Ethan had taken
her. A sense of peace washed through her as she looked at him. With
Ryder beside her, maybe she really would be OK.

She snuggled deep into her
pillow as he talked to her. For hours they laughed and chatted
about everything and nothing, until eventually she fell into a
deep, dreamless sleep.

***

RAP, RAP,
RAP

Ryder bolted up out of the
bed, his eyes going straight to Jae to make sure she was alright.
Sunlight streamed through holes in the motel room curtains,
shooting shafts across her golden skin. A tingling ran through him
as he remembered the night before. He smiled. She was one step
closer to being his.

RAP, RAP,
RAP

Jae was coming around at
the banging on the door. Ryder cursed, throwing his covers off and
creeping toward the door.

“
Who-”

He held a finger up to his
lips to cut off Jae’s question as she sat up, pushing her thick
hair off her face.

Who was banging on their
door? No one knew they were here.

“
Jaeden, it’s
me!” A strong male voice yelled through the wood.

Ryder tensed as Jae
gasped, “Reuben?”

She flew out
of the bed, and knocked him out of the way so she could throw the
door open. The next thing he knew
his
female was in the arms of some
tall, built, dark haired vampyre. Ryder growled, he wasn’t an
expert on the subject, but he was guessing the vamp would be
considered good-looking to the female and gay population of the
world.