“I won’t interfere.”
“You will. Your very presence interferes.”
“I’m not leaving you alone, Hayden. Just in case you decide to take another”—he smirked—“break.”
“What does it matter since you can find me anywhere?”
As three guys brushed past us, we both stepped closer to the building. Somehow I ended up with my back to the wall, and Daniel rested his forearm above my head. “Don’t be a pain in my butt,” he said quietly. “I compromised. Gave you a few more days here. Now you compromise and accept that those days and nights are going to include me.”
My heart sped up at the thought of him spending all night with me. Honestly I’d never been this close to a guy—where I could actually smell his scent. One disadvantage to attending an all-girls school. Daniel smelled of the outdoors, a woodsy fire, sharp pine. I swallowed. “Not the entire night.”
“That’s your call. But until you’re safely tucked in, I’m at your side.”
Images of him in bed with me slid through my mind. What was wrong with me? I was feeling way out of my element. I shoved him out of the way, which was surprisingly easier than I’d expected, but I suspected it was only because he was willing to move. “Okay, fine. I’m going to Out of Bounds.”
“I figured.”
“You’re irritating, you know that?” I asked as I began striding down the boardwalk.
“You only think that because we’re at cross-purposes.”
“Oh, and just so we’re clear? The elders may have chosen you to be my mate, but until I accept you, you’re not. Based upon what I’ve seen of your pushy attitude so far, I wouldn’t get that tattoo just yet.”
Tradition had it that a male Shifter would declare or claim his mate and then have a symbol representing her name tattooed on the back of his shoulder.
Daniel laughed. It was a rich, pleasing sound. “The elders don’t know you as well as they thought,” he said. “They told me you were biddable.”
“Biddable?” Accustomed to the elders and their quaint words, I had a crazy urge to laugh. I couldn’t take offense. They didn’t know me. “Does anyone use that word anymore?”
“If you ask me, the elders always talk like they’re living in another century.”
“Because they are, buried in the ancient texts, concentrating on the past. They leave it to the Dark Guardians to determine the future.”
“It’s a strange combination. And talk about strange combinations…”
We’d arrived at Out of Bounds. The rustic building was the last place you’d expect to hear rock music blasting out of.
“That noise doesn’t bother you?” Daniel asked.
“I can deal with the external stimuli. It’s the internal that overwhelm me. But if you don’t like the music—”
“You’re not going to get rid of me that easily.” He flashed that grin that had mesmerized Lisa and he opened the door.
Inside, people were lined up three deep at the bar. Almost every table was occupied. Some couples were dancing in front of the band. I saw Lisa standing on a chair, waving at us.
“Over there,” I said, and wended my way between the tables and people.
When we arrived, we took off our jackets and draped them over the backs of chairs while Lisa made quick introductions. The guy with her was Eric. I’d never seen him before, but she clung to him as if they’d gone steady for years.
“Eric got us a pitcher of beer, but we have to share the mug,” Lisa explained.
“We’re underage,” I reminded her.
“Hence the reason we have to share the mug.” She leaned forward. “So, Daniel, tell me about yourself.”
“Not much to tell.” He turned to me. “One mug at a table of four is bound to get us all carded. I’m going to get a soda to throw off suspicion. What do you want?”
“The same.”
As he stood, he leaned in and whispered, “Don’t go anywhere.”
He disappeared, and Lisa grabbed my arm. “Okay, there is definite chemistry between you two. Is—”
“What kind of chemistry?” I interrupted to ask.
“Sparks. Sexual. You know. So is he an old boyfriend or what?”
“What.”
She began to shout louder. “Is he an old—” I stopped her with a laugh. “No, he’s a what. Not an old boyfriend. Just someone from back home.”
“Which is where exactly? Spike thinks you’re in the witness protection program or something because you don’t tell us anything about yourself. You’re all Miss Mysterious.”
“I just want to be anonymous.”
“In other words, mind my own business.”
“If you don’t mind.”
She laughed. “You are too polite.”
Then, thankfully, she turned her attention back to Eric. And two seconds later I wished she hadn’t, because they were lost in a steamy lip-lock. I slipped away from the table and went into the game room, where pool tables were set up. Most of the tables were occupied so I stood against the wall pretending to watch the players. Across the room was a hallway that led to the restrooms. I’d been here before, so I knew that at the end of it was a door that led outside. I was considering my odds of a successful escape when a mug of soda appeared in my line of vision.
“Nice try,” Daniel said.
“If I was planning to run away, I wouldn’t be standing here. I’d be gone already.”
“How did you do it anyway?” he asked. “Escape Wolford.”
Shrugging, I sipped my soda. “It helped that a snowstorm hit later that night to cover my tracks. And everyone was preoccupied with what had happened to Justin.” I tried not to think about it, but I couldn’t help saying, “It was awful.”
“I can’t even begin to imagine. They said you felt—”
“Yeah,” I interrupted.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’m sorry that Justin did, too. I liked him. We all took what happened to him hard. Most of us had convinced ourselves that the story of a harvester was just a fairy tale.”
“I could feel the souls….” I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about this, not here, not now.”