Page 9 of Twisted Desire

“Excellent. Let’s get this show on the road,” Allison beams, walking around the front of the car to get behind the wheel. She honks the horn a couple times for emphasis, and I shoot her a glare.

The rest of us get in the car. Oliver steals the passenger seat, leaving the fae guards—Kelsey and Seth, Nikolai, and me to climb into the back. Seth crawls into the third row, waving Nikolai to follow and leaving Kelsey and me to sit together. At least I’m not stuck sitting next to Nikolai for the first leg of the trip.

My moment of peace is snuffed out when Nikolai leans forward and brushes the hair away from my ear. “Buckle up.” His lips brush my skin, sending shivers racing down my back.

I whirl around, glowering at him. “I could, or I could strangle you with it.”

“Kinky,” he says with a wink.

I fall back into my seat with a scowl. “Can we get moving already?” I fish out my phone as Allison starts the car and pulls out of the lot. As promised at the meeting last night, I send a message to the other groups to let them know we’re leaving. Our group is heading about four hours north to a relatively small city called North Bay. While the population isn’t that large, the fae-to-human ratio is. Some of our most important allies reside there, and many of Tristan’s biggest supporters, too. Including Max’s sister, Monica.

And bears. Apparently.

A quick web search last night showed a city full of student life and wildlife, a mix of urban and suburban.

There are six other teams out of the whole group who are traveling to different places today. One is heading west to Sarnia; one group is getting on a plane this afternoon to arrive in Houston, Texas, while two other groups are tackling the northeast United States, visiting Portland, Maine and Burlington, Vermont. The last two groups are starting in California, working their way through our contacts there. Eventually, the Cali group will meet the Maine and Vermont groups halfway, somewhere near Colorado. Our group is staying within the province in case we’re needed back in Rockdale.

I pull my laptop out as Allison merges onto the highway, and I start reading a marketing report. After a while, my eyes start feeling heavy. I won’t be able to keep them open much longer, so I set my computer on the floor and let them drift shut.

“You’re so beautiful.” His voice was a soft, kind caress. I wanted to wrap myself in it forever. The warmth of his smile was better than lying in the sun for hours.

“We need to get ready, Sebastian,” I said with a laugh as his teeth nipped my ear. The stubble along his jaw burned my skin in the most delicious way.

“You’re perfect,” he said, cupping my cheek and leaning back to look me in the eyes.

“I know that,” I teased. “I meanyouneed to get ready. We were supposed to meet the others”—I glanced at my phone, sitting on the counter—“twenty minutes ago.”

He slid his fingers into my hair. “I’m sure they’ll understand.” His lips were on me again, claiming, devouring.

I pushed against his chest to break away. “Tonight is important, Bash. You know it’s Nat’s birthday.”

His already deep-brown eyes went even darker. An expression I knew all too well, unfortunately. Sebastian sighed harshly, and the sound made my stomach drop. He gripped my hair tight, and pain spiked through my skull. “All I fucking do is follow you around with your friends. I can never just spend time with my girlfriend.”

I sucked in a breath, trying not to cry as I grabbed his wrist. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I thought you were okay with going to this dinner. Last week you said it was fine.”

His eyes softened a little, quieting the panic racing through me. “Oh Skylar,” he murmured, finally letting go of my hair. I pulled my hand away, and he smoothed my hair back in place. “You have no idea how crazy you make me...”

My eyes fly open, and it takes a few seconds to realize we’re parked at a rest stop. I swallow hard only to find my mouth too dry. I take a deep breath and sit straighter as I glance around. The car is empty.

Nikolai chuckles from behind me.

Never mind.

“They wanted a bathroom break, and I think Oliver is grabbing food.”

I look at the time on my phone. I’ve been asleep for almost two hours. “They needed to stop?” I ask, irritation lowering my tone. “We should be only about an hour away from Monica’s.”

He shrugs.

“This is why I should have driven.”

He arches a brow. “So you could fall asleep behind the wheel? I don’t think so.”

My eyes narrow, my heartbeat returning to its normal rhythm. “Shut up. You know I would’ve gotten us there by now.”

Stretching back as much as he can in his seat, he levels his gaze on me. “Relax, Sky. We’re making good time. Monica isn’t expecting us until this afternoon.”

I sigh. “Fine.” Unbuckling myself, I push the door open and step onto the pavement to stretch my legs.

---