Claimed by the Beast Bundle Read Free Page B

it lurched forward. Crystal screamed and wrapped her arms around his belly.
    She wasn ’t sure if the rumbling she felt was him laughing at her or the engine beneath them.
    They rode for a few minutes, heading back down the road and passing the yard she ’d cut through to leave the party behind. She started to relax and dared to lift her head up from where she’d tucked it in his back when he turned his head and spoke.
    “ Where do you live?”
    “ Back the other way.” She shouted to be heard over the wind.
    He winced. “I can hear fine.”
    “ Oh, sorry.”
    “ Is there another way to your place?”
    “ Another way? Sure, um, turn left up ahead.”
    He grunted and drove on, turning when she indicated. Her first turn almost ended up with her falling off the bike. He slowed down and stopped the bike before turning his head to look at her out of one eye. “Lean into the turns.”
    “ Oh, I didn’t know. Won’t we fall?”
    “ Only if you lean too far.”
    “ How will I know?”
    “ You’ll know.”
    Crystal bit her lip and then nodded. He sped back up and drove through town at a smooth and steady speed. The exhaust rumbled behind them but it didn ’t sound too loud. Not loud enough to raise any fuss, at least.
    She gave him turn -by-turn directions to her house and then sat on the back of his bike when he pulled into her driveway and put the kickstand down.
    “ You need help?” he asked. “Or do you want to go for another ride?”
    “ What? No!” Crystal tried to jump off the bike. The reality was her stumbling and almost falling thanks to her aching body and missing shoe. She reached out and ended up grabbing onto his outstretched leg to keep from hitting the ground again. She straightened, her face burning for a different reason.
    “ You okay?”
    She nodded. “Um, yeah. I’ll be fine.”
    He raised an eyebrow. It was a bizarre look that made her laugh. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s been a crazy night. Um, thanks. For the ride. And for…um, whatever that was back there.”
    He nodded.
    Crystal turned and started walking up to her house. Was that it? She’d almost been eaten and then nearly been turned into roadkill. Finally, this beautiful man drove her home and she was running from him. She shook her head and sighed. He’d smelled so rough and manly. It was a good smell, one that made her want to nuzzle up to him again.
    “ Hey!”
    Crystal turned to see he ’d already backed his motorcycle around in the driveway. “Hey,” she said back. “Thanks again.”
    “ You need to feel the power between your legs again, just let me know.”
    She grinned. “Okay. I will.”
    He nodded and thumbed the starter. A moment later , he drove off in a rumble that sent chills through her body. She turned back to the house with a smile that wouldn’t go away in spite of the pain it caused her cheek.
    He wanted to see her again! She wondered how long she should wait until she—
    “Shit!” Crystal swore. She didn’t have his number. Even worse, she didn’t even know his name!
     
     
     

 
    Chapter 4
     
    Crystal woke up the next morning to the sounds of birds chirping outside. She groaned and rolled over, right into a beam of sunshine that warmed her face and made it impossible to pretend it was still night. She yanked her blankets up over her head but it was too late. She was awake. And her bladder was about to burst.
    Crystal groaned and threw the covers back. She stepped on something on her floor and cried out as the pain in her heel shot up her leg. S he stumbled forward and limped out into the hallway, thinking dark thoughts about whatever hair clip or earring she must have dropped.
    She finished up in the bathroom and picked up her foot to look at it. She felt like whatever she ’d stepped on was still stuck in her heel. She blinked and stared at it, not understanding what she saw.
    On the inside of her heel , she saw oval splotches that were pink and red. They weren’t bleeding, but the