Eyes on the Pride (Awakening Pride Book 8) Read Free

Calloway’s mate, he’d pursue her, and when he found her… She shivered. When he found her, he’d finally claim her.
    She slid back behind the steering wheel and drove around to the back of the building to park. She slung her weather-beaten backpack over one shoulder and headed toward the glass door that led inside, swiping her card and waiting for the green light before jerking it open. Her room was down the hall to the right, but there was an ice machine and vending just to the left. She opted to grab a drink and snack before calling it a night. She’d need to get an early start in the morning.
    She was glancing down, fumbling with her wallet as she stepped back into the corridor, when she crashed headfirst into an unforgiving wall of solid muscle. She squeaked as hard hands caught her hips, holding her steady and entirely too close. She knew who it was by the electricity that surged between them. His touch. His scent. His heat. He surrounded her, and it was all she could do to catch her breath.
    “Calloway.” His name was all she could manage as she felt the hard bulge of his erection against her stomach. Her pussy clenched, her nipples rigid beads pressing against him.
    “Darby.” His voice was deep, husky and dripping with anger. “You ran from me.”
    “Don’t flatter yourself,” she huffed, shoving ineffectively against his chest. “I’m taking a trip. It has nothing to do with you.”
    “Don’t lie to me, ever. I know exactly where you’re headed. You should have come to me.”
    She finally forced her gaze up to his, lifting a brow. “Come to you? Why would I do that? You’ve made it pretty clear over the last four years that you want me to stay away.”
    “You were just a kid.”
    “I was twenty-one when we met, hardly a child.”
    “Hell, you still look like a child.”
    “I can’t help my height,” she snapped. “Not all of us are built like a damn mountain.”
    “It’s not your tininess I was commenting on,” he countered. “You’re young, far too young for the things I have in mind.” The last bit was muttered under his breath with disgust.
    “I’m a woman, Calloway.”
    His gaze flicked over her, and she swore his cock pulsed where it rested along her stomach. “I can see that.”
    “I seriously doubt you see anything unless you want to,” Darby retorted.
    He glared down at her, opened his mouth then snapped it shut as his head jerked toward the door. She followed his gaze with her own but didn’t see anything. Before she could question, he moved, shoving her behind him and stepping back into the doorway of the little room that housed the vending machines. She opened her mouth to yell at him when the sound of the outer door opening filled the hallway.
    She heard the rattle of wheels and heavy footsteps. Calloway gave a jerk of his chin, making her wonder if whoever had entered had acknowledged him in some way. There was a beep and the echo of a door opening and closing then only the sound of their breathing.
    She was pressed against his back, fingers clutching the fabric of his shirt were it stretched taut over muscle. He reached back with one hand, tugging her wrist and pulling her after him.
    “Wait,” she demanded when he headed toward the door leading outside. “Where are you going?”
    “Back home where you’ll be reasonably safe.”
    She jerked her hand free and took a step back. “I can’t do that. Dad’s leaving in a few days, and I have somewhere else I need to be.”
    “It’s too dangerous. You might not be on the hunters’ radar right now, but you will be if you head to Riverton.”
    “That’s a risk I’ll have to take.”
    “The fuck you will,” he snarled. “I haven’t been watching you for four years just to let you get yourself killed.”
    “No, we both know why you’ve been watching me.” She let her gaze dip to the fly of his jeans and the bulge that couldn’t be denied. “What’s the matter, Calloway? Afraid I’ll meet someone