Feral Craving Read Free Page A

do?”
    His head snapped up—he recognized it. A
familiar face swung into view, but darkness clouded his vision. The woman
appeared both angry and concerned. Bari flinched as a penlight flashed in his
eyes, its brightness screaming through his temples and making his head spin
worse. His hands clamped down and fisted the sheets.
    “No,” he croaked. It couldn’t be.
    Still swaying, someone called out as he
started to tilt off the bed. He fell, unable to stop himself as the sheet
ripped free from his fist. His body slammed into the ground, and all the air he
had been trying to capture suddenly rushed out with a whoosh. He tried to keep
his eyes open but found it useless as the instinct for survival kicked in, the
urge to fight fading away.
    Sweet baby Jesus, not here. Not after all
this time.
    Darkness pulled at him, despite his
craving for answers. Cool, steady arms shifted and rolled him to his back. He
looked up into hazel eyes blazing with fury. Straight blonde hair fell forward,
and his gaze crossed as he tried to lift his hand, the urge to tuck it away so
strong. Before the woman could speak, awareness faded away and sleep claimed
him.
    It seemed no
matter where they were he always touched her. Later, he would say it gave him
peace, a calm he never acquired anywhere else. In his world where he had been
tormented for most of his young life, she gave him salvation and he gave in to
the impulse and kept his hands on her. There was nothing sexual in the act,
only a mutual affection and agreement that it was a simple touch of friendship.
    From day one
of their introduction, Bari and Mackenzie had been friends, their fathers
having served together in the United States Army, their moms close. Mackenzie
and Bari kept to each other’s company, acted as if they never needed anyone
else. Being thrust into a new world, a kid almost lost in the adoption system,
the friendship he made with Mackenzie had a profound impact on his life. She
was so accepting of all his faults, couldn’t care less about where he came
from. All through the years they acted more like brother and sister, the
occasional bickering causing arguments. Yet at the same time, the protective
measures over each other with school bullies showed their true emotions. If you
walked into either of their houses, a plethora of pictures with Bari and
Mackenzie lined the walls. Nothing or no one had ever been able to separate
them.
    Senior year
had been a turning point in their relationship. With their maturing bodies, the
two of them kept their secrets covered, yet they were still comfortable with
each other. One day all of that changed. Mackenzie came outside wearing a little
blue bikini, and he had been captivated, practically choked on his tongue. It
was like a switch turned on and his body responded. She held the body of a
goddess in his eyes—curvy, perfect and petite. Her hair trailed down her back
and the ends of the dark curls brushed the curve of her enticing rear. Her
eyes, those were what told the sweetest story. Green, the color of the sea in
Bermuda, they held a thousand secrets forever shared between the two of them,
glittering with laughter and confidence. Her skin had been kissed by the sun,
and he had the sudden urge to set his lips upon it as well.
    He slid into
the pool to cover his reaction and turned toward her. The sun caught her long
black locks, highlights of auburn gleaming in the sunlight. His heart clenched,
and his body hardened even more. She smiled at him, her lower lip slightly more
plump than the top, kissable, even bitable. With a wicked gleam in her eyes,
Mackenzie dived into the pool, coming up laughing a few feet down, forcing him
to snap out of his fantasy thoughts. He could not help but stare: it was as if
a veil had been lifted off of his face and he was seeing her in a new light. He
had been struck utterly speechless. There had never been any kind of tension
between them but now, he found himself awestruck.
    “What is with
you,