Rogue Wave (The Water Keepers, Book 2) Read Free

table, mumbling as I spoke into the hard surface. “I’m seriously…going to fail this class.”
    “You’re not going to fail,” he said, lightly placing his hand on my back. “Come on, we’ll figure it out together."
    I had been worrying about this assignment ever since fourth period, when Mr. Reed decided to tie my head into crazy knots, but with Rayne, it actually seemed doable—or at least, less likely to send me to the loony bin.
    My smile returned, and I lifted my head in his direction. “Well, I guess we should—” The words caught in my throat. I turned so quickly I didn’t realize how close he was. His face was only inches away. “We...uh,” I said, stumbling as his stare locked on mine.
    I knew I should move, but I couldn’t look away. Heat spread through my body. This wasn’t the first time I’d caught myself staring into his amazing green eyes and wishing I could indulge myself with the touch of his lips. Even after five months of learning to suppress the bonding effect from the Healing Water, it still didn’t feel any easier.
    It was hard to believe that after so many close calls, neither of us had given in to the desire. I saw it in his eyes. He wanted to kiss me. He was just as tempted to act on the urges as I was. But every time I caught myself staring into his eyes, longing for his touch, his lips…I just remembered one important thing—none of it was real.
    I blinked and got a hold of myself, finally looking away and saying, “I guess we should get started, right?”
    Rayne cleared his throat and straightened in his chair. “Yes. Right. Bring on the physics.”
    Finally, after several hours of torture, I slammed the pages of my textbook shut and sighed with relief.
    “I’m so glad that’s over,” I said.
    He smirked. “I told you we’d figure it out.” He glanced at his watch which concealed the small green mark on his wrist, just as it did every day. “Hey, it’s already after six. You should get going if you’re going to make it to the hospital on time.”
    I glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. “Oh yikes, I had no idea it was getting so late. I better go.”
    I held up my palm in Rayne’s direction.  Without needing to ask, he took the tiny silver flask from his pocket and let a drop of Healing Water fall into my hand. It had become a daily ritual. I needed the Healing Water to stay alive, and Rayne was the person sent to make sure I got it.
    Rayne watched as I gathered my things. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come?” he asked. “I could wait in the lobby while you and your mother eat.”
    “No, don’t worry about it. I can make it a few miles down the road on my own, you know. You don’t need to babysit me every minute of the day.”
    He looked down, a strange look on his face. “No, I know. I just thought…” His voice trailed away as he stared at the floor, off in his own little world. It seemed like he’d been doing that a lot lately.
    “Is something wrong?” I asked.
    He looked up. “Oh…uh…no. It’s nothing. I’m fine.” He put on a wide smile.  “Just go have fun with your mom and I’ll talk to you later.”
    “Are you sure you’re okay?” I pressed.
    His laugh seemed almost nervous. “What? Yes, of course. You know me. I’m just overprotective. And I…get bored sometimes. That’s all I was thinking.” He shrugged and pulled on my shoulders, directing me towards the door. “Really. It’s not a big deal.”
    “Oh my gosh, I didn’t even think of that,” I said. “Totally…you should come.”
    “Seriously. It’s not a big deal,” he repeated. “Go and have a nice dinner with your mom. You don’t need me hanging over your shoulder all night.”
    He opened the door and nudged me through the opening.
    “Okay,” I said, hesitating. “I guess I’ll talk to you later then.”
    I walked a few steps down the sidewalk and glanced back for Rayne’s usual wave goodbye, but the door was already