The Paladins Read Free Page B

lips are warm and sticky with sugar. My hands drop to her hips, and though I meant to distract her , it’s my pulse that’s revving. “I’ll be back in two days, three at most. Deal?” When I slide my arms around her ribcage, she melds into me.
    Her hands move up my back. The contact energizes me. My heart pounds harder. When her lips part for me, I deepen the kiss, making sure she understands what she means to me, what she does to me. My fingers dig into the fabric of her blouse. Her answering whimper drives me half-crazy with wanting. I never knew it could be like this with anyone. And then I realize, it wouldn’t be like this with anyone but her.
    My head spins. Thought goes up in smoke, replaced by need, yet I can’t help but notice the increasing heat from the hearth. The warmth becomes uncomfortable, then unbearable. Edgar’s hiss unhinges something in my spine.
    Breaking the kiss, Raven balks at our little fire. Only it’s not so little anymore.
    The color is wrong. Blue flame licks the interior brick walls, flaring up the chimney. My head pounds, hearing sharpens as the wood snaps and crackles. There’s an odd hum coming from the grate.
    Tiny nails scratch the floor as Edgar squeezes his bulk under the couch. I step between Raven and the fire, but it seems I’ve overreacted, because the blaze lessens. Colors gradually change from blue to a natural orange and the flares shrink to their former size in seconds.
    When Raven presses her cheek to my shoulder, I turn, drawing her under my arm.
    “Wow,” she says. “What was that about?”
    “I don’t know, sap or something flammable on the log.” There’s no reason to worry, still my arm tightens around her shoulder.
    We watch the log burn, and when nothing else interesting happens, Raven slides away from me, taking a seat on the couch. “Phew, it’s gotten hot in here.” She fans herself with a hand. “Do you still want dessert?”
    “Hm.” Moving in her direction, ten inappropriate replies to her question file through my mind, but I leave them alone. The mood’s suddenly heavier. Tomorrow will come soon enough and with it, our separation.
    Whipped much, Maddox?
    I don’t much care.
    Raven’s head tilts. “What?” Her smile grows unsure and becomes a squeal as I lift her into my arms, take her place on the couch, and settle her in my lap. Her laughter fades under my steady gaze. When the light in her eyes dims to a smolder, I cover her mouth with mine and kiss her until we’re both breathless.

Chapter Three

     
    Raven
     
     
    A quick breeze whips the leaves of the trees outside. Like thousands of blinking green crystals, the foliage quivers, reflective emerald flashes in the afternoon light become nature’s chandeliers.
    Mind racing with thoughts I can’t shut out, I shift on the second of two twin beds in my best friend Maggie’s fuchsia bedroom and stare out her open, double window.
    Taking an adult role at a young age kept me focused, driven, so I don’t know why I’m so freaked out about starting school in the fall. It’s stupid, since it’s all I’ve ever wanted.
    No matter what, I’ve always been tough, tenacious. And I sort of liked that about me. Now, I’m more like a flat tire with all the air sucked out of a big hole in the rubber—that hole being the death of my stepfather. Sure, our world before was chaos, but it was chaos I understood.
    After being held captive in the Maddox mansion, after Ben died of cirrhosis, after Gideon said he loved me, I needed time to deal, get my head on straight. So, having no other family, I moved in with Maggie Wilson and her parents. I couldn’t very well keep living with Gideon—not that he didn’t try and convince me.
    The plan we settled on was that I’d stay here until college started in the fall. Then Maggie and her boyfriend Dane would head for Armstrong Atlantic, and I would go to SCAD in Savannah. Gideon would attend at College of Charleston to be near me, and that was that.