Intertwined

slacks, both obviously pulled on hastily. Hinges squeaked as he entered, and then the lock clicked into place when he was settled.

“I’m sorry if you were hurt back there,” he said. “Like I said, goblins are out tonight and I didn’t want them to catch your scent. My brethren are tracking them, and I didn’t want you in their sights, either.”

She turned on him. “Where have you been?” The words were a screech, blazing from her, followed quickly by another sob. Her entire body shook with it, not stopping, only increasing in intensity until she was once again choking, gagging, lost to the grief and the anger. At herself, her father.

“Hey, hey,” Riley said, lifting her out of the seat and onto his lap. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Tell me.”

Sweetheart. He’d called her sweetheart. It was so wonderful, so welcome, yet it made her cry even harder. Between sobs, she told him what she’d learned. He cradled her the entire time, soothing her with his hands, with the same little coos she’d given Penny. And then he was kissing her, his lips meshed against hers, his tongue warm and sweet and wild, his fingers tangled in her hair.

For a moment, lights illuminated them as a car drove past and they froze. But the moment darkness once more swathed them, they were kissing again. It, too, was wonderful and beautiful and hotter than anything she’d ever done. Her hands were tangled in his hair, his were tangled in hers. They were pressed against each other, soaking each other in. She felt safe, even though she was drowning in sensation, in him; she never wanted it to end. She wanted to linger, as he’d once told her to do.

“We have to stop,” he rasped.

Clearly they weren’t on the same page. “Don’t want to.” With his arms around her like this, she didn’t have to think, could only feel him and the happiness of being with him.

His thumb caressed her cheek. “Trust me. It’s for the best. We’re in a car and out in the open. But we can —will—pick this up later.”

Though she still wanted to protest, she nodded.

“Now, where were you headed?” he asked, his concern returning.

After a deep, shuddering breath, she said, “As soon as I got my emotions under control, I was going to the ranch where Aden lives. I was going to somehow sneak him out and drive him to where his parents live. Or used to live. Did I tell you we were born at the same hospital on the same day?”

“No.” Riley’s head tilted to the side and his hands, which were still wound around her, stopped drawing circles on her back. “That’s odd.”

“I know.”

“And significant, I’m sure.”

“I agree. It can’t be a simple coincidence. After we visit his parents, I want to go to the hospital where he— we—were born.”

“I’ll go with you. Victoria is on her way to Aden’s now. We can pick them both up.” He opened the door and emerged, easily lifting her with him, then walked around and settled her in the passenger seat. “I’ll drive.”

When he was behind the wheel, she said, “Where did you go when we split? I was worried.”

The engine revved and he eased onto the now empty road. He drove so easily it was as if the car were simply an extension of himself. “I had to help Victoria with a problem. And I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he added, twining their fingers and lifting her hand to his lips, “I still can’t tell you what that problem is. Victoria hasn’t told Aden and he should be the first to know.”

“I understand.”

“Do you?”

“Of course.”

He flicked her a glance, his eyes darkening, his lips slightly swollen and red—probably mirrors of hers. “You amaze me. Anyone else would be tossing a stream of questions or accusations my way, hoping to break me.”

“Not my style.” Or hadn’t been until today. People revealed their secrets when they were ready. Pushing them only gave birth to bitterness. As for her dad’s secrets, he might not have been ready to reveal them and he might resent her later, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. They’d never truly belonged to him.

“For what it’s worth, your father loves you,” Riley said, clearly catching the crux of her thoughts. “That makes you very lucky. I have no parents. They died not long after my birth, so I was raised by Victoria’s father, who believes boys should be warriors, weakness not something to be tolerated. I learned to fight with all manner of weapons at the age of five and killed my first enemy at the age of eight. And when I was injured…” Red stained his cheeks. He looked away from her, cleared his throat. “There was no one to hold me, no one to kiss me and make me better.”

She would, she decided. From then on, she would be there to comfort him. As he had comforted her this night. As Carolyn had done for her. Knowing he had endured such a terrible childhood only intensified her feelings for him. To have never received a hug or had someone to pat him on the head and tell him how wonderful he was, was criminal. To force him to war, even more so.

Despite the lies, she realized she was lucky to have had her childhood, her parents.

“You amaze me,” she said. And he liked her. He’d admitted it, kissed her. What did that mean for them, though? “Do you think…could you…has one of your kind ever…you know, dated one of mine?”

His hands tightened on the wheel, his knuckles leaching of color. “No. Werewolves live much longer than humans, so dating one is considered the epitome of stupid.”

“Oh.” She couldn’t hide her disappointment. She’d hoped. And had been looking forward to being stupid.

“But we will find a way to do so,” he said.

“Oh,” she said again, but this time she was smiling.

CHAPTER 21

It was after Aden finished his nightly chores that he noticed his eyes were shutting down, narrowing his field of vision until he saw only slivers of light. Unsure what was happening, he holed up in his bedroom. He couldn’t lock the door because, as of today, Shannon was his new roommate. Apparently Ozzie had been caught sneaking drugs into Aden’s room earlier that day (just as Aden had feared).

For once, luck had been on his side and Dan had witnessed what was happening from outside the window. Or maybe it had been an aftereffect of his time traveling. Either way, the police had come out and carted Ozzie off. He was currently being held in a detention center and would not be returning to the ranch.

That eliminated one of Aden’s worries.

Dan had noticed the new friendship between Aden and Shannon and, in an apparent effort to encourage it, had moved Shannon into Aden’s room. It was weird, no longer being alone at the ranch. Even weirder, Brian, Terry, Ryder and Seth had been nice to him all day. Without Ozzie’s influence, they now seemed to consider him one of their own.

Aden felt as if he’d somehow ended up in a new dimension, or an alternate world.

He stumbled his way to the bed, the bottom bunk, and sprawled out. What was wrong with him? Was he going blind? If so, why? Even as he wondered, what little light he could see was disappearing, leaving only shrouding black.

“What’s wrong with me?” he muttered, panicking.

Victoria’s blood, maybe, Eve said.

She did warn you there would be complications, Caleb said. Then he whistled. God, she’s hot. When are you going to kiss her again?

Victoria’s blood. Of course. Relief sparked inside him, only to be quickly doused. A dull ache sprang to life in his head, knocking against his temples. How long would the pain and blindness last?

The door squeaked open, then closed. Footsteps shuffled, clothes rustled.

“You okay, man?” Shannon asked. His voice was rough, his throat still clearly raw. “You look awful.”

He hadn’t stuttered, even a little. Perhaps the lack of Ozzie’s constant teasing and the confidence of knowing he had real friends had had an impact.

“Not doing so well.” Aden could feel his friend’s body heat, and knew he was close. “Are we alone?”