Escape from Harrizel (61 page)

“Maybe it was the scapegoat thing?”

“Maybe…” I try hiding a smile, thinking of
pressing her against the wall beneath me, of tasting her skin.
Jesus
, I wanted her then. I want her now. I suppress a gulp,
“But seriously, you’re good. Mantis or any of the Kings come within
feet of you, I’ll know.”

“Then what?”

I’ll beat the living shit out of
them.
I shrug, “I’ll take care of them.”

“And…” her eyes look between mine, holding
me, melting me, “this is all because you’re Rox. Because they’ve
seen you with me a total of three times.
This
makes me your
girlfriend?”

I like the sound of that.

“Yeah,” I sit forward, trying to concentrate
on anything else. The floor, my shoes, my beating heart. “Stupid, I
know.”

Maybe I should tell her it’s smarter to be
considered my girlfriend… it would keep her safe. Who am I kidding?
She’s already the most well-protected person on Harrizel. Maybe I
should tell her I
want
her to be my girlfriend… but that’s
lame, right? Shit, how do I do this again? The other girls… they
all sort of throw themselves at me. Even Ansley made the first move
but Fallon…

“Why weren’t you?” she’s quiet.

“What?”

“Smarter with me?”

“Jesus, Fallon,” I laugh, dropping my head.
She’s really going to make me do it. But can I admit how much I’m
feeling her? Straight out admit it? “What do you want me to
say?”

Silence sits between us. We’re at this point
now. I’ve got to do it. I’ve got to make my move. But she still
hasn’t given any clue that she likes me. Even if she doesn’t, she
needs to know she’s safe. That much I can promise her.

“No one’s going to bother you, okay? It’s
kind of a good thing he thinks you’re my…” I clear my throat. I
should’ve said it. Should’ve asked it.
Want to be my girl?
I’m such a lame ass idiot. “…it’s protection.”

“Reid.”

“What?”

“Look at me.”

When I do, my heart stops. Damn. I need to
kiss her. Right now. I need to know what her lips taste like. I bet
they’re soft like the rest of her. Delicious. It takes everything I
have not to reach over and do it. Do it.
Just do it.

“Was the scapegoat thing for real?”

I’m giving myself away at this point. She’s
got to know that I want her, right? I nod, “But…”

“But…”

I run my hand through my hair, focusing on
the ground. It’s becoming painful. I have to focus on keeping my
hands still, to myself. “But normally I jet into the Maze.”

It’s quiet again. I can’t take it anymore. I
have
to kiss her or I’m going to explode. We’re on her bed,
inches apart and all I can smell is her. All I’m aware of is
her
, and how close we are. Shit. It’s happening. Even if she
pushes me away—even if she doesn’t want me, I have to find out.

“Fallon?”

“Yeah?”

I take a breath. “Don’t hit me, okay?”

“Hit you? Why would I—”

I take her face in my hands and kiss her.
God
she tastes good. And she’s not resisting either; she’s
not pushing me away. She’s letting me do this, letting me touch
her, letting me hold her like I’ve wanted to, like I’ve dreamed
about since first seeing her. All I want is her. And I was
right—her lips are soft, delicious. Addictive. How have I kept from
kissing her this entire time? I need this; I need more of her. I
open my mouth and slip my tongue in, finding hers, massaging it.
Holy shit
this is happening. I’ve needed this—wanted this.
Fuck the repercussions. I’ll deal with them. All that matters is
Fallon.

She starts to pull back, her lips swollen
pink. She looks like she might say something but I don’t give her a
chance to stop this. I can’t. I need more of her. Now. Kissing her
again, I hold her close to me, keeping us together. And I feel her
melt under me.
Oh
she wants this too. Her mouth opens,
letting more of me in, giving control to me. My blood races, the
urge inside me growing.

I lean her back.

…And then Pratt flies through the door.

Using every amount of willpower I have, I
pull back, grunting as I drop my hands from Fallon who seems
equally as pained with the interruption. It takes everything I have
to stop myself when my body’s roaring with the need to continue.
Jesus
I want to continue. But if Pratt’s here, that means
something serious must’ve happened. Something she couldn’t wait to
tell me because I know how much she’s wanted me to go after
Fallon.

“I’m so sorry Reid,” she glances at Fallon
with genuine guilt in her eyes, “
so
sorry but you have to
come now. Right now.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Snatching turned into a Clan fight.”

A clan fight?
Double fuck.
That means
we have to deal with the Kings
and
Tetlak. “Vic?”

“Raj?”

I’m on my feet, flying after Pratt. I turn
to Fallon back on the bed. “You stay here.”

“What’s going on? What happened to Raj?” she
tries to follow me out but I block her with my body. “Is she
okay?”

“I’m serious. STAY HERE!” I order, jetting
after Pratt.

I can’t have her involved in this. It’s too
dangerous. Whenever there’s a clan fight, it turns deadly. Quick.
The Kings have their own way of obtaining weapons but I have the
Carpenters who make stuff for us. I’ve got enough blades and things
to last a lifetime. And I’ve used most all of them. Clan fights are
fucking terrible and if Fallon comes… no. I can’t even think of it.
If she got hurt… if…

“Reid, look!” Pratt points to the bloody
brawl at the bottom of the stairs.

Shit this is bad. Already. Of all nights, it
happens when I finally make my move on Fallon. At least she’s back
in her room. If she came, not only would she be in physical danger,
but the Kings would know. There wouldn’t be a doubt in their mind
who she was… and she’d be sought after to get to me.

And I won’t let that happen.

Thank you for joining Fallon in her
adventure! Be sure to follow her and the others as the journey
continues in
Plague of Mybyncia
,
available now!

About the Author:

C. G. Coppola is a huge fan of Oreos, but not
so much oatmeal raisin. She loves the cold, but somehow still finds
herself in sunny Florida, where she grew up and obtained her
creative writing degree (go Noles!) Maybe one day she’ll migrate
north. New York would be nice. Or Amsterdam, perhaps. For now, she
lives with her boyfriend and entirely too much stuff in their
cramped, one bedroom apartment. She hopes this will change
soon.

Connect with me online:

www.cgcoppola.com

https://ninjallamaempress.wordpress.com

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/cgcoppola