I walk over grabbing up my clothes which are scattered all over the room.
I
reach up and pull out a towel in Marc
’
s bathroom cabinets and turn the shower on when my cell starts playing
,
Break the I
ce.
I grab it and take it along into the bathroom with me.
As I test the quickly heating waters pounding down, I answer,
“
Yes, Meg?
”
The hot steam
soon consumes
the air, feeling the intense heat I think
,
“
Yes,
it
’
s
absolutely perfect
.
”
“
Hey, Megan I
’
m going to put you on speaker because I
’
m getting into the shower.
”
Megan
’
s excitement in her voice can mean only one thing,
Zaylen.
“
OMG Zaylen is so amazing, did you know he can…
”
I yell from the shower,
“
Stop! I really don
’
t want to know Megan, please don
’
t.
”
Laughing to myself, and thinking
,
“
You
’
ve got just to love her though
.
”
Megan chimes back,
“
Oh, I understand Alyss, you can
’
t hear how great a man is while
you’re
naked.
”
H
er charismatic laughter echoes from my cell.
I roll my eyes and wittingly say,
“
You
’
ve got it
Meg;
I might just lose it, right here.
”
I hear the shower door open,
“
She better not lose it with anyone other than me
,
”
Marc says, as he approvingly peeks inside, with a deviant grin at me. He has my cell in his hand.
“
Hey Megan, I think Alyssa needs to go,
it
’
s
looking pretty hot in the shower and I might have to go in there and cool things down.
”
He lays the cell back down on the counter and walks straight into the shower, quickly trying to strip out of his jeans. Embracing him I take care of that minor issue. I make sure there is no space between me and his naked body only the w
ater flows over us as I whisper,
“
I love you, and I love you even more, when
you
’
re
naked.
”
He leans down closer as his tone deepens with a grin,
“
Round three.
”
We stay in the shower for another hour or so. The water eventually turns cold
, but
we don
’
t really feel it, nor care thanks to our ice element. I can definitely appreciate that factor now. We dry off and chow down on the food Marc cooked up. As we are eating I decide to ask a couple of questions.
“
Hey,
what
happened to your other furniture you had?
”
Taking a bite of a perfect gourmet southwestern omelet, that
’
s not cold because of the heated tray he left it on. I swear, this man thinks of everything. I wait for his reply. He just sits there collecting his thoughts.
“
Alyssa, the night of the
prom destroyed me.
As
soon I came home that night,
let
’
s
just say I got in touch with my ice element on a more than a personal level. I froze and destroyed everything I possible could, from my bed, the nightstands, the dressers, even the windows. At one point I even walked out to my cars and almost froz
e them too.
That
’
s when I got so sick and I think I literally lived in the bathroom. Then as soon as I could, I called to have things replaced before my parents came back from
Asia
. I didn
’
t destroy the cars because I thought if there was one sliver of hope, it would be the cars.
”
I unexpectantly lean
up and kiss him, running my hands through his golden hair,
“
I
’
m so glad you didn
’
t obliterate the grocery-getter
.”
I smile teasingly.
His own laugh rumbles deeply a
s he stares at my eyes intently,
“
Hey now, that yellow grocery- ge
tter got me in line to race you.
”
He
drops a wink
.
I put my plate and emp
ty glass on the tray next to us and ask,
“
How is
it that
you know how to shift with me, did my father help you?
”
Speculation drips from my voice.
He finishes drinking his strange
, but
refreshing African Mango juice and wraps his arms around me.
“
Yes, your dad taught me that I can only shift with my lifemate and gave me som
e instructions how to try it.
He said that I already had the ability and he helped me hone my shifting towards your essence so I can easily shift with you or even have you
shift
with me.
”
He runs his hands through his damp hair as he continues,
“
Your father tells me that lifemates carry these abilities. It helps us protect each other. He also says that protecting your lifemate is more important than anything. That is one lesson I will never forget.
”
He clears his throat and tries to sound like my father,
“
You have Alyssa back,
let
’
s
keep it that way.
”
I lean back on the bed and laugh, thinking,
my
father would say something like that.
I look up at Marc with such adoration as he
lies
beside me. Lying there face to face we curl up together and simply enjoy
being so close to each other.
Finally, Marc walks me to my car, and as I open my door, he gently slides his hand around my waist and leans me into a
I don
’
t want you to leave kind of kiss
. Once we finally break away from our heated goodbye kiss, I tell him
pouting
,
“
I will see you later.
”
Chapter 30
Starting my Shelby I
back slowly out of his driveway, and I already feel
the pang in my heart as I glance over to see Marc leaning against his garage with his arms crossed over his chest watching me drive away.
Once I get
on the highway I turn my stereo up to drown out my aching for him. Finding a decent song I
start singing along, loudly,
thank the gods I
‘
m alone, my singing might seriously damage someone
’
s ears.
A few miles down the road I hear a loud sound and feel my right rear tire going flat. I keep my car in
balance;
I ease off the gas and look over my shoulder to get into the next lane. I pull over on the far shoulder turning my hazard lights on. Remembering one of the first lessons my father taught me when we began
drag racing,
“
These things can an
d do happen
.
”
S
o
.
I needed to know how to handle myself.
First thing first, I pull my
iPod
out to help me while I change the tire. Searching my pockets twice, I soon realize I don
’
t have my cell with me. I must of left it at Marc
’
s, probably still in the bathroom from Megan
’
s call. It really shows where my priorities are. I have my
iPod
, but no cell.
I
’
m r
olling my eyes at myself as I get out of the car, quickly open my trunk and drag out the spare, jack
,
and lug wrench. Laying the spare and the tools beside my car, I realize I need to unlock the hub, getting back in the passenger side I open the glove box and take out my key that unlocks
my rims.
I leave my door open and walk back to the flat
, kneeling
down unlocking the seal and begin loosening the lug nuts. I place the jack under the
Shelby
and raise it until the jack makes contact with the frame, extending the height about four inches more to have some clearance. While I
’
m removing the last lug nut, I see a pair of dark navy blue Adidas shoes appear next to me. I look up and there is this
serious
ripped massive guy standing nex
t to my car. I take out my ear
buds from my
iPod
.
“
Hey there, looks like you could use some help.
”
I continue removing the flat and calmly reply back,
“
No, I think I got it, thanks anyway.
”
I have t
his strange feeling beg
i
n churning inside me, like a warning,
hurry up Alyss, and get the hell out of
here
while you still can.
The guy holds out his over-sized hand to me and speaks again,
“
Hey I
’
m Dale, one of Marc
’
s buddies from school.
”
I sit there looking up at him
thinking
I
have seen him before talking to Marc, not too sure maybe he
’
s one of his old football friends.
So I stand up, wiping the dirt from my hands onto my jeans.
Shaking his hand,
“
Hey, thanks for stopping by, but I really think I have it under control.
”
I sneak a
glance back over his broad shoulder and see there
’
s a black jeep behind my car. I did recognize it. I start to relax a bit and remove my hand from his, when his grip tightens harder.
“
You didn
’
t give me your name. It is Alyssa, right?
”
Ok
ay
, now I
’
m starting to feel concerned. Here is this clearly bulky, steroid-pumped jerk that will not let go of my hand and can
’
t take
no
for an answer. He finally releases my hand abruptly, but his other hand comes out, slamming me into my opened passenger door. I hit the door hard knocking the air out of me as I slide down and grab the armrest.
Peering up at him I say,
“
What
the hell?
”
I
’
m not hurt, but I am definitely tempted to raise my hands out and blast him with my ice. In the back of my mind I know he is only human. I
’
m trying desperately to keep myself in check.
The next thing I know he grabs
the top of my shirt, and tosses
me back into the passenger seat. My head hits the console so hard I think I
’
m seeing stars.
What is it with the whole damn passenger side of my car? I can
’
t seem to stop myself from getting hit with it.
Pressing his body on top of me,
“
You
’
ll wish you were in hell, if you don
’
t take my advice.
”
I just stare blankly up to him with
h
is hand still gripping my
shirt
.
Here I am on a busy highway and cars are passing by and since we are down in the seat so low nobody will think twice. It probably looks like we are down on the other side of the car fixing the flat. Where
’
s a cop when you need one. I even think about shifting, but that would be obvious. Dale moves even closer over me, his features are well written with domination.