Blood Moon by Gwendolyn Harper (books for students to read .TXT) 📕

The moment he thrust inside, the inferno in Caitlin’s belly tripled.

It was maddening and soothing at the same time—everything she needed but not nearly enough.

Calloused hands gripped her outer thighs tightly, maneuvering her left leg up until it was bent over his shoulder with her knee close to her chest.

“Oh God, Jack,” she gasped.

Everything about him was overwhelming and intense, and yet she’d never felt safer. She was careening around hairpin turns and delighting in it.

With measured strokes, he built her up higher and higher, tightening the coil inside her until she was convinced she’d explode.

“I love you,” she breathed against the tattoo on his left arm. “I love you so much.”

Grunting, barely holding onto his restraint, Booker held himself up with one hand and stroked her face with the other. His gaze dropped to the pendant between her breasts, and all control ebbed from him.

Hips pistoning, he quickened his pace, punching air out of his lungs with each thrust.

Caitlin’s mouth fell open in a silent cry, clutching him to her with what little strength she still had.

“That’s it,” he groaned in her ear. “Let me see you.”

The first flutters of her walls around him were gentle compared to the frenzy buzzing inside her.

And then her vision went white, all sound turning into a high-pitched whine.

Caitlin shattered apart in waves, each one lifting her only to crash on top of her in the next moment.

She didn’t understand why she tasted salt until her teeth clamped down on something and Booker hissed.

His hand.

It didn’t seem to perturb him much however, if his stuttering hips were any indication.

“Fuck, Cae,” he moaned, spilling inside her.

Dropping down onto his elbows, Booker struggled to catch his breath, pressing his forehead into the crook of her neck.

Caitlin quivered, adrenaline and arousal and overstimulation sending her system into a spiral. He started to roll to the side, but she held onto him, pinning him to her.

“’M too heavy on you, darlin’,” he mumbled into her hair.

She shook her head. “No, you’re not. You’re perfect.”

Booker chuckled and she felt it where they were still joined.

Only when her leg started to fall asleep did she finally relent.

Wrapping her in half of the sleeping bag, Booker stretched out on his back, pulling her up onto his chest to use him as a pillow.

“I love you, Caitlin,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head. “More than anything in this world.”

Drifting, but not quite asleep, she smiled into his sternum.

“Guess that must be true if you’re saying it after I bit you.”

Booker laughed. “Best kind of war wound.”

Caitlin finally slipped into unconsciousness with the silver bird she cherished held between her fingertips.

Chapter Sixteen

Caitlin had thought of all the possible things that could happen.

The car could break down, the transmitter could fail, they could get lost trying to find the Ark, they could get taken out by a goon squad or a by the guards at the gate. Geeks could find their way inside. People might be afraid to leave, which would slow them all down.

She hadn’t, however, thought about the fact that she would be in an enclosed space with her ex-boyfriend and her new common law husband for four hours.

Wincing as she watched Nathaniel drop his gear into the trunk, she turned to Nicole.

“Maybe it won’t be so bad,” Nicole said, reading her mind. “Maybe you’ll all have a good laugh about this and move on.”

Judging from Nathaniel’s icy demeanor as he brushed past Booker, Caitlin highly doubted it.

“Y’good?” Booker asked Nicole, jerking his chin at the borrowed Reject car.

“Yeah,” she said with a smile. “Not like I’m the one driving.”

“Have’ta start givin’ you lessons when we get back.”

“Only if you’re the one who teaches me, and not…” Nicole eyed Caitlin suggestively.

“Hey!” Caitlin swatted her arm. “I’m a good driver, thank you.”

“Sure, sweetie.”

Leaning against the side of the car, Booker said, “I’ve been meanin’ to ask, in case we get split up and Cae or Nathaniel ain’t with me, is there somethin’ only you and Scott would know? Somethin’ I can tell him, so he knows it’s safe to come with me?”

Nicole frowned up at him. “You think he won’t trust you?”

“A white guy with a gun and a Texan accent might not scream ‘friend’ to a startled black man,” he said, half shrugging. “Not that I blame him.”

Huffing out a laugh, Nicole muttered, “Right. Um… Tell him ‘blue plate special’.”

“There’s gotta be a story there.”

She smiled at the memory. “When Scott was in med school and I was finishing my graduate program, we didn’t have much time to see each other. Just an hour or so in the middle of the afternoon. So, we’d go to our favorite diner for the blue plate special that ended at five, and eat together.”

Nodding, Booker gave her elbow a gentle squeeze.

“By mornin’ you’re gonna have your husband back,” he said. “I promise ya that.”

Sniffing back tears, Nicole patted his arm. “Thanks Booker.”

The back door of the mustang closed, bringing all of their heads around.

“Ready?” Nathaniel asked, adjusting the knife on his belt.

“As ever,” Booker called, pushing off the hatchback and striding over.

They all knew the plan. Knew what to do if one of them got lost, or worse.

Caitlin just hoped they wouldn’t have to worry about that part.

The remaining Rejects all gathered at the tree line to see them off.

Gripping the list of names and descriptions, she waved out her window as they pulled onto the road.

Ten minutes into driving, Booker cursed.

“What?”

“Left the good CDs in the Jeep.”

Sighing, Caitlin leaned back in her seat.

It was going to be a very long trip indeed.

* * *