Chapter 11
Jess followed Sasha's directions as they sped toward Abigail's location. His stomach was knotted tight, and he had no idea why. It wasn't just that she was gone. He had a tangible need to find her and make sure she was all right.
To make sure no one hurt her.
He came around a corner right as a car rolled through the stop sign-straight into his path. Biting his lip, he tried to swerve to miss it, but because of the car's speed, it still managed to clip his back tire. His motorcycle came out from under him and dragged him down the street at a deadly pace.
Crap! The asphalt tore at his clothes and skin, reminding him why he wore a duster when he rode and why he was glad he was no longer mortal. Still, it hurt to kiss pavement, and his body was extremely unhappy with this predicament.
* * *
Abigail's heart stopped beating as she realized in her dazed stupor that she'd just hit someone. She slammed on the brakes and looked back to see the motorcycle and rider on the street, skidding sideways toward the curb.
Oh my God! What have I done now?
It wasn't until she'd put the car in park and opened the door that she recognized the sprawled-out man.
"Jess!" She ran toward him as fast as she could. She cringed at the length of how far he'd traveled over the road on his back. He's a Dark-Hunter. A crash won't kill him. In her mind, she knew it was the truth.
But her emotions weren't listening. Panic filled her as she drew closer and didn't see him moving.
Jess lay on the street, looking up through his helmet, trying to figure out if he'd broken something other than his pride. Gah, it hurt to breathe. To move. He felt pretty banged up, but it was hard to tell just how bad.
And the damned billion-pound motorcycle was lying on his foot. That was going to leave a limp.
"Jess!" Out of nowhere, Abigail appeared, her face a mask of terrified fear. Before he could answer, she sank down beside him. "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Are you all right? Are you alive? Did I hurt you?" She clutched at his body as if trying to find an injury. "Jess? Can you speak?"
It was so wrong, but he couldn't help grinning at her panic. No woman had been this scared for him in a long while. "Yeah, I can talk. But I kind of like the attention you're giving me. You want to grope a little lower, it'd be even better."
"Oh, you..." She shoved at him.
Pain cut through his body. "Ow!"
Her panic returned instantly. "Are you all right?"
He laughed. "Dang, you're easy."
"And you're completely evil."
Jess pulled his helmet off to stare up at her. The streetlights played in her dark hair, making it shimmer. Her eyes glowed with warmth, concern, and anger. It was a heady combination. "And you're completely beautiful."
Abigail's breath caught at those unexpected words. They settled something deep inside her. Made it calm in a way she'd never been calm before. And at the same time, her entire body was on fire from his nearness. A strange dichotomy that made no sense whatsoever.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her lips down to his so that he could give her the hottest kiss she'd ever received. One so unsettling that it made her entire body burn and caused her to forget where they were and what had happened. Nothing mattered in this moment except the sensation of his tongue sweeping against hers. Of his arms holding her close to his hard body.
Nothing had ever felt better.
"Excuse me, people. You're both lying in the middle of the street. Might want to move before someone else runs over both your damn fool selves."
Abigail pulled back, then turned to glare at Sasha, who stood on the curb, under the streetlamp, giving them an irritated grimace. She started to smart off, when all of a sudden, she heard a peculiar sound. It was like someone had let loose a herd of angry chainsaws.
Scowling, she looked back at Jess. "What is that?"
Sasha's face blanched. "Wasps ... A shitload of them." He pointed down the street.
Following the direction of his arm, Abigail gaped at the sight of what appeared to be a thick, dancing cloud rolling toward them.
"Next plague." Jess jumped to his feet and pulled her up. He met Sasha's gaze. "Can you get the bike home?"
"On it. I'll see you back in your compound."
Jess inclined his head to him before he took her hand and ran with her back to the Audi. Abigail was still gaping as she watched the wasps draw closer and closer at an abnormal pace. The cloud rose and dived like some giant, lumbering, solid beast.
She ran to the passenger side while Jess wedged himself into the driver's seat and moved it back.
"I really hope you didn't damage this thing."
She slammed the door shut, grateful she'd left it running, then buckled herself in. "You that attached to it, cowboy?"
He put it in gear. "Nope. Not mine. It's Andy's pride and joy. If there's so much as a scratch on this thing, I'll never hear the end of it."
Great. Now the Squire had another reason to hate her. "I can't win for losing with him, can I?"
Jess didn't answer as the wasps literally enveloped the car. They landed on the windshield so thick that he had to turn the wipers on to try and dislodge them.
It didn't work. All it did was piss them off.
Disgusted and scared, Abigail hissed as she realized they were also crawling in through the vents.
"Close them quick," Jess said, snatching his shut.
She complied and held them in place to make sure the wasps didn't push them open again. "This is getting ugly."
"Like my great-aunt's underpants."
She arched a brow at his strange and unexpected comment. Okay ...
Jess tried to navigate the streets, but it was far from easy going. Cars were swerving everywhere, trying to avoid the wasps. Horns blared and people screamed so loudly that it was deafening. She'd never seen anything like it.
What were they going to do?
She sighed. "I'm getting a little tired of this."
Jess flashed a fanged grin. "Not my fave thing either, I have to say. You wouldn't happen to have a can of Raid, would you?"
"I wish. What else don't they like?"
"Apparently us ... and a little brown Audi."
She shook her head. "How can you find humor right now?"
"Damned if I know. I must be one sick SOB. There's definitely something in my noodle that's shorted out."