Free A Summer in Paradise by Tianna Xander Page A

themselves at him.
    “ Yep,” he said with a
chuckle. “In the flesh. Only most people call me Dave,
now.”
    “ I’m sure they do.
“Sorry…Dave.”
    “ Hey, I don’t mind it when
you call me Davie.” He winked, then looked around them with a
frown. “Don’t you have a car or something up here?”
    “ No. I left my bike in town
and hitched a ride out here. I wanted to see my sister and spend a
little time living off the land like we used to when we were
kids.”
    “ I remember that.” He
thinned his lips. “We thought it was a game, only our parents never
told us it wasn’t.” He patted the seat again. “Now that you know
you know me, how about hopping on and I’ll give you a ride to the
Lodge? I don’t bite.” He grinned. “Well, I don’t bite old
babysitters I used to have crushes on.”
    With a smile, Pearl swung her leg over
the seat and settled behind him. It would be good to make it to
town and not have to worry about the guys catching up to her before
she did. No matter how fast they ran as cats, they wouldn’t be able
to keep up with a motorcycle.
    David handed her his helmet and she put
it on. As a shifter, he could heal from a head injury that would
kill her. “Thanks.”
    “ You’re welcome.” He revved
the engine a bit, put the bike in gear and suddenly they were
rushing down the mountain.
    Pearl was tempted to tell
him he didn’t have to hurry, that she wasn’t late for anything,
then thought perhaps he was. He had stopped to talk to her, after all.
    “ So,” she yelled over the
sound of the engine as they sped down the mountain. “You had a
crush on me, huh?”
    “ Yeah.” He shook his head.
“I had it bad. I didn’t eat for a while after you disappeared. I
was sure one of Camulus’s men had killed you until Gemma told me
you and Crystal escaped.”
    With a sigh, Pearl rested her cheek
against his back. “I’m sorry, Davie. I mean Dave. I didn’t
know.”
    “ Why would you? I was eight.
Boys aren’t even supposed to get crushes at eight years old, are
they?”
    “ I don’t know.” Pearl tried
not to wrap her arms around him to hold on. Heck, what if he still
had a crush on her? “I only know that you were always a good boy
for me when others said you were a hellion.”
    “ Yeah.” He downshifted to
make a curve then powered up again. “I liked you.” He chuckled when
she leaned back. “Don’t worry. I’m over it. I know each of us has
some sort of predestined mate and now that I’m older, I’ll react
when I meet her.” He paused. “As much as I hoped it was you when I
was younger, I know now that you aren’t my mate. I still have a
soft spot for you though.”
    Slowly, David brought the bike to a
halt and twisted in the seat. “I want you to know that if you ever
need my help for anything, I’ll be there for you.”
    “ Davie, I—” As much as she
appreciated the offer, he was still younger than she was and she
didn’t think she could allow him to stand between her and trouble,
even if he was a shifter.
    “ Don’t worry about it. I
just wanted to let you know that.” He chuckled. “I think a part of
me still loves you, but I love you like a big sister now, not a
girlfriend.”
    Good grief. That was a relief! Pearl
didn’t know what she would have done had he told her anything
else.
    “ Thank you, Davie. I’m
flattered.” Heck, she was almost old enough to be his mother. Five
or six more years and she would have been just old enough. She
didn’t know what she would think if he had told her that she
was his mate as
well.
    “ Here we are.” Davie said as
he pulled into the parking lot of the Paradise Inn. The sign out
front was new, but it looked old. It was as though her sister and
her mates had gone for a retro look when they remodeled.
    Davie brought the bike to a stop just
outside the door. Pearl stood, swung her leg around and dismounted
the bike.
    “ Hey, you do that like
you’re used to it.”
    “ I told you I left my bike
in