Free Shadow Bloodlines (Shadow Bloodlines #1) by A. R. Cooper Page B

injured far worse than this, and I know my limits. I will not put you in danger.” He held out his hand to me.
    I couldn’t help but nod at the idea of being in his arms again. Glancing back the way we’d come, the car and Jacqui were out of sight. She wouldn’t notice anything.
    He held out a hand and I stepped forward, clasping it in mine. A tingle coursed through me and my breath hitched.
    Without another word, he swooped me up and we were over the tops of the trees. His damaged wing did not match the smoothness of his other or the previous flight I’d had with him, but we mostly glided.
    My mom would have loved this, she wasn’t afraid of heights like I am. My tears started again, but the wind whipped them from my face faster than they could fall.
    Amar held me closer as we dove toward the ground. Through my tears from the gush of air, the trees started spinning and I turned my head into his chest. Musk, cement, and that sweet spicy scent like cinnamon filled my nostrils.
    We touched down and I stayed in his arms a moment longer. I didn’t want to face the world just yet but pretend I was safe in his embrace. Maybe if I kissed him again? Did he feel the same way about me? Attracted to each other like lightning to a lightning rod.
    My lips parted and my eyelids grew heavy as I stared at his mouth. Even his lips were perfect, equal and lush.
    “Bethany?”
    “Hmmm?” I tightened my hold around his neck and stood on my tiptoes. Just a kiss. Something to hold onto no matter the absurdity of it. No matter that death chased me. Anything to not feel this aching guilt of what I was, and what had happened to my mom.
    “I-I cannot.” His hands moved to my arms gently tugging them apart. “A guardian’s duty is to protect a shifter. I cannot compromise my judgment by…”
    “Of course not.” I jerked away. “I was just going to thank you for not dropping me.” I tried to laugh, but it came out as a stuttering giggle.
    Damn, my emotions and stupidity! I should have known he didn’t have an iota of romantic thoughts towards me. He was just doing a job.
    I didn’t have time for this—we didn’t have time. My hormones and imagination needed to back off. How could a hunk like Amar like me? Me, a senior in high school with an absentee father, and now added doom and gloom surrounding me. I wouldn’t want to be around me either.
    He cupped my chin in his hands forcing me to look up at him.
    “They cannot hurt your mother anymore.” His eyes searched mine. “At least find peace in that.”
    “They will pay for what they’ve done.” I stepped away from him and folded my arms across my stomach. The gnawing ache was back and it coated my insides with burning acid. “Now, how do we find my father?”

Chapter Eleven
     
    Darkness spread through the trees and headlights twinkled through the trees from the freeway. We needed to make our way back to the car, but my legs refused to budge until Amar answered my question about where my father was.
    He shook his head, his gaze low. “If I knew where your father was, I would tell you.”
    “You must know something. If you were hiding from these Blood creeps, where would you go?”
    “It’s different for me. I’m a bird shifter, I w…” He lifted his head and faced me.
    “What? What were you going to say?”
    A warm breeze washed past, throwing my hair over my shoulders. The rustling of leaves created a cacophony of tunes around us.
    “Since you are an octopus shifter, we can assume you got the ability from your father.” He smiled. “I would probably hide where I felt the most comfortable, the safest. Perhaps in the mountains or the woods…but with your dad being an octopus…”
    “He would be near the ocean.” Before I thought about it, I rose on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. His stubble tickled my lips. I wanted to press my mouth to his, to taste the desire I’d sensed earlier. Instead, my face heated, remembering his rebuff, and I stumbled backward.