Page 47 of Sin

We did find a booth which sold some sunscreen and aloe vera lotion, and London bought me a travel-sized version of each to have on hand.

While London spoke to a man working a snack booth, I turned away from them, massaging the aloe moisturizer into my skin, and scanned the crowd, wondering if the others were having any better luck. They hadn’t messaged the comms, but there was a lot of ground to cover. It was likely they were still looking, just like us.

I tried to put myself in Lucas’s shoes while I studied the faces passing by. If I were him, I wouldn’t be walking down rows of booths or riding the rides. His power was unstable, so it was likely he’d want to avoid being directly around people. He wasn’t here to have fun but probably because it was a convenient place to hide out. It made sense too. There were lots of people to blend into a throng with, plenty of food to pick from, and I would guess, lots of areas to rest and keep out of sight.

I was still thinking, WWLD, when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

Glancing over, I found London standing there, looking shifty as hell. He didn’t meet my gaze as he pulled something round, blue, and fluffy from behind his back. My heart actually skipped a beat as London offered me cotton candy.

“For me?”

He rolled his eyes and groaned like I was the biggest dumbass he’d ever met. “Yes, for you. You wanted some, didn’t you?”

I beamed, grabbing the small paper cone holding up the fluffy sugar ball. “I did. Thank you.” Ripping off a piece, I moaned as the sugar melted against my tongue. Grinning over at London, who stood frozen watching me, I pulled off a piece and held it up to his mouth. “Open up.”

His brown eyes darkened, and holding my gaze, he parted his lips. It was so fucking hot that I almost forgot that I’d offered him cotton candy. I quickly stuffed it in his mouth, so flustered that I ended up basically jamming it in, and he winced.

“Ah!” Rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand, he shook his head at me. “What was that for?”

I grimaced at my not so smooth attempt at being cute. “Sorry.”

He sighed before urging me to follow him. Hunting Lucas with treats was much more enjoyable, and I even had a bit of pep in my step as we continued on.

London noticed, and he smirked.

Another thirty minutes later and after checking in with the team, we still hadn’t found any sign of Lucas. The heat was starting to get to me, and I had to keep wiping it off my forehead as the morning shifted to afternoon. The others hadn’t caught sight of Lucas either, but London ordered them to keep searching.

After ending the comm connection, London sighed in frustration. He glared at our surroundings, and even scared a couple of teen boys passing by, making them walk faster to add distance.

Then London surprised me by grabbing my hand and tugging me into the shade created by one of the corner booths. The shade was an appreciated reprieve from the summer heat, and I wiped some more sweat off my brow with the back of my hand when he let it go.

He watched me pick at the remnants of my cotton candy, swallowing hard. When I caught him staring, he cleared his throat. “I’m going to track him again. I need you to keep a lookout while I’m out.”

My eyebrows inched high up my forehead, and I licked off a fluff of sugary goodness from the corner of my mouth. “Like hell you are. You haven’t even fully recovered from the last time you pushed yourself!”

He might not need to expel as much energy into tracking Lucas on the carnival grounds since we were so close, but after his power drainage last night, this wasn’t smart. Using too much had already given him a migraine and sent him into a deep sleep all night and early morning. We couldn’t afford to deal with his after effects right now.

He scowled at me, probably knowing where my thoughts had gone. That was the problem with working with someone you’d known for most of your life. They were just aware of your limitations. “I’ll be fine. Tracking him by foot is going to take too long with this crowd.” At my skeptical look he promised, “I can do this.”

“I know you can,” I assured him. “It’s if you should that makes me unsure.”

“I’ll be fine.” At my unimpressed expression, he huffed. “Look, I’m not asking permission here.” He hesitated before continuing. “But I think I need your help.”

Help. He needed me to help him.

Straightening, I tossed my empty cotton candy cone on the ground and sucked any lingering sugar from my fingers as London watched with rapt attention. “Anything. What do you need?”

“Hold me?” He cleared his throat. “I mean, I haven’t seen anywhere private we can really go for me to track. And it's not like I can just lie down right here on the ground. It will only draw attention to us.”

“And me holding your unconscious body won’t?” I asked, my tone deadpan.

“No, that’s not…” He inhaled slowly, shutting his eyes briefly. When he opened them, my knees buckled under their intensity. “Just come here.”

Although he said it as a command, it came out as more of a plea.

And like a good little soldier, I followed orders.

With his back flush to the booth, London pulled me against him, and he positioned my arms around his waist. His brown eyes surveyed our surroundings, lingering on a smooching couple just a little way down the side of the booth from us, before landing back on me. He licked his lips.

---