Page 41 of Fastlander Fallen

Ace hung in it, doing his own weird stuff, and she liked it. She liked that he was this giant, muscled-up shifter behemoth who didn’t care if people were watching when he had fun.

By the end of the song, the other applicants for the Fastlanders had filtered back inside and taken over a long table near the stage, where the live band was absolutely rocking it.

The rest of the night was amazing. She put it out of her head that she’d been rejected and had fun. It was even a blast getting to know the guys. She’d never hung out with a bunch of shifters like this, and most of them were hilarious with their one-liners.

And watching Hallie’s happiness was healing for her soul.

She’d been feeling like she was losing Hallie, but that was selfish of her.

Hallie had been in a cocoon for so long, and Corey hadn’t realized it.

Now? Hallie was emerging, and God, she was stunning.

She did cast her attention time and time again to Ace, but she couldn’t help it. Her little heart liked him, and it just was what it was. She would move past the crush phase and join him in the friendzone as fast as she could, but for tonight? She really liked him. He was handsome, sure, but it was more than that drawing her to him. He was a watcher, a leader, and his confidence was so sexy. He was funny, and she’d always liked senses of humor. She’d always had a thing for mysterious men, and he had secrets in spades.

Last call surprised her.

When the bartender announced it, she was floored. It was not already two in the morning, right? She’d only had the one margarita earlier in the night, so her head was clear. She’d been going on good vibes and happy energy all night. But when she pulled her phone out of her purse for the first time tonight, it indeed said it was 1:53 a.m.

Holy moly!

When she looked around the dance floor, only Hallie was near her. The Fastlander applicants were filtering out of the bar.

Shit, how was she going to get home? She turned to Hallie to ask, but she remembered Gunner’s bike out front. She couldn’t climb on the back behind Hallie.

“Ready?” a deep voice behind her asked.

Ace was there.

“Oh, you don’t have to take me if you don’t want to.”

His dark eyebrows lowered. “What?”

“I mean…if you don’t want to give me a ride, I can find one.”

“Of course I’ll give you a ride, weirdo. Come on. I brought you here, I haven’t been drinking tonight, I’ll get you home safe.”

“Oh.” She looked around, hoping for an epiphany.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just…”

“What?” he asked, looking concerned.

“It’s just I’d feel weird hugging you on the back of your bike, you know? Since we are only friends.”

He looked genuinely troubled. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that way, Corey. Come on.” He grabbed her hand and led her toward the door, but she yanked her hand out of his grasp.

“I don’t like how you are confusing me,” she told him. “You are hot and cold.” She dropped her gaze to the floor. “You confuse me, and I don’t like it.”

The lights were dimming as people left, and there was a growl in Ace’s chest as he searched her eyes.

And then he did something that made her go still. He slid his hand around the back of her neck. “How much have you had to drink?”

“One.”

He looked almost…angry. With her? With himself?

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