Page 108 of Vicious Luna

Cam suddenly grinds to a halt, reaching out to grab ahold of my arm. “Avery, I…”

“Wanna fuck before we go back?” I blurt as I whip around, silencing him before he says something that might break my fucking heart.

He sinks his teeth into his lower lip, a growl rumbling in his chest as his gaze drops to tour my form. “Fuck yeah,” he pants, the gold shimmers of his wolf lighting up his eyes as they return to mine.

My own wolf pushes forward in response and I step in closer, pushing up on my toes until my lips land on his. He grips my hips, returning the kiss hungrily as I wind my arms around his neck and start walking us backwards off the path.

The crush of reality can wait a little longer. For now, he’s still here, and as long as he is, he’s still mine.

47

“Highway or backroads?” I ask, sliding Cam a side-eyed glance as we leave the city limits of Denver.

“Backroads,” he replies instantly.

I hang a left, smiling to myself knowingly as I set us upon the same route we took to get here. It adds an hour onto the drive, but it’s a lot less crowded and a whole lot more scenic. Not that we’ll be able to appreciate much of the landscape in the dark. He probably wants the extra drive time to decompress after meeting his family, though, and I’m more comfortable driving on the sparsely traveled roads anyways.

I considered asking Cam to drive us home, but Madd made me swear that I’d be the only one operating his precious Jeep when I asked to borrow it. I’ve never felt the need to have my own car since I’ve always had his at my disposal. I usually don’t hesitate to bend the rules, but my twin always knows when I’m lying, and I’m not about to give him another reason to start shit with Cam. Not when it seems like he’s finally starting to come around to accepting him.

It could all be for nothing. The dinner with the Bauers tonight couldn’t have gone any better, and even though Cam was nervous about meeting his siblings, he fit in perfectlywith them, like it was always meant to be. He connected with Delilah about their affinity for technology, joked around with JJ, and got lost in conversation with Hayes. Even he and Juliet hit it off, and I caught Cole getting misty-eyed more than once as he looked around the table at his newly expanded family. It’s painfully obvious that Cam belongs with them, and I’m not sure where that leaves us.

The city lights fade into the distance in the rearview mirror as I contemplate how we can make this work; if he evenwantsto make it work. Cam has been so focused on untangling his past that any talks of our potential future together have fallen to the wayside. I’ve been right there beside him, trying to be as supportive as I can while internally freaking the fuck out over what’s going to happen with our bond.

In any other scenario, I’d come right out and ask him, but this is all uncharted territory for me. I’ve never even been in a serious relationship before, let alone navigated one with a mate that fate chose for me. I’m completely adrift, drowning in an ocean of uncertainty and badly in need of a life raft.

“You and Hayes seemed to hit it off,” I comment, striking up idle conversation to get myself out of my own head.

“Yeah, he’s cool,” Cam murmurs.

“Is he?” I joke, smirking in response to his choice of words. “I don’t know, the strong and silent thing works for you, but on him, it’s kinda boring.”

“You just don't like that you can’t rile him up,” he points out.

I make a scoffing sound in my throat. “When was I trying to rile him up?” I ask, feigning innocence.

“How about when you grabbed his ass in the lounge?”

“That was an honest mistake,” I quip, waving him off. “In my defense, your butts look a lot alike.”

“When have you ever seen me in khaki slacks?” Cam deadpans.

“Good point, you should get some,” I chirp. “If they make your ass look half as good as your brother’s…”

A low growl of warning rumbles in his chest and I bark a laugh, throwing a thumb in his direction.

“See, that’s exactly the kind of fire Hayes is missing. I don’t know how you weren’t bored to tears when he was going on and on about cryptocurrency.”

“It’s the way of the future,” he replies with a shrug.

“Oh god, now you’re quoting him?”

“Well he’s not wrong.”

“Aw, look at you defending your brother already,” I tease, taking my eyes off the road for a second to turn his way and make a silly face at him.

“Just stop,” Cam grumbles, frowning.

My own expression falls. “Stop what?”

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