Page 31 of Hell on Wheels

Snorting, I shake my head as I stalk towards her. “I would never try to clip your wings, baby. We all want you to be safe, and there’s a price on your head.”

“Butwhy?”

“Which part? The price?” I shrug and head for the treadmill, ready to move from sparring to cardio. “Either the Stuhlls aretrying to fix the races or there’s a bigger enemy at play. I don’t believe it’s the team rivalry shit for a second.”

Hopefully, she doesn’t notice I avoided the other question.

After she tosses aside her hand wraps, Rogue follows my lead and hops on the second treadmill. We jog in silence for a moment before she sighs. “The Stuhlls could just disqualify Reb. It seems too easy. But… I’ve never been important enough for anyone to give a shit about outside of being a Guardian. And if that was the problem, they’d be after Reb, too.”

“I don’t know, Wheels. You remember nothing before the Kellys adopted you and Reck as toddlers. When you emerged, you should have gotten all of that back. Maybe it’s something from your past.”

Her tone is bitter as she replies, “Reck was the special one; that’s why they traded him. I’m the gross fruitcake no one wants. I highly doubt it has anything to do with being a former lost one.”

Fuck. Now she’s upset. I’m the one who always keeps her light and smiling.

“Maybe it’s some jealous asshole you dated. You’ve got a trail of suitors as long as any of us. Who knows how psycho anyone really is until you’ve dumped them? Mina sure as fuck turned out to be a sociopath dressed in sparkly hot pants.” I wink at her, but inside, I’m worried my joke might be closer to home than she realizes. The shadowy figure making out with her ex-BFF is still a concern, if you ask me.

“Dude, you havegotto be kidding me!” Rogue stops her machine, wiping her brow with a towel as she laughs. “There is no one on thisplanetwho would spend the dough to order a mobhit because I wouldn’t bounce the mattress with them anymore. That’s like… completely ridiculous.”

The lion inside of me lifts its head as she splays her arms out, gesturing at her body in the tiny training garb. That odd scent comes back, and I stop my treadmill to lean in to sniff along her arms. A low growl rumbles out of me and I jump off the track, prowling around to the other side of her.

“Archie, what the fuck are you doing?”

Honestly, I have no idea.

My eyes bleed golden as I put my hands on her waist, lifting her up to carry her over to the big pile of mats in the corner. The beast inside of me is pushing at my skin like never before, and I can feel my tail whip around behind me. Ineverhalf shift like this, at least not if I'm not in danger or…

I don’t have time to piece it together before I toss Rogue on the mats and leap on top of her. Our bodies are pressed together from head to toe and she looks at me with a shocked expression. One hand comes up to touch my mouth and I realize I must be sporting fangs. Yet another oddity I can’t account for.

“What’s going on with you?” she whispers as her fingers trace over the huge leonine canines. “You never shift in front of me.”

“I don’t shift in front of anyone but family unless we’re in danger.”

Her laugh is full of amusement as she settles beneath me, calm as the sea before a storm. “We’re not in danger, Archer Glaser.”

Fae use full names when things are very serious, so she must have some clue.

“There is one other thing that will bring out the big cat.”

“What’s that?” Her brow arches, and she grabs my tail, sliding her fingers along the furry length.

I have to grit my teeth to keep from losing my shit right then and there. There’s no way Wheels isn’t aware of how sensitive most tails are, and she’s definitely playing with me. The lion is roaring in my mind; it wants more and I don’t have permission for that.

“You know the answer is when I’m fucking, Rogue Kelly.” My lips curve over the fangs as I use her own custom to show her I’m not joking.

“I see.” She cranes her neck and looks around before shrugging. “We don’t appear to be doing that, either. Though I suppose we are in the optimal position.”

I’m going to get my ass kicked for this, but…

“Allow me to remedy that, baby.”

Those are the last words spoken before our mouths meet in a clash of dominance. She rips the shirt over my head, and I use a claw to shred the sports bra covering her pretty jeweled nipples. The moan she lets out as I tug on them makes my cock twitch. Before I realize what she’s doing, she has my dick in her hand, stroking firmly.

Ripping my lips from hers, I look at her with wild eyes. She grins lazily, squeezing me in her palm. “This is a workout I can get behind, kitty cat. We’re gonna burn allsortsof calories.”

I growl at the ‘kitty cat’ remark, thrusting my hips forward. “Rogue, I need you to tell me you want this. Once we start, I’m afraid…”

“Your big, bad lion is gonna come out and scare me?” I nod, and she laughs again as her fingers trail over the head of my cock. “I amnotafraid of you shifting, Archie, nor am I breakable. Give itallto me or we’re not doing this.”

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