Page 118 of Roaring Flames

Reid looks everywhere but at me. One of his hands creeps up to absently scratch at a pimple on his wrist.

“We should go,” he tells me gruffly.

I open my mouth but immediately close it. I honestly don’t know what to say. I feel like shit, and more than that, his rejectionhurt.

Reid doesn’t say anything more as he leads me towards his parked bike, but his silence speaks volumes. He holds himself with a sort of rigid tension I wish I could take from him.

Without any fanfare, Reid hands me the jacket and helmet once more. I put both on without complaint.

Reid’s heart beats against my palm as I curl up against him from behind, my legs on either side of his own. His large hands capture mine and give them a squeeze. The connection’s brief—there and gone before I can compute it—but a fluttery sensation explodes inside of me regardless.

Instead of taking me back to school, Reid drives me to Hale and Gerry’s house. He pulls the bike to a stop behind Jake’s car.

Over the roar of the motor, I struggle to put my thoughts into words.

“Thank you,” I say at last, pulling off the helmet and shaking out my hair. “For telling me what happened.”

Reid grunts and averts his eyes, almost as if it pains him to look at me.

“And for the record…” I begin, unzipping the jacket. “I don’t think you’re ugly or disgusting.”

At that, his gaze snaps to mine, disbelief evident on his face. He snorts and rolls his eyes.

Those eyes…

They’re certainly not ugly. They’re warm and expressive and open and so damn vulnerable that my breath leaves me.

“You’re not,” I insist, and I find that I mean it. Maybe at first, I was put off by his smell and looks, but none of that bothers me anymore. Knowing what I do, having heard about his past, I find him evenmoreattractive. “I think you’re sexy, if I’m being honest.”

One red brow quirks. “Sexy?”

“What can I say? I have a thing for tall, dark, and dangerous.” I give him an impish grin as he continues to stare at me as if I’m insane.

His throat works. “Why…? Why are you saying this?”

“Because it’s the truth.”

“I see myself in the mirror, Izzy, and I know I’m not sexy. Maybe before…” He shakes his head as a bitter grin tugs up his lips. “Maybe I could’ve been the mate you needed, but that Reid died a long time ago.”

I kind of want to punch him in the face.

Why can’t he see what I see?

Nothing I say now will convince him otherwise. Michelle and Dyson did more than just curse him—they destroyed a vital piece of him, the part that believes he can love and be loved in return.

I didn’t think it was possible to hate the bitch more than I currently do.

“Well, I think you’re sexy.” I offer him a one-shouldered shrug before pivoting on my heel. “Thank you for the ride.”

“Wait.” His fingers catch in the waistband of my pants.

Sparks skitter up my skin where he touches my bare skin.

“Yes?” I give him a coy look over my shoulder.

At least, I hope it’s coy. Knowing my luck, I probably look constipated.

Indecision splays across his face. I don’t dare move—don’t dare even breathe—as he wrestles with emotions I can’t quite name.

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