Page 28 of Tabitha

Instead of putting me off, I find it refreshing. There’s no artifice with her. She wasn’t bragging. She was just telling the truth. Maybe the threat should make me more suspicious of her, but it has the opposite effect.

I’m completely fascinated by the girl.

“No, I think you absolutely could kill me without even breaking a sweat,” I murmur, taking the curve around the road slowly. I drop our speed, finding myself wanting to stretch out our time together.

She blinks at me, her anger melting away. She cocks her head to the side, then murmurs in confusion, “But you laughed.”

Her stare is direct, guileless, and it’s only then that I understand why Pierce is so protective. It’s like she’s never had any direct contact with other humans. She doesn’t understand the nuances of proper etiquette and subtext that most of us learn as a child.

I can’t help but scowl that someone would throw her into the middle of such a delicate operation without the proper training. One wrong move, and she’ll get herself killed and take us with her.

* * *

TABITHA

Bast looks at me weirdly, and something inside my soul shrivels.

He knows.

Bast knows I’m not normal, and I only have myself to blame. I slipped up somehow. It was bound to happen, but I’d hoped to hide it for a bit longer. Something about the way he looks at me is different from others, almost like he thinks I’m special.

And now I ruined it.

As we pull into town, I avoid his gaze, not wanting to see him recoil when I get too close or flinch when I say something that sounds crazy. I tried to learn how to curb my responses when I was younger, but I could never get it right. I would inevitably give myself away.

Being around others just isn’t worth the hassle.

As he parks the car, I slip out and quickly face him without meeting his gaze. “If you’ll wait here, I’ll get the supplies.”

I don’t wait for a response, knowing better than to give him a chance to say no and drive off. Yes, it’s happened on more than one occasion.

People are assholes.

“Tabitha, wait!” Bast’s voice is urgent, the truck door slamming a second later as he hurries after me.

I almost pick up my pace, but I’m not one to run from trouble. I turn, then take a quick step back when Bast almost bowls me over in his haste. He catches my shoulders, then cringes.

“Sorry,” he mutters, an adorable blush coloring his dark cheeks. He steadies me, then hastily releases me, his hands hovering an inch away, like he thinks I might fall over.

I would normally think he’s messing with me, but he looks completely mortified.

And I find myself charmed by the giant.

I’m used to working alone or joining forces with the Bellas. Boys are usually dumb, a distraction that could get a person killed. Yet there’s something about Bast and his team that has me wanting to find out more about them.

So I grab his hand before he can pull away, then turn and drag him into the grocery store. I glance over my shoulder and see him following with a bemused expression on his face.

Nailed it!

Hurdle passed.

A sense of accomplishment that I managed to navigate the interaction without him running away washes over me. I grab a cart, then frown when I find one of my hands still occupied. I glance down at our joined hands, not actually wanting to let go of him, which is a novel experience. “Ummm…”

“Allow me.” Bast squeezes my fingers, then reaches for the cart. “What did you want to get?”

I blink up at him, then look around the interior of the store, and realize I made a big mistake by coming. “Well…truthfully…I’ve never really been grocery shopping. I’ve orderedfoodplenty of times, but I don’t know what to get tomakethe food, if you know what I mean.”

Uncomfortable at my confession, I suddenly feel very stabby, my fingers itching for my blade.

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