Chapter 6

6

Raelynn

I pump both fists in the air as I dash offstage.

What a rush!

My heart is pounding. The audience's screams are ringing in my ears.

I had so much energy tonight. Maybe because I slept well last night, for the first time in who knows how long.

I bounce through the stage door and scan the expectant faces.

And my heart gives a gigantic lurch. I'm not looking for Jason tonight, because he's not here. I'm not looking for my official date, either.

I'm looking for him .

For my bodyguard.

What the hell is wrong with me?

He spent the whole day with me today. The only time he let me out of his sight was when I was in the bathroom. He's been bossing me around non-stop. Telling me where I can and can't go. I was supposed to be meeting a friend at the farmers' market for lunch. But he vetoed that, saying it was too dangerous. Instead, she had to come to my place, and he sat in the corner of the room, glowering at us whole time. He's more controlling than my dad, which says a lot. But there's something in his eyes…

Something that tells me he has my best interests at heart.

That's crazy, though. He's hired muscle. This is just a job to him.

I've never been into guys who look like him. I've always liked clean-cut boys. Or that's what the media used to say anyway. To be honest, I've never really been into a guy before. I was starting to think I just wasn't a sex person. But every time I look at Kael's massive shoulders, I get this weird fluttery feeling in the pit of my stomach. He's such a wild man. More beast than man, really. Even if I hadn't known he was a shifter, I'm sure I would have guessed there was something else in his family tree. Something that created that gigantic body. That heavy jaw and eyebrows. Those muscles, straining beneath his fitted suit. Damn. What's a girl to do when her bodyguard is the hottest man on earth?

Is it wrong that I'm so attracted to him?

I mean he's, like, a different species.

Do shifters even mate like humans? I bet they're all wild and feral…

Great, and now my mind is spinning out of control. Imagining me face down on a bed, Kael's massive body arching over me, while he plunges his?—

"Luna!"

There he is. Off to the side, almost within grabbing distance. His eyes lock onto mine with that intense, unwavering stare of his. My cheeks burn. If only he knew what I've just been thinking about him.

"Great show," he says. "Even better than yesterday."

I blink. That's the dead last thing I expected him to say. "How so?"

The pitch of your voice was perfect."

"How do you know?"

His thick eyebrows tug together. "Hell if I know. My bear just told me so."

I break into a smile. Kinda cool that he and his animal have this dialogue with each other.

His expression turns serious. "Luna, I need you to stay close."

"What is it?"

He leans in, his beard tickling my cheek, and his mouth moves close to my ear.

Oh, God.

Suddenly, my nostrils are full of that spicy, exciting smell of his.

"I don't want to freak you out, but the energy is not good in here."

"Energy?" I roll my eyes. "Didn't know you carried a crystal ball around with you."

"I don't need a crystal ball, Raelynn," he growls.

For some reason, the way he's using my real name sends shivers through my body.

"My beast is warning me."

I look around the room wildly. "But everyone here is from the industry. They've got no reason to want to hurt me."

"Hello, darling!" Annika rushes over. "You look fantastic tonight. Just, your hair is a little…" She raises her hand, but Kael is quicker. He reaches out and, gently, he flips some stray strands onto the other side of my parting.

"T-thanks," I stutter.

"That better?" he grunts.

Annika's mouth is hanging open. "Yes," she says. "Good job, Mr Security Man. Now, darling, I've got some people I need you to meet?—"

"Not a good idea," Kael cuts in.

"Kael this is really important," I tell him. "And I won't be long."

"Okay, ten minutes," he says.

"What? I need more time?—"

But he's already taken a step back, and he's busy scanning the room.

I roll my eyes in exasperation. "Okay, let's go."

Annika hurries me from person to person, and I shake hands, receive compliments.

I'm halfway through speaking to some record company bigwig, when Kael touches my shoulder. "Okay, let's go."

"This is not cool," I mutter.

"Raelynn, something's not right." He grabs my hand and I trail after him, trying not to trip in my ridiculous heels.

"You're paranoid," I hiss.

"No such thing."

He drags me to a door marked emergency exit .

"I'm pretty sure this isn't the way," I protest.

"It's the only safe way to get you out of here." He nods at a security guard who opens the door.

And it happens.

There's a flash of metal, and Kael pushes me to the ground.

I brace myself for impact, but he comes down with me, and somehow his massive body surrounds me, curling me up into a ball, so I don't hurt myself as I fall.

Then there's a pfff sound. Kael gives a grunt of pain, and I feel his body jerk.

"What's happening?" I scream in terror.

Kael lifts me up, his massive arms wrapped around my waist. Then he hammers the security guard in the face with his fist. Blood explodes from his nose.

"Let's go."

My feet don't even touch the ground as he propels me through the door and along an alleyway. At the end is my car. Kael yanks open the driver's side door. The driver is in there, waiting.

"What the—?" he exclaims as Kael pulls him bodily from the vehicle and shoves him onto the sidewalk. Then Kael leaps into the driver's seat, carrying me with him.

He deposits me on the passenger seat. "Get down!" he yells. "Right down in the foot well."

He slams the door, and I'm too stunned to do anything other than obey him. I slip off the seat and curl myself into the small space.

Kael hits the gas and the car leaps forward. "This might be rough," he grunts out.

I can't see anything. I feel the car swerve left, then right, then gather speed. I'm so freaking scared, but I stay quiet, not wanting to distract him.

For fifteen minutes or so, he goes fast, not stopping at any lights. Then, I feel the car slow and come to a stop.

"Okay, you can come up now," he says.

I unfold myself, gritting my teeth against the almighty case of pins and needles that has taken over my legs. My head snaps to Kael, and I let out a scream. The front of his shirt is soaked in blood.

"Oh, my god, you've been shot!"

He grunts. "Need to shift to fix it. I can't do that yet though. Gotta get you home first."

Home? I peer through the windshield at the dark night. Can't see much of anything, but doesn't look like we are anywhere near the city. "Where are we?"

"On the way to my home," he says.

"You mean your cabin in the wilderness?"

"You'll be safe there. And luckily, it's not far away. We'll be there in a couple of hours."

I stare at him in horror. "But… you'll bleed out by then."

"No, I'm fine," he grunts. "Be good if you can keep some pressure on it though."

"Of course. I'll do anything I can."

Carefully, he takes off his suit jacket, balls it up and shoves it against the wound.

I see a muscle in his jaw flex. But apart from that, he gives no sign that it's as freaking painful as it must be. I lay my hand over the jacket and press.

"Harder," he grunts. I see a bead of sweat trickle down his cheek.

I shuffle over in my seat and edge toward him, pressing until he says that's good enough.

"Let me drive," I say.

He flashes me a look of gratitude through his pain. "No, it'll be faster if I do."

He hits the gas, and we take off again.