Of Darts & Snarls

As Haut pulls into the parking lot of a superstore, I wiggle in place. "I can't believe you passed three exits with gas stations before coming here."

Lips quirked, he drives up and down the rows searching for a spot. "You were warned I wouldn't be stopping for at least two hours. Should have gone at the station."

"Be grateful this vehicle belongs to Barron, or I'd have peed on the seat already." My hand drops to my belt buckle, and I undo it as soon as Haut parks in the middle of the lot.

The second the van stops, I shove open the door and bolt out.

"Hey, wait for the rest of us!" Haut shouts after me.

Ignoring him, I race past the row of parked cars and barely stop to look both ways before racing between two slow-moving vehicles at the crossroad.

They honk, but my bladder knows no fear. I nearly slam into the automated doors when they don't part fast enough, and then warm air rushes over the top of my head as I make it into the store.

At the entrance, my head swings right, then left, and I see the sign for the bathrooms near the coffee stand at the front.

Thank goodness whoever designed the layout didn't hide the restrooms at the back to encourage impulse buying.

Holding it for all I'm worth, I race down a short hall, spot the door with the skirt, and shove inside. The first two stalls I check reveal an unflushed toilet and no wipes, but the third one is just right.

With a massive sigh of relief, my bare ass meets the seat, and I release the floodgates.

Stupid Haut, and his stupid two-hour rule. The first sixty-minutes out from Hartford Cove were bearable, but when I started doing the pee-pee dance, I thought he'd show mercy.

Silly me for forgetting the man is pure evil.

The sound of the door opening fills the bathroom, and I tense, conscious of the fact that I'm taking up the only usable stall. Then water trickles at the sink, followed by giggles.

The newcomers came to primp, not to use the toilets.

"Do you think we have a chance?" says a feminine voice.

"Only one way to find out. We don't see eye candy like them around here often." The faucet shuts off. "Dibs on the sandy-haired one with the pink collar. Something about that gets my panties wet."

Alarm jolts through me. No way are they not talking about Tris.

"That's fine. I'm aiming for the tall one with the cowboy hat, but I'd take any of them for a ride." A spritzing sound drifts from the sink, and a flood of floral perfume fills the air. "Should we call Becky and Candice? Even numbers are better odds."

How dare she pick Levi and leave Haut as a runner-up. Has she no taste?

"Let's nab our faves first, then let the others chat up the rejects." Heels click on the tiles, and the door closes.

At lightning speed, I finish up in the bathroom and wash my hands, wiping them dry on my leggings as I hurry out the door.

Immediately, I spot Tris waiting near the coffee stand, one elbow propped on the delivery bar, and his golden-brown eyes focused in my direction. The bright fluorescent lights pick out the gold strands in his hair, and his T-shirt rides up on one side, exposing a small swath of muscular, tanned skin.

The sight of him makes my mouth water. Too bad I'm not the only one he has that effect on.

The two girls from the bathroom hover in front of him, their asses hanging out of their short-shorts and breasts pushed up into milky swells above their crop-top shirts.

It's forty-degrees today, for goodness sakes!

Tris's eyes light up as soon as he spots me stomping toward him, and before he can call out, I shove my way between the two hussies.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" The blond on the left demands, her glossed-up lips twisting in distaste as she rakes a contemptuous gaze over my oversized bunny sweatshirt and red leggings with hearts on them.

I recognize her as the one aiming for Tris, and I reach up to grab his collar, yanking him down to my level. "This is mine." I swing an angry glare at her brunette friend. "And how dare you pass over my hunk of forest god for that cowboy!"

Her mouth drops open, but no words slip past her crimson-lined lips.

As it should be.

Nose pointed into the air, I drag Tris from their midst. "Come along, sparky."

Tris wiggles his hips like a good puppy and follows. "Woof."

Once we're out of the danger zone, I release him. "Learn to tell people to go away when they hit on you."

He straightens and wraps an arm around my shoulders, tugging me against his side. "They refused to go away when I told them to, and I wasn't willing to give up my spot. It had the perfect view of the ladies' restroom."

"Perv." I shove my hand into his back pocket. "Work on your Alpha voice, so people take the hint."

"It's cute when you're territorial." A kiss lands on top of my head. "They didn't do anything."

"Yet." I squeeze his ass. "You're far too breedable. It makes girls go primal and want to drag you off to their boudoir for hanky panky."

That already happened once, and I still have PTSD of having to fight those horny bitches off my man.

I peer around. "Where are the others?"

"Grabbing something from the hot case for lunch. I volunteered to wait for my potty princess." He nuzzles my ear. "What was that you said about Haut?"

At the reminder, I bristle with indignation. "Can you believe that brunette was eyeing up Levi instead of Haut? Like there's any comparison."

"How dare they pass on your hunk of forest god." Mock-offense underscores the words.

"Right?" Then my head jerks up. "You better not tell him I said that."

Tris's eyes twinkle with mischief. "What are you going to give me as a bribe?"

I pinch him through his pocket, making him yelp. "What are you going to give me to win my forgiveness for letting those girls rub up on you?"

"Hmm, it appears we're at an impasse." His focus shifts past me, and a grin spreads over his face.

The arm around me tightens, and he lifts me onto my toes as he hurries toward an aisle of pet supplies. In the section of leashes, he drops me back on my heels and grabs an inch-thick, pink rope with a clip on the end.

He stretches it between his hands across his chest and waggles his eyebrows. "Reminds you of the old days, doesn't it?"

"Hmm, I might need more to refresh my memory." I take it from him and attach it to the collar around his throat. "Ah, I'm seeing it now."

Biting his bottom lip, he backs me up against the shelf. "I've been a bad, bad puppy."

My pulse quickens, and I check our surroundings, but at midday during the week, we're alone in the aisle.

I give the leash a tug. "Oh, yeah?"

"Oh, yeah." He leans down, his breath feathering over my lips, and my eyes drift closed as I tilt my head back for a kiss.

A warm tongue licks from my chin, over my nose, up to my forehead in a broad, wet stripe.

With a shriek, I shove him backward, and he takes off, his cackles filling the air.

"Tris!" Grabbing a red bouncy ball from the colorful bin, I chuck it at the back of his head.

It falls woefully short, bouncing onto the ground and rolling beneath the shelf.

Tris glances back over his shoulder and lets out a bark before he disappears at the end of the aisle.

I give chase and spot him darting down out of view.

My sneakers squeak against the floor as I race to catch up, only to be met with a barrage of foam darts.

Ducking back out of view, I kneel to peek around the corner.

Tris stands with his feet at shoulder width, surrounded by rainbow toys on either side. He lifts the Nerf gun he holds, his finger poised over the trigger and a wild smile on his face. "You're going down, sparky!"

Excitement bubbles in my blood, and I pull up my hood for protection. "You'll never take me alive, Dastardly Dan!"

His grin widens as he fires. Darts whiz through the air, but I'm too quick for him, ducking and dodging out of the way.

I race down an aisle of pink and, spotting a two-foot-tall doll box, I snatch it up to use as a makeshift shield as I come around the other end to sneak up behind Tris.

Tris expects my ambush, though, and spins. His laughter rings out as he continues his assault, his aim surprisingly accurate despite the cheap toy. A squeal escapes as a dart grazes my bicep, the foam tip bouncing off.

"Ha! I've taken out your arm!" Tris crows. "It's no longer useful!"

My hold shifting on the doll box, I tuck my wounded arm behind my back. "‘Tis but a flesh wound! You'll have to do better than that to take me down!"

He cocks his Nerf gun. "Is that a challenge, sparky? There's no love in war."

I peek around my shield, my heart racing. From several steps away, Tris takes aim and fires.

A single dart flies straight at me. I dodge to the side, narrowly avoiding the foam projectile, and race forward.

"What the…" Tris rattles his weapon, realizes that he's run out of darts, and lunges toward the shelf that holds the refills.

But he moves too slowly.

I crash into him, smacking him under the chin with my box. "You've been beheaded, Dastardly Dan!"

"Oh, no!" Tris collapses to his knees, dragging me down with him. "I hath expired of head loss."

Giggles escape as I land on top of him. "Hath?"

He squints up at me. "I've been reading Ros's books."

"Oh, hath you?" I shove the doll into his face. "Did they teach you how to treat a queen?"

His eyes cross as he studies the doll. "Not sure I'd call bathing suit Kristy royalty."

With a gasp, I sit up, straddling his waist and hugging the box to my chest. "Are you judging what a woman can or can't wear?"

He drops his head to the floor. "There's no right way to respond to that one."

"Correct, there is not." I lean over him and waggle the box. "Kiss the queen."

Tris reaches up to sweep it aside and pulls me down, the gap between us shrinking.

His gaze flickers to my mouth, and my pulse quickens. "If you're waiting for me to close my eyes again, I'm not falling for that twice?—"

My words cut off as he tugs me down those last inches, his hand hot on the back of my neck as our lips come together. Breath catching, my lashes flutter down, and I sink into the sensation of his mouth brushing against mine, soft and warm and achingly gentle compared to our playful toy war.

Blue sparks rise from where we touch, proof of our bond as witches, and Tris draws the sides of my hood down to block our faces from any passersby.

Time stands still as we melt together, the world fading away until only we remain, lost in each other.

Arms wrap around me, pulling me closer, no space between us. My fingers tangle in his hair as my lips part, and I deepen the kiss, losing myself in the feel of him.

"What the hell are you two doing?" roars an angry voice.

I flinch upright, wide eyes landing on a furious Haut at the end of the aisle, Levi and Aspen standing behind him, carrying shopping bags.

Haut's moss-green gaze takes in the fallen foam darts, the broken package Tris pulled the Nerf gun from, and the crushed doll box.

At last, his focus settles on us, and he growls, a low vibration that rattles in my bones. "You will pick up this mess and pay for the toys, and then you will hustle your asses back to the van, and I don't want to hear a peep from you until we reach the next rest stop."

Tris shivers beneath me, and I lift my hands to my chest, my fingers curling with the effort to resist.

Haut scowls. "Don't you dare."

"Peep." The sound escapes a second behind Tris's high-pitched, "Peep."

A snarl rips from Haut as he storms toward us.

"Peep!" I scramble off of Tris.

He bounces to his feet, and I grab the leash still attached to his collar, tugging him after me as we race from the toy section, scattering foam darts in our escape from the big bad wolf.