Read Online Dying Commitment (Lucky Thirteen) by S.M. Butler - Free Book Online Page B

much-needed air. I stepped back from him, because I couldn’t think right with him so close. I couldn’t decide if I wanted more or if I was going to panic.
    He smiled, a knowing grin brightening his face. “Are you going to run now?”
    “I’m not afraid of you.”
    “No. You’re afraid of us. Of what we could be. What we are.”
    “And what are we?” I demanded hotly. “Fuck buddies? Friends with benefits?”
    “We’re two sides of the same coin. One side exposed to the sun, the other buried in the dirt for years. But dirt can always be washed away.”
    What the fuck did that mean?
    “This was a mistake,” I whispered. But my conviction wasn’t there and he knew it. My voice had been weak and quiet, so unlike me normally. “We can’t do this.”
    “I know I said I wouldn’t touch you, Cady. But I lied. I can’t not touch you, anymore than I could not breathe.”
    I didn’t know what to say to him. I couldn’t even speak. The conductors came through the the car, just beyond our compartment, letting everyone know we were coming into station. It was the perfect distraction. I took another step away so I could breathe, not moving my eyes away from his. I still couldn’t breathe. I was frozen in icy terror.
    ~*~*~
    Dylan
    Maybe I’d pushed the girl who was skittish of relationships of any kind, including friendships a little too hard. But if anything over the last few weeks had gotten into my mind, it was the realization that I definitely had feelings for Cadence Long, and I needed her to realize she had feelings for me too.
    Maybe that was why I let her take the easy way out when the train stopped. She wasn’t trying to disappear on me, just get away, so I backed off. I followed a couple steps behind, content to let her escape the train on her own.
    We walked along Valonia’s transportation hub in uncomfortable silence. Finally, I spoke to break the silence more than I wanted information. “What’s the plan here?”
    “We travel to the capital. Jack’s there.”
    “How do you know?”
    “I just do.”
    Shut out again. She knew something though, something she had not shared with me, and it was making her uneasy to think of it. How would she know that Jack Allen was in the capital?
    “Do you have a contact or know someone that saw him?” I asked.
    She shook her head but didn’t answer my question.
    “Did you see him?”
    Another head shake.
    “How do you know for sure at all?”
    “Because he found me,” she snapped. She stopped and looked at me. “Bambi, I know you mean well, and I appreciate you caring enough to stick around, but you need to quit asking questions. If you need to know, I’ll tell you.”
    She whirled around and started to walk away. That last sentence pissed me the hell off, because I wasn’t about to be dismissed like my security clearance wasn’t enough. I stalked after her and grabbed her wrist. I turned her back around and growled. “No. This is not happening. I’m tired, Cady. I have been drugged unconscious, cuffed to a bed, clocked by a big, fat guy who apparently steals laptops, and now I’m being dismissed like I’m a fucking child. And most of that, you did. Newsflash lady. I’m only four years younger than you. Just because your life wasn’t all unicorns and rainbow poop, just because someone chose to hurt you, doesn’t mean that everyone else wants to do it too.”
    It was silent for a moment, the only sounds were the people passing us by and the birds flying overhead, and the trees swaying in the wind. She glanced at me. “Unicorns and rainbow poop? Really?”
    “Too much?”
    “No. Not too much.” She sighed, looking around us like she couldn’t stand looking at me. “It’s pretty much right on. I’ve held everyone away since Jack, but only because that was the most vulnerable I’d ever been in my life, and he exploited it. Exploited me.”
    “I’m not him, Cady.”
    “Logically, I know that.” She nodded, looking toward the fountain of