The Moth and the Flame (When Rivals Play #2) - B.B. Reid Page 0,1

great epiphany that foster care wasn’t so bad after all. The truth was he’d never survive on the streets without Miles’s grit and temper, and Leo knew it.

“Why bother sticking around?”

“We were hoping to convince you to go back to the Hendersons,” Leo meekly stuttered.

A second later, a harsh gust of wind slammed into me, and my body locked up tight in a feeble attempt to ward off the chill. At that moment, I considered the warm safety of my foster home before discarding the thought. It had been a week since I pretended to leave for school and never came back. By now, they would have reported me missing and asked my social worker to find me another placement. No, the Hendersons were no longer an option.

“I’m fine here, boys. Run along.” I flicked frozen fingers toward the snow-dusted street.

Instead of looking relieved, Miles’s scowl only deepened. “Come on, Lou. Don’t be stupid.”

“Don’t call me Lou. Only my friends get to call me Lou.”

“According to you, you don’t have any friends and never will.”

“Precisely.”

Miles shook his head with a scowl while Leo whistled and said, “You’re a cold piece of work, Louchana Valentine.”

“Much better,” I praised with my eyes firmly fixed on the dying fire. It was no match for the cold, wet wind.

They didn’t stick around much longer after that although Miles took his time walking away. I made sure to keep my expression blank as I watched him glance over his shoulder before rounding the corner.

The breath I’d been holding shuddered out of me in relief and clouded the air. And even though I was alone in the middle of a storm, I was grateful. I knew Miles wanted more from me than friendship or someone to watch his back on the streets. I even suspected that the times he ran away from home weren’t always because of his parents. Every single time, he sought me out, and it wasn’t because he couldn’t take care of himself.

The wind howled.

My body shook violently.

And then that howl began to sound strangely like a roar.

I didn’t have the faintest clue why my heart skipped a beat, and my breath drew short as my stomach tightened. The part of my brain responsible for rational thinking told me it must have been a car approaching and not some monster searching for its next meal, but when a black muscle car with gleaming chrome jerked to a stop across from the barbershop, I was suddenly less sure.

There wasn’t much that shocked or scared me anymore, but the figure that emerged unhurriedly, unlike his driving, did both without doing anything at all. Then again, I was so mesmerized by what my eyes were unveiling that perhaps my mind had chosen to record the moment in slow motion. I only wished I dared to capture it with my camera because one day, in the not-so-distant future, I’d call on this memory. I hoped for the sake of lonely, future me lying in the dark with her hand in her panties and a pleasured sigh on her lips that the picture my mind painted would be in vivid detail.

Because his fierce scowl did nothing to shroud his beauty.

And like the danger radiating from him, it was unbridled.

He was cloaked in a distressed brown leather jacket, matching worn gloves, and brown boots. The wind ruffled his dark brown hair as he carefully took in his surroundings, and I was glad he’d chosen not to wear a hat because hair that shiny, thick, and perfect was meant to be admired no matter the weather.

It wasn’t so bizarre that I was attracted to someone who looked this damn appetizing, but I did find the voice in my head wondering if he were here for me and the answering clench of my gut unsettling. I could swear I heard the chime of a clock striking a new hour, telling me it was time. Or maybe it was more like the clang of a bell beckoning me. My feet even took a couple of steps toward him before I caught myself. It didn’t help, though, because I felt my entire being reaching out for him. It was a magnetic feeling that only grew stronger as he slammed his car door shut and crossed the street with a purpose.

His eyes found mine, and I could have sworn his step faltered. Maybe he was just surprised to find someone else crazy enough to brave the storm. It took me a while to realize