The Unexpected Bonding Vow - Michelle Howard Page 0,22

ride anything I haven’t checked over myself.”

Saedra drew in a sharp breath. It had never crossed her mind to question the condition of the vehicle. “Do you think it’s been tampered with?”

He made some indecipherable noise under his breath, causing Saedra to bite her lip and hold back any further questions.

Once his check was complete—at least she assumed so—he stood and slid one long leg over the seat, treating Saedra to the sight of his pants tightening over a quite nice butt and the stretch of firm thighs. Her pulse picked up as he straddled the cycle and leaned forward, hands gripping the horizontal guiding bar.

Celestial Father and Mother have mercy on her licentious thoughts. Never before had she ever experienced such a surge of lust for a man.

He looked back over his shoulder at her and arched a brow. “Coming, petti coinçin?”

Unsure of what he called her, Saedra dropped her arms but couldn’t force herself to move. She really hadn’t thought this through. The idea of getting on a hover-cycle was bringing to mind all the dangerous ways one could die since the sleek ride could easily hit an excess of 200 kms if the rider was competent enough to handle it at that speed.

***

Garik wasn’t sure the scared rabische would get on with him. Her eyes were so wide the whites dominated their brown depths. He had to admit he was surprised at her planning so far. The hidden hover-cycle was a smart choice versus something larger that could easily be spotted by Lord Maurin’s guards.

Plus, it was one of the fancier models with silent propulsion and a mini defense weapons array. Enough firepower to ward off would-be thieves but not hold off a full-on attack. The 3XL-elite was something he would have selected for several reasons, not the least of which was the speed. Speed was something they very much needed in their current situation.

The sounds of snarls and growls drew closer. Garik cursed. His rescuer stood frozen in the middle of the road. If she didn’t put a move on it, they would lose the slight lead they’d managed to get from her clever plan. And there was no doubt this was a well thought out plan, from the stolen keys, to the tunnel beneath the barrier on the property and now this cycle.

“Saedra,” Garik hissed.

She jerked but didn’t move. His hands clenched on the steering rod handles. Instincts honed as a homeless kid left on the streets to survive told him to leave her. Training under the Assassins Guild told him to leave her. Fuck, being an assazi urged him to leave her. Garik had always counted on himself and no one else.

Yet his heritage as a Gerelin held him back. Garik had crossed many lines in the years since finishing the classes at the Guild. Leaving his bonded mate, it seemed, was the one cultural taboo he couldn’t abandon.

“Sesi, we have to leave now,” he murmured, making eye contact and holding her gaze with his own. He gentled his tone because he’d picked up how sensitive she was to the subtle nuances. “Otherwise, this was all for naught, yeah?”

Her brows drew together, but miracle of miracles, she darting toward him with the odd limping gait that still pissed him off. She came to him on the right side and he released the rod with that hand to nudge her waist.

With a speed he wasn’t expecting, she clasped his hand between both of hers. Truthfully, Garik could have avoided it if he wanted. He was an assassin after all and fast or not, she wasn’t faster than him.

The problem was that her touch wasn’t something he wanted to avoid. Damned if he knew why. It wasn’t the bond causing this anomaly. This reaction had started in his cell with the first brush of her fingers against his face. Maybe she’d possessed him and poisoned his mind against resisting her.

“I...I don’t know how. I’ve never ridden.”

Garik’s chest tightened at the shy look she cast his way with a lowering of her lashes. “It’s easy. Only rule since you’re on the back is to hold on and don’t let go.”

His voice was unintentionally gruff. She was bringing out a lot of old emotions in him. Emotions he hadn’t experienced since his parents’ death. Even before their loss, Garik had found it hard to connect with others, yet this wisp of a woman was tugging at his dark places and innermost demons. Emotions meant risk and risk meant