I tossed her coat onto a nearby fence, then pulled her into me. Flora squeaked at the abruptness of the motion. It was adorable.
It was... dangerous.
Why am I doing this? I wondered. But wondering led to more questions. Hadn't I questioned myself enough these days?
I couldn't dance either, so we swayed like high school sweethearts. The last time she was this close without a set of wheels beneath us was when she'd tried to seduce me. It was an image that I'd never get out of my head.
Not that I wanted to.
I felt her breath on my collarbone. She was warm and soft in all the right places. My mind drifted, wondering what the rest of her felt like. Flora was a pretty girl, but I didn't realize just how badly I wanted her until now, on the eve of our demise.
She'd wormed her way inside of me. I'd promised myself I wouldn't let that happen. Yet here we were, swaying together. It was ridiculous.
I didn't want it to ever stop.
Throughout this whole trip, I think I'd always known I was falling for her. I'd been trying to keep my distance so that I wouldn't become too attached. Having Flora finally in my arms made all that imposed detachment so pointless.
Looking down at her, capturing her stare, I studied the centers of her eyes. The static boiling in her black centers said she wanted this, too. I had one hand in hers; with the other, I squeezed her closer to me, running my fingers down the curve of her spine.
Touching her, reminding myself of her existence—our existence—was addicting.
“Ronin...” Flora's voice was weak, on the verge of trailing off completely. We stopped moving, but stayed just as close. “I don't even know your real name.”
Inside the kitchen, a dish shattered; there was cursing and shouting. Outside, dull chatter from joining or parting friends mixed with the coughing engines turning over.
“Maybe it is my real name,” I said. Her steady stare said she knew better. “Alright. Then, does it really matter?”
Soon, we'd never see each other again.
Flora challenged me, reading my face and the reckless edge we balanced on. Then she deflated, pressing her head against my chest. “No. I guess not.” She hugged me tightly, fingers locking into my back muscles; the grip of someone who worried this was our only moment of peace in this damn world. “What are we doing?” she asked softly.
I didn't know the answer to that... so I said nothing.
The rise and fall of her every breath rang through me. Outside of that small diner on the fringe of Georgia, the cacophony of noise faded away.
There was only Flora and I.
Caressing the side of her face made her turn her head to look up at me. The pull between us yanked harder, fiercer. Who was I to resist?
“My name is Connor.”
I leaned in and did what I shouldn't have.
I kissed her.
Chapter Ten
Flora
I couldn't remember the last time I'd kissed anyone.
Ronin's warmth, his life, pushed out every old memory I had. His presence crept deep, picking out the cells in my brain until all that was left was this moment between us. No one before he'd entered my timeline mattered.
I wondered if they ever would again.
There was a dumpster nearby, people gossiping in what had to be a filthy kitchen. In spite of everything working against us, this slice of our world was pure and heated and perfumed by desire.
How easy it was to forget all of my troubles when I was in his arms.
He'd said his name was Connor—his real name. There was a specialness to this secret, a treasure that was so fragile, but trusted with me. Selfishly, I actually wanted to hear him say my name. Again and again. How sweet that would be.
Life is good at stealing sweetness away.
“Flora,” he hissed, but he was strained from panic, not lust.
His fingers that had clutched me, claimed me, now held me away. Looking up, I watched as the centers of his eyes turned frantic with tension. Then I heard it, too, and I knew why he was so worried.
“Bikes,” I whispered, looking around for the source of the motors.
Grabbing my jacket, he shoved it at me. He didn't need to say it, it was clear from the firm tilt of his jaw.
We needed to run.
Together we hurried, the darkening sky revealing the headlights of motorcycles up the road. Ronin nearly threw me on the bike, flooring the chrome vehicle around the side of the diner. Our only advantage was that we were leaving from the opposite direction of their arrival.
I didn't consider myself lucky, far from it, but maybe...
Maybe they wouldn't even see us.
“Hang on tight,” he snapped, just loud enough over the engine. I obeyed, clutching my arms around his middle. The velocity of our speed was dangerous; we were shooting like a bullet, piercing the late hour with the teeth of danger on our heels.
It was so easy to forget that minutes ago, we'd been dancing.