Dark Spaces

I put my helmet on and set my phone on the stand between my handlebars. Just as I pulled away from the curb, her call flashed across my screen. I smiled, sliding my finger across the screen to answer, the call connecting to the Bluetooth in my helmet. “Little—” but my words were cut off. “I need you!” she yelled into the phone. “Where are you?” I asked. “Running through an alley a few blocks from Katie’s dad’s office. It’s Alex’s brother. I can’t use my magic—he’s blocking it. I’ll explain it all later, just Tora, please hurry.” My body tensed, vision narrowing. “Stay calm. Listen to me. Keep moving. Don’t let them catch you. I’m coming for you right now. I’m not far, okay, I can sense you. Do you trust me?” I asked. She didn’t hesitate. “With my life.” “Listen to me carefully. I need you to run as fast and hard as you can when you reach the end of the alley. Don’t stop. Step off the curb and hold out your hand.” I explained, slipping my earpiece in, leaving my helmet behind. I slid my phone into my pocket, then pulled out of the parking spot and hit the throttle. “What?” she breathed into the phone. “Just do what I said,” I replied calmly, speeding through the streets. I pushed the bike harder, the engine’s roar splitting the silence as I calculated each turn. She was about five blocks away, but I took a shortcut, darting down a side street, tires screeching as I leaned dangerously close to the pavement. “I’m getting close to where you are—tell me which alley you’re in.” “The sign ahead of me says Vincent’s.” “Okay, I’ll be pulling up any second. Remember what I told you to do.” “Yes,” she breathed, then Zeana’s panic sharpened. “They’re getting closer! I can’t—” “Yes, you can.” I cut her off with my voice steady and commanding. “When you see me, don’t stop running. Go to the curb, hold your arm out, hand open. Trust me, Zeana.” I reminded her. I can hear her footsteps pounding in my ears. “Okay… okay!” I burst onto the avenue, scanning for Zeana through the blur of streetlamps and shadows. There she was—hair wild, fear etched on her face, sprinting for her life. Four hulking men closed in behind her, their shouts echoing. “Now!” I barked as I closed the distance. Zeana’s sneakers skidded on the curb as she reached it. She thrust her arm out desperately, palm open just as my bike hurtled toward her. The world slowed for an instant—the shriek of my tires, the outstretched hands, the churning adrenaline. My hand clamped around hers, and with a surge of momentum, I swung her forward. Her feet left the ground, she soared over the gleaming headlight, wind whipping her blue hair around her face as she landed astride my lap, knees gripping my thighs, her arms wrapping tightly around my waist, I can feel her rapid heart against my chest. She gasped, arms instinctively wrapping around me. The four men shouted in anger behind us, but I was already accelerating, the bike a streak of speed. Zeana pressed her cheek against my chest, breaths heavy, I pulled her tight against me with one hand while I drove with the other. I sped off into the night, I turned down onto her street, then pulled into her driveway. I parked my bike, turning it off and kicking out the stand. I removed my hand from her, took my helmet off, and hung it from the handlebars. I cupped her face, looking at her, and saw a split in her lip along with a bruise on her cheek. “Who did it to?” I said my voice was cold and harsh. She shivered. “It was Dom.” “An attempt at revenge,” I state. Her gaze dropped to my lips, pupils blown wide. Something primal flickered in her eyes—a hunger that was raw, immediate, and impossible to mistake. She leaned in, her breath quickening, heat radiating off her in waves that crashed over me. “Zeana?” I murmured. She bit her lip. “That was... unbelievably hot.” She said breathlessly. “What? Me saving you?” She shook her head and pressed her body against mine, her hands greedy and insistent as they moved over me. “No. The way you saved me. The danger, the speed…it set something off in me I can’t ignore.” Her words were thick with longing, her touch almost desperate, as if she was fighting to satisfy a craving that had claimed her mind and body in an instant. “You liked that?” My gaze met hers, and that's when I saw it. Something I was hoping wouldn’t appear, at least not yet. “Yes.” Her cheeks were flushed, chest heaving. She gripped the back of my neck, pulling me into a kiss, her lips hard and hungry. She pressed herself further onto me, my cock hardening beneath her. A moan escaped her lips at the contact. Shit, I thought, feeling that connection solidify in my mind—the connection I’d tried so desperately to avoid. I tore myself away from her. “Fuck, Zeana.” My voice came out deep and raspy.