Impulse: Southern Arcana, Book 5 by Moira Rogers Page B

jackass wearing beer goggles into a drooling moron, but Julio was out of her league. Julio had his own league, one where rich shapeshifters who were damn near royalty married the barely legal daughters of important wolves. Pretty virgins with perfect manners and medieval dowries and closets full of fashionable clothing for hosting important dinner parties.
    Julio Mendoza’s league wasn’t a fan of the twenty-first century, which made her want to shrink back into her seat and bite her tongue.
    He made it to the interstate on-ramp before casting another glance her way. “Want to make any stops or head straight for Florida?”
    “Can we hit a Walmart or something? I need a bathing suit before we get to the beach.”
    “Plenty of time for that.”
    The wind roared around them as the car picked up speed, drowning out the music. It tugged at her braids and the sleeves of her jersey, set her bandanna fluttering against her neck as she tilted her head back. “So now we just…be free?”
    A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Do you remember how?”
    “I never knew how,” she admitted, mostly because the wind stole the words and she could pretend he wouldn’t hear them, even if she knew better. “But I’ll learn.”
    “Sounds like a plan to me.”
    “Do you remember how?”
    “To be free?” Julio signaled and changed lanes. “Who says I ever knew, either?”
    They were quite a pair. A rich wolf born of legacy and a poor coyote born of tragedy. She’d grown up without a mother, and the whole supernatural world knew he’d grown up without a father. At least her mother had been driven mad. Diego Mendoza had walked away from his psychic lover in a cloud of scandal, too cowardly to stay by the woman he supposedly loved and the children she’d given him.
    Maybe Julio hadn’t had any more freedom than Sera had, for all his wealth and status. It made it easier, somehow. More like an adventure.
    She and Julio could learn to be free together.
     
     
    Julio opened a refrigerated case and relished the cloud of cold air that rushed out. Late afternoon, and it was still hot as hell outside.
    He grabbed two drinks and walked up the aisle toward the register, pausing to add a few bags of snacks to the pile in his arms. When he reached the sleepy-looking clerk, he dropped everything on the counter and studied a carousel of cheap sunglasses. “Where’s the nearest town? Far?”
    “Not too far. Go down Highway 4 a few more miles and you’ll hit Baker.”
    Julio tossed a couple pairs of the sunglasses on the counter too. “Thanks.”
    “No problem.” The clerk lifted a map off the counter. “Need one?”
    “It’d probably be smarter than relying on my cell phone, huh?”
    The girl stirred enough to smile. “Hey, phones do everything. My dad says maps don’t run out of batteries, though.”
    “Your dad’s right.” He finished paying, took the bag and pushed out into the afternoon sunlight.
    Sera had her head back against the seat, eyes closed and a small smile playing around her lips. She looked peaceful, at ease, as if everything was right with the world.
    Julio slid behind the wheel. “I got you a Coke.”
    “Thanks.” She twisted her head and cracked her eyes open, and that sweet little smile turned warm, like it was all for him. “Not for the Coke. Thanks for this. Even just getting out of New Orleans…I feel like I can breathe again.”
    If he didn’t do anything else right, at least he could do this. “We’re going to keep you safe. Whatever it takes.”
    “Any of them would have kept me safe.” She unbuckled her seatbelt with a soft click and slid across the bench seat until she was tucked against his side with one arm wrapped around him in a half-hug. “You’re keeping me sane.”
    Sane. Exactly what he wasn’t as he cupped the back of her head and tilted her face to his. Insane, that was more like it—for a thousand different reasons.
    He kissed her anyway.
    She had soft lips. Soft and