Promised at the Moon by Rebekah R. Ganiere Page B

sand from her dress and shaking out her hair, she grabbed her purse and headed for the bike.
    She refused to shed tears as fury crawled through her, digging in its claws and sending her blood pounding into her ears. Curses and venomous words streamed through her mind, poisoning her thoughts. She wasn’t totally sure what had her so livid but between the impending full moon, the need mounting inside her and the emotions of the evening, she was furious.
    Back in the parking lot, she got on the bike and stared straight ahead, refusing to meet his gaze.
    Liam sat in front of her and tipped the bike off its kickstand. It roared to life, and she grabbed the bar at the back of her seat. He looked at her as if waiting for something. She caught his eye and then looked pointedly away. He faced forward and rolled the bike out.
    Several times, on the ride home, she pitched sideways and almost grabbed on to him, but she’d rather be roadkill than to give him the satisfaction. The whipping wind no longer exhilarated her. It slapped her in the face and stung her cheeks. Her body still pulsed, and her mind reeled from the encounter. What had started out as an evening to have fun had turned into a night from hell. Again . The way he toyed with her was worse than what Daniel had done.
    Liam was like a mean toddler the way he wound her up only to let her go and see her dance. It had been better when she’d thought he was only being nice to her because he’d been paid. At least then she had a better idea of where she stood.
    He’d barely slowed down outside her condo before she jumped off the bike and ripped the helmet from her head, throwing it at his chest.
    “I’ll take you to your car tomorrow,” he said.
    “Don’t bother.” She walked up the steps without turning around.
    “Asha—”
    She punched the code into the gate and slammed it shut before the poison in her head poured out of her mouth.

Chapter Nine
    Her car sat outside the condo complex the next morning. To Natasha’s surprise, the driver’s-side window had been fixed. A note sat on the windshield. After an hour she ran down to it, ripped it up and threw it in the trash without even reading it. She’d had enough of men playing games with her. She’d tried so hard to move on from Daniel’s manipulation. And though she knew Liam was nothing like Daniel, she didn’t have the energy for a guy who couldn’t make up his mind. But even as she threw the paper in the trash her heart ached. Her feelings for Liam collided with her thoughts that told her to be levelheaded and not get involved.
    She spent the weekend in bed. Her phone buzzed or beeped dozens of times, but she refused to answer. The doorbell rang twice while Cara was at work, but she stayed put. On Sunday there had been a knock on the door and Cara had come upstairs to get her, but she’d faked being asleep.
    On Monday, she and Cara rode to campus in silence. Cara didn’t pry. She was good like that. They parked the car and separated for classes. Heading into the language arts building, her steps slowed. The confusion and pain she’d spent the weekend trying to eradicate reared its ugly head at the sight of Liam waiting outside her classroom.
    She sucked in a deep breath and headed toward him. She’d spent most of the previous afternoon practicing what she would say to him when she saw him again, but now that she saw him, her tongue tangled and her mind refused to remember the words.
    He looked up from where he lounged against the wall. His dark, curly hair was a mess and dark circles stained his eyes.
    “Hey,” he said as she approached.
    She walked to the open door, heart pounding. His hand shot out and he touched her wrist. She pulled out of his grip. Backing up a step, she glanced around. That hadn’t been something she’d practiced.
    Several students slowed and looked over but kept moving.
    “We need to talk.” He fiddled with the strap of his messenger bag.
    “I think we talked enough on