Running from His Claim (Beauty and the Beast #2)

Chapter 44

He was still there when I woke up.

I sat up to find Victor standing at my window, gazing out at the morning light. He turned to me, his blue eyes deep in this light, and smiled. "You're really beautiful, you know that?"

I blushed until I realised that he was teasing me. Rolling my eyes, I threw the covers off and sat up, giving him a sickly sweet smile. "Good morning. Sleep well?"

He laughed at my jab, then his eyes trailed from my face to the rest of me. I saw him stare, saw his eyes flash a bright red for a second. Then he swallowed and looked away, leaving me confused. "Uh, want to stay here today? They're both up."

I nodded quickly, jumping to my feet. I needed to see my Dad. I ran downstairs and found Keith and Dane having breakfast. They both smiled in welcome and I joined them at the table. Breakfast was a lighthearted affair and I soon lost my paranoia that Dad had somehow gotten worse in the night.

Victor 'arrived' at my doorstep just after breakfast and Keith suggested that he take me out for the day. I protested - I was still exhausted from yesterday - but all three men insisted until I gave in.

And so that's how, hours later, I found myself sitting on the cliffs overlooking our spot with Victor, talking about literally nothing.

"So Ironheart is planning on giving us a long lecture about responsibility before Spring Break," Victor muttered, idly throwing rocks over the edge.

I laughed softly and pushed a strand of hair out of my face. The heat was stifling today, only bearable under the shade of the trees here in the forest. Victor had always felt it was his civic duty to annoy everyone he could, and he honed his skills on Mr Earhart every day of school. The man hated and respected Victor in equal measures, and this was the first semester I'd ever known Victor to not earn himself a lot of detention from the old teacher.

"Speaking of, I hope spring isn't this hot," I said lazily. "Otherwise I'll roast in summer."

He ran an amused glance over me. "Not that you'll look it. But don't worry, today's just hot because of the cool thunderstorm heading our way. See those dark clouds on the horizon?"

"What horizon? Dude, all I see are trees!"

He laughed and pushed his hair back. "Humans."

"Hey!"

"Sorry, ow!" He complained as I jabbed him the ribs. Not that it did any damage. "I've been spending too much time with Angelo, I guess. He wants to know if it's too late to teach me to ride a bike."

I giggled, toying with a tuft of grass. Victor lay back, propping himself on one elbow. "Angel's sweet."

He snorted. "You're not into sweet, baby."

"Says who?"

He rolled his eyes and gazed into the distance again. "I wonder if that storm will hit tonight. I should ride it later and find out."

"Wait, you ride on storm clouds?" I asked incredulously.

"What else can I do with my gift? It's the reason I have it in the first place."

"What?"

Groaning, he turned back to the sky. "Why do I say too much around you?"

"Because you love me," I said lightly, hoping to ease it out of him. His eyes flew to me for a second, wide and unsettled, before he looked away and pushed his hair back again. "You're not going to leave me hanging, are you?"

He sighed. "Okay, fine. But be warned; this is a theory I made up, it's untested. I've never even told anyone else." He glanced at me to show me he was serious. "Okay?"