Warrior (Relentless #4)(27)

Was the blond guy her date? The idea of her with someone else made my gut clench, but I knew it was a possibility. Sara was seventeen and beautiful, and she’d had a life before I found her. There was no reason why she wouldn’t date.

“Hi. Are you one of Dylan’s friends from Portland?”

I tore my eyes from Sara to look at the tall girl with short, dark hair who had walked up to me.

“No.” I had no idea who Dylan was, and I didn’t care, unless he was the blond man dancing with Sara. My gaze went back to them.

“Oh.” The girl moved closer. “You want to get a drink or maybe dance?”

“No, thanks.”

I promptly forgot about the girl when Sara’s partner dipped her, making her laugh. My jaw tightened, and my Mori made angry noises, wanting me to go up to them and pull her away from the guy. There was nothing suggestive in their movements, but it was impossible not to see the man was interested in more than dancing.

As the song ended, her body tensed and she began to scan the crowd for someone. My pulse leapt. Was it possible she felt my presence the same way I sensed hers?

I got my answer when her eyes landed on me and she frowned. Then she pulled away from her dance partner and stalked off in the other direction with the blond man following her. They spoke, and he went to the white van while she stayed where she was. I approached her, and she turned to glower at me.

“What are you doing here?”

I smelled beer on her breath, and I glared after the man. If he returned with more beer for her, he and I were going to have a talk. My gaze returned to her, and I noticed she was flushed and slightly tipsy. We were very tolerant of human alcohol, and I wondered how much she had consumed to make her this way.

“Obviously protecting you from yourself,” I said. “Are you drunk?”

She drew herself up. “No, I’m not drunk! And even if I was, it would be none of your business.”

“You are my business. Whether you like it or not, you are one of us and we protect our own.” I protect my own.

Her eyes blazed. “First of all, I am nobody’s business, and I don’t belong to you or your people or anyone else. This bossy act might work on little kids, but it won’t work on me, and if I want to party with my friends or drink or do anything else, I will.”

She spun away, stumbling, and I grabbed her arm to keep her from falling.

“You are drunk.”

Before she could retort, her friend returned.

“Everything okay here?” he asked.

Sara smiled at him. “Peachy. My…cousin was worried that I might be drinking too much. He’s a lot older than me and way too uptight.”

I almost snorted at her description of me. Only a blind man would believe there was anything familial between the two of us, at least on my side. She felt something too; she just didn’t know it yet. Or she didn’t want to admit it.

Her friend wasn’t buying her explanation.

“Cousin, huh?”

“Distant cousins, practically unrelated,” I responded, and the look in his eyes told me he understood my meaning.

He looked between Sara and me. “Listen, if there is something going on between you two, I –”

She made a derisive sound. “Yeah, not in this lifetime.” Turning to him as if I wasn’t there, she said, “I think I’ll go see what Roland is up to. Maybe I’ll see you again later.”

She stalked off toward the beach. I wanted to go to her and make sure she was okay, but I decided it would be wise to give her a few minutes to cool down first. A smile curved my lips. She was beautiful even when she was furious.

“You’re not really her cousin, are you?”

I looked at the blond man, who was still standing nearby. “No.”

He nodded and stared after her. “She’s something else.”

“Yes, she is,” I said more to myself.

The man surprised me when he held out his hand. “Samson.”

I shook his hand. “Nikolas.”

“Can I ask what the deal is with you and her? She didn’t mention a boyfriend, and you don’t exactly seem like her type.”

“What type is that?”

He grinned. “I’m not sure, but I hope it’s blond drummers. No offense.”

“None taken.” I couldn’t help but like the guy, even if my Mori wanted me to hit him for touching Sara. “I’d better go check on her.”

Samson chuckled. “Good luck with that.”

I saw Chris as I approached the bluff overlooking the beach, and I knew Sara had never been out of his sight even when she was out of mine. He gave me a look that said “better you than me” and pointed at a lone figure down the beach away from the fire. Not that I needed to be told where she was; I could sense her from here.

I watched her from a distance for a few minutes before I joined her. She didn’t look up as I neared, but she knew I was there despite my quiet approach.

“Please go away,” she said quietly. “I promise I won’t have any fun or fall into the ocean in my drunken state if you’ll leave me alone.”

I hated the sadness in her voice and knowing I had put it there. She’d looked so happy and carefree with Samson, and it bothered me that she reacted the opposite way to me. She didn’t know what we were to each other, and it was clear she was still upset by the things I’d told her last week. I wished there was something I could say to take away her pain, but all I could do for now was try to reassure her.