Page 147 of Rite of Unity

Maryn

Wereachedarowof transport bikes, and I stopped.

Calden grinned, a dimple appearing in his cheek.“It’s the only transportation on the island unless you want to walk.”

“But… only men are allowed.”

His smile vanished, and I stilled.

“The rules of polite society don’t exist here.Not when you’re with me.”

My stomach flipped.I glanced between him and the bike, wrapping my arms over my chest.

“Would you rather ride with me?”

Heat climbed up my cheeks.The question wasn’t really about the bike.

I took a step back.“I’m matched.”

His gaze darkened.It was the wrong thing to say.Or the right one.I wasn’t sure anymore.

He ran a hand down his thigh, moving to stand beside the first bike.“Come.I’ll show you how it works.”

I took an unsteady step forward.He tapped the handle, and I wrapped my fingers lightly over it.He stepped in behind me, his heat pressing into my back, and guided my other arm across to the second handle.His lips grazed my ear as he leaned over me, fingers curling over mine around the cold metal.

“Twist like this.”

I shuddered, trying to focus on the sound of the bike as it purred to life, on his instructions.Anything other than his breath on the shell of my ear as the hairs on my neck stood on end.

“Now, put your right foot on the stand.”

I lifted up until my left foot grazed the ground.

Calden mirrored my movement, placing his right foot on the stand, and my traitorous body pressed into him, my pulse spiking.

“Hold on.”

“What?”I craned my neck to look back as his left arm came around my waist, his hand squeezing mine.

The bike surged forward, and I fell against him, heat exploding across my chest and up to my cheeks as my body mapped the shape of him pressed against me.

“Calden!No!”I screamed, but the bike was already gliding at full speed along a dirt path.

I gripped both handles for dear life as we zigged and zagged, greenery blurring by.My heart tripped in my chest when several men in black flew past us, going the opposite direction.

Had my hood hidden my face?Did it matter on an island tucked away from the rest of the world?

We slowed, the bike stuttering to a stop.I wrenched my hands from under Calden’s, stumbling off the bike, crashing into a broad tree trunk.

He approached with the feline grace of a man who had done nothing wrong.

I whirled on him.“How could you be so careless with me?”

His dark eyes widened in surprise, and he halted.“You were in no danger.”

I shook my head, blinking several times.“Maybe not physical danger.”I let the unspoken words hang in the air.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets.The sun had crested the horizon sometime between our arrival and now, framing him in a golden halo.He almost looked angelic, even with his features obscured by shadows—or perhaps because of them.