Five (Elemental Enmity Series Book I) by Christie Rich

water.”
    Zach was searching my face when I looked up. Was he worried I would think Roger was cuter than him? Like that could ever happen.
    “You mind if we ride with you, Sam?” Zach asked. “I don’t have enough room for both Rayla and Cassie on my bike.”
    Sam smiled. “No problem. Meet us in fifteen in the lot. I have to get a couple of things for Roger.”
    Natalie went with Sam. We started for the car.
    “I didn’t know you owned a bike,” I said to Zach, swallowing the lump of anxiety in my throat. I was not going to freak out…yet. “You wouldn’t be talking about a Schwinn, would you?” Motorcycles terrified me now, and it didn’t slip my notice that Zach easily fit the description of that mysterious rider or the man in the woods. The only thing that made me discount the notion was that as attractive as he was, which was more than yummy, he didn’t pull me toward him like a swirling black hole. I didn’t have to fight to be me.
    He gave me a curious expression. “I’ve never gotten that reaction before. Don’t you like motorcycles, Rayla?”
    “Sure, I do.” That was if they weren’t morphing into a demon mount bent on running me off the road. “I just hadn’t taken you for someone who would own a bike.”
    “Really?” He let out a gusty laugh. “What did you take me for?”
    Now that I thought about it, he was exactly the sort of guy I could picture racing the night on a hog. I improvised. “I don’t know—a sporty sedan or something.”
    He nudged me gently. “I won’t hold that blasphemy against you. Sedans are for wimps. I’ll take you for a ride sometime…” He waggled his eyebrows dramatically before continuing, “when we’re alone.”
    The image that came to my mind shot heat through my body. I could see myself neatly tucked behind him savoring the closeness, with my hair whipping about my face, as he sped away. I just wished the scene didn’t involve me screaming like a banshee, holding onto his torso with a death-grip.
    “I’m sorry to be tagging along tonight, Zach,” Cassie said. “I could go back to the dorm if you and Rayla want some time alone.” Her eyes were downcast, her shoulders slumped.
    Zach gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t waste another thought even considering it. I’m the one crashing your party, not the other way around. I wish Derek were here; I would set you up in a heartbeat.”
    Cassie’s head snapped up. She was clearly intrigued. “Who’s he?”
    “My friend. I haven’t seen him in a while, but I think he would like you.”
    Her eyes glistened with hope. “Does he live around here?”
    I couldn’t help but wonder if Cassie’s eagerness to find a guy was so she would have an excuse to stay away from home. I couldn’t blame her. Her parents were nice, but they were also overbearing to the extreme, especially when her dad was home. He had become overprotective in the past few years. Every time Cassie met someone and became attached, the guy would suddenly lose interest. Cassie was convinced her dad was paying them off. I wasn’t so sure. Nigel Lambert could be intimidating any time he wanted to. I always thought he was just making sure his baby didn’t get involved with the wrong sort.
    “Afraid not,” Zach said, giving her a smile. “Don’t worry, though. You won’t have any trouble finding a boyfriend in this place. Give it some time.”
    I stepped in between them, turning to Zach, hoping to seize the opportunity before it vanished. I was trying to convince myself that I wasn’t at all jealous. “Where are you from, anyway?”
    “You name it,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve lived there.”
    That wasn’t an answer. “Where were you born?”
    His face tightened severely before he stopped dead in his tracks. One side of his mouth lifted into a smirk. “What’s this, twenty questions?”
    “I don’t know anything about you,” I said honestly. For all I knew he could be the guy that followed me here. What if he