Outsider (Outsider Series) by Micalea Smeltzer Page B

like this didn’t exist. They shouldn’t. A kiss like this was dangerous. This was the kiss someone gave you when they owned your soul.
    Caeden owned my soul and I owned his.
    He broke away from the kiss, his chest heaving, “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that,” he said.
    I had seemed to have lost control over all body functions. I couldn’t move my arms from around his neck and I couldn’t get my voice to work to I mutely nodded my head in agreement.
    He kissed me quickly, just a peck, but it still ignited the same fire in my soul.
    “Night,” he said removing my arms.
    I didn’t say anything. I just watched him walk to his car, a light chuckle trailing along behind him.

s even .
    I woke up and immediately dreaded what was waiting for me. All I could think about was treadmills, weights, and other unpleasant things.
    On the bright side however, there was Caeden. But a hot, sweaty, Caeden sounded even more dangerous to my senses than the normal one.
    I sighed and got dressed, figuring a shower was pointless.
    Gram smiled when she saw me. She appraised my workout clothes and said, “I see Caeden has convinced you to join him at the gym. What’s next?”
    “Torture,” I suggested.
    She patted my hand and said, “Don’t worry I think you’ll have fun.”
    “I didn’t know the definition of fun was something unpleasant,” I replied.
    She smiled and turned towards the kitchen. “Want some breakfast?”
    I rubbed my grumbling stomach. “Better not,” I said sadly. “If I eat and then exercise it makes me sick,” I said remembering a very unpleasant school year where I had lunch right before gym.
    “Okay,” she said. “Caeden should be here soon anyway.”
    I settled on the couch and listened to the news. The sounds and smells coming from the kitchen were not helping my stomach one bit. My stomach rumbled in response to the sound of eggs frying. I was just about to give in and eat something when I heard a light honk on a car horn come from the driveway.
    I grabbed my sweatshirt off the coat rack and pulled it on. “Bye Gram,” I called.
    She didn’t reply but I could hear her singing while she cooked.
    Caeden was waiting outside in the Jeep as I climbed in he said, “I thought about bringing my bike and forcing you onto it but I figured I was already pushing my luck.”
    “You thought right, Mister,” I said.
    He chuckled and pulled out of the driveway.
    * * *
    An assortment of vehicles were parked at Caeden’s house and I quickly recognized Charlotte’s, Bentley’s, and Logan ’ vehicles and figured Chris had rode with her brother. Caeden pulled into the garage, planted a quick kiss on my lips, grinned and then proceeded to tug me towards the house. Instead of going in through the front door we went in through the basement door.
    Caeden hadn’t been exaggerating. The whole basement was a gym. It was even equipped with girls and guys showers. Mats for martial arts littered the floor, several treadmills were clustered in a corner, and there was lots of weight lifting equipment.
    Bentley was lifting weights, while Chris looked on longingly while she ran on the treadmill. Logan and Bryce were wrestling and Charlotte was doing a bunch of complicated aerial moves. I gulped. They were all in extremely good shape. The girls were lithe and graceful of build and the boys were all well-muscled, even Bryce who was only sixteen.   
    “It’ll be fine,” whispered Caeden in my ear.
    “Sure,” I muttered.
    Caeden pointed to the different equipment, telling me what the various items performed, and then released me into his high-tech gym. I hoped I didn’t break anything.
    Caeden went over to join Bentley and I joined Chris on the treadmills.
    “Hey,” I said.
    She smiled and said, “Welcome to the Pack.”
    I laughed as I started the treadmill, “You guys are like family aren’t you?” I asked referring to the Pack.
    “Yeah,” she said sadly and gave Bentley a look of longing. She