Promise Me by Cora Brent Page B

his face broke into a grin.  He pulled me forward, pressing his forehead to mine.  We stayed that way until the shriek of a nearby vulture startled both of us.  Then he gently pushed my loose hair back and slowly withdrew his hand. 
    “Scorpions out here,” he said in an odd, husky voice.  “You shouldn’t walk around barefoot.”   He turned and walked back to the door of his trailer and I abruptly realized that he was only wearing a pair of boxer shorts.  But instead of looking away, embarrassed, I stared after him with fascination.  He gave me one final look, saying, “I’ll see you later, Promise,” before shutting the door. 
    “Yes,” I whispered, though there was no one there to listen. 
    As it turned out I didn’t see Grayson later.  I was helping Rachel polish glasses in the bar when Casper breezed through and told her he would be gone a few days. 
    She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and kissed him deeply, then yanked on his arm with a mischievous grin, leading him toward the office in the back.  I switched on the old radio which sat next to the bar.  It drowned out most of the noise they made. 
    Ten minutes later Casper emerged, sweaty and with his shirt balled up in his hand.  He raised his eyebrows at me as if he’d forgotten I was there.  “Hey, can I get a quick shot of Jack?” 
    I stared at him blankly and he laughed. 
    “Never mind, I’ll grab it.” 
    He hopped over the bar and poured himself a tiny glass full of brown liquid which he swallowed immediately. 
    Rachel wandered in, adjusting her bra as Casper watched her. 
    “Bye, cupcake,” he said with a kiss. 
    “Just come back, lover,” she answered. 
    The reigning quiet was interrupted by the harsh choke of engines; the sound of several motorcycles starting and then riding away. 
    Rachel’s face was dreamily content as she began wiping the bar down. 
    I grabbed a linen cloth and joined her.  “Where is he going?”
    She smiled.  “Wherever he needs to, hon.” She raised her eyebrows meaningfully. “Grayson is going with him. And a Defiant from town named Abel.” 
    At the mention of Grayson’s name I tensed.  I hated the idea of him being gone.  Partly because being near him made me feel safer.  And partly because of something else I wasn’t quite ready to put a name to. 
    Rachel beamed.  “We should celebrate tonight,” she decided, referring to the happy news of my non-pregnancy.  “Really.  Just you and me.  Kira will be busy entertaining Orion but the bar won’t be too busy.  How about we grab a pizza in town and come back here to enjoy the free booze?”
    I wasn’t sure about the booze part.  “I’d like that,” I said.  I folded the towel and put it down.  “I told him, you know.  I ran over there without thinking this morning and just blurted it out.” 
    She was interested. “What did he say?”
    I blushed.  “He was happy.  For me,” I stammered. 
    Rachel smiled knowingly.  “I’ll bet.”  She stepped behind me and started playing with my hair.  “He looks at you, you know.  Longer and more hotly every freaking day.” 
    “He does not,” I insisted quietly.  Grayson Mercado didn’t see me that way.  Yet as I remembered the way he’d held my face this morning, I wondered. 
    She pushed my hair over my head, blinding me in a wave of dark red.  “Have it your way,” she laughed. 
    It was pleasant evening with Rachel.  Kira rolled by to take a brief rest from her intense evening with Orion. 
    “Shit, little girl.  You should take it easy,” Rachel teased.  “You’re gonna wear him out.”
    Kira smiled at her sweetly. “Not. Fucking. Possible.”
    “You’re right,” Rachel shrugged. 
    I was glad when Rachel offered to let me stay with her until Casper returned.  As I returned briefly to my trailer to retrieve a few things my gaze fell briefly on Grayson’s dark trailer.  He had called it an ‘Airfloat’ design and said it