Lifebound Read Online Free Page B

dimples. “I’ve got twenty-five first cousins. I know about family.”
    Adriana didn’t have nearly as many cousins, but the Velen family was connected to every other lamia family in the world. To function and survive, lamia had to find hosts. But the only real closeness they could have was with each other.
    Unfortunately, closeness wasn’t something any of her people were very good at. They put a constant watch on their contacts in their everyday lives. Maybe that reservation made them cautious with everybody, turning them all cold, even with their own families.
    But Tom Bridges had been a warm, friendly person, and she’d enjoyed working for him. With him, she mattered to someone.
    As the boys skated, she asked Josh all kinds of questions about his career. At last she remembered where she’d heard his name. Tom’s young nephew had asked for one of his videogames for Christmas a few years ago, and Tom had gotten Josh to sign the game for him at the release party. At the time, she was unimpressed. But hearing Josh talk about his business and the competitive circuit opened her eyes to the world of extreme skating in all its crazy glory.
    Skateboarding came to life in his descriptions like part spring break madness, part Olympics, with a good measure of entrepreneurship thrown in. She’d had no idea there was so much money in endorsements and video games. Josh clearly loved what he did, and the wistful tone in his voice told her how much he missed it.
    “Do they think you’ll be back competing again soon?”
    He shrugged and looked away. They sat quietly for a while.
    Then he turned that blue-sky gaze on her. “Just because I’m not skateboarding doesn’t mean you’ve got to babysit me.” He pulled himself to his feet, leaning on his cane for support. “How about it, Adriana? Want to ride?”
    Adriana shook her head in terror. The last thing she wanted was to fall on her face in front of these boys—in front of Josh.
    But the boys wouldn’t take no for an answer. Telly stood on one side and quiet John on the other.
    “Don’t you let me fall,” she said.
    They assured her she was perfectly safe with them, and before long, they had her gliding across the courtyard, doing slow, lazy turns.
    She’d done plenty of ice-skating as a girl, which paid off as she found her balance pretty quickly. The board responded to her as she shifted her weight, curving back and forth across the pavement.
    A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Josh had borrowed a board and was also gliding along, weaving in and out of the benches that bordered the edges.
    “You guys need to work on grinding these benches and popping ollies over them,” he said. “This could be a great place to skate.”
    “Something tells me Sarka would not approve of us grinding her benches,” Joseph warned.
    Adriana suddenly remembered her promise to Sarka that she would go to her room and stay far away from Josh Trenton. She sighed then. The morning had been surprisingly enjoyable. But for her own good, she needed to pack it in.
    Sadly, she pushed off back toward the group of guys. “I’m going to have to call it a day,” she said as she drew closer to them.
    “For real?” Josh asked, disappointment in his voice.
    “Yes, I’ve got to get some work done,” she lied as she rolled up.
    Just as she reached the edge of the pavement where the group stood, her front wheel hung on a pebble, stopping the board suddenly and throwing her forward. She threw out her hands to catch herself, but Josh got there first.
    He reached out to grab her arms to keep her from falling, and despite her best effort to roll away from him, he caught her.
    They hit the ground hard.
    But it was done.
    He gripped her shoulders as he pulled her into him, and the contact between them completed with a rush of energy that left her lightheaded.
    Time stopped as his human strength surged between them, as it soaked up the overflow of power that had built in her,