We're tucked into a corner booth of some little dive. It smells like a mixture of the city, cheap booze, and fried foods. It's perfect.

"We want one of everything," Wulf says to our server as soon as we sit down.

The man is tall and thin. He laughs, then nods when he realizes Wulf isn't joking. "Okay, I'll put that in."

"That's way too much food," I say looking over the menu.

He shrugs. "I want you to have a good time."

My heart pangs with a delicious hurt. I know he's sincere. He doesn't have to do any of this for me. He's doing it because he wants to. And that makes it all the more special.

The food comes out in waves. We barely have enough room on the table to hold it all. He and I feast on shrimp, crab claws, salads, french fries, dirty rice, corn bread, okra. Our arteries are probably clogging by the second, but it's too delicious to stop.

"Okay," I say, slumping down in the booth. "If I eat any more I think my shorts are going to rip."

He laughs and takes a swig of iced tea. "No dessert then?"

I groan. "I don't know, ask me in ten minutes and I might have a different answer."

We walk through the city hand in hand. He stops to kiss me at every intersection we wait at. It makes me feel full. Like he can't believe we're here together, just like I can't. "Everything about this is perfect," I whisper when he bends low to me.

My cheeks flush when I see him smile. He's so handsome. His fingers brush the spot over his mark on my chest and it makes me shiver. The brand is healed now. But feeling him touch it sends little tingles of desire through my body. There's nothing about him that doesn't make me want more.

Our next stop is San Antonio. My legs feel like jello after eight hours of riding. It's like my entire body can still feel the hum of the bike.

We smell like sweat and dirt. "I get first dibs on the shower," I call, not waiting for his response. I lock myself in the bathroom and scrub the day away.

Riding for this long is actually more fun than I expected. We don't get to talk much, but the scenery is beautiful. It's a totally different experience than being in a car. At first, it was a little scary. There is nothing- and I mean nothing- between you and the road. I trust Wulf though. He's an experienced rider. I know he would lay the bike down before he ever let me get hurt.

Wiping steam from the mirror, I realize something even deeper. I don't just trust him when I'm on the back of his bike. I trust him with everything. He's taken every bit of me, including my heart.

My mind feels heavy. Why can't we just let ourselves be happy? Just a day ago I was strolling the streets with him hand in hand, not a care in the world. Now that I realize how much I want him, how much I need him... how much I love him, it puts terror in my heart. When you love something that means you have something precious to lose. There isn't a single fucking thing in my life that hasn't been taken from me. I can't let my heart get taken too. It's the last thing I have.

"You okay?" Wulf asks as he steps out of the shower. I'm sitting on a little sofa in our suite. This place, just like the other, is nice as fuck. It's a hotel and spa that's right on the Riverwalk.

"Just thinking," I say, staring out the window.

He slips on jeans, staying shirtless. "Tell me what you're thinking about."

My life. Our life. My mom. My dad. The damage that people can do to one another.

"My classes," I lie.

"Stats?" he asks, coming up behind me. He pulls me back against his chest and rests his chin on my shoulder. He knows that's the class I hate the most. It makes me feel even more guilty for not telling the truth.

"Yeah, math is the worst," I keep up the charade.