Domino Falls: A Novel by Steven Barnes

Author:Steven Barnes [Barnes, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy, Thrillers, Action & Adventure, Paranormal
ISBN: 9781451617023
Amazon: 145161702X
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2013-02-19T05:00:00+00:00

contraband, since there was no mistaking candlelight.

Terry was nervous, despite having had steady girlfriends since

he was fifteen—until juvie, anyway. His first girlfriend, Loretta, had only been a novelty, a senior when he was a sophomore.

He thought he’d loved Gwen for real, until she banged half the

basketball team and turned love to loathing. Then he’d practiced

all of Gwen’s evil on his last girlfriend, Paige, who had finally

gotten the hint after he stopped answering her calls and texts.

After a month.

Not the greatest track record, maybe, but he was no stranger

to girls.

So why did Kendra make him feel like he’d never kissed a

girl before? Or like her brown eyes could see everything he’d

ever thought or done? Why did her cheekbones remind him of

a wood carving? How did such a compact body hold curves that

filled her jeans in a way Loretta, Gwen, and Paige could only

have dreamed about?

Kendra was like no other girl he’d known, and so smart

she was almost scary. Knowing that she’d been on the bus seat

behind him all that time, relying on him to stay awake and keep

them safe, might have been the single most important reason

the Blue Beauty had made it to Threadville.

Now if only he could make Kendra happy here, so she

wouldn’t get kicked out with her wild stories. Or get him kicked out, because he couldn’t let her go back on the road without him.

Kendra seriously needed to get . . . distracted. That was what

Dean had been trying to tell him on the way to the mechanic’s

house.

“Okay,” he said, opening the door.

184

Barnes_Domino_TX_1P.indd 184

8/8/12 6:30 PM

Domino Falls

“It’s safe now?”

“You tell me,” he said.

Damn, why was his heart whirring so loudly? He watched

her face as she walked into the candle-bright room, waiting for

her reaction.

The smiling curve of her lips was a jolt of pure lightning.

Kendra had never looked so beautiful.

“You did this . . . for me?” Kendra said. The most any other boy had ever done for her was Taylor’s wilting carnation corsage. And he’d

stuck her with the pin.

But Terry had already done so much more.

Terry closed the door and stood behind her, wrapping his

arms around her. They swayed together like they were rocking

at sea, sharing silent music. She stared at their reflection in the bureau’s cracked mirror, so many contrasts; he was tall and

broad-shouldered, she was short and narrow. Suntan against

naturally dark skin. What a curious, fascinating sight they were.

Hipshot settled down on the floor, bored.

“Remember that night on the beach? Our first kiss?” Terry

whispered, nudging closer to her.

Kendra’s heart seemed to stop. He was aroused, and he didn’t

care if she knew. His fever infected her. “I’ve thought about that night a lot. When I said . . . I mean, I hope you didn’t think . . .”

He fumbled for words.

Kendra’s cheeks flared hot. “No, it’s my fault. I hope I

wasn’t . . .”

When neither of them could form a sentence, they laughed at

how ridiculous they were. Some of her nervousness evaporated

as she remembered the moonlight across the ocean.

185

Barnes_Domino_TX_1P.indd 185

8/8/12 6:30 PM

Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due

She turned around to drape her arms across his shoulders,

keeping a few inches between them.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.