Chapter 6
SIX
Asia
“Come in,” I said at the knock on the bathroom door.
It felt so normal, reminding me of the days after high school when I lived in glorified rooming houses I found on the Internet.
Never dreamed I’d miss those days, but life taught me anew every day.
The door knob turned and Bridget leaned in, glancing around the small bathroom like she expected someone else to be in here. I thinned my lips to keep from smiling, not having to think too hard to guess who she would be looking for.
“What’s up, Bridget?” I asked.
She stepped inside the bathroom and smiled at me. Then she reached out and hugged me so tight, her thin arms forced the breath out of my lungs. She kept holding me and leaned back to look up at me. “Thank you.”
“For what?” I asked, hugging her back quickly and then trying to step away.
She squeezed tighter for a split second and then dropped her arms.
“I thought I was going to die in that courthouse. And when—” she cut off, wiping at the tears that had sprang up—“when I saw Irv like that, I wanted to die. Finding you was a blessing. And making it here was a miracle.”
I squeezed her hand. “That was all Jack.”
She waved me away. “Don’t be modest. Jack is…” she crinkled her brows as she searched for a word, “useful. But we all know who’s responsible for our safety. You made this happen. And we would all be dead without you, Asia.”
She studied me for a long moment, something I couldn’t quite name flashing in her eyes. “Your uncle is a good man, and he and your aunt raised a great woman.”
She locked her eyes on mine, and my own vision started to cloud.
Then Bridget smiled, and shook her head. “Now let me stop. Don’t want to ruin my makeup.”
I giggled. “Bridget, you don’t have any makeup.”
“That’s right. This is natural beauty. Has been all along,” she said with a laugh as she reached up and smoothed the skin around her eyes, pulling so tight it looked like it hurt.
Then she sobered. “How pathetic is it that even in all this I miss my face cream and lip stain? I’m alive. That’s what counts, right?”
I didn’t know what to say, and felt the weight of Bridget’s stare as she waited for a response.
“We’re just doing the best we can,” I finally said.
She smiled like I said something profound and patted my hand. “I’ll let you finish.”
I stayed a few extra minutes, but decided to stop putting off the inevitable.
“Looking good,” Lourdes said when I finally entered the living room.
She was smiling, but her gaze lingered on my neck for a half a second too long.
Only sheer will kept me from reaching up to touch the spot.
Lourdes, God bless her, said nothing, but I didn’t miss the knowing glint in her eye.
I looked down at my cartoon mouse T-shirt and flannel pants with Christmas trees that Aunt Kathleen had bought for Christmas fifteen years ago.
“This passed for looking good? How low we’ve fallen,” I said.
“We’re not covered in sweat. I’m not complaining,” she said.
I smiled. “Me, either.”
In fact, I was elated.
Right after we got here, I threw that godawful sleeping bag into a bonfire, and spent three uninterrupted hours taking out my braids, detangling, washing, and conditioning my hair. I hadn’t taken the time to rebraid it and settled on a loose ponytail, at least for now.
A fine hairstyle, but one that left my neck completely exposed. On instinct, I trailed my fingers against the spot where Jack marked me.
Here I was at my big age with my very first hickey.
How ridiculously embarrassing.
At least, it should have been.
They would all see it.
Know who put it there.
A fact that didn’t bother me nearly as much as it should have.
“I feel almost like myself again. Whatever that means,” I said.
Lourdes nodded. “Yeah. Me, too.”
“Where’s Miles?” I asked.
“With Jack. Said he wanted to help him keep watch.”
“I’m not surprised,” I said.
“Me neither, but it’s good. He was so close to our brother—” She wiped at her eyes and then smiled, though her eyes remained haunted. “It’s good for him to have someone, for however long…”
I didn’t let myself think about that and instead reached over and squeezed Lourdes’s hand.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be.”
“I should be grateful that I’m alive. That Miles is. But…”
She shook her head, wiping her tears.
I had heard Lourdes crying before when we were on the road, but she always kept up a brave face for Miles.
I gave her a quick squeeze, letting her have her moment.
“It’s all right. We’re here, and we’re going to stay that way,” I said.
My voice was certain, confident, and I swore I would try to keep that promise.
“You should try to get some sleep,” I said, looking at her. “You know Uncle Levi runs a tight ship, and morning’s going to be here sooner than you think.”
She smiled. “He’s a good man,” she said.
“The best,” I responded.
“I was talking about Jack,” she said.
“Maybe I was, too,” I said with a flippant little smile.
“You better get to sleep before Caitlin gets in here and tries to finesse you out of the twin bed,” I said.
“After everything, I’d sleep on the floor. But don’t tell her that,” Lourdes said.
She smiled, and I did, too.
Lourdes, Caitlin, and Bridget were in the guest bedroom with bunk beds.
I was in my old room, and was surprised that it was still there.
Elliot and Miles had taken the other guest room, and as far as I could tell, Jack decided to forego sleep.
So predictable.
I walked to Uncle Levi’s door and knocked.
“You turning in?” I said after he opened it.
“Try to get as much sleep as I can,” he said.
I looked at him for a long moment.
“Any other reason you’re not sleeping, besides the obvious?” I asked.
He waved me away, the low light from his flashlight casting him in an eerie shadow.
“Don’t worry about me and get some rest yourself,” he said.
“See you in the morning, Uncle Levi. And thank you for this,” I whispered.
“Go on, girl,” he said, and then he closed the door.
The house was dark, barely illuminated by the weak LED flashlight I kept on the lowest setting.
I caught Miles as he entered the house.
“I thought you were keeping watch,” I said.
“I was, but Jack sent me and Elliot back in. Said he was spending more time trying to keep us awake than keep watch, so he got a couple of the others to help,” he said.
“You need your rest. It’s been a hard trip for all of us,” I said.
“I know, but I told your uncle we would pull our weight, and we will,” he said.
“Say good night to your sister and then go to bed, Miles,” I said.
He smiled, then went up the stairs, Elliot beside him.
I went outside and found Jack.
He turned toward me when I approached, his posture almost relaxed, with something dark and hungry lighting his eyes.
“You should be asleep, too,” he said, his voice gravely in a way that made my nipples stiffen with anticipation.
“Shouldn’t I say the same about you?”
“I might be soon enough. There’s nothing out here, and I’m too fucking tired for idle chatter unless you’re planning to distract me,” he said.
I grabbed his hand. “Come with me.”
It was so dark, the night sky starless, that I knew he couldn’t see me.
But he followed.
“What is this?”
I took him into one of the outbuildings.
“A secret place,” I said mysteriously.
“Asia…” he said, his voice rich with warning.
“Jackson,” I responded, feeling suddenly playful.
“I’m supposed to be keeping watch.”
“Who said you wouldn’t be?” I said as I handed him the flashlight. “Hold this while I climb up.”
I tested the ladder, finding it surprisingly sturdy after all these years, then climbed.
“Then get up here,” I called down when I was midway up the ladder.
“Shut up, Asia,” he responded.
“Make me,” I shot back.
His response was silence.
Heavy. Charged.
Then, “Don’t tempt me, Counselor. Not unless you’re ready to deal with the consequences.”
I held his gaze for a split second, then climbed faster.
He chased me up the ladder, his presence overwhelming, consuming.
Essential.
The ladder rattled beneath us.
Jack was essential. That terrified me.
I chuckled softly to settle the sudden nerves, and then it was quiet, the sound of crickets the only soundtrack.
“Why am I up here, Asia?” Jack said, his voice clipped.
I smiled again, this time with genuine amusement. “If I didn’t know better, I would say the great Jackson Thorne is pouting.”
“How many times do I have to tell you my name is Jack?” he said.
“Definitely pouting,” I responded. Then I looked out of the opening.
“We used to call this the top of the world,” I said.
“What is that?”
“You can see the whole property here, all the way out to the forest,” I said. “Isn’t it amazing?”
“Yeah. It is,” Jack said, his voice soft.
Then I looked at him and realized he wasn’t looking out at all.
He was looking at me. Looking at me like I was the only thing he saw.
Like I was the only thing worth seeing.
Like he wanted to consume me whole.
“Jack,” my voice wobbled, “why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?” he said.
“Like you want to fuck me into the next county,” I said.
“Because I want to fuck you into the next county,” he responded.
He moved closer, his breath warm against my face, his body solid.
He pulled me closer, his thumb stroking that spot on my neck. Then he stilled, pressing his thumb against that spot hard enough to make me gasp.
Swallowed the sound with his kiss.
I braced myself for the roughness I’d come to crave, but his kiss was shockingly gentle. Leisurely in a way I never experienced with him.
Jack tied his shoes with the intensity of a neurosurgeon six hours into an operation. But the way he kissed me now was slow, almost lazy, like he was exploring me.
Or trying to memorize me.
He stroked his hands down my sides, settling them lightly on my hips, and pulled me closer.
His hardness throbbed between us, leaving me anxious, edgy, and Jack seemingly unaffected.
I shivered and then moaned when his thick, calloused fingers touched my bare skin and worked my shirt up and off, taking my bra with it.