The Willows: Haven

by Hope Collier

  “No.” I shook my head firmly. “I will have a say in my future, Gabe. And I’ll marry who I want. I’m not a political pawn in some world I’ve never known. Aside from Harry, it’s obvious none of my nymph family cared one way or the other.”

  “Ash,” he began.

  “You aren’t responsible for me. This is my choice. I get to pick my life, not them.”

  Gabe closed his eyes, grief lingering in the lines of his forehead.

  “No more.” I backed away, resolved. “I can’t let you agonize over this. I’ll do what you ask me without question, but I have to go. It will be a catastrophe if you show up alone. You won’t even get the opportunity to see Harry.” I sighed. My commitment made, I couldn’t withdraw the words if I wanted to — and I was confident the moment would come that I would want to do just that.

  “You have to listen to me, Ashton. If I think for even a second you’re trying something, I’ll take you away myself. I want to save Harry, but I love you. I’ll always choose you. Do you understand?”

  I nodded.

  “Let’s get going then. We’re wasting daylight.” Gabe sighed.

  After I changed, we hurried outside. Gabe opened the passenger door on the BMW for me then loaded the car. He sprinted around the front, climbed in, and fastened his seat belt. The smell of burnt rubber filled the car as we tore out of the driveway.

  Broken stoplights swung in the breeze as we hit Main Street. I tried to avoid thoughts of Harry or the future and focused my attention outside. We flew through the tiny barren town full of antiquated buildings and boarded up storefronts. The emptiness seemed fitting somehow.

  “Where are we headed now?” I asked, lifting the unfamiliar map to study the diagram.

  “Southern Tennessee.” Gabe rounded the corner and picked up the pace on the main highway. “We’ll get as close as we can before we have to take to the water.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s the safest way to travel. We’ll swim downstream until we get close to the cave on the map.”

  We drove most of the afternoon, only stopping for gas and water. Turning off the highway, the side road grew rocky under the tires. We dipped and slid our way into unfamiliar woods, my sleek sports car no match for Mother Nature. Gabe groaned under his breath as we hit something solid and lunged to a stop.

  “It looks like we go on foot from here.” He climbed out, grabbed a few items from the trunk, and stuffed them in his cargo pockets. “We need to put in some distance before dark. Would you hand me the letter?”

  I offered him everything, and he stretched the map across the hood. I looked over his shoulder but couldn’t read the words. They were sketched in the same language as the writing on the jewelry. The handwriting was different though, more erratic.

  “So, where is this place?” I asked.

  He positioned the map and studied the detailed diagram. “That way.” He gestured upstream where a small river flowed from between two peaks. “There’s a cave. The map says the second marker is there.”

  He zipped the paper into a waterproof pouch with the other items then stuffed them into his pockets as we made for the river. Gabe pulled his ragged thermal shirt off and knotted it around his belt. “Are you ready?”

  I sucked in a deep breath as the light glistened off his sun-kissed skin. “Not in the slightest.”

  “Let’s go then.” His smile turned to tentative excitement, and he dove into the river.

  I followed Gabe’s lead and made an eager leap toward him. The water caressed my skin like rose petals, drawing a satisfied moan from me. Gabe watched me closely, an eyebrow raised and a mischievous smile on his face.

  “We’ll stay well below the surface,” he explained. “We don’t want to risk being seen. Wearing the backpacks will make moving tougher. I don’t know how swimming will play out for you, so stay behind me. I’ll keep an eye out for any signs of trouble.”

  I nodded, trying to listen over the delightful sensation surrounding me.

  Gabe sank twenty feet beneath the water. Pulling in a lungful of oxygen, I fought against my backpack to follow him. He moved easily, swimming a body length in front of me. I admired the fluency of his action, each movement efficient and productive. I floundered after him, taken by the feel around me and my ability to see him clearly through the murk.

  Gabe reminded me of a dolphin as he swam. He twisted and spun through the water, like a fish at play. Fear of getting tangled in some fisherman’s line or looking like a floundering idiot kept me moving at a steady pace.

  The river hummed with life. Vibrations of things above and below assaulted my senses. I tried to focus, but so many things demanded my attention. A rhythmic splash above pulled my eyes upward. A pair of red and yellow kayaks paddled overhead. The slice of oars cut through the water in the opposite direction, the raucous laughter of the boaters drumming below the surface.

  Noisy humans.

  My mind didn’t boggle at the term now the way I thought it should have. It seemed almost normal somehow, appropriate. A sense of pride swelled in me, feeling like maybe I’d finally found my place in life.

  Hours into the swim, the filtered light gradually gave way to shadows. Gabe paused below a bridge and motioned for me to surface with him. His face lit up as I closed the distance.

  “What is it?” I whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

  “You did so well, love. How do you feel?”

  “I feel great. Do we have more swimming tonight?” I asked, enthused at the thought of testing my limitations.

  “I don’t think that would be wise with the weather.” Gabe’s eyes searched the graying sky then wrestled his shirt over his chest. “Feels like a storm is going to hit.”

  Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the smell of rain loomed on the horizon. It seemed Gabe was right. He led us to a narrow tributary leading into the bank of the river. I kept slipping on the rocks and slowing us down. One deep place in particular caught me by surprise as I sank to my chest without warning then toppled over.

  “Steady there, Gracie.” Gabe fished me out of the deep end using the strap of my bag. I grunted and slid on something slimy.

  Gabe bit back a chuckle as I muttered under my breath and wrestled the snarled mop of hair from my eyes.

  “It’s not funny.” I half scowled. “I can’t move around like you do. The whole river bottom is a deathtrap. I liked swimming.”

  Gabe looked on as I struggled through a muddy area, his mouth flirting with a smile. Finally, my foot went into the mud and didn’t come out.

  “I’m stuck,” I said on a sigh, trying very hard not to grumble. Gabe kept his expression level as he bent down to extract my shoe from beneath the muck. His fingers slid down my calf, to my ankle. My breathing hitched as his free hand rested on my hip for support. The heat of his palm warmed the skin beneath my shorts, causing me to forget about our predicament.

  He gave a stiff tug, and my foot came loose with smack, sending us both tumbling toward the bank. Gabe hit the grass with me on top of him, arms and legs tangled. I tried to stand, but my wet clothes and heavy backpack threw me off balance, leaving me to thrash about uselessly.

  I looked to Gabe for help, but his arm locked around my waist, pinning my muddy body to his. The hungry look in his eyes caught me off guard. His other hand fell slowly, tracing the lines of my neck and shoulder, sliding to my ribs and down to my waist. I sucked in a breath as it paused on the small of my back and drew me tighter. Gabe shifted his weight, pulling his bag over his shoulder, and moved over me. He leaned in, his mouth so close I could feel the heat.

  “Ashton,” he whispered against my lips, almost a plea, and I was lost.

  The kiss moved from gentle to needy. His lips parted, and the scent of him filled my lungs. My arms wound around his neck, fingers weaving into his hair as his hands roamed the length of my body. Warm lips blazed across my neck, exploring every curve of soft skin there. His hand swept around my leg, hitching it over
his thigh as he shifted us to a sitting position.

  Gabe’s mouth traveled back to mine, and I pulled myself higher. I couldn’t fathom how we could be any closer than we were, but I struggled to accomplish it. Gabe lifted me off the ground, my legs wrapped around his waist. Our lips never disjoining, I realized we were moving but couldn’t find it in me to acknowledge why.

  Something soft and springy sank beneath me, Gabe hovering just above. My hands trailed down the hard muscle of his arms, tracing the ridges along his stomach, and slid beneath the fabric of his shirt. In one swift motion, the material disappeared leaving me breathless. A peal of thunder roared through the air at the same time a bolt of lightning cracked like a whip.

  “Mmm,” Gabe moaned as my fingers danced over his bare chest. I toyed with the catch on my shirt, and his hands moved over mine.

  “Stop,” he breathed. I shook my head and pulled him back to me, holding him close with every part of my being.

  “Ashton, please,” he pleaded. “I … I need you to stop.”

  I stilled my lips and clenched my hands into fists, willing my body to let him go.

  Gabe moved away, breathing deeply as he pushed his back against a wall.

  Another roll of thunder rumbled through unseen clouds.

  “We’re inside?” I struggled to figure out how we’d gotten here.

  “It started raining.” Gabe half-smiled, his posture still restrained as he looked away from me.

  “You’d think I would’ve noticed that.”

  “Perhaps, but you were occupied otherwise.”

  “This is true.” I gazed longingly at Gabe before forcing myself upright. “Should we keep moving?”

  “We need to wait out the storm for now. Besides that, it’s late and you should sleep. We’re safe for tonight.”

  “But what if they come looking for us here?” My teeth sank into my lip.

  “They won’t look for us, love. We’re going to them. Besides that, this isn’t the cave. See?” He lifted a flashlight from the waterproof pouch and shone it around the space. The walls glistened black under the beam. I was no cave expert, but it appeared we were in an abandoned coalmine.

  “Amazing, isn’t it?” Gabe’s voice echoed off the chiseled walls. “It’s fascinating how humans can excavate something like this. Can you imagine working inside a mountain all day? And not just inside, but miles inside.”

  I swallowed hard and unconsciously edged back toward the mouth of the mine. The thought of being closed up, trapped by the hillside, sent me into arrhythmias.

  Gabe moved behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “You should try and rest, love.”

  I laughed once and dropped the back of my head against his chest. Sleep was the furthest thing from my mind. Frustration crept back in as I thought about Gabe ending our moment too soon.

  “Don’t I do anything to you at all?” I huffed.

  Gabe’s fingers curled into the hem of my shirt, and his lips brushed across the back of my neck. “You have no idea.” He backed away with a moan.

  I turned around, my hands on my hips. “Liar.”

  “Am I?” he challenged, arching a brow.

  “You’re the one who said stop.” I rolled my eyes.

  “Simply because I’m not going to do anything tonight — not that I don’t want to,” Gabe clarified. “There’s a substantial difference.”

  My expression remained unchanged as Gabe moved to stand in front of me. He tilted his head to the side, meeting my gaze. His eyes looked like the ocean on fire. How was that possible?

  “Don’t look at me like that,” I complained. “You know it’s not fair.”

  My teeth captured my lip, and Gabe sighed.

  “Don’t you want to be with me?” My finger traced a path down his chiseled torso. His breaths came quicker.

  “Yes.” He held my face between his hands, refusing to let me escape his gaze. “You drive me crazy.”

  “Then what?” I asked.

  “I want you in every way imaginable,” he said, his words more caress than a whisper. “But things need to be in order.”

  “Order?” I echoed.

  “Ashton, you don’t understand what you’ve done to me.” He sighed, his scent swirling around me once more. “Everything has changed now. I’ve never felt this way before. You overwhelm me.”

  Passion stirred inside me, warring with reason and responsibility. Gabe’s turquoise eyes burned into mine, swaying my resolve, till finally I gave way to what I knew we both wanted.

  My breath came in a gasp as my arms wound around his neck, and I kissed him. Gabe pulled me into his body. My palms roved over his smooth skin, exploring, testing boundaries I wasn’t sure were there. Gabe’s hands slid along the outside of my hips. He lifted me off the floor, wrapping my legs around his bare waist, and pressed me into the wall.

  My head spun with desire to have more, to be closer. Gabe’s fingers knotted in them hem of my shirt, waiting for the slightest invitation as his mouth roamed freely over my collarbone.

  “I want you,” I murmured against his ear. “More than I’ve ever wanted anything. I want to be yours.”

  Gabe’s hands slid beneath the cotton of my shirt, pausing on my ribcage. “I love you.” His lips trembled against my shoulder, working their way upward. “I didn’t know it could be like this.”

  I undid the first few buttons on my shirt, my heart racing so loud I thought he must hear it.

  “Have you ever been in love before?” Gabe murmured against my ear.

  My fingers stilled, and I stopped breathing.

  “Ash?” Gabe paused immediately. He took a step back, his eyes worried, and his breathing still ragged. “What’s wrong?”

  “N-nothing,” I stuttered, my skin growing cold.

  Gabe searched my face as guilt washed over me like the river. His eyes narrowed into slits. “You’re lying,” he panted. Hurt sank in his expression more deeply than I’d ever seen.

  “No! Nothing’s wrong. I … I got carried away, and I don’t want to rush into this and us regret it later.”

  Gabe’s mouth opened like he was going to say something, but he closed it again. The storm raging outside the mine paled in comparison to the one in it. Silence stretched on, cracking louder than the fiercest bolt of lightning.

  “What are you hiding from me?” Gabe spoke through his teeth, his voice tight with wavering control.

  “I’ve never been in love before, if that’s what you’re wondering.” My mind raced with demands of honesty. I sucked in a breath. “But I was once in love with the idea of someone.”

  “What does that even mean?” He scraped his shirt off the floor and yanked it on. “Does this have something to do with the computer and this morning?”

  Don’t lie. Don’t lie. Don’t lie. I tried to say something, but my silence said more than I ever could.

  “Are you with someone?” His tone twisted in disbelief.

  “It’s complicated.” I rubbed my forehead.

  “Complicated?” His mouth hardened. “Are you with someone else or not?”

  “He hasn’t officially asked me to marry him, but I didn’t—”

  “You’re engaged?” Gabe’s body went rigid.

  “No! Well, sort of. I … I don’t know.” My eyes brimmed with tears. “I don’t love him, Gabe!”

  “Have you been with him?” Gabe’s skin paled.

  “No. I could never be with a guy I didn’t love!”

  He scoffed. “Of course not. You’d only marry one.”

  I flinched at his tone.

  “I would’ve never gone through with it.” I took a step toward him, but he backed away. “Things have been bad lately.” My fingers absentmindedly covered the all but faded bruise on my arm.

  “He did this to you?” His voice grew low.

  The tears spilled over, and I nodded. “We fought when I left California. Look, I made a stupid and desperate decision. But I swear to you, I don’t love him. He doesn’t love me
. And I’ve never been with anyone else that way. Before you, I never wanted to. I don’t want to lie to you. I know I have already in some sense, but he was a mistake.” My voice broke. “I didn’t want to lose you, but I didn’t know what to say.”

  Gabe’s eyebrows lowered, and he blew out a sigh. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. But I need some time, Ash. We need to calm down. Take a step back. Harry needs us to focus right now. We can discuss this later.”

  “Okay. I understand.” My heart sank.

  “You should rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” Gabe pulled an inflatable pillow from his pocket and blew air into it.

  “Sorry about the accommodations. I know it’s not the most comfortable.” He laid the pillow out for me, but avoided my gaze as I sat down on the mossy area. He walked toward the mouth of the mine.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, doubt pulling at my heart.

  “I need to check on things. Try and rest.” He forced a grim smile.

  “Do you need any help?”

  “No.” His eyes flashed to mine, the effort to calm his voice warring in his expression. “Thank you though. I’ll be back soon. Don’t wander about. Please.”

  I lifted an unsure eyebrow.

  “It’s too easy to get lost or hurt around here.” His sad gaze lingered a moment more then he set off into the rain.

  I folded myself on the ground. The moon threatened to peak above the trees as the rain slowed to a mist. The minutes ticked by at a painful rate, and still no sign of Gabe. I stood and began pacing. Images of Gabe’s reaction to the news of Kevin replayed in my head. What if he couldn’t get over this? What if he left now and never came back?

  My unease increased with the silence. The clicking cicadas droned in my ears, echoing off the mine walls. Shadows danced in the tree line. My pacing turned frantic. A tall figure moved just at my peripheral vision. I froze as yellow streaked through the darkness. It was too tall to be Gabe and the color was wrong for his eyes. A bear? What if it was mountain lion? I concentrated through the blackness. Nothing there. My imagination was getting away with me.

  A sharp crack of snapping underbrush sounded from the nearby fringe of the forest. My vision blurred with fear. Heart pounding, I whipped around to search the woods. Gabe strode between two trees, his eyes twinkling in the darkness. I blew out a sigh and smiled to myself.