by Sarah Beth
Her words made him smile, but he still didn’t look away from her profile. “I found something even more beautiful to look at.”
Even in the orange light of the sunset, he could see her cheeks color slightly. But she looked at him briefly and rolled her eyes. “That may have been the corniest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
He shrugged a shoulder, squeezing her hand gently. “Maybe, but it’s the truth.”
Her shoulders shook with a chuckle, before she turned to face him. The sun’s rays casting a shadow on one side of her face. She looked into his eyes for a moment before sighing, turning her head to look back at the sun. “I don’t know how to do this.”
In the peace and quiet of the mountain, it hadn’t been hard to catch the soft words. Her hand was holding tightly to his. Whether she knew she was doing it or not, Wesley wasn’t going to bring attention to it. He watched her face as she breathed in the chilly air, closing her eyes as the sun warmed her face a breeze swept her hair over her shoulder. “I’ll tell you a secret.” Green eyes opened and looked back at him. He smiled warmly, squeezing her hand, “I don’t know how to do this either.”
They had been standing close, but not close enough. The foot between them closed as Wesley took a step closer. Her shoulders stiffened slightly, but he took comfort in the fact that she didn’t try to step away from him. “I know — I know that you’ve never relied on anyone. I know that everyone has let you down.”
Her brows came together and she turned her head away from him, back to the setting sun. Slowly, so she could fight it if she wanted to, he put his hand on her chin and turned her head back to him.
“But I need you to give me a chance. A chance to prove to you that I will never leave you.” He chuckled, “I’ll sure as hell try to never let you down. I don’t really understand this whole True Mate business any more than you do but— but I won’t ignore it any longer. I can’t.” He looked into her eyes and saw so many emotions; fear, yes, but also understanding and a longing that threatened to break his heart. “You don’t have to face the world alone, not anymore.”
She stared into his eyes for a moment, glancing at the ground she said something so quiet that even he barely caught it. When she looked up again, his raised brow made her smile. “Something I’ve been told by a few people recently. ‘Eternity is a long time to spend alone’.”
Glancing out at the sun, almost all color gone below the horizon now, he nodded. He knew that well, had known since he was a child that he wouldn’t age past thirty. That he could potentially live for thousands of years. But he knew, without a doubt, that he didn’t want to spend even one more year without her, let alone a hundred or more.
His eyes found her face again. Her brows were drawn in concern — he had made her nervous again. “So what did the old Faye teach you?”
His choice to direct the conversation away for the moment was rewarded with joy returning to her eyes, a smile on her lips. “So much, and yet, nothing I didn’t already know, deep down.”
Smiles were infectious on most days, but hers was quickly becoming his key to happiness. He smiled down at her, her joy filling him again as the warmth traveled up his arm. “I’m glad taking you to him was the right choice. He can be hard to get along with sometimes.”
One of her slim shoulders came up in a shrug, “He’s not that hard to understand, not really.”
Her face turned away from him again, looking out over the cliff to catch the last rays of light as they disappeared below the mountains.
They stood together quietly for a few minutes, until the light was all but gone. Only a dim gray light was visible behind the mountains. He heard her take a deep breath of mountain air before she spoke softly, “I’m afraid to let you in.”
Too nervous to move, afraid that he might scare her into silence, he spoke just as softly. “Why?”
When her green eyes looked back at him, they were filled with tears she was struggling to keep in. “Because,” she blinked quickly, a tear escaping and running down her cheek, “if I let you in...I don’t think I’ll ever be able to push you away.”
More gently than he had ever touched anything in his life, he lifted a hand to her face and with his thumb, brushed the tear away. “Do you want to push me away?” His voice sounded rough to his own ears, but he didn’t dare clear his throat and disrupt the quietness of the mountain cliff.
A humorless laugh escaped her lips as another tear fell, “Every cell in my body just wants to curl up in your arms.” Her eyes met his again, the tears in her eyes making the green of the irises look even brighter. “I’ve been telling myself to push you away for the past two days and yet I’ve only gotten closer.”
A deep breath and then she leaned her head onto his chest. Her shoulders shook slightly in a silent cry or an attempt to gain control of her emotions. For the first time since they got to the cliff he let go of her hand, laying his hands on her shoulders a moment later. Running one hand up and down her back, he became aware of how much the temperature had dropped in the last few minutes. They stayed like that for a time before she pushed herself off his chest. His hands fell from her shoulders to her arms and down to her hands. They were cold to the touch. Gone was the warmth in her hands.
His eyes found hers, mostly clear of tears this time, but still stormy with emotions. He was trying to figure out what to say, talking about his feelings had never been a strong suit for him. But he was quickly realizing that it was going to have to be. “I know you’re scared. Hell, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t too. But I’m also figuring out that all of the fears in the world couldn’t keep me from you.” He laid a hand on her cheek, smiling into her eyes.
He stepped even closer then, one of his feet fitting between hers. He could feel the warmth of her body against his chest. His heart swelled at the fact that she still hadn’t stepped away from him, and he knew that she was probably battling her emotions about that too. He took her face between both of his hands then and smiled brightly, “I know this isn’t going to be easy right away, I know it’s going to take time for you to gain trust in me. But Abigail, please give me the chance to show you that not everyone is going to leave.” Waiting, watching her eyes as they looked back and forth from his right eye to his left, he gently rubbed her cheek with a thumb. Slowly, minutely, she nodded her head. It was all the permission he needed.
When her lips met his, he suddenly understood why all of those songs had been written since the beginning of time. If real fireworks started popping in the sky, he wouldn’t have been surprised.
Her lips were soft against his, tentative at first, just as he was gentle. But then he kissed her harder, like her lips gave him life, and she returned the sentiment. He could have kissed her for the rest of eternity, but they both needed to breathe. Not one of the girls he had ever gone on a date with had made him feel this way, so raw and yet so focused. He knew that without a doubt he would do anything for the little witch in front of him. And if that meant courting her like a gentleman from an old movie, he would do it. It might kill him, but he would do it. He rested his forehead on hers, their breath mingling as they both breathed hard for a moment. A shiver wracked her body and his brain quickly refocused. A kiss to her head before he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, “Come on, you’re getting cold out here.”
They walked back to the truck in silence and he was afraid that he may have overstepped. Regardless of the fact that she had returned his kiss with just as much energy as he gave. But then they climbed into the truck, and she immediately moved to the middle of the seat, pressing her arm against his side. Any worry he had drifted away. He smiled as he started the engine, turning the heat up too warm her.
As he drove away from the cliff, the road coming into view, she sighed and lay her head on his shoulder. Eternity was an awfully long time to spend alone. And he thanked the stars above, that just maybe, he didn’t have to.
Chapter Twenty-Two
❖
Abby
&nbs
p; She was tired. Tired of running around all of the time; tired of feeling like she didn’t know anything; tired of denying herself of the one thing she wanted more than anything else ever in her life. So she had kissed him.
Part of her thought that if she kissed him and got it over with, maybe she could put an end to it and not wonder any more. But the second his lips met hers, she knew the silly internal struggle she had been having was over. It had felt a lot like her magic did — a warmth that started in her chest and spread into the rest of her body. But it was different too. It was like finally being given a glass of cold water after you spent hours trekking through a desert. It cooled her insides but also seemed to fuel the power that she could now feel humming in her veins.
When they got into the truck, the sun having long since set and the chill in the air starting to set into her bones, she had done what she had wanted to do for a while. She bridged the gap between them on the seemingly endless bench of the truck and sat beside him. The warmth of his body seeping into her faster than the heat of the engine ever could.
Pulling into the driveway, the gravel crunching under the tires, Abby took a deep breath. “I think I should to go back to the city tomorrow.” She saw Wesley glance at her out of the corner of her eye, but he didn’t say anything until he parked the truck by the garage. “Why?” His voice was guarded, lower than usual.
Sighing, she pulled one leg up onto the seat and turned to face him. She didn’t want to make him upset, not after the moment on the cliff. But she didn’t see any way around it now. “I have to go back to school, Wes…” She shrugged, glancing down, “Sure, I could skip the whole week. But we have no idea where this dark witch is, or how long any of this is going to take.” Looking back up at him, his brows pulled tightly together, she sighed. “It just makes more sense for me to get back to school, until all of this is figured out.” She swore she could hear her own heart pounding in her chest. She wanted him to understand. Even if, deep down, she really didn’t want to be anywhere but in the mountains.
After a moment, he sighed. Running a hand through his messed up hair, he nodded, “I understand. But I – I don’t like the idea of you being in the city. Not with that psycho on the loose.”
Neither did she, if she was being honest. But she hadn’t felt threatened before. “I was fine before I came here, I never felt like someone was watching me. This witch probably doesn’t even know that I exist.”
He cocked his head to one side for a moment, he highly doubted that was the case. Another sigh escaping his lips. “Yeah...alright, you probably have a point.” His eyes met hers again, and she wasn’t prepared for the amount of concern she saw in them. She wanted to take it away, reassure him, but she didn’t know how. Turning away from her, he opened his door and hopped out. Looking back, he said, “We need to talk to Alex about this.” His door shut before she could respond.
She watched him walk towards the porch for a moment, not being able to help herself notice the muscles in his back moving under his shirt. He was stepping onto the porch when she finally moved to follow him. He waited for her on the porch, opening the door for her as she walked up the steps. When she looked up with a small smile on her lips, his face was a mask of concern. But his lips still pulled upwards, ever so slightly. She took that as a good sign.
As they walked further into the house, depositing their shoes by the door, Alex greeted them from the kitchen. “I was wondering what was taking you two so long, thought old Elazar may have kept you for himself. Dinner is almost ready.”
Abby left Wesley by the door and headed straight for the kitchen island, smiling at Alex. “Where are the others?”
Alex smiled over his shoulder, busy checking something on the stove, “Warren and Kyle are still in the city, won’t be back until late. But Tori is up in her room, mind going and getting her for dinner?”
Abby nodded, “Sure.” She turned from the island, almost running into Wesley as he had come up behind her.
He placed a hand on the small of her back and leaned in close, his hair tickling her cheek. “Sorry for walking away like that, I haven’t exactly gotten a hold of these sudden protective urges that come over me every time you open your mouth.”
She tried to laugh, but all that came out was a breathy exhale. His face was so close to hers, she could feel his warmth radiating off of him. Swallowing, she said, “It’s okay, but I still have to go.”
He sighed, his breath tickling her neck, and nodded as he straightened. “Yeah, I know. I doubt I would ever be able to change your mind.”
With a little distance between them, her brain was able to focus, and she smiled smugly. “No, you wouldn’t.” Abby walked by him and headed for the stairs, not offering him a backwards glance. But she was fairly certain she heard Alex start laughing.
She knocked lightly on Tori’s door, entering when she got a quiet response from the other side. Tori sat at her desk, textbooks lay all over with markers and sticky notes in so many places, Abby wondered why whole pages weren’t highlighted. “Uh, Alex says dinner is ready.”
Tori’s head spun around, the big bun on the top of her head going lopsided. “Oh, Abby! I didn’t even realize it was you. I wasn’t paying attention.” She cringed at herself, looking back at the notebook in front of her.
Abby smiled as she walked into the room, the muted blues and yellows making the smaller room seem bigger. “I won’t tell anyone.” She gestured to the books on the desk, “What are you studying?”
Tori looked at the textbooks with a grim expression, “Alex thinks I should get my GED. You can do that all online these days, which makes it easier.” She shrugged, her brows pulled together.
Abby looked away from the painting of the mountains on the far wall and back to Tori, her eyebrows raised, “You didn’t graduate high school? I thought you were around my age.”
Tori’s smile was small, “I am, technically. But I was turned when I was sixteen. I never completed high school.”
Oh. “I’m so sorry, Tori. I didn’t mean –.”
Tori shook her head, holding a hand up to stop Abby’s words, “No, it’s fine. You don’t have to apologize. You didn’t know.”
Sitting on the edge of Tori’s bed, Abby sighed as she looked down at her hands, “But I feel like I should have known. Why is that?”
Tori chuckled, tossing a pen on her desk and turning away from the mess. “Probably because it feels like we’ve known you for more than three days.”
“That’s all it’s been, huh? Feels like longer.” Running a hand through her wavy hair, Abby laughed too.
“You’re telling me.” said Tori, pulling a hair tie out of her hair and letting it fall down around her shoulders. “I feel like I’ve had a sister for months already, not days.”
A warmth filled Abby’s chest. She’d never had a sister before. “Sister, huh?”
Tori got up and headed for her bedroom door. The smells of dinner beginning to waft up the stairs and down the hallway. She smiled over her shoulder, “Well of course.”
Abby got up and followed Tori downstairs, the smell of pasta filling her nose, with a smile on her face.
Abby quickly realized that a cup of tea by the fire was a ritual in Alex’s house. After dinner, they all seated themselves in the living room, steaming cups between their hands. Wesley sat close to her on the couch. Close enough that their thighs touched every time one of them moved a bit. She tried to get control of the warmth filling her chest every time it happened, but was failing miserably. She was sure her cheeks held a slight blush.
Alex was asking Tori about her school work, but Abby wasn’t listening very well. She kept glancing at Wesley to find him smiling at her. He would avert his gaze every time she caught him, smiling down at his tea instead.
That smile was doing things to her stomach.
“What about you, Abby? What are you studying?” Her head snapped in the direction of Alex, feeling the blush in her cheeks get deeper. He had a very knowing look on his fa
ce, his eyes practically gleaming.
“What? I’m sorry— I wasn’t listening.” She was speaking too loudly; her heart was racing. What the heck was wrong with her?
Alex chuckled, “I was wondering how you’re doing in school.”
“Oh…” She cast Wesley a side-eyed glance, before looking back at Alex, “Actually, I needed to talk to you about that.” With his mug against his lips, he nodded at her to continue.
She set her own tea on the coffee table and took a deep breath, “I’m going to go back to the city. I have to go back to school...I’ve missed one day already, and I know I could skip more but it just doesn’t make sense. Especially since we have no idea how long all of this is going to take.”
He nodded his head, humming a little in his throat, as he set his mug on his knee. Wiping her palms on her legs, she realized she was nervous. Why was she nervous about what he would say? It wasn’t like he would force her to stay there if she didn’t want to. Right? No, he wouldn’t. Besides, she thought, she was certain Wesley would follow her if she just left anyway.
“I agree with you.”
Beside her Wesley groaned out, “Of course you do.” She glared at him, but he didn’t seem to care. He looked right back at her, his brows high on his forehead.
Alex cleared his throat, drawing their attention back to him. “I agree because she’s right, my boy. We currently have no idea where this dark witch is — or Jessie. We have no way to know how long finding them will take. Abby hasn’t been in college just to throw it all away. And besides--”
“Education is important. Yes, I know.” Wesley interrupted with a roll of his eyes.
Chuckling, Alex said, “Yes, it is.” He paused, looking back at her, “But I can also sympathize with Wesley’s concern. Having no idea where the witch is, does not give me a sense of security.”
Abby sighed, turning her palms up on her legs, “I can’t exactly argue with you there.”
“Why doesn’t Wesley go with you?” Tori chimed in.