What the Heart Desires

by Kelli McCracken

  “Save it.” Layne gritted the words through his clenched teeth. His fist met Jerry’s cheek, knocking him backwards. Faith broke his fall just as Layne swung again, but Dylan caught his hand. Scott was in his face a second later, pushing him back. They both struggled to keep him contained. So much heat radiated from Layne, it caused both to break into a sweat.

  “Let me go!” Layne shouted the words, doing his best to break free. Each second he struggled increased the fire within him. He’d burn one of them eventually, or form a flame and burn down the house.

  Heaven made her way to his side and slipped her fingers under his chin. “Layne, please stop this.” He jerked away, blinded by rage. She didn’t know if he’d listen to what she said, but she knew she had to try.

  “Jerry’s her Keeper. Watch the way he looks at her. It’s the same look we were discussing, earlier. You know what type of bond they share and how hard it is to ignore.”

  He opened his mouth, ready to spew the negativity eating him alive, but he couldn’t argue her point. So he didn’t. He raised his hands to his shoulders, palms forward in surrender. When Scott and Dylan released him, he smirked at her before leaving the room.

  “Layne, stop.” She waited for him to turn around, yet deep down she knew he wouldn’t. Aside from the anger flowing through his veins, guilt coursed through him just as strong. He couldn’t let go of his anger with Jerry for betraying him or the fact that he knew he was no different than his friend. Not after the dream he’d shared with her.

  The second he disappeared from her sight, she turned to Dylan. He met her gaze and shook his head, like he knew what she was thinking. “He’ll be okay, Heaven. Let him cool off.”

  “Put yourself in his shoes, okay? He isn’t thinking clearly and I’m the only person who can get through to him. I have to go talk to him.”

  “You can’t fix this. He has to come to terms with it on his own.”

  She was ready to argue her point further, but a sudden gasp from Faith gained her attention. Her sister’s face grew paler by the second.

  Jerry made it back to his feet and drew her closer. “What’s wrong?”

  “My water…it just broke.”

  The commotion that followed after left Heaven in a daze. Her mother and Layla pushed past her on their way to Faith. All the energy from the room generated erratic pulses that made Heaven’s head thump.

  Wails that mimicked Adalyn’s echoed through the room. Heaven searched for the monitor, unaware that she’d set it on the coffee table before going to talk to Faith and Brooke.

  As she moved toward it, Dylan’s fingers curled around her arm. “Go find Layne. I’ll take care of her.”

  “What if she’s hungry?”

  “She’s not. Trust me. Just go.”

  “Dylan—”

  “Go.” He barked the words before moving toward the back staircase, taking the steps by twos. As much as he wanted to be angry with her, he knew she was right. Layne wasn’t thinking. The last time his irrationality got the better of him, he’d taken off to Cleveland and left with an arrow in his chest.

  If she could prevent a similar incident from reoccurring, she had to try. Because the fire raging in her bond with Layne confirmed what she feared. He’d end up dead if she didn’t stop him.

  CHAPTER 11

  Heaven jerked the front door open and ran onto the porch. The pull of Layne’s energy drew her eyes past the garage to the spot where the driveway began to curve downhill. She barely touched her feet to each step as she raced down them and across the pavement. The muscles in her legs burned as she pushed them to the limit. She hadn’t run this fast since the night in Cleveland when the local reporters were chasing them.

  Her shoes thumped against the concrete each time she connected her foot with it. The sound tipped off Layne and he quickened his pace.

  “Layne, wait! Please.”

  He didn’t listen. Instead, he darted into the woods that bordered Highland Ave. The moment he disappeared, her heart sank. She continued onward, using the trees to pivot herself further into the woods. The sun’s last remnants glowed in the distance. It waned each second she pursued him, weaving between the trees and vegetation.

  Layne came back into view. He moved through the woods a good twenty yards away. The newly grown thicket of briars slowed his progression. It was easy to get tangled in the brush spread about the ground. Lucky for her, she’d spent many hours inside the woods surrounding her parents’ property. She knew a shortcut with less vines and thorns which would help her get ahead of him. That is, if he stayed on his current path.

  Darting to the right, she worked her way through leftover leaves from last fall. Honeysuckle patches grew within the brush lining the path she’d taken. Their sweet scent intoxicated her, but she didn’t stop to enjoy the aroma. The shortcut she’d taken would end in a few more yards.

  The second she stepped onto the path, she found Layne, who’d managed to regain the momentum he lost through the briars. She hadn’t expected him to be this far down the path, nor had he expected her to jump out in front of him. He couldn’t slow his body in time before it collided with hers, knocking them both to the ground.

  A grunt escaped her mouth as twigs and rocks scraped her back. The earlier ache in her head returned. Thankfully, she hadn’t hit it on a rock and knocked herself unconscious. Then again, if she had, Layne wouldn’t leave. His conscience wouldn’t allow him to abandon her in the middle of the woods alone. Not when her life was in danger.

  Forcing herself to gaze up, she found him glaring at her. The weight of his body kept hers pinned to the ground. His eyes flitted between hers, as if he were checking the dilation of her pupils. The anger inside him switched to concern.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” she mumbled. “I have a wicked headache, but that’s it. How about you?”

  “Never better.”

  His answer didn’t surprise her. Even if he’d hurt himself, he wouldn’t tell her. As hard as they hit the ground, one of them should be hurt. He’d taken the brunt of the fall. At some point, he’d wrapped one arm around her, using the other to lessen the impact. It remained near her head, the other still curled around her back. The longer he stared at her, the more she realized how close they were. Not only was his body pressed to hers, his hips nestled between her legs.

  He must have realized their position because he pushed himself away. She didn’t miss his grimace. He tried to hide the pain on his face, even studied the ground, but she saw his jaw clench.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s nothing.” He made it to his feet as he gripped his wrist. “I landed on my hand, but I’m fine.”

  Once he helped her to her feet, he moved past her, still hell-bent on leaving. She refused to let him, and curled her fingers around his wrist. It prevented him from moving, but the pain it caused consumed him.

  “You’re lying to me. You did something to your hand.” She motioned for him. “Let me see it.”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Quit being so stubborn and let me check it. Please.”

  As her voice cracked, she sensed his resistance falter. “Fine.” He shoved his hand in her direction and leaned against a tree. “Here it is.”

  She wrapped her hands around his wrist, using the palm of one to cradle the back of it. Upon examining the surface, she saw no gashes or cuts, but it didn’t mean he was okay. The damage lay just beneath the skin, where the swelling began.

  Working her fingers over the bones, she searched for a broken one. She couldn’t find anything until she reached the section below his thumb. As soon as her fingers met his skin, Layne gritted his teeth and groaned.

  “I think you fractured your wrist.”

  He shifted his weight to his other foot and looked away. His soul grew restless the longer he stood there, brooding. “I’ll have it checked out later. Right now, I gotta go.”

  “You’re not going anywhere.” She tightened one hand around his arm, for
cing him back to the tree when he tried going around her. “Let me help you.”

  Though she sensed how much he wanted to argue his case, he didn’t. His negative vibes ceased. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I need you to draw forth a flame in this hand.”

  Concentrating on his palm, the flow of his energy began to increase. A flame flickered to life, then disappeared just as quick. It did the same a few more times before he grumbled under his breath.

  “I can’t do it.”

  “Yes, you can. Focus, Layne.” She moved her hand from his wrist until it hovered over his palm. “Focus on me and the thrum of our connection. Let it encompass you.”

  His lids snapped shut, as if he were trying to ignore her. But he stopped resisting. Their energy merged together, helping him to reform the flame. Once it did, he opened his eyes.

  She eased her hand back, twirling her finger inside the magenta fire. It rose higher and spread to his wrist when her fingers curled around it. Another groan worked from his lips.

  He winced. So did she. Bones popped and joints cracked. The last pop vibrated, causing him to growl. She didn’t enjoy the sound either, but once it faded, so did the pain on his face.

  Satisfied with the results, she uncurled her fingers and stepped back. The flame burned on its own, solely controlled by him. He gazed at it, and then her, before extinguishing it.

  “How did you do that?”

  Shrugging in response, she glanced through a break in the trees, noting a few stars sparkling within the twilight sky. The sun had disappeared, leaving the lamps lining the driveway the only source of light.

  “It wasn’t just me, Layne. The same thing happened when I helped you recover from the arrow wound. It happened again when you helped decrease my pain during labor. My energy heals you as much as yours heals me.”

  He didn’t look her way, or anywhere else for that matter. His lids pressed together as he shook his head. “Where does the connection between me and you end?”

  “There isn’t an end. There isn’t supposed to be. I don’t want there to be.”

  His eyes shot open. “Why not?”

  “Because I care about you…probably a little more than I should.”

  Recognition vibrated inside him. He said similar words to her when they first arrived in Brightsville. Those same words hinted to the fact that he cared deeply for her.

  “What are you saying, Heaven?”

  “The same thing you were, the day you said those words to me. I care about you for all the right reasons—and the wrong ones.”

  “The wrong ones?”

  He repeated the words like a question and inched closer. She backed away. They repeated the movements twice more before a nearby tree prevented her from retreating any further. It did little to halt Layne’s advancement.

  Once his body warmed hers, she knew she’d said too much. Confessions were jagged pills regurgitated by regret. The truth was hard to swallow. The reality, indigestible.

  “What wrong reasons would there be?”

  “Forget what I said. It’s not the reason I followed you out here. You’re hurt over what happened with Faith and J—”

  He silenced her words with his mouth. His lips pressed harder with each sweep, just like his body pressed hers against the tree. Anger still burned within him, right along with need, a desperate need that gained strength with each pass of his lips.

  When he finally eased away, they gazed at each other, but only for a second. She used every ounce of her strength and shoved him away. The sudden shift caused him to stumble backwards, but an adjacent tree broke his fall. Had it not, he would have fallen and cracked his head on the large rock behind him.

  “What the hell?” He grumbled. Once he regained his balance, he strode back to the tree where she stood. “Why did you push me?”

  She placed her hand on his chest to keep him away, but it didn’t work. “We can’t keep doing this, Layne. I’m married to your best friend. I had a child with your best friend—”

  “I know!” His voice shot higher. “But he’s not my best friend. You are.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Turning at his waist, he peered into the darkening woods. His energy spoke of his need to escape. He was tempted to run deeper into the trees and disappear. Then he wouldn’t have to tell her the truth, wouldn’t have to battle the constant pull between them.

  “It’s true, Heaven.” He stared at the leaves covering the ground. “You know me better than anyone. You know the part of me I try to hide.” Pain entered his voice, pain that rippled through her just as fiercely. “Somewhere in the last few months, you became my best friend, like Delia said you would. I did my best to fight it, but I…”

  Warm eyes darted to hers. They revealed the sincerity she sensed in him, but they revealed something else. Tears.

  “You’re more than my best friend, Heaven. You’re my everything.”

  She gaped at him. There were no words to make this right, no words to soothe the want in his soul. As much as she wanted, she couldn’t allow herself to feel this way about him. He had a soulmate, somewhere. Once he found his other half, he would be happy. She couldn’t do anything to interfere with that. After what he’d sacrificed for her, she owed him happiness.

  As she readied herself to step away, other thoughts resurfaced—their conversation with the other Keepers. It was Mason who said more than half of Keepers had no mate because of their devotion to their Seeker. The fact that she was a Supreme justified Layne’s devotion to her alone. That didn’t include their affinity…

  The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that Layne didn’t have a soulmate. He was created to protect and care for her. But he was still a man, a man who had needs, and those needs fueled his emotions. He’d be no different with her than Spencer and Isaac were with Delia and Layla.

  He’d bestow those emotions upon her.

  She had little time to process the thought when the need in him grew into a raging inferno. He kissed her again, just as fervently as the last. She tried pushing him back, tried pounding her fists on his chest when he wouldn’t back away, but it was no use. He was too far gone. The heart could only take so much abuse before it refused to take anymore. And his heart had been through hell.

  When he finally pulled away, a cracking sound filled the air. Her fingers throbbed as much as they burned. She didn’t hold back when slapping him. The welts on his face said as much. As she focused on his cheek, she grew frustrated with herself. She shouldn’t have slapped him. Doing so made her no better than Faith, but she didn’t know how else to get his attention, his full attention.

  “What is wrong with you?”

  The heat of his hands warmed her shoulders as he leaned closer. “What do you think is wrong with me, Heaven? You run hot one minute and cold the next. I never know what to expect with you.” His energy blazed around them. The more his emotions took control, the more the space between them lessened. “For Christ’s sake, don’t pretend like you don’t know how I feel about you. I’m hung up on you, Heaven. I’m so fucking hung up on you, someone I know I can’t have.”

  “Do you think this is any easier on me? My God, Layne, it’s like you’re inside my head all the time. I have a husband and a child. You’re supposed to protect me, not make me feel—”

  The words caught in her throat. Why was she admitting this to him? She’d already said enough. He didn’t need to hear more. By the look in his eyes, the way they flitted between hers and her lips, she knew he’d disagree. He wanted to hear more. He wanted her to want him. Every beat of his heart said as much.

  “What do I make you feel, Heaven? Be honest, with me as much as yourself.”

  She drew in his scent and held her breath when she noticed his lips. The fire they’d ignited in hers still burned as hot as when his mouth covered them. Something in the depths of her ached to feel it again. Right or wrong, she wanted to feel it more than once, more than twice. She wanted to feel it for
the rest of her life.

  “You, uh…you make me feel…” The breath she’d been holding finally released. Another soon replaced it.

  His head dipped lower, as though he was hanging on her last word, and when she didn’t answer, he grew impatient. “I make you feel what?”

  “On fire. Burned alive. You branded me with a part of yourself, and it consumes me, Layne. It consumes me until I can’t think of anything but you.”

  She tried to slip away, but he didn’t budge. “Don’t you dare walk away from me, Heaven. Don’t walk away from us.”

  “This is wrong. I have a soulmate. I’m not supposed to feel like this about anyone but him.” She blinked away the moisture forming in her eyes. His energy wouldn’t allow her to turn away. It held her in place, stripping the filter from her mouth. “Even though I know it’s wrong, here I am, baring my soul to you. Here I am, showing you that I’m just a girl who’s been given the task of saving the world. And you’re just a guy who’s destined to save me. You make me feel a lot of things, Layne, things I don’t want to, things I shouldn’t.”

  “What things, Heaven?” He leaned in further, brushing a few curls from her face. His fingers trailed further down until he cupped her cheek. “Please, I need to know.”

  “I can’t.”

  He didn’t accept her answer. He pressed his body into hers, holding her face in his hands. “Can’t or won’t?”

  “Telling you won’t change anything.”

  Nothing she said made a difference. He bent his head lower, the heat of his lips radiated to hers when they parted. “Maybe it won’t, or maybe it will and that’s what scares you. You’re afraid of what you feel for me. You’re afraid that it will consume you as much as it consumes me.”

  She fought to steady herself. The truth of his words was like a punch in the gut. She was afraid of her feelings for him. They’d changed so much in the last year. The man who once acted like he hated her stood before her, begging to know how she felt about him. Yet he’d never fully admitted how he felt about her, short of saying he cared.

  “And what do you feel for me, Layne? What feelings consume you?”