Her brows twist into a scowl. “I knew what to do. I saw it in a movie.”
“A movie,” I croak. “Are you insane?! You’re terrified of bugs and you…What the hell possessed you to come out?”
“It could have attacked you!” she yells, hands trembling. “Don’t get so worked up. A thanks will do.”
“A thanks?!” My voice cracks. She still doesn’t get it. “Jackie, if something happened to you because of me…I would never forgive myself.”
Chapter Fifteen
JACKIE
Adam paces the room in tight, erratic loops, raking a hand through his hair, muttering under his breath. Without sparing me another glance, he bolts for the hallway door. The slam rattles the frames on the wall and my heart along with them.
I just saved his annoyingly handsome face from becoming bear chow, and he storms off like I insulted his mother’s cooking.
The adrenaline ebbs, leaving me trembling and boneless on the floor. I’m slowly melting on the hard surface when the door bangs open again. Adam storms back in and crouches in front of me, his expression a hailstorm of emotions, though his voice is soft.
“Are you OK?”
All of a sudden, I’m so tired. All I manage is a shrug, staring at my hands in my lap. It was a monumentally stupid thing to do. But I can’t take any more scolding from him.
I bite down hard on my quivering lip until it hurts. Tears gather, warm and stinging. Apparently, I’m still ready to do the most foolish things for this man. Nothing has changed.
“Come here.”
His soothing voice is followed by strong arms wrapping around me. It’s like coming home. I don’t second-guess it and hug him back, burying my face in the crook of his neck.
My chest constricts, but I can’t tell if it’s joy or grief. They’re impossible to separate.
The worn cotton of his T-shirt is warm and smells like pine, but it’s the steady weight of his embrace that undoes me. I’ve missed his hugs so much I’m about to start bawling.
“I don’t know if I should kill or kiss you,” he says, cheek resting against my forehead while rubbing circles on my back. It’s soothing, but I get the feeling it also helps him calm down.
My voice wobbles, toeing the line between fear and amusement. “Killing me would be frowned upon by my guards.”
“I can take Patrick in an obstacle race.”
Like when Carter ended up in the hospital, Adam is by my side whenever I need him the most, ignoring the rift between us. I know it in my gut that he’s not lingering in Silver Lake Falls for the fresh air.
I want to trust him more than anything. To believe the whispered promises were real. Most of all, I wish Blanca had never told me anything about that night.
As always, it serves as a reminder. It’s why I can’t lean on him too much. All I want is to climb into Adam’s lap and let him ease my fear with his touch. But instead, I press my palms to his chest and push back gently.
Even with the space I put between our bodies, we’re still breathing the same air, locked into a wordless conversation I don’t know how to decipher.
“Better?” His voice is low and raspy, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
I muster a small nod, the steady rhythm of his heart strong under my palms.
“Please don’t scare me like that again.” His hands cover mine, pressing them harder to his chest, as if he needs the contact. “I’m already on edge after the bomb and the break-in. I couldn’t—”
The door bursts open again. Carter stumbles in, slightly disheveled and still wearing his pajamas, with Eliza hot on his heels.
Their sudden entrance slices through this stolen moment like a frigid wind.
She’s even paler than usual, shrieking, “You let me sleep with a bear in my back yard?!”
“One of you is going to send me to an early grave,” Carter groans, his voice gruff with sleep. “The guard made it seem like we were under attack.”
