Page 14 of Into The Green

Normally, I would have taken the nightmares over that any day. But I was exhausted. And I knew if I fell back asleep, the nightmares would come again. I took a deep breath and moved slowly, hesitantly, as if I could rest on his chest without him noticing. My head landed in the center of his chest, my ear hearing his heartbeat below it, slow and steady and somehow reassuring. Carefully, I scooted the rest of my body close.

And, well, I had to admit, he was a heck of a lot more comfortable than sleeping on the hard ground.

Minutes passed, his body completely still beneath me, his breathing slow and steady.

I was sure he was asleep until I felt his arm raise, drape around my center, and haul me more fully onto his chest. With my upper body across him, there was really no choice but to raise my leg and drape it across his hips as well.

And there wasn't, there absolutely wasn't, a small thrill in my belly and lower at the contact. Nope. I was definitely not turned on at all. Not a bit. And I wasn't incredibly and overwhelmingly anxious about the whole situation either.

Oh, God.

He could sense things.

Could he sense that irrational little surge of desire?

Jesus, that was...

Then, slowly, gently, as if being lovingly wiped away, the fears, the insecurity, the confusion, and even the desire ebbed away.

Right then, I was absolutely certain he had felt it all. He had felt it all and then he had eased the burden of them from me. I knew I should have felt angry, violated, and upset. But I didn't. Maybe I couldn't even if I wanted to.

Everything felt peaceful, good, easy.

So I took a deep breath and nuzzled in slightly and drifted off to dreamless sleep.

FOUR

Cece

"Well, isn't this cozy?" an unfamiliar voice startled me awake.

My eyes flew open, and I immediately tried to jerk upward but found myself trapped by Jasper's arms.

"Hey Doyle," Jasper said, sounding wide-awake and I was left to wonder how long I had been passed out on him while he just lay there and stared at the sky peeking through the trees.

But also... Doyle.

It wasn't exactly a common name.

So, really, it had to be the one and only cheating bastard.

"Okay, let me up," I demanded, pulling against Jasper's hold until he let me go. I got into a seated position, readjusting the straps of my dress as Jasper sat up as well and the man in question, Doyle, squatted down near us.

"You're welcome by the way," Jasper said, and Doyle snickered, making my face heat slightly. There had been a definite sexual innuendo in his words, and Doyle believed it.

Men.

"Jasp," Doyle said, nodding his head at him. "New girl," he said to me.

"Cece," I answered immediately.

His head tilted and his face lit with a genuine smile that made his devilishly handsome face light up. His eyes and hair were dark, and where Jasper was a thin kind of strong, Doyle was just a strong kind of strong with wide shoulders, tree trunks for legs, and giant arms. True, he was really good looking, but I couldn't picture him and delicate, warm Jade together at all.

"Celestine," he surprised me by saying, making it painfully obvious that he and Jade had been in contact recently. Even though I knew Jade wasn't the bitter kind of angry I was about being cheated on, I didn't think she would still talk to the jackass.

At the sound of my name, Jasper started, his gaze finding mine, and his brows drawing together. "What?" I asked.

"Celestine?"