Something touched my hand.
Panic gripped me, and adrenaline flooded my system. I almost jumped out of bed, screaming and punching blindly, but something about the gentle touch as it slid up my arm let me know who it was.
Jake.
His fingers caressed my cheek, pushing hair away from my face. I imagined him talking, asking me what was wrong. I rolled over, turning my back on him, and started crying again. The bed dipped, and I felt his body align with mine. I knew it well, and it fit perfectly. He pulled me to him, tightly, protectively. His hand caressed my arm from my shoulder to my wrist and then back again. My breathing eased, and I stopped crying.
In his arms, I finally slept.
Chapter 24
WHEN I WOKE UP, THE alarm read 2 AM. My senses were back. I breathed a sigh of relief and slowly turned and faced Jake. He was lying on his back, asleep, breathing peacefully.
I watched his handsome profile, feeling a raw ache inside my chest as I resisted the urge to kiss him. His eyebrows twitched, and he stirred a little as if he could tell I was lying here, longing for him.
Suddenly, his eyes sprang open and darted to meet mine. He shifted to his side and rested a large hand on my cheek.
“You scared the fuck out of me,” he said. “Are you all right now?”
I nodded.
A worry line appeared between his eyebrows. “You couldn’t see me or hear me.”
I lowered my gaze, feeling mortified. I hadn’t wanted him to know about my side effects, and this was the worst possible way he could have learned about them. Could a tornado please whisk by and scoop me up? Was that too much to ask?
“How come?” he asked. “I think I know, but I want you to explain.”
I scooted to the foot of the bed and sat up. There was no point in trying to hide any of it now.
“It’s the side effects of using my tracking skills,” I started. “I told you already how I can use my senses while I’m in a trance. Well, I can choose to use my smell, hearing, sight, or any combination of the three. But it doesn’t come without a price. For every minute I’m under, I lose whatever senses I activated.” I shrugged dismissively. “It’s no big deal.”
The bed shifted, and Jake joined me, sitting next to me. He stared straight ahead at the floor.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” he asked.
“I thought you would want me to stop tracking. It’s a lot easier now. I can handle things better, but I didn’t do so well back then. It took me longer to recover and it affected me emotionally. Rosalina has helped me a lot. She has a great calming effect on me and makes things easier.”
“This is what you meant when you told me you had lied to me when we were together, isn’t it?” He turned and met my gaze then.
I nodded. “I’m sorry. That was a cheap shot.”
“I wish you would’ve trusted me.”
I huffed. “Like you did?”
“Fair enough.” He heaved a heavy sigh. “Are you sure you’re all right? The side effects are all gone? There’s no chance it could become permanent?”
I shuddered at that. I would be lying if I said I didn’t worry about it. My nonna, who trained me, had reassured me there was no risk of that happening, so I chose to trust her. Our tracking abilities worked differently—she experienced nothing more than fatigue after using her skills—but in her experience and knowledge of other trackers, she believed that using my skills would not permanently diminish my senses.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, feeling and sounding certain thanks to Nonna.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me,” Jake said, placing a hand on my shoulder and steering me gently until I was facing him.
After a moment, his gaze fell to my mouth. My body responded with a shiver. Involuntarily, I licked my lips, and that was all it took.
“Fuck it!” He leaned in and kissed me, his strong hands falling to my waist and hoisting me upward until I lay in the middle of the bed.
One of his hands slid up my side while I planted both of mine on his hard chest and returned his kiss. He pulled back from our desperate kissing, and we stared into each other’s eyes. His pupils were wide with want. His other hand sneaked under my tank top, moving tentatively, almost unwillingly, as if he were having second thoughts already.
He wet his lips and inclined his head so slowly that it made me ache right in my core. I closed my eyes, anticipating the warm pressure of his mouth on mine. He teased me, the tiniest brush of his lower lip on mine. I reared up and caught his lip between my teeth.
With a groan of pleasure, he settled his weight on me, fitting perfectly between my legs. A thrill ran up my belly as his hardness came to rest on me. He slid a hand under my leg and pulled it up for a better fit. A wave of pleasure rolled through my body. I threw my head back, ready for so much more.
Jake’s mouth found my neck. His tongue darted out, licking, sending electricity into every corner of my being. In one motion, he pushed up and removed his shirt. His fine, smooth muscles rippled. My legs trembled with desire. I reached a hand up to caress him, but he snatched it, pulled me to a sitting position, and slowly, enjoying every second of it, removed my tank top. My skin quivered with chills.
Hungry, silver eyes examined my chest. My breath caught as my body responded to his expression of wild hunger.
