MARKED
(Marked Duology Book 1)
Jennifer Snyder
Marked copyright © 2012 Jennifer Snyder
Cover Art by Stephanie Mooney
Smashwords Edition
This novel is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to peoples either living or deceased is purely coincidental. Names, places, and characters are figments of the author’s imagination. The author holds all rights to this work. It is illegal to reproduce this novel without written expressed consent from the author herself.
All rights reserved. No part of this e-book may be reproduced in any form other than that in which it was purchased and without the written permission of the author.
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Also by Jennifer Snyder:
Shattered Soul
Touch
Look for Changed (Marked Duology Book 2) coming Summer 2012
For Mom,
Because Tessa’s story has always been your favorite.
PROLOGUE
Wind is a force of nature I’ve always found to be magical, something you can physically feel but never actually see. It can be tame… barely light enough to ruffle your hair. Or it can be powerful… strong enough to rip a tree straight out of the ground. Either way, it is unpredictable and entirely uncontrollable.
The same can be said about love.
CHAPTER ONE
I noticed him the first moment he stepped into the diner, along with every other female both young and old. There was something about him that made it hard to look away. Maybe it was the smooth confidence in his stride, or his boy band good looks. Whatever the reason, I found it nearly impossible to not stare, even in the presence of my boyfriend.
His eyes shifted to mine and lingered long enough to make my heart flutter. There was something in their glint that struck me as lonely, but it was overshadowed by something else swirling beneath the surface of the rich honey color, something intriguing I couldn’t name.
“Is it love at first sight, Tessa? Because it sure looks like it to me and I’m not the only one noticing. Sam seems like he could crumble the table with his bare hands right now,” Rachel said, refilling a sweet tea pitcher.
I glanced over my shoulder at Sam. Rachel was right; he didn’t seem happy. I’d better get a grip on myself or else we were bound to have another argument.
“Hardly,” I muttered, grabbing out a menu and tucking it under my arm before picking up Sam and Kyle’s tray of food.
“He is eye candy, though, don’t deny it,” she said with a shit-eating grin.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not, but I’m not about to go there either.”
“Oh, I would.” She glanced over at Kyle. “Well, maybe just a little, not full force or anything.”
“Yeah, well not everyone can be as bold as you.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded.
“Nothing.” I winked and headed toward Sam’s table.
During the length of space from behind the counter to Sam and Kyle’s table, I allowed myself one glance in Mr. Dreamy’s direction and that was all it took to make my heart start racing again. Golden blond hair, tanned skin, a muscular build—he was the total package.
I fumbled setting their tray of food down, nearly dumping crinkle-cut fries in Sam’s lap.
“What’s up, Tessa, pretty boy over there got you all flustered?” Sam asked with a slight chuckle, but I could see the seriousness pooling in his baby-blue eyes.
“Whatever.” I grinned, attempting to seem nonchalant. “You guys need anything else?”
“Nah, we’re good,” Kyle answered, glancing between Sam and me nervously.
“I need you to stop staring at Prince Charming over there,” Sam muttered under his breath.
I put a hand on my hip. “Really, Sam? Are you seriously that jealous?”
“Maybe,” he said firmly.
“It’s part of my job to notice when people come in and where they sit,” I snapped. “I’m gonna go hand him this menu; don’t have a heart attack.”
Maybe I was being slightly defensive, the guilty always are, but Sam’s jealousy had been way out of control lately and for no good reason. We’d had one conversation where I’d told him I didn’t plan on staying in this tiny town after graduation and he’d been going bonkers since. At this point, Sam had become more like a bad habit I found hard to break than a boyfriend.
I slowed my pace and relaxed the muscles in my face, attempting to look friendlier before I reached Dream Guy’s table.
“Hey. I’m Tessa; I’ll be your waitress tonight. Can I get you something to drink?” I asked with a smile, sliding the laminated menu across the tabletop.
His amber eyes met mine as he returned my smile with a pearly white one of his own. “Hi, sure. I’ll take a sweet tea, please,” he answered, his voice sultry and hypnotic sounding.
“Sweet tea,” I repeated unnecessarily as I walked away.
What was wrong with me? I didn’t normally act so stupefied and giddy because of a guy.
“Seriously girl, you’d better watch that pep in your step from Mr. Cutie. Sam’s gonna start growling and go all territorial on your ass,” Rachel insisted.
I pursed my lips together while I poured a sweet tea. “He’s being a complete jerk tonight. I could be smiling at eighty-year-old Mr. Garret and he’d pick a fight with me about it.”
“Well, Kyle and I are still wanting to go camping with you guys tomorrow night, but if the two of you are going to be at each other’s throats, then we’ll take a rain check,” she said.
“Hello, it’s your birthday! I’m not about to let mine and Sam’s problems ruin our camping trip on your birthday!” I assured her.
“Good, because I’d hate to have to kick your ass.”
“Funny,” I sarcastically said as I pushed past her.
Sam caught my wrist as I walked past his table. “Can you tone down your smile a bit; I can’t stand seeing you flirting with someone in front of me.”
“Are you freaking serious? It’s called being polite. Waitresses who want a tip generally are polite,” I said, jerking my wrist free.
What the hell was everyone’s problem? It wasn’t like I was drooling over the guy!
“Here’s your tea. Are you ready to order?” I asked without looking at him. I didn’t need anymore crap from anyone tonight.
“Yeah, actually I am,” he started, but then paused. “Look, I don’t mean to speak out of my place here but… is that guy bothering you?”
I raised my eyes to his. “What guy?”
A crooked grin sprang on his face. “The one who’s looking over here like he’s going to tear into me any minute.”
“I’m so sorry.” I sighed. “That’s actually my boyfriend and I’m not real sure what his deal is tonight.”
“Some guys just don’t know how to handle having a beautiful girlfriend.” He smiled, his eyes never wavering from mine.
Was he for real? Because I was far from beautiful compared to a lot of girls in this town. I was flat-chested with the body of a twelve-year-old. I had dirty-blond hair and mud-brown eyes. Seriously, beautiful didn’t even come close to what I was; he should try average.
Nonetheless, my cheeks blushed all school-girl like at his words. I tore my eyes away from his and focused back on my pad and pen in hand.
“Thanks,” I replied. “So, what can I get you?”
“Right, sorry. I’ll take a bacon cheeseburger with double bacon and fries, please.”
“Okay.” I scribbled his order down as fast as I could. “It’ll be out shortly.”
“Thanks, Tessa.”
The sound of my name coming from his mouth stalled my heart for a split second and sent a jolt of warmth through me. Not because of the sheer fact that he’d remembered my name—I knew I’d only given it to him five minutes ago—but because of the way my name had rolled off his tongue... like he was caressing each syllable with his mouth. It was enough to make me blush a shade darker.
I ripped out his order and placed it in the basket before making my refill rounds. When I came to Sam’s table, he was fuming.
“Are you hanging out with me tonight after your shift or your new boyfriend?”
“You’re being a real jerk, you know?” I snapped before stalking away to finish my rounds.
“You can do better,” Dream Guy said once I’d reached his table again.
My lips formed into a small smile at his words. “He’s not usually like this,” I lied.
“I’m sure.”
I chuckled unintentionally. “Well, most of the time anyway.”
“Life’s too short to waste on someone who’s not a complete jerk most of the time,” he insisted. “I’m Jace, by the way, Jace Fowler.”
“Nice to meet you, Jace,” I said, enjoying saying his name maybe a little too much. With a smile on my face, I moved to the next table of mine and continued with my refills.
After learning Jace’s name, I found it extremely hard to concentrate on much of anything else besides him. My eyes seemed to always find their way to him and each time our gaze locked, my lips curved into a tiny smile.
“Tessa Morganton, am I witnessing you flirting with your eyes?” Rachel asked, startling me so badly I dropped the tray I’d been wiping clean.
“Flirting with my eyes? Is that even possible?” I countered, bending to pick up the tray.
“Sure is. It’s a skill I happen to have mastered,” she said and then shot me a look that made me think she wanted to eat me up like a piece of strawberry cheesecake.
“Yep, you’ve got that one mastered all right.” I chuckled.
I could have been mean and told her she needed to practice more, but the truth was she didn’t. Rachel was practically a teenage goddess. If she looked at any guy the way she’d just looked at me, he’d more than likely be fine with it. At 5’6 with chin-length, dark-brown hair, big hazel eyes, a slender frame, and a full set of pouty lips, Rachel could get away with a lot of looks I couldn’t.
“Order up!” Dewey shouted from the kitchen window. My heart beat a little faster when I realized it was Jace’s food.
I made my way to his table trying not to seem eager, especially while passing Sam.
“Here you go,” I said, setting the burger basket down in front of him. “Do you need anything else?”
“I’m fine, thank you.” He smiled.
My eyes traveled over his face looking for any imperfection, but found none. There was no acne or freckles, only a tiny scar above his right brow, but even that seemed perfect. I crammed my hands into my apron pocket and walked away before I began salivating at the mouth.
Ten minutes later I noticed Jace waiting in line to pay and couldn’t help but feel disappointed he was leaving already. I was cleaning off his table when he came up behind me and gently tapped me on the shoulder.
“Here, I’m not cheap. I swear,” he said, handing me a ten.
“I didn’t—thanks,” I cut off my fumbled words and took the ten.
Our fingertips made the briefest of contact then, and flickers of warmth sparked under my skin from it. Startled, I jerked away and met his gaze. A wild sense of awe and suspicion mixed within his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered softly. “What did you say your last name was?”
“I didn’t... but it’s Morganton,” I answered carefully, thrown off by his odd question and the strange way he stared at me.
“Tessa Morganton,” he whispered like he knew me, but couldn’t place me.
Curiosity ignited the amber color of his eyes, and I felt my cheeks blush under his intense stare.
“Tessa, could I get a refill?” Sam shouted from four tables over.
“I’d, uh, better go,” I said with a nervous smile as I walked away.
By the time I’d reached the counter for a pitcher of tea and turned, Jace had already left the diner.
CHAPTER TWO
I crammed my brightly colored polka-dot sleeping bag into the back of Rachel’s Jeep Cherokee.
“Are you sure you and Sam are all better now?” Rachel asked me for the third time. “That was an awfully quick rebound from a pretty intense argument.”
“God, how many times do I have to tell you we’re fine?”
“Real fine or fake fine? Because I don’t want it to be all awkward between the two of you the entire night.”
“Real fine. No one’s going to act awkward about it unless you do,” I said. “Now hush up about it before my parents hear you.”
“They can’t hear me.” She waved her hand.
“You’d be surprised,” I muttered as we stepped in through the front door. “Mom—Dad? We’re leaving.”
“In the kitchen,” mom answered.
“You two have everything you need?” dad asked as soon as we walked into the kitchen. “Flashlights, cell phones, toilet paper?”
“It does have bathrooms; we’re not completely roughing it.”
“Oh, here, I almost forgot.” Mom smiled. “Happy Birthday, Rachel.”
Mom handed Rachel a purple envelope and a small vase of red tulips, her favorite flower.
“Thanks, Mrs. Morganton. They’re beautiful!”
“You’re welcome,” mom said, plucking a stray strand of silky blond hair from in her eyes and tucking it behind her ear. “You can leave them here until you girls get back tomorrow.”
“All right, Mom, thanks but we’ve really got to go,” I demanded, grabbing Rachel’s wrist and hurrying out of the kitchen.
“Be careful!” dad yelled after us.
“Love you, we will!” I shouted, just before slamming the front door closed behind me.
* * *
We drove from my house to the ABC liquor store, which was about twenty minutes away and also right beside Bi-lo, the grocery store everyone my parents knew shopped at.
“What are you planning on getting here?” I asked, hunkering down in the passenger seat like it was written all over the side of the vehicle we were here for alcohol and underage.
“Tequila, of course!”
“And how exactly are you planning on accomplishing that task? You’re turning eighteen not twenty-one.”
“Thanks for the reminder, Debbie Downer,” she said while scoping out the parking lot for someone to manipulate with her shocking good looks. “Actually, I’m going to grab the stuff we need from Bi-lo and you’re going to get the tequila.” She smirked and handed me a twenty.
“What? No way!”
“Yes way. Now’s your chance,” she said, pointing over my shoulder.
I shifted to follow her finger. Jace stood in a parking space near the front of the building, balancing a helmet on the handle bars of a glossy black crotch-rocket. Realizing he drove a motorcycle made him ten times hotter, something I hadn’t thought to be possible.
I shook my head. “No way. I’m not asking him.”
“Oh come on, he’s going in there anyway.” She grinned. “Besides, he liked you. All you’ll have to do is flirt with him a teensy little bit.”
“No.”
“Tessa, it’s my birthday... please.” She pouted.
I rolled my eyes and took the twenty from her. “Fine. I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
I climbed out and started in Jace’s direction, hearing Rachel squeal with delight behind me. He’d almost reached the front door already when I spotted him.
“Jace!” I shouted after him and then bit my bottom lip. I couldn’t believe I’d let Rachel sucker me in to doing this.
Jace stopped and pivoted in my direction. His eyes didn’t search but for a split second before they met mine, and a slow smile crept across his face. I smiled in return and waved at him awkwardly, then shoved my hands into my back pockets.
“Hey, Tessa.”
“Hey.” My heart flip-flopped when he stopped in front of me.
“How are you?”
“Good. Um, can I ask you to do me a favor?” I asked point blank. I’d never been the type of girl who flirted to get what she wanted and I wasn’t about to start now.
“And what might that be? Buy you some alcohol?”
I shifted on my feet. “Yeah... please.”
“You know that’s illegal, right?” His eyes remained focused directly on mine as he spoke, and my heart began to pound. “I just met you last night and you’re already asking me to break the law for you?”
“Listen, if you don’t want to that’s fine. I get it. It’s just Rachel’s birthday and she wanted me to ask,” I said, hoping I sounded indifferent and not like the basket case I felt like.
“I never said I wouldn’t.” He smirked. “I only said it was illegal. What do you want?”
“Tequila,” I answered, relieved, and dug in my pocket for the twenty Rachel had given me.
“I don’t need your money.”
“Oh, okay, I’ll be over here,” I muttered, pointing to Rachel’s red Jeep.
* * *
Jace came back before Rachel did with a fifth of the cheapest tequila in the store.
“Here, but you owe me,” he said, handing the brown paper bag to me through the window nonchalantly.
I glanced around, feeling paranoid, before taking it from him and stuffing it underneath my seat. “Thanks, how much do I owe you? I’ve only got a twenty, so you might have to wait for Rachel if you need change.”
“I already said I don’t need your money. Keep it. When I say you owe me, I mean you owe me a date.”
My jaw slacked. “What?”
Jace smiled, but the pink tint to his cheeks gave away his sudden lack of confidence. “I just broke the law for you; it’s the least you could do.”
“But, I have a boyfriend and you’ve seen how he can be,” I said, baffled.
“So. Let me show you how you should be treated.” His eyes glimmered then, daring me to say, “yes.”
“Fine,” I said, surprising even myself. There was just something about him that I couldn’t resist.
“I’ll pick you up at six tomorrow night, sound good?”
“On that?” I asked, pointing to his bike. “I don’t think so.”
“Yeah, why not? You afraid or something?” He wasn’t teasing but generally concerned.
“Hardly, but my parents would have a freaking heart attack. Especially my dad. There’s no way he’d let me on the back of one of those. I’ll just have to meet you at your place.”
“Wow.” He chuckled. “You ask me to do something illegal for you the day after I meet you, and your parents already have points stacked against me before even meeting me for riding a bike. I should take this as a sign and run the other way.”
“So why aren’t you?” I asked, having no idea where my sudden burst of boldness came from.
He shrugged and a cute little grin formed on his face. “I don’t know… there’s just something about you.” I seconded that but didn’t say it out loud. “Do you know where the Larkin property is?”
It rang a bell, but took me a minute to figure out why. “The place with the creepy, old farm house?”
Jace laughed and hearing it brought the biggest smile to my face. “It’s not creepy.”
“I beg to differ,” I said. “It’s the creepiest house in town. Every kid for the past thirty years or more has had their own ghost story to tell about it.”
“Seriously? I think it’s kinda nice. Private. Peaceful.”
“Creepy,” I added.
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. That’s where I’m staying; meet me there at six tomorrow night.”
“Fine, but if I even think I see a ghost, I’m leaving.”
“Deal.” Jace smiled, just as Rachel slid into the driver’s seat. “Well, have fun, ladies, and be safe.”
“Thanks,” I said as he walked away.
“Go, Tessa!” Rachel cheered in a hushed whisper.
* * *
It was hard to enjoy our camping trip with Sam when I felt anticipation for tomorrow night building, but I managed—with the help of a little tequila.
CHAPTER THREE
I knew exactly how to get to the old Larkin property and I hadn’t been lying about kids thinking it was haunted. I’d heard more than my fair share of horror stories growing up and believed every one of them. One glance at the run-down house and it wasn’t hard to.
It was a two-story farm house with chipped white paint, holes in the porch floor, and gutters that hung at odd angles.
I pulled in behind Jace’s glossy motorcycle and stared up at the house. It was still just as frightening as I remembered. I wondered if Jace had bought the place or was simply renting. Either way, I couldn’t imagine staying the night there, especially alone.
“You gonna stare at the house all night or are you gonna come inside?” Jace asked. He stood at the front door, his arms folded across his chest, in dark denim jeans and a gray T-shirt, barefoot. The sight of him made me think all kinds of things I shouldn’t, mainly because I had a boyfriend.
I slammed my car door shut. “Hi, how are you?” I asked lamely.
“Good, now that you’re here.”
I felt my face flush at his words, and my stomach did a flip-flop while I walked to the porch steps. I stopped on the first one, realizing I’d never made it this far, even as a kid, and fear pricked across my skin.
“Relax. It’s not haunted,” Jace said, holding a hand out to me. “I swear.”
I hopped up the remaining five steps, feeling fear tighten my chest, and interlaced my fingers with his. His touch was warm and soothing. I could feel it rippling through me and heating my blood.
“Come on in,” he said. His amber eyes glowed in the hazy sunlight.
I smiled and stepped inside before him. My jaw dropped as I took in the house. Gleaming hardwood floors, sage green walls, and a set of glossy, wooden steps welcomed me.
“Not what you expected?” Jace asked with a smirk, obviously noticing the astonished look on my face.
“Far from it.”
“I’ve spent the last month redoing the inside,” he said, walking to another room. I followed closely behind. “Still a lot left to do, don’t get me wrong, but not as much as there used to be.”
“I can only imagine,” I said. “So how long have you lived here? Did you buy the place or something?” I asked, trying to remember if I’d ever seen a for sale sign posted up.
We’d made it to the kitchen and I swore I’d never been in one so beautiful before. White cabinets reached all the way to the ceiling, and sparkling gray granite countertops and stainless steel appliances made up the room.
“I’ve been here for a little over a month,” Jace said, gesturing for me to grab one of the bar stools to sit on. “And it’s my uncle’s property, actually. He inherited it from my grandfather years ago. Nobody’s lived in it since my grandfather passed and I needed a place away from my family to stay for a while, so I offered to fix the place up while I was here.”
I picked through his words, grabbing onto the few that stood out drastically to me—to stay for a while. I wondered how long that might be, before reminding myself for a second time I had a boyfriend and this should all mean nothing to me.
“Cool,” I said, hoping to sound indifferent.
“Anyway, that’s enough about me. In an effort to show you how you should be treated, I’m going to cook for you tonight.” He beamed.
I shifted around on the bar stool. “Oh, and what will you be cooking?” I raised an eyebrow and scolded myself mentally for the flirty tone that had leaked into my words.
“Steak, baked potatoes, and a house salad. You allergic to any of those?” he asked with a smile.
“Nope, sounds good.”
“Oh, it will be,” he said, causing a shiver to run up my spine from his tone.
Remembering Sam seemed to be harder and harder the longer I was around Jace. After a few minutes of watching him cook, I couldn’t be sure what made my mouth water more: him or the smell of the food.
* * *
“So how long have you and this Sam guy been together?” Jace asked after dinner. We sat in the field in front of his house, gazing up at the quickly darkening sky.
“Almost a year.”
“How’s that been? Was he not a jerk most of the time in the beginning, too, or is this something new?” he asked, toying with a long blade of grass.
A warm breeze blew. I stretched my legs out in front of me and let it caress my exposed skin while I rested my weight against the palms of my hands. “Sam wasn’t always this way, no.” I hung my head back as another warm gust of wind blew.
“What changed?”
I shrugged my shoulder. “Me, I guess.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I just know I’m not ready to settle down right after high school and I think he is. I know I care for him,” I paused, feeling odd to be talking about something so personal with Jace, but continued on anyway. “I just don’t think I want to marry him or anything. Besides, there are things I want to do, places I want to see other than this tiny town, and so much more I want to experience. I’m not sure he’s on the same page as me when it comes to all that.”
“So dump him.”
I shifted my gaze to Jace and scoffed at his boldness. It only made a cute grin form on his face.
“Easier said than done.” I drew my knees into my chest and locked my arms around them. “As horrible as I’m sure this is going to sound, I haven’t broken up with him because I know he won’t handle it very well. So, I keep putting it off.”
“You’re right, that is horrible—a horrible excuse for staying miserable. Who handles any break up well?”
I pressed my lips to the warm skin of my knees and shifted my gaze out into the field. The truth was, Sam had become like a bad habit, and those are always the hardest to break.
“What’s that above your knee—a birthmark?” Jace asked in an odd tone.
“Yeah, I’m surprised you can even see it.” I pulled back and struggled to make out its outline in the dim light.
“Birthmark,” Jace repeated as a dumbfounded expression settled onto his face.
Was he disgusted by birthmarks or something? I didn’t see what the big deal was. “I happen to like it. If I turn this way, it looks like a tiny paw print.”
“I can clearly see what you mean.”
Suddenly feeling insecure from Jace’s odd behavior, I moved to sit Indian style, wishing I’d worn jeans and a T-shirt instead of shorts and a sweater.
Jace blinked a few times beside me, removing himself from the trance-like daze he’d been locked in. “So, tell me about yourself.”
I hesitated, thrown off guard by his sudden request. “What do you want to know?” I asked, adding do I have anymore birthmarks in my mind.
He shrugged, looking indifferent. “How about we start with your family?”
“Well, I live with my mom and dad. I’m an only child.” I stopped; Jace’s eyes were on me and growing more intense by the second as he fixated his attention on my words as though they held within them the answers to the world. “And, that’s pretty much it.”
“What are your parents like?”
“Normal parents, I guess.” I shrugged, unsure of what answer he was looking for.
“Normal, right. I’m sure they are.” Jace chuckled. “What do they do for a living?”
“My mom owns a florist shop and my dad works in construction. Why?” I asked with way more fire than I’d intended.
Jace threw his hands up. “Is it a crime to want to know where a girl like you came from? Geez, you always so tense when people ask you questions?” He smirked.
I relaxed at the sight of his grin. “Only when the one asking seems to suddenly be interrogating me.”
He ripped up another blade of grass and began running it through his fingers again. His grin shifted into a shy-looking smile. “Sorry, I didn’t intend to come off that way. I just find you... intriguing.”
Intriguing, definitely not something I’d been called before.
“What about you—what’s your family like?” I asked, shifting the attention off myself, thankful for the darkness that hid my blushing cheeks.
“Turning the tables, huh?” His shyness evaporated, becoming replaced with cockiness, and I wondered how much of it was an act. “I lived with my mom and dad before coming here. I’m an only child, too, but I come from a large family with many aunts, uncles, and cousins.” His eyebrows scrunched together. “It’s a different sort of family really.”
“Why did you leave?”
Jace looked up at the sky. “Because of all the pressure they’re always putting on me. It’s like they’re constantly watching me, making sure I don’t screw up and disgrace the family name.”
“What do your parents do? Are they in politics or something?”
“Something like that,” he muttered, before shifting his gaze back to me. “It’s getting kinda late. What time are you supposed to be home by?”
“Eleven.”
“Ah, you still have a little while longer. Anymore questions you’d like to ask?”
“Yeah.” I smiled. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-one. How old are you?” he countered, leaning back and resting his body weight against the palms of his hands.
“Seventeen.” I straightened my back. “But I’ll be eighteen in a few weeks.”
I hoped our slight age difference didn’t matter to him, and then realized it should matter to me because I was the one already in a relationship.
“Really? When’s your birthday?”
“October twenty-sixth,” I answered. I noticed the gears turning behind his amber-colored eyes as the same intensity from earlier found its way into his features again. “What? Why do you keep giving me that strange look?”
He blinked. “Do I? Sorry.” His face relaxed, but his eyes remained questioning. “Are you ready to head back inside? I think you still have time for dessert.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Dessert was a tart key-lime pie, cool and silky smooth against my tongue. A tiny little slice of heaven eaten beside a god.
“Did you make this?” I asked, sliding another delicious bite into my mouth.
Jace smiled. “Why, you like it?”
“Of course, it’s heaven.”
“I hate to say it, but no, I didn’t make it. The bakery at Bi-lo did. Sorry to disappoint you.”
“That you could never do,” I blurted.
“Good to know.” He grinned. My cheeks caught fire and the sensation traveled to my neck. “You’re beautiful when you do that.”
“Do what?”
“Blush,” he answered.
Hardly giving me enough time to swallow my bite of pie, Jace kissed me. His lips brushed across mine, warm and soft. I was shocked but found myself responding eagerly, hungrily even, in no time. Jace’s body heat came off him in waves, seeping into my flesh and warming me from the inside out. My heart pounded and I could hear the roar of my blood rushing through my veins. His tongue snaked its way between my parted lips, and I interlaced my fingers within his hair, forcing him closer to me. My back arched, melding my body against his while my mind buzzed with the high that came from kissing him.
“Wait,” Jace said, breaking away suddenly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to... I just needed to know,” he fumbled the words.
“Needed to know what?” I asked, breathless, as needles of rejection stabbed away at my insides.
His cheeks tinged pink. “What it felt like to kiss you,” he whispered. My heart skipped a few beats, pausing as though it were just as surprised by his words as I was, before shifting into high gear and slamming against my ribcage.
“Oh,” I said, straightening my sweater. “And now you know.” Embarrassment colored my face again. I could feel it. What was I supposed to say to something like that?
Jace smiled and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, and now I know.”
I shifted on my stool and stretched the sleeves of my sweater over my hands in an effort to keep myself from pulling him into me for round two. My eyes traveled around the kitchen looking at nothing in particular, until spotting the moon through a window.
“The moon’s almost full,” I said, not caring how random the words sounded because at least they’d filled the unbearable awkward silence that had been building between us.
“I know. It will be in three more nights.”
“You know a lot about the moon?” I asked, unable to remove my eyes from its glowing beauty.
“You could say that,” Jace mumbled.
“I’ve always thought it was beautiful. Even when it’s not full, there’s still something enchanting about it.”
“It does have an alluring effect on some.”
“But not on you?” I questioned stupidly. Of course not on him; he didn’t seem like the type who spent their nights gawking at the moon.
“Maybe, but nothing compared to the alluring effect you have on me.” He flashed me his most charming grin yet, and I bit my bottom lip to suppress the wide smile it brought to my face. “So, is there anything else you adore I should know about?”
You, the first answer that sprang into my mind. “Wind,” I blurted.
I couldn’t have said music or books. No, instead I’d said wind, which wasn’t entirely a lie, if we were continuing with the topic of things that occurred in nature.
“Wind, huh?” He raised an eyebrow at me.
“Uh-uh. I’ve always found it fascinating. There’s just something about it that feels so... freeing.” I dropped my gaze, waiting for him to laugh, but he didn’t.
“Let me get this straight, you like the wind and the moon? Isn’t there anything you like that I can actually give you?”
I could feel his steady gaze on me and allowed my eyes to flicker to his. A cocky smile played at the corners of his lips, but an odd seriousness burned within his honey-colored eyes.
“Um, chocolate... yellow roses...,” I trailed off, my eyes falling to his lips. Kissing you, I added in my mind.
Jace leaned closer toward me. “And?”
“Chocolate,” I repeated absentmindedly, my eyes fixated on his perfect lips.
“You already said that,” he whispered, erasing the inches between us slowly.
My eyes rose to find his and I caught a glimpse of the sparks flaring within them. I leaned forward and crushed his lips with my own. Jace’s lips were more blissful than all the chocolate in the world, the only thing my mind and body could agree on at the moment.
His warmth seeped into me, passing from his lips to mine, and heated the blood flowing through my veins, warming me from the outside in to a near dizzying state of fuzzy drunkenness.
Jace broke away, taking with him all of my newly gained warmth and leaving me feeling cold instantly. “You should go; it’s getting late.”
Needles of rejection stabbed away at my insides. “Okay,” I muttered and then reminded myself for yet another time that I was already in a relationship with someone else and there was a word for what I’d been doing each time our lips met—Cheating.
“I wouldn’t want you getting grounded for being out past curfew.”
“And why is that?” I asked sounding snappier than I’d intended. “It wouldn’t affect you.”
He flashed me a crooked grin. “Of course it would, then I wouldn’t be able to go out with you again tomorrow night.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think I’d say yes?”
“Your pounding heart and the teasing tone to your voice,” he said without even a hint of sarcasm.
My cheeks reddened. There was no way he could hear my thunderous heartbeat, but the flirty tone that had leaked into my words may have been a dead giveaway.
“Oh really?” I crossed my arms and he nodded in response. “Well, maybe if you asked nicely.”
What was I saying? I couldn’t go out with him again, could I? There was a four-letter word used to describe girls who behaved the way that I was—a word I had never been called because of my own actions—and I didn’t like the feeling the thought of that word caused to bubble within me.
“Tessa.” Jace’s eyes grew soft and every trace of cockiness evaporated from his features, replaced with gentleness. “Can I see you again tomorrow night, please?” he asked in the same sultry and hypnotic tone he’d used the first night I’d met him.
I chewed my bottom lip and then smiled. “Fine.”
“Fine, that’s all I get?” he asked in a flat tone. “No definitely or hell yes... just fine? Gee, it’s not like I’m twisting your arm or anything.”
I laughed and shoved him playfully. “Definitely—hell yes!” I said over zealously. “Better?”
“Much.” He grinned, before snaking his arm around my waist and pulling me in for one more blissful kiss.
This time it was me and my swelling guilty conscience that cut our kiss short. “I should really get going.”
“Right. So, meet me here at the same time tomorrow night?” he asked, taking a step back and running his fingers through his hair. “I would say I’d pick you up, but I wouldn’t want your parents to freak when they see you leave on the back of my bike.”
“Yeah, that wouldn’t go over so well,” I said, headed toward the front door.
* * *
I spent the entire drive home cursing myself for agreeing to another date with Jace. One was all I’d been obligated to go on, but in his presence I found it hard to tell him no to date number two. Even though I knew it was incredibly wrong of me to want him, there was no denying that I did.
CHAPTER FIVE
I woke late Sunday morning to the buzzing of my cell phone as it glided across my nightstand in vibrate mode. The unmistakable scent of bacon and pancakes filled my nose, and I smiled at the thought of breakfast. I flipped over and grabbed my cell—it was Sam calling. After hitting ignore, I sat up in bed and sent him a text.
Just woke up. Call you in a bit ~Tessa
Less than five seconds later Sam replied.
Wanna do something today?