Chasing Steel: Capturing Magic Books 1-3
Page 42
As I start to turn to leave, he mutters a, “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me. You never should’ve been in the position you’re in right now … I should’ve saved you a long time ago.” With that, I leave the room, shutting the door behind me.
When I step back into the hallway, East is walking out of Harlynn’s room. I walk toward him, and he meets me halfway.
“We’re getting close to landing,” I inform him.
“Yeah, I assumed with all the jolting the vehicle was doing.” He gives a distracted glance back at Harlynn’s shut bedroom door then sinks his teeth into his lip.
“You okay?”
He blinks at me then forces a smile onto his face. “I’m always okay.”
“That’s not even close to the truth.” I cross my arms and stare him down. “So, what’s up?” When he appears reluctant, I cautiously ask, “Is this about Penelope?”
His brows fleetingly furrow, and then he shakes his head. “No. I’ve barely thought about her since we left Steel.”
“Okay.” Then what the hell has got him acting all weird?
“I’m going to go change,” he tells me, stepping toward his room, but then he pauses and glances over his shoulder at me. “About the thing we discussed … the thing Maxton told us about breaking Harlynn’s curse.”
So that’s what this is about?
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Well, we never really said if we were going to try that or not.” He turns all the way to face me, yanks his fingers through his hair, and shifts his weight. “And I know that we don’t have time right now to discuss it, but I definitely think we should.”
I eye him over. Just what exactly happened between Harlynn and him after she learned what she was and took off out of the room? We had all decided East was the best creature to go talk to her because of the demon blood he has flowing through his veins.
“Okay,” I say, unsure if I’m feeling jealous or not. Perhaps a little bit. If he were any other creature, besides Arrow, I would be raging with jealousy and demanding to know what happened between them. But East is my best friend, has been for a very long time.
“Okay,” he agrees then turns and walks into his room.
I turn around and wander the rest of the way to Harlynn’s door. Lifting my hand, I knock.
“Come in,” she says from the other side.
When I open the door, she’s standing by her closet, wearing that dress she had on at the party. The one that hugs her body and shows of her sexy legs. Legs that I’ve touched and that I want to touch now.
Shit … I’m really getting in over my head.
“Hey,” she says as I walk in. When her gaze sweeps across my face, worry creases between her brows. “Is everything okay?”
Shaking my head, I cross the room and stop in front of her. “Not really.”
She nibbles on her lip, nearly driving me mad. “Are you worried about what I am?”
“What?” I gape at her. “No. Not even a little bit.”
Her lips form an O, and shit, all I want to do is kiss her. I want to do a lot more than that. But I can’t. Not unless the curse is broken …
My thoughts drift back to the dance floor when East and I touched and kissed her …
Maybe I can do it.
“I actually just came in here to say that I’m sorry.” I brush the back of my hand down her face.
She angles her head to the side. “Sorry for what?”
“For breaking my promise to you.”
Shaking her head, she rolls her eyes. “You didn’t break your promise. Stuff just went down differently than we planned.”
“I never should’ve used you as bait.” I place my hand on her waist and pull her closer. “I won’t do it again.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Just because we’re … whatever we are, doesn’t mean I’m going to be this damsel in distress. Every mission you guys go on, I’m going to be a part of, got it?”
Every bone in my body aches to dominate her, tell her that she’ll do what I say. But I know her well enough that she’ll argue with me until she gets what she wants. Though, when we argue, I usually get turned on. I never thought I’d be like that, but it turns out that I am.
“Okay. Fine. I got it.”
Suspicion flickers across her face. “Did you just agree with me? And without an argument?”
I shrug. “Perhaps. But don’t get used to it. We just don’t have a lot of time to get into one of our arguments.”
She bites back a smile. “Aw, I tamed the bossy genie.”
A spark ignites in my chest, and heat flares through my veins.
I lean in, putting my lips close to hers as I grip her waist. “Are you trying to test my patience?” I whisper lowly.
She smirks. “Nope, I was just stating a fact.”
That spark inside me blazes into flames. “Little thief,” I warn, “how many times have I warned you that you’re playing with fire when you say shit like that to me?”
“And how many times have I told you that I don’t care?” She reaches up and pats my cheek while flashing me a haughty smile—
I kiss her, losing all control over myself for a moment. I slip my arm around her, pressing her closer to me while sucking on her lip.
A gasp fumbles from her lips, and I want nothing more than to back her to the bed, rip off her clothes, and slip inside her. But I can’t for two reasons; one being that she’s way too inexperienced for me to be that rough with her yet, and two, I can’t go there until I talk to East and Arrow. So, even though it nearly kills me, I break the kiss.
“I should probably go change,” I say through my ragged breaths.
And maybe take a cold shower while I’m at it.
She unsteadily bobs her head up and down. “Yeah, I need to get changed, too.”
“Okay.” I don’t step away right away, just staring at her and trying to figure out what this is. Why I feel so different around her.
It’s not just that she’s feisty, smart, gorgeous as hell, and is the most realest creature I’ve ever met. No, it’s more than that. I just can’t figure out what.
“You okay?” she asks.
Realizing I’ve dazed off and am just staring at her, I nod. Then I realize I actually am sort of okay, which is weird. I’m not sure if I’ve ever felt okay, with a shadow of pain and a doomed future constantly hanging over my head.
She looks at me with concern. “Are you sure?”
I give another nod then lean forward and brush my lips across hers. “Yeah, I’m sure.” I offer her a smile then turn to leave the room.
“Ash?” she calls out.
My heart damn near explodes, but I manage to turn around calmly. “Yeah?”
She fidgets with a leather band on her wrist, nervousness flowing through her as she stares at the floor. “You never told me if you found a way to break the curse. If what Maxton told you was true.” She lifts her gaze to me then, revealing the truth behind her words.
She wants to break the curse.
Desperately.
I just wonder if she’ll want it as much if I tell her the way. Sure, she’s kissed all of us, but kissing and falling in love are two totally separate things.
“Yeah, I think it’s true,” I tell her.
“Okay.” She drags her teeth across her bottom lip. “So, what is it?”
I could tell her and hope she doesn’t freak out. She may even handle it well. However, I need to make sure East, Arrow, and even myself are all on board with this. While I’m pretty sure East is, Arrow is going to be the most complicated, and not just because of the whole sharing thing, but because he struggles more with emotions, even more than East and me.
Plus, the moment I say it aloud, I feel like I’m putting pressure on her. Every time she kisses any of us, she’ll think about whether she’s breaking the curse. And I don’t want that. I don’t want any of this to be fake, or else it won’t work. Plus, I’ve spent my entire life around fakeness until
Harlynn barged into my life. Like I said, she’s the realest creature I’ve ever met. She doesn’t pretend. Doesn’t sugarcoat stuff. And I want it to stay that way.
“Can I talk to you about it after we leave Midnight?” I ask. “It’ll take a while to get into it.”
She nods. “Yeah, of course.” She gives a short, considering pause. “There’s a way, though, right?”
Her desire to want this makes me smile.
“Yeah, little thief, there’s a way,” I assure her.
I just hope I’m right. Hope that everyone will be okay with this. Hope that, for once, things work out. Hope that I can protect her from my father and all the other creatures out there that want her for her power.
I can’t help worrying that it won’t. In fact, I can feel it in my bones, a storm is brewing, which more than likely means we still have a lot of dangerous obstacles to overcome.
About the Author
Jessica Sorensen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives in the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.
For information: jessicasorensen.com
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