His arm shot out in front of me, as he pointed along the fence line behind me. “Down there about fifty yards is a hole in the fence.” His arm moved, directing me to the far left wing of the building. “Right there is a window that will be unlocked.” His arm swung to the large central building. “In there are the administrative offices. The one we need will be the third door on the left.”
I made a face like I might have been impressed. So, he had a plan.
“How do you know there’s a hole in the fence?” I asked.
“Because I made it when I was fourteen,” he answered. “Just like I jimmied the window to never lock.” He smiled smugly at the look of awe on my face, and added, “I made a career out of sneaking out.”
The mental image of a young, rebellious Alec got a laugh out of me. “How do you know the Skotadi didn’t find the hole, or fix the window?”
He looked at me like he took my lack of faith in his plan personally. With a sigh, he grabbed my hand and pulled me after him through the woods, running parallel to the fence. He stopped at a precise location, pulled a heap of foliage away from the fence, revealing the hole he’d known would be there.
“Okay, okay,” I said. “You’re prepared for this. I get it.”
He nodded his head, looking at the building. “Security will be lighter on the weekends. That’s our best chance. I’m thinking middle of the night, when everyone is asleep. We should have only a few security guards to sneak past.”
Sounded easy enough. “Saturday?” Two days from now.
“Sunday,” he countered. “Sometimes the kids have parties on Saturday nights. We want everyone asleep.”
I nodded as I took in the daunting building before me. In three days, we’d break in. In three days, I would know everything. Who I was, where I came from, what made me different.
I’d learned to expect the unexpected. This time, facing this uncertainty, I wasn’t afraid. I was ready.
The drive back to Aspen was quiet.
I knew there was a chance of one or both of us getting caught on Sunday. As much as I hated that thought, I hated not knowing the truth about myself even more. Learning the truth could be vital to what we were trying to accomplish. Maybe knowing everything about my creation will help us to help each other. Help us fight our destiny.
We had to go through with it. For both of us. For both of our futures.
And if we both died in the process?
“We’re doing the right thing, aren’t we?” I asked Alec softly.
He nodded, and I was grateful to have that reassurance from him, but he didn’t add anything. He was quiet, and the usual comfortable silence between us morphed into something awkward and unwelcome. I wished he would say something, anything.
“Alec?” When he glanced at me, I opened my mouth, but nothing formed.
“You know what, Kris?” he pondered. “I think we need to have a little fun.”
I half scoffed, half snorted a laugh. “Fun?”
“Yeah, you know, before we attempt to pull off the world’s dumbest break in.”
“Okay, fun.” His way of making me forget about what we were about to do. For now. “What do you suggest?”
I was a little hesitant to hear what he had in mind. I had learned over time that, with Alec, anything was possible.
He didn’t elaborate, but I found out what he had planned when he turned off the main road a few moments later, and we pulled up to a dark, empty, red-brick building. A sign by the front doors announced a warm welcome to Mountain Ridge Elementary School.
“School? Never thought you were one to consider school fun,” I said.
Alec chuckled as he got out of the car. Reaching into the backseat, he withdrew a small satchel and a flashlight. He tossed me the light. “Don’t turn it on yet. Come on.”
Even in the dark, he seemed to know exactly where he was going. As I followed him around the side of the building, I had to wonder how many times he’d done this—whatever this was we were doing.
In the distance, I could make out the shadowed shapes of a swing set, jungle gym, and see-saws. For a moment, I thought his plan was to frolic innocently in the playground. But then, Alec was Alec, and he never ceased to surprise me.
He stopped outside a big red door with the words ‘No Trespassing’ painted ominously across the top. Opening the satchel in his hands, he glanced at me. “Flashlight.”
I provided him with light as he withdrew a few small gadgets. He turned and dropped to one knee in front of the door, and motioned for me to redirect the light as he inserted what looked to be a set of tweezers into the keyhole.
“You have a breaking and entering kit?”
“Got to be prepared.”
I laughed. “How many times have you done this?”
“Here? Never, but wanted to.”
“How many other places have you broken in to?” My voice approached hysteria, even if I did find it a little funny.
He shrugged without any indication of answering. I heard a soft click, and Alec shot me a smug smile as he stood and opened the door. He swept an arm out in front of him. “After you.”
“This is wrong in so many ways,” I muttered. With a final nervous glance at the playground—no angry security guard, thank God—I stepped inside.
“You know what, Kris? You’re going to have a real hard time with this turning evil stuff,” Alec said as he let the door swing shut behind us.
“I consider that a good thing.” I spun around to Alec, only to realize I couldn’t see him. With the door shut, we were standing in the dark with zero visibility. I felt his hand brush against mine, and I jumped.
I heard a chuckle. “You want to turn on the flashlight so we can, I don’t know, maybe see? Or we can stand here like this. I don’t care. It’s kind of hot.”
I promptly clicked the rubber tip of the flashlight, and jumped again when I saw how close Alec was standing to me. He grinned as he took my hand in his.
“Come on,” he said, tugging me after him. “We’re supposed to be having fun.”
I shrugged like it was no big deal and let him lead me down the wide hallway. I could let loose and have fun for a little bit. With Alec. Alone, in an empty, dark school. Sure, nothing to it.
Alec pushed through a set of double doors and we entered a room that felt large and open. The faint smell of sweat and rubber kicked me back to Boone, to dodge ball and volleyball games in gym class.
Alec flipped a switch, turning on a section of overhead lights along the far side of the large gymnasium. It was just enough light for us to see, but left most of the room in shadows.
Finally dropping my hand, Alec crossed to the rack of basketballs along the wall, grabbed one, and turned to me with a smile. “You’re favorite sport.”
I watched as he dribbled to the free throw line, and sunk a basket. It reminded me of the time we’d played HORSE on the playground in Boone. Right before he’d kissed me for the first time, right before Nathan came along and changed everything.
Apparently, Alec remembered too. “How about we finish what we started at that party,” he suggested.
“We did finish,” I said. “I kicked your ass, remember?”
Alec shook his head, his grin growing. “No, not that. I remember you mentioning something about playing for clothes.” He paused, and met my eyes unflinchingly. “We never got to finish that.”
“I’m pretty sure that was a joke.”
Alec chuckled. “You have no idea how serious I was. Here.” He tossed me the ball. “One-on-one. I’ll even let you go first.”
Having possession first had its advantages, and I had Alec shoeless, sockless, and shirtless before he ever got to touch the ball. Perhaps it was the fact that he was shirtless that rattled me enough to let him steal it. Or maybe I was afraid to find out if he was wearing anything under his jeans.
“This is not going the way I had hoped,” Alec admitted as he finally took possession of the ball. “But things are about to change.�
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I smiled as I took a defensive stance. “We’ll see about that.”
A few minutes later, Alec was much happier as I was forced to remove my last sock, and we were both barefoot.
“One more shot,” he said with a laugh, “and I get to see some skin.”
I gulped when I realized the tough spot I was in. I didn’t want to take anything else off any more than I wanted Alec to. Either way, no matter who won this next shot, things were about to get a lot more interesting.
I should walk away. Now.
“Check.” He bounced the ball to me. I held onto it a second, briefly debating my next move, before I returned it to him with a returned, “Check.”
Alec could play, I had to give him that. I tried, hard, but he beat me to the basket, floated the ball over my head, and scored.
“It’s really not fair considering how much taller you are than me,” I whined.
Alec ignored my complaints as he dribbled toward me. His mind wasn’t on the logistics of the game at the moment. His eyes wandered over me expectantly. “Well? What’s it going to be?”
I lowered my eyes, unable to meet his. My pulse jumped and a bead of sweat trickled down the back of my neck—and it wasn’t from the physical exertion. Pants or shirt?
Shit. Pants or shirt?
I wasn’t happy with either option. I considered telling Alec I didn’t want to play anymore, and back out of this game with my clothes on. It was heading in a dangerous direction I wasn’t so sure I was ready to handle. But I was no quitter either, and I wasn’t about to back down to Alec. Not with the way he was looking at me, daring me to continue.
I decided to call his bluff, and force him to back down first…if that were even possible.
After considering my choices, I opted to remove my jeans. I was wearing the least sexy panties ever made, and my shirt was long enough to cover them up, so it wasn’t like Alec would get to see much.
Regardless, he raised his eyebrows as I tossed my pants to the side. “Interesting choice.”
I shrugged and took the ball from him. “Check.”
I was on a mission this time, and Alec didn’t stand a chance. It wasn’t difficult, considering how distracted he was now. I easily slapped the ball out of his hands and made a run for the basket, scoring effortlessly. As I turned around triumphantly, Alec was already happily slipping out of his jeans. Luckily, he still had on a pair of boxers.
I kept my eyes on the ball to keep them off him. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t ignore how aware I was of just how little clothing remained between us.
“I’m getting the next one,” he taunted, spreading his arms out wide to block me. “You’re not getting by me.”
I made a move, but hesitated at the thought of scoring again, and forcing Alec to lose his boxers. The hesitation was enough for him to poke the ball away from me, and sink his own basket. Catching the ball as it dropped through the net, Alec turned to me expectantly.
“I’m not taking anything else off,” I said.
Alec shrugged, undeterred, and took a step toward me. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
My heart wasn’t anywhere near my chest by the time he reached me. I tried to back away from him, but my feet were stuck, frozen under his gaze. And, maybe, a part of me didn’t want to move. He gave me just enough time to stop him if I wanted, but I didn’t, and his hands reached out and caught the hem of my shirt.
His fingers brushed against my skin and involuntary goose-bumps prickled the surface of my stomach. Alec must have noticed because he smiled knowingly as he inched the fabric higher. His hands stopped near my ribcage, where he gripped me tightly. Though his touch felt incredible, I couldn’t prevent the stiffening of my spine and the short puff of air that slipped between my lips.
Alec’s eyes lifted to mine. “I won’t if you don’t want me to.”
“I don’t want you to,” I said, unable to raise my voice above a whisper.
“Okay.” He let go of my shirt, letting it fall, but his hands remained underneath it, and encircled around my waist. “And what if I were to kiss you?”
I tried to block out the way his thumbs tracing over the spot just above my belly button felt—because it felt amazing. Such a simple motion on his part, but it was doing a hell of a job at tearing down my walls.
“Would you want me to do that?” Alec asked softly.
“No.” The word shook as it came out of my mouth, and didn’t pack the punch I had hoped for.
“I don’t believe you.”
That made two of us.
Knowing I would be at his mercy if I looked into his eyes, I fixed my gaze on his hand as it trailed slowly up my arm and over my shoulder. The goose-bumps his touch left behind sent a shiver up my spine. A good shiver. Definitely a good shiver. Too good, in fact.
“Alec…”
His fingers brushed along the curve of my neck, coming to a rest under my chin. With one finger, he forced my head back. His eyes were aflame, not with evil, but with a desire that melted most of the rest of my resolve. I had to close my eyes to regain my composure.
“I know you want me to.” His mouth brushed against my upper lip, teasing, tempting me.
Oh, I wanted him to kiss me. Physically, my body was responding to Alec the way he wanted it to, the way it has to him before.
But my body didn’t know that my heart belonged to someone else.
“Tell me to kiss you, Kris.” His hand stroked the side of my face, further fogging my thoughts and nearly making me forget the reasons why we shouldn’t be doing this.
I opened my eyes at last, and realized, too late, how bad of an idea that was. He was close. Really close. It would be so easy, so natural, so right in so many ways to give in. I had only a small sliver of willpower left, and I held on to that with all my might.
“I can’t,” I choked. Alec flinched as if I had struck him. Though brief, and quickly covered by indifference, I saw just how much the rejection had hurt him. And I immediately felt horrible. “Alec…”
“It’s fine.” He backed away, offering me a half smile that only broke my heart even more, before stooping to collect our clothes off the floor. He tossed me my pants. “Looks like you won again.”
“Alec,” I tried again, but came up empty on a follow up. None of the words floating around in my head sounded good enough, or worthy enough.
Alec was the image of indifference as he slipped his shirt over his head. “I was getting cold anyway, and it’s getting late. You ready to go?”
“Yeah,” I offered meekly.
I snuck a few glances at him as we redressed. His expression remained blank, and he said nothing. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like knowing that I was the cause of Alec’s suffering. I struggled to think of something to say to him, to repair the rift between us, but again, came up empty.
The thought was planted in the back of mind. I tried to push it away, but as we left the school in strained silence, that annoying voice in my head repeated what I was afraid of.
She, too, thought this rift might not be fixable.
The cascade of hot water was just what I needed to melt away the rigidness in my muscles. After a long, uncomfortable car ride, we had returned to find Tenner and Sara gone for the evening. To avoid prolonging the misery smothering Alec and me, I had formed some excuse about needing a shower.
I finished without having come up with a resolution.
I wanted Nathan. It was that simple. Alec needed to understand that. Most importantly, I needed to avoid temptation with Alec. Because, sometimes, various parts of myself were confused.
My heart knew what it wanted. Even if I couldn’t have him, even if I might never have him…
“Ouch! Damn it!”
My hip caught the corner of the countertop and I stopped to briskly rub the sore spot on my side. Eyeing the scratch on the surface, and already seeing the start of a bruise underneath, I cursed under my breath.
Since when did I start cursing like Alec?
The television in the living room was on some late night program. The crisp hiss of a beer bottle top being twisted off reached my ears, and I knew where I could find Alec.
I stood in the entryway for a moment as his eyes shifted from the television to me. His mouth parted to say something, but my quick tongue stopped him.
“Don’t, Alec,” I interrupted. “Just don’t.”
He shifted and, for the first time since I’ve known him, looked very uncomfortable as I crossed the room to him. His eyes remained fixed on me as I lowered to sit on the edge of the coffee table in front of him.
“Kris…” he started, and leaned forward until our knees touched. “I’m sorry about earlier. I just…” He trailed off, then shrugged in defeat. “Hell, I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Shut up, Alec.” I edged closer, wedging my knees between his. In one swift motion, I reached out and cupped his face in my hands. I didn’t know what I was doing, didn’t know why I was doing it, but it felt…right. Now, at this moment, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. “I was scared earlier. The way I feel about you scares me sometimes, but I…”
“What, Kris?”
I swallowed. Here goes… “I did want you to kiss me. And…I want you to kiss m—”
Alec’s mouth was on mine, burying whatever else I might have said under his soft, yet hard, lips. Lips that wasted no time parting mine so that he could dive deeper. Into me. Into whatever reservations I might have had left until they were nothing but a bad memory.
Something happened to me in that moment I opened up to him. Something stirred inside of me. Something I hadn’t realized, or wanted to admit, had been there. Until now.
Whereas other kisses might be sweet, or tender, or full of unspoken meaning, the way Alec kissed me now was nothing like that. It was as if he were kissing away a physical pain. And it pulled at a part of me that wanted nothing more than to cure my own physical ache.
Sacrificed (The Ignited Series) Page 19
