My eyes dropped back down.
My breath caught.
I suddenly couldn’t breathe.
If Flint had the awareness to make Jet and Jasper stop making fun of me, then he obviously knew how I felt. Oh crap! I hastily stood, kept my eyes down and mumbled a goodnight before darting for the ladder. My stomach sank the whole way.
I was halfway upstairs when hands closed around my waist. If a hand hadn’t clamped over my mouth, I would have shrieked.
“Quiet,” Flint whispered in my ear. He pulled me off the ladder and in a blur of movement we were in the basement at the entrance to Father’s lab.
“What the . . .” I managed at the light speed departure. A roll of nausea swept through me.
Flint frowned. “Are you okay?”
The nausea slowly passed. “Yeah.”
I waited for him to explain.
“I told the others I was going outside to check something, but instead moved toward you. I did it at my speed so no one would see.”
When Flint moved at his speed, he was a blur. “Why did you bring me down here?”
His eyes softened.
Is that pity in his gaze? My stomach lurched, and it had nothing to do with my previous nausea. I quickly glanced away, remembering the knowing expressions on the twins’ faces and the stern responding looks from Flint.
He’s here to set the record straight. He’s going to let me down easily without everyone listening.
It wasn’t the first time relationships had gone bad in our group. Jet had messed around with both Jacinda and Amber. Jacinda had been the one to break it off with him, but Amber had cried for days after Jet dumped her. Now, Flint was doing the same to me. The most humiliating part, however, was that Flint was doing it before we’d done anything.
We’d never been anything but friends.
“You don’t need to say anything.” My voice sounded almost robotic. “I better get to bed.”
His hand shot out when I tried to pass. “Lena, stop.”
Something in his voice made me pause.
He raked a hand harshly through his hair. “I just . . . I wanted to . . .” He wouldn’t meet my gaze.
With each moment, my heart sank more. I knew what was coming. I knew what he was going to say.
He took a deep breath. “I know how you feel about me.”
My stomach plummeted.
There it was.
The harsh truth.
“Oh.” Tears stung my eyes. He had brought me down here to save me from embarrassment. “Yeah, well . . .” I didn’t know what else to say. There was no point in denying it. Apparently, it was obvious to everyone. How humiliating!
“Lena, please don’t cry.” He stepped closer.
Flint seeing me cry only made it worse. I never cried. I could probably count on one hand how many times I’d cried in my life, but this . . . I wanted it too much. I wanted him too much. He was breaking my heart, and he knew it.
“I’m fine,” I whispered as another tear streaked down my cheek. “Really, I am.” I faked a smile through the tears.
He abruptly pulled me to him, crushing me against his chest. “It’s just that . . . Lena . . . you’re so young, and—”
“I know. I know!” I pushed him. “Really, you don’t need to say anything else.” I tried to pull back so I could run away, but he wouldn’t let me.
“No, I do. Please don’t push me away.”
I stopped fighting, but the tears kept coming. I bit my lip hard to keep from making a sound. For a few moments, he didn’t say anything. He ran his hands up and down my back. I tried not to notice how hard his arms felt or how wonderful he smelled. How long have I wanted him to hold me? Yet he held me now for an entirely different reason than what I’d always dreamed of.
“Lena . . .” he said in a strange, aching voice. “I don’t want to hurt you, but you’re only seventeen, and I’m a legal adult—”
“I know, Flint.” I cut him off. “You don’t need to explain. I get it.”
“I don’t think you do. You’re so young and—”
“I know!” I gave him a hard shove. This time he let me go.
“And that’s why I don’t want to push you into a relationship,” he said quietly.
I was so intent on getting away that it took me a moment to understand. “What did you say?” I whispered.
He sighed harshly. “You’re only seventeen. I’m twenty, soon to be twenty-one. I know that’s not a huge difference, but I’m an adult. You’re not. It’s not right to force you into an adult relationship when you’re so young.”
My mouth dropped. “Wait . . . what?”
His gaze softened.
I stared at him. I still wasn’t sure I’d heard him right.
“I know I shouldn’t want you. You’re still young enough you could change your mind and decide you want one of the twins, or maybe someday we’ll leave here and you’ll want someone completely different.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I’ve been trying to not want you, but . . . I do.”
I wiped the tears from my cheeks as best I could. Is this really happening? I stared at him. It’s all I could manage.
He smiled awkwardly and tenderly fingered the curls that had fallen in my gaze. He pushed them behind my ear.
And in his dark eyes, I saw it. All of the emotion. All of the love. All of the pent up longing. Everything I’d felt for as long as I could remember shone back at me.
“I’ve loved you for a long time.”
I had to be dreaming. There was no way this was real. “You love me?” I whispered.
“Yes.”
My breath came out in a rush as tears stung my eyes again for an entirely new reason. “I love you too,” I whispered. “For as long as I can remember.”
He smiled and cupped my cheek. It was hot against my cool skin. “I know, but that still doesn’t change our ages or the fact that you’re a minor and I’m not.”
“I don’t care.”
“You should.”
“I don’t and I won’t.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Always so stubborn.”
I licked my lips.
His gaze drifted down. His irises darkened.
I licked my lips again. A tingly sensation grew deep inside of me, making me want to squirm. I edged closer to him, tentatively. I glanced up and laid a palm on his chest.
His breath sucked in, and before I could blink, he pulled me tightly to him as his lips molded over mine.
I clung tightly to him. Heat exploded within me. Never mind that it was my first kiss. Never mind that I had no idea what I was doing. Never mind that anybody could walk down the stairwell and find us. I was so over the moon by what he’d said that all self-consciousness vanished.
I entwined my fingers in his hair, his beautiful chestnut locks. They were as soft and thick as I’d always imagined they’d be. His hard chest pressed against my softer one. He lifted me off the floor and pushed me against the wall. I wrapped my legs tightly around him.
At first, the kiss was a little awkward. Our teeth hit a few times, and I bit him once, but then it changed. He didn’t push his mouth against mine quite so tightly and then his mouth opened. His tongue ran along my lips, questioning.
I opened my mouth in response.
His tongue brushed against mine.
My heart pounded as we found a rhythm and slowly got the hang of kissing and tasting one another. Then, our hands began moving. His darted under my shirt. Mine ran down his thighs. It felt as though months and years of longing went into everything. Finally! Finally! It was the only thought my brain clearly registered. Finally, he was mine.
When he pulled back, we were both breathless. The unforgiving, concrete wall pushed into my back but I didn’t care. Instead, I felt . . . happy. I grinned, at which he smiled and then chuckled. He pulled me gently back to him and leaned down until our foreheads touched and our breaths intermingled.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to
do that,” he said quietly.
“Probably not as long as I’ve wanted to.”
He chuckled again, and in one of his lightning fast movements, swung me up into his arms. In the next instant, we were on the top floor, in the hallway outside of the bedrooms. My eyes widened when I looked at the ladder behind us. “How did you do that?”
“I jumped.”
I almost giggled but stopped just in time. The hallway was already lighting up with morning sun. I knew everyone would be up soon.
“We better get back to bed,” he whispered.
He carried me to my room and opened the door quietly. It appeared everyone was asleep, including Mica. Tiptoeing across the room, he lifted me and set me gently in my bunk.
“Night,” he whispered. He kissed me softly and then was gone.
I leaned back on my bed, fingering my lips. Is this real? Did all of that really happen?
Someone delicately cleared her throat.
I glanced down.
Jacinda’s eyes were open. She eyed me knowingly, but instead of saying anything smart, she stared at me, a content smile on her face.
Falling back against my pillow, I let the happiness and love I felt for Flint swim around inside of me. It shone as brightly within me as the rising sun.
CHAPTER NINE
18 years old
“Lena!” Flint whispered.
I bolted upright in bed. The room was dark, the cabin silent. I wasn’t sure if the voice I’d heard was real or a dream. I checked the clock by my bed. 3:07 am. Rubbing my eyes, I looked around. All of the girls were asleep, the room as quiet as death.
I was about to lay back down when Flint’s face appeared at my side. I almost screamed. Almost.
He grinned.
Muffling a laugh, I softly slugged him in the shoulder.
“Don’t do that!” I hissed, but I couldn’t keep the excitement from my voice. I loved when he surprised me at night, and lately, he was doing it more and more.
“Come on, babe. Full moon tonight.”
He swept the covers off of me and pulled me into his arms. The shirt I wore rode up my side as I slid down his body. His warm fingers easily encircled my waist. I shivered.
“Cold?”
I shook my head.
He smiled deeper, knowingly.
It was the third time this week he’d woken me to go outside. And despite the toll it took on my rest, I was excited every time he did. It was the only time we had privacy.
He lifted me into his arms, and we glided silently out of the room. Once at the back door, he put me down and handed me the pants and sweater he’d managed to grab on our way out. I threw them on. It wouldn’t be that cold. It was early spring.
“Do you think anyone knows we sneak out?” I asked.
He frowned and closed the door quietly behind us. “Hard to say. Conroy’s not exactly the oblivious type. You’d think he’d know after raising eight teenagers that things like this are bound to happen, whether he likes it or not.”
“But he never says anything.”
“Well, we’re not kids anymore.”
Flint pulled a GPS out of his pocket. I knew where we were going. It was the same place we went every time we sneaked out.
If it weren’t for these crazy, disorienting Hills, Flint would have picked me up and carried me at his speed. Then, we’d be there in no time, but since that wasn’t an option, I huffed by his side.
Flint studied the GPS intently. Despite it, we lost our way. We knew we were lost since the area looked unfamiliar.
“Let’s try and backtrack,” I said.
Luckily, some time later, we crested a familiar hill. I huffed out of breath while Flint, as usual, seemed immune to the steep landscape.
In the bright moonlight, the mouth to our cave appeared. It was a large, black hole. Smiling, Flint put the GPS away and whisked me up into his arms. A second later, he set me down at the cave’s entrance. He’d moved carefully. Only a slight bout of nausea rolled through me.
Our cave wasn’t overly deep, maybe twenty feet from mouth to back. When we’d first discovered it several summers ago, at that time we’d only been friends, there’d been littered animal remains and scattered rocks and leaves everywhere. It took some work, but we’d cleaned it up. Our human scent lingered when we left and helped keep critters from occupying the space.
Now, it was where we went to be alone.
Flint pulled out matches and lit the lantern we kept on one of the large rocks. From there, he moved to the candles before hunkering down to light the fire.
In the back, we had a few old blankets and pillows. I hauled out the bedding and arranged it while Flint pulled out another match. By the time we were done, a fire crackled and we had a cozy place to lie together and talk.
Flint pulled me down on a blanket and plumped a pillow for me. “I have something for you.”
I turned in his arms to face him. “You do?”
He smiled and pulled a box from his pocket before handing it to me. It was smooth and tied with a simple ribbon. “Happy birthday.”
“You remembered!” I smiled.
He chuckled. “Of course, I remembered.”
I opened the gift carefully, loving the smooth paper and satiny ribbon. He’d obviously spent time wrapping it. Inside was a small velvet box. My breath caught.
Flint’s eyes were dark. His expression was impossible to read, but he watched my every move.
Very slowly, I opened the lid. I gasped. A beautiful chain link bracelet with a heart shaped charm attached to it glinted in the firelight. I picked it up. Holding the charm up to the fire, I turned it over. There was an inscription.
Love you Forever.
My mouth opened then closed then opened. “Flint . . . how . . .”
He’d never given me anything like this. Usually, we made gifts for one another, with whatever items we could scrounge up in the wild or re-use from what we had in the cabin.
“I found it online at a jewelry store. I asked Conroy to buy it on the last supply trip he took. It seemed the least I could do on your eighteenth birthday.”
Tears pricked my eyes. I leaned up and kissed him on the mouth, pulling him tightly to me.
“I love it,” I whispered.
“Do you really?”
I smiled at the uncertainty in his voice. “Yes, I do. Help me put it on.”
He undid the clasp and looped it around my wrist. It fit perfectly, not too big, not too small. The small charm hung prettily from the chain. “It’s perfect.”
Flint pulled me closer, a satisfied smile on his face.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and lifted my lips to his. The taste and smell of him made fire grow in my belly, licking and singeing my insides. I felt his need grow. As was becoming more prominent every day, the energy around him grew the deeper we kissed and the more we touched. My abilities had improved over the winter. I was getting better at feeling energy in everyone’s clouds. The feel of our energy surrounding us was intoxicating, like a heavy sphere that pulsed and grew with our desire.
Our movements quickly became frantic. Clothes were ripped off until we were naked and touched skin to skin. The fire crackled beside us. Its warmth, along with the searing heat coming from Flint, took any chill out of my exposed limbs.
“I want you so much,” he whispered in between kissing my neck and trailing hands down my back.
“Make me yours.”
He pulled back, his eyes dark. “Do you mean that?”
“Yes.”
Flint reached for his jeans and fished something from the pocket. A condom.
My eyes widened. “Where did you get that?”
“Conroy.”
A jumble of emotions fluttered through my stomach. Father’s rule was no sex until eighteen. He only provided birth control when we reached adulthood.
Now, I was eighteen.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m sure. Very sure.”
H
e smiled and leaned down.
AFTERWARD, WE LAY together quietly by the fire. Shiny sweat glistened on our skin. I bunched the blanket around my chest and under my arms.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Flint asked.
I bit back a smile. He’d already asked me that a dozen times. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“I didn’t hurt you?”
“Not really.” It had hurt a little at first, but then it faded and all I’d wanted was him.
Flint’s frown deepened.
I giggled. His worry could be so endearing at times. “Trust me, I’ve never been happier. I’m so happy I feel like I could burst.”
The anxiety lining his face eased. He grunted and lay back down, pulling me closely to him.
His naked skin pressed against me under the blanket. His entire body was so hard. I held the bracelet up, watching the metal catch the light. Love you Forever. I bit my lip to keep emotions from overwhelming me.
“Do you think we’ll ever be able to marry?” I swallowed. I hadn’t meant to ask that out loud.
Instead of looking shocked, Flint leaned up on his elbow. “Is getting married something you want?”
I shrugged and did my best to meet his gaze. “I dunno. To be honest, I’m not sure it had be possible if we die out here. Laws have no meaning in our world.”
Flint frowned. “No, we may not have U.S. laws in our lives, but what is marriage really? Just two people deciding to bind themselves for life, declaring their commitment in front of witnesses. I don’t see why we couldn’t do that up here. It would have the same meaning minus the official paperwork.”
My heart thudded. I swallowed before replying, “So . . . that is something you want?”
“I thought that’d be obvious.”
“You mean you’ve actually thought about marrying me? Even though we’ve only been together six months?”
He shrugged. “Not officially marry I suppose, but stay together? Yes.” His voice dropped lower. “You’re it for me, Lena. There’s no one else I could ever want. My whole life it’s always been you. I couldn’t imagine it any other way. I chose that inscription for a reason.” He fingered the charm. “I’ll love you forever, you and only you.”
The Complete Lost Children Series Page 34
