The room is quiet when I get back in the morning, dressed again in Cadet black with Rafe’s cap on my head. I look around and frown as Jesse and Rafe escort me in, doggedly close to my heels and my side.Very sweet in thought. Very annoying in practicality.“Where’s Jacks?” I ask, turning towards the
I fall to my knees at his side, my shoulders shaking. “What the hell were you doing outside?” My question is tremulous, a whisper.“Um,” he says, glancing backwards at Jesse and Rafe. “I was just…being close. Because it was hard to be far. And Jesse said I should let you take charge? And wait until
Jackson just stares at me. “Ariel, what are you talking about? What would have changed?”I shrug, my hand awkwardly coming up, my fingers brushing the bandage over Luca’s mark. “I would…I mean, I understand. If things are different for you now that I’m…marked. I know I’m not the same as I was before
Wordless, but with understanding passing down the bond between us, Jackson places the DVD player in front of me on the bed and then squeezes in behind me, his back against the headboard. He presses a kiss to my hair as I lean back against him and continue eating my way through the desert tray, givin
Jackson and I each take a moment to clean up, brushing our teeth and splashing water on our faces, before we return to the nook – the place where we feel most secure. But I push the curtain back, letting the pre-dawn light stream in. Because that feels right, feels better.“So,” Jackson murmurs, wra
I tilt my head to the side at this, curious about that thought process. Where on earth had that come from? Tony as my mate? Honestly, the idea is…ridiculous to me, even though Luca was jealous of him too, so some kind of romantic connectoin was clearly on his mind as well. But Jackson catches himsel
Jackson’s silence is long. Too long.I whip my face back to him, my mouth a grim line.His expression is…carefully blank.“Oh no,” I whisper, slumping down, my hand whipping up to cover the mark. “You hate it –““Ari,” he sighs, scowling and swatting at my forearm, attempting to knock my hand aside.
And then I lift my finger, and hold it close to Luca’s mark for comparison, and see that Jackson’s…right. That it’s quite subtle, but the mini mark is…different. It…shines, almost? Just barely perceptible, an incredibly faint line of silver tracing through it? And Luca’s mark has none of that.“Oh,