Page 15 of Ignited Heat

"Jason."

"Close to you."

Her eyes go big, and I want to kick myself for letting those words spill out. I'm usually extremely tight-lipped, but being around Cassie is comfortable—as if I'm home. And the two of us being in this house. It feels like home.

She looks down at her food, thoughtful.

"I'm glad you're close. It makes me feel safe." She hesitates. "I know you feel guilty because of the attack…"

"I wasn't there to protect you."

"You need to stop blaming yourself for that. It happened. We have to learn to deal with it."

"Are you really dealing with it, Cassie?"

"For now, having something to do, like the shooting lessons, helps me keep my mind off the nightmares."

"You didn't tell me you were having nightmares. How often?"

"Every time I close my eyes."

"What can I do?"

She hesitates and looks at me with wide eyes. "Sleep with me in my room tonight."

"I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Just think about it."

We go back outside to do a little more work with the gun and I also give her some tips on how to defend herself with only one hand and her feet. This time, she tires more easily, so I cut the practice short. We spend the rest of the afternoon watching television, and I find that Cassie loves her comedy but weirdly loves courtroom dramas as well.

When we're both sleepy, I take her to her bedroom, but she doesn't lie down immediately. She goes into the bathroom and changes into an old t-shirt and some leggings. I have to help her with her top and it makes her blush. If she blushes at that, I don't know how she thinks we can sleep together on the same bed. Turns out she hasn't forgotten about that.

"Are you going to sleep here with me tonight?"

I don't know how to deny her this. She looks so tired. And if it helps avoid the nightmares so she can get some sleep…

"Just until you fall asleep. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

She pulls the covers down and gets into bed. I pull them back over her and make sure she's tucked in properly. I lie next to her on the bed as still as I possibly can. When I look up, she's hovering over me, looking at me with those beautiful sapphire eyes of hers. Then she does something I should have stopped but couldn’t.

Her head comes down and she places her lips against mine. They are so soft and warm and I can't control myself. I take her chaste kiss and ask for more with my own lips. I lick between her lips so that she opens her mouth for me and my blood starts to heat up at her uninhibited response. This kiss, it feels like I'm where I belong. Like everything that I had to endure has been made right by just kissing this angel. My angel.

The kiss goes on for a while, and my blood boils, but she makes a sudden move to reach for me, and the pain of her injuries makes her gasp.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" I sit up.

"No. It wasn't you." She looks dreamily at me and lies back down on the bed. "Thank you for everything, Jason. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, angel."

I lie back down beside her like a frozen statue until she falls asleep.

Chapter 6

Cassie

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