Page 47 of King of Wrath

I step closer to the window, squinting out into the rain. And that’s when I see it.

The solar array’s connection to the junction box has pulled free. We won’t have power back until it’s fixed.

I hesitate for a moment.

Without the burning sun, we can go without the air conditioning.

But the pump system…

Letting out a curse, I stomp toward the door.

“You’re not going out there?” Nia cries, standing too. “It’s pouring and the wind is just awful.”

“I’ll be fine,” I answer, turning back to look at her. Her long legs are on full display, her body a temptation that never fails to make me pause. But her eyes, filled with worry, are what really capture me now.

In two quick strides, I cross back to her, and pull her against my body, bending down to steal a kiss.

I shouldn’t.

We haven’t touched in two days, but I can’t help it now. Her worry for me breaks some final straw. I can’t stay away.

Her lips are soft, and so achingly sweet that I groan into her mouth. The kiss lingers, are bodies pressed tightly together as her hands reach up and wrap around my neck. “Don’t go out there.”

I kiss her again, pressing my forehead to hers. “You need light to read.”

“I could sing instead.”

“I definitely want to hear you sing,” I answer with a smile. “But the house could flood.”

She gives a tentative nod as I slowly back away. “Have a towel ready, would you?”

Nia nods, and disappears down the hall, as I turn toward the door. The piece is basically a plug. I knew I should have hardwired it in.

Opening the door, I stomp through the ground water, crossing the twenty-five feet to the edge of the panels where a small shed holds all the batteries that store the energy.

Yanking the cord, I bend down, fitting it back through the opening in the shed and inserting it into the box.

I hear the batteries fire back up, the air conditioning unit a moment later. Standing, I give the cord a triumphant grin a moment before I turn back toward the house.

But another giant gust of wind blows just as I turn.

I hear the sound of ripping metal a moment before something whacks me in the back of the head.

Pain explodes in my skull as I fall to my hands and knees.

But the only thought I have echoes in my head.

Nia.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Nia

The power comes back on,just as I pull a few towels from the closet.

I look up, giving a bit of a cheer.

It’s silly, but I have to be honest, I’m in a bit of a silly mood. After two days of tremendous tension, our talk outside, and then that kiss, has soothed the rough edges. I still don’t know where Jake and I stand, or what he wants to know from me.

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