Page 99 of The Spider & the Storm

I smirked to hide my surprise. “Oh, that’s not enough?”

“I’m not saying that. And I think that's part of it, sure, but I think something really serious happened. I mean, you said your brother is in prison, right?”

My jaw clenched at the mention of Luke, my knuckles whitened against the steering wheel, and I regretted ever saying something about him to her.

“So, maybe it has something to do with that, or maybe it's something else. I don't know. But”—she nodded thoughtfully, her eyes glinting with empathy—“there's definitely more.”

“And how are you so sure about that?” I challenged, my voice cold and even as I pulled the truck into the driveway and parked without so much as glancing at her.

“Because a drastic change requires a drastic reason.”

“You say that like you're speaking from experience,” I muttered, wondering further about her past and the pain she'd endured.

“I think you already know that I am.”

I pursed my lips and swallowed as I killed the engine and pulled the key from the ignition. Stormy followed my lead—unbuckling and getting out of the truck—but instead of going straight to the door, I rounded the hood to meet her somewhere in the middle in front of the truck, the toes of her shoes nearly touching the toes of mine.

“What happened to you?” I asked, deciding on the spot to stop with this stupid dance around the truth and get right to it.

There was little light to speak of, but a sconce hanging beside the door was enough to illuminate the look of cool disregard on Stormy's face. The tilt of her head; her stony, bright green glare; the firm set of her pouty lips. There was a dare in her eyes that lit a flame somewhere deep inside my gut, and I knew, if I wasn't careful, I was likely to combust if I stared for too long.

I just wasn't so sure I cared much about being safe anymore. Not with her.

“Why do you care?”

“I don't fucking know,” I nearly shouted. Helplessly. Honestly. “But something tells me that I should.”

Green eyes darkened by the night flitted over my face in a dance as erratic and graceful as a butterfly, swooping through the wildflowers planted along the cemetery path. They filled with tears, twin crystal pools, and my fists clenched at my sides as I seethed, hating the way her face fell with distress and a painI understood yet couldn't touch without knowing exactly why she hurt so badly.

Her gaze landed on my lips, and there was no time to think or speak before her hands were reaching up to grip the back of my neck, to anchor herself to me, like it was she who was drowning in this life and I was the saving grace keeping her from going under.

Then, she kissed me.

At this point, I thought I'd had somewhat of an idea of what it was like to kiss Stormy. She’d radiated passion, and her lips and tongue had moved with only the purpose of keeping that fire burning for as long as we were allowed. It had been intense and exciting, a taste of what it meant to be alive in something as simple as a kiss, and every time, I left the moment drunk and already craving the next.

Butthiskiss …

There was no passion or lustful need to be found in the fuel that drove her mouth to press against mine. In this moment, when she trembled and sniffled and my hands pressed to her cheeks to collect her tears within my palms, I could sense nothing but a raw and tremendous pain. One that sliced so deep that I could do nothing to stop my brother's voice from permeating my mind.

“I know you don't believe it now, but one day, you're gonna learn to live without me, Charlie. And I promise, it's gonna be okay.”

Was this it? Was I finally living without him? Because nothing about it felt okay, yet it feltright. Her lips and her cool hands around my neck felt so, so fucking right, and the more I thought about it, and the more my palms grew wet with the tearsshe couldn't seem to stop crying, the more my mind warred with how much I wanted it to feel wrong.

“I promise, it's gonna be okay.”

Leaves rustled from behind where we stood. My eyes snapped open, and my hands dropped away as I took one quick step away from Stormy, both of us breathless and panting. The pounding of my heart echoed against my eardrums as I whipped my head in the direction the sound had come from. But the night was dark, and I saw nothing.

Another rustle, and Stormy closed the gap I'd created, pressing her trembling hands to my thundering chest.

“Wh-wha—”

Hoo-hoo!

An owl burst from a nearby tree, and I slid my arm around her shoulders as I pointed my gaze skyward. I urged my heart to calm as I watched the bird take flight against the deep, blackened sky.

“Shit.” Stormy groaned before laughing, shaking her head as she wiped her palms over her face. “I'm sorry. That was … that was freakin' weird of me.”

“It happens,” I said, blowing out a deep breath, still watching that owl beat its wings against the backdrop of a moonless night. “You get used to it though. The sounds—”

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