Page 44 of Into The Darkness

Ash looked down, then reached for my hand, interlacing our fingers once again.

“Mine,” he growled before slipping the key inside the lock and opening the wooden doors. I didn’t know how many times I would see the Den and not have it scare me. The place was dark, creepy, and old, yet something about it called to me. Knowing what I did about our families, I shouldn’t be here, but Ash had begged me to trust him, and I wanted to start.

There were a few people gathered in the front room watching the football game. A few women in tight dresses paraded around, sitting on laps of some of the guys.

“We throw a party every Saturday, but Friday is a little more low-key,” Ash responded.

My eyes darted around until they landed on the familiar blue eyes. He wasn’t with the rest of the crowd, instead sitting in a corner with a book in his hand, but when he noticed us, he stood and looked down at our locked hands.

“You work fast,” Rain said, and Ash narrowed his eyes at him. Rain laughed and walked up the stairs.

“He doesn’t like me,” I stated.

“He doesn’t like many people.” I couldn’t help but give one last glance up the stairs. He hated me, likely because I made out with him to get into this house. I would not bring it up to Ash because, well, he was a jealous person, and that wasn’t a fight I wanted to rekindle.

Ash walked me in front of the room, and everyone stopped what they were doing to acknowledge him, a sign of profound respect I hadn’t ever seen.

No, that was a lie. I saw it when Carlo and my dad were together. Carlo would skirt around anything he was doing to listen to what my father had to say. This had to be something similar, but maybe that was what all the guys did here with each other.

“Gentlemen.” Ash spoke in a tone so different from when he was with me. It was the same voice he had used when he walked into Professor Connolly’s class earlier this morning. “This is Ember.”

Everyone gave me a quick hello and curt nod before continuing whatever they were doing. That was fucking . . . weird.

I felt like somehow, I was some prized possession he was showing off. It was a way to say, this is mine and don’t fuck around with it. I shook my head, but before I could ask questions, Ash guided me upstairs.

“Now where are we going?” I asked as we climbed two more steps into what looked like an attic.

“My room.” He winked as he ducked while entering.

I’d expected some gross and dirty frat room that smelled like mildew, but it was beautiful up here. The walls were painted a black color. The window at the top, though small, looked right into the forest since the Den was built into a little cavern area of pines. There were a few bookshelves littered with school books, a small wooden desk, and a large bed on the side with flannel sheets.

“Surprised?” he asked, probably because my jaw had dropped.

“Yeah. I expected something . . . messier.”

He chuckled. “Growing up, my father parented me in a very military-esque style that demanded cleanliness and order. When I moved to Isles, I couldn’t stand if things were messy, so I was always known as the one fucker here who would clean.” He sat on the edge of his bed before adding, “The only shitty thing is there is no bathroom up here, so you have to go downstairs.” He nodded to the staircase we had come up from.

“How were you lucky enough to get up to the top floor?” There it was again, that jaw tic, but his face remained expressionless.

“Luck of the draw, I guess. I wasn’t up here last year. Rain and I shared a room.”

I sat in the leather desk chair, turning it so I was facing him.

“Why did you bring me here, Ash?” I murmured.

He rubbed his temples, and his curls cascaded down on his forehead. “I don’t know, Ember. This is . . . new to me.”

“What is?” I pressed.

He shifted on the bed and looked out the window before responding. “I have always been told I will be a leader of my dad’s world. I know I will be forced to marry someday, likely something arranged, but I never thought I wouldwanta woman to be in the same room as me.” His voice was so quiet and low I wanted to hug him, but I only leaned forward in my chair, encouraging him to continue. “I’ve never wanted to be around anyone more than I have with you.”

Chapter seventeen

I spoke a lot of half-truths to Ember, but this was the one confession that was honest and terrifying.

“It must have been hard, Ash.” Her voice was so sweet and filled a space that I had never shared with anyone so beautifully. “Not growing up with a mother. Never knowing who she was. I was lucky I got to have my mom around for the years I did have.”

Hard was the understatement of the century. I was raised like I was in military boot camp most of my life. Until Rain’s mom came in and distracted my dad for a bit, there was only the two of us and our constant “lessons.” It was part of the reason I saw women for what they were, just part of a biological need to fuck and eventually make babies with.

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