Page 38 of Into the Light

“I have something for you,” I said, and her eyes looked up at me with awe and mystery. She was beautiful, but that word felt too mundane to describe her. The moment she entered a room, my breath escaped, and it was as if she were the only one who could fill my lungs back up.

Ember Solis had stolen my heart the first night she walked into the Den.

“What is it?” she asked, her voice breathless. She was different from last year, in a way that made her even more captivating and enticing. Ember stood there in an oversized hoodie and leggings, her hair still up in a messy bun. Her large brown eyes held a mixture of curiosity and concern as they locked onto mine. She was curvy, her figure captivating even in the oversized hoodie, and every glance at her left me utterly speechless.

“A surprise,” I said as I dragged the last bit of the cigarette smoke into my lungs.

“That’s a gross habit.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at me. Her tone, although serious, had a joyful lilt to it.

“I know.” I chuffed.

“So why do you do it?”

“I don’t often, just needed something to keep my hands busy after the meeting tonight.”

“It didn’t go well?” She took a few steps toward me and stopped in front of me, watching as I brought the cigarette back up to my mouth.

“It did, actually. I just hate being in front of a big crowd. Makes me anxious,” I confessed.

She grabbed the cigarette from my hand and tossed it to the ground, stomping on it extra hard. Then we looked up at each other at the same time.

She took another small half step toward me, then interlaced her fingers with mine before bringing both of our hands up to her cheek. The softness of her cheek against my hand sent a jolt through my body, but her eyes didn’t falter from mine.

“You can keep your hands busy with me anytime,” she whispered before taking that last small step toward me. As her hands left mine, I felt the need to keep the close physical connection we had, so I squeezed her hips. She caressed the stubble on my face.

We stayed there, our chests heaving in sync—up and down. Our gazes pulled deeper into each other as if trying to bring us closer even though our bodies were touching.

Playing with my chin, she ran her forefinger up and down from the bottom of my hair to the tip of my jaw. She was so fucking close, I could just drop down and taste her now, but it wasn’t the right time. It wasn’t . . .

I stopped her by looking up and saying, “I really wanna show you what I got you.”

She took a deep breath and sighed, her eyes locked onto mine, our fingers intertwined because I wanted to feel her touch to let her know how much I needed her.

We walked back into the house through the kitchen, away from the dining room and toward the main foyer of the expansive home. I picked up the bag at the bottom of the stairs before we headed upstairs.

“What was your meeting about? Did you figure out—”

“I told them that from here on out, you won’t be targeted for any more attacks like today,” I replied.

“You . . . you did?” Her voice held a hint of surprise.

“Yeah. You don’t need to be subjected to any of that shit again,” I said as I brought our hands up to my lips and pressed them gently against her fingers. We stood in the middle of the staircase, the intimate gesture giving me pause. It wasn’t so much a kiss as it was a way of showing her how much I cared.

I pulled away and continued our ascent toward the bathroom. Ember didn’t say anything, but she didn’t need to. There was only one other person in this lifetime to whom I felt this connected, and he wasn’t here anymore. But Ember . . . She felt like she had always belonged.

Chapter fourteen

I was so tired and had been sleeping on and off in Rain’s bed before I went to go find him. I found him behind the house talking to Pico while smoking a cigarette. The patio light cast him in a glow that had him shining so brightly in the darkness of the night.

There was something so familiar about him, too. I was drawn in his direction. It was so different from when I first felt captivated by Ash. There was so much push and pull between us, but with Rain, in some weird cosmic way, I knew I was supposed to be here with him. Maybe not even in a romantic way, but that we would take this journey together.

“Where are we going?” I asked as he guided me upstairs toward the bathroom, which was across from his room.

“Hold on,” he mumbled before disappearing into his room and bringing out a stool. “Sit.”

He brought the stool to sit in front of the counter in the bathroom and shut the door behind us. He emptied the contents of the grocery bag which included a mixing bowl, paintbrush? It was some tool I’d seen at the salon. And some other tubes I didn’t recognize.

I shook my head, not understanding what was happening but trusting him, regardless.

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