Page 69 of Séance

I stop talking, my excuses sounding lame, even to my own ears. Jaceson doesn’t say a word, just elbows his way into thehouse. I expect him to deposit me on the kitchen chair, but he ignores it completely and heads toward the stairs.

He doesn’t release me until he steps into my room and gently lowers me to my bed. It feels weird to have him in my room. My father very rarely entered my personal space unless he was searching it for contraband. He would tear everything apart, paying special attention to any items that I might treasure and destroying them with sadistic pleasure.

“Don’t move,” he orders, then straightens and heads toward the bathroom across the hall. He returns a moment later with a washcloth and bandages, casting me a suspicious look, like he thinks I might have jumped to my feet just to disobey.

I open my mouth to snark at him, then nearly swallow my tongue when he drops to his knees in front of me. Damn Jameson and his dirty words. As much as I try, I can’t get the image of Jaceson leaning forward to taste me out of my head.

My face burns, helping me stay focused, and I desperately look at anything but him.

When he drags a finger lightly across the sole of my foot, I jerk, and my attention snaps to him. A tiny furrow appears between his eyebrows. “They are almost healed.”

I just shrug. “My body has learned how to heal fast.”

Any form of weakness was exploited, and I couldn’t afford to be vulnerable.

As if reading my thoughts, Jaceson’s expression darkens dangerously, but he thankfully doesn’t look up from his task, his touch gentle as he inspects my other foot. “You have a couple of scratches and a few bruises, but you should be okay to walk for a short period.”

“See?” I jump to my feet, more than ready to put distance between us and my out of control emotions. “I’m totally fine.”

He doesn’t move, which means his face is basically buried in my lap. To stop me from toppling over him, he wraps his armsaround my thighs and inhales deeply, his grip almost rough. I can feel the calluses on his hands brushing against the sensitive skin on the backs of my thighs, and I can’t stop myself from shivering.

Instead of releasing me, he looks up at me with stormy blue eyes. He slowly stands, dragging his hands up my body, causing gooseflesh to erupt across my skin. When he rises to his full height, I’m surrounded by his arms.

Not sure what to expect from him, I don’t look away, not even daring to breathe.

His expression is shuttered, his emotions locked down tight, but I can feel the wild thump of his heart under my hands. He’s not as unaffected as he wants me to believe.

For a second, he looks vulnerable before he glances away and hides from me. “I’m sorry about my brother. He means well most of the time, but he lives and breathes chaos. He?—”

I reach up and place my hand over his mouth to stop him from speaking. He instantly stills, his gaze snapping down to mine, and he doesn’t move. I don’t even think he’s breathing. “Don’t. You are not your brother. You are not his keeper. Anything that happens between him and me is separate from you, just as anything that happens between us is none of his business. You don’t need to apologize for him. If he takes things too far, I’ll talk to him myself, understand?”

He searches my face, his gaze intense, then he nods. His harsh expression softens, and I feel his lips curve into a smile behind my hand. He raises a single eyebrow in challenge, and I hastily drop my hand like I’ve been scalded, heat burning my cheeks at my boldness.

He quickly captures my hand, then squeezes it gently. “I… Thank you. Since we’re twins, people usually treat us like we’re interchangeable. Even the guys do it at times. I love my brother,but I’ve spent so much of my life trying to keep him out of trouble that people think it’s my responsibility.”

I snort at the absurdity and roll my eyes, muttering under my breath, “That man needs a whole army to keep him from finding trouble.”

A small smile flicks across Jaceson’s face, then he bows his head and releases me. I almost reach for him, wanting to pull him back, not ready to let him go so soon. I shiver when cool air rushes around me, and I cross my arms to keep my hands to myself. “Um…I suppose I should get dressed before Jameson hunts us both down. Give me ten minutes.”

Giving into the need to run, I rush around the room, collecting clothes for our outing before practically scurrying into the bathroom. Once the door shuts behind me, I lean against it, my clothes clutched to my chest.

A huge smile takes over my face. I practically skip across the room and shower, unable to keep from replaying my first sleepover in my head.

The guys made it perfect, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Chapter Twenty-two

JACESON

Stepping onto the porch, I close the door softly behind me, then breathe deeply, my head bowed and my hands on my hips. Desperate to clear my head, I struggle against the urge to jump on my bike. I almost take a step to do it, then halt.

As much as I want to run, a bigger part of me wants to stay, and that scares the ever loving fuck out of me. Despite what people think, I rely on my brother almost as much as he counts on me. While he might be manic, I’m just as bad, barely speaking a single word some days.

It’s not that I’m afraid of people, I just don’t give a fuck about them.

It’s different with Rue, and I’m terrified of being alone with her and saying the wrong thing.

I don’t want to scare her away.

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