Page 17 of Ensnared
“Don’t. It wasn’t your fault.” Jack’s voice comes out rough. “I won’t have you blaming yourself. I shouldn’t have slept with you without telling you first, and I’m sorry. But I can’t—” He breaks off and rubs the back of his neck. “This is really important. Will you trust me?”
That’s one question I can answer without hesitation. “Yes.”
Of course I’ll trust him. He has put so much trust in me already, not caring that I accidentally hurt him, and there is no way I can deny him this request, even if it means venturing out into the wet, unpleasant night.
“Let’s go,” he says.
And I follow.
Six
Skye
Jack takesme down to the beach where that fateful accident happened just days ago. How different the shore is now. When I’d set out to perform my full moon ritual, the evening was sunny and warm, a rare example of a beautiful Alaskan fall. Tonight, the rough sea crashes against the rocks in big, frothy waves. I can barely see three feet in front of me, but Jack has grabbed a flashlight, and he leads me by the hand, his steps confident.
My raincoat and baseball hat keep the worst of the rain off my face, but I’m still wet and miserable by the time we stop on the pebbled beach. I’m not like these Alaskan people who seem sturdier and stronger than regular humans, used to all sorts of weather conditions. Rationally, I knew Alaska was cold, and I saw the immense glaciers on the flights to and from Anchorage. But it’s something else to feel how quickly the weather can turn here, how fast it can become deadly, even if you’re wearing all the right gear.
“I don’t think it’s safe to be out here,” I yell over the rushing waves and the howling of the wind. “We might get struck by lightning.”
It’s a real possibility. A beautiful, terrifying streak paints the sky in front of us, illuminating the restless sea for a split second. It forks down, then disappears, but I blink and see the impression of it against my closed eyelids.
“Nah,” Jack shouts back. “Don’t worry.”
Don’t worry?I’m freaking out. He’s taken me out to the shore in this weather for gods know what reason, and I’m shivering with cold.
“Here,” Jack says, pushing the flashlight into my hand. “You hold on to that.”
With that, he steps back and removes his t-shirt.
“What are you doing? Are you crazy?”
I stare as he shoves down his soaked jeans and toes off his boots.
“You can’t go swimming in this weather! It’ll kill you!”
I take his hand and try to tug him away from the water. Maybe I’d done something to him that night, damaged some part of his brain so he now thinks this is a good idea.Nope. I won’t be responsible for any more injury done to this man.
“Skye, stop,” he says.
It’s a gentle command, and I obey immediately. There’s something tender in his expression, and his eyes are pleading with me to understand.
“What’s going on, Jack?”
Rain runs down his face and body, rivulets pouring over his shoulders, pectorals, and abs. The beam from the flashlight adds a weird quality to the moment, as though we’re the only people in the world. Everything is narrowed down to that yellow cone of light. I lift it to Jack’s face to better see what’s going on, and he flinches away from the light.
“Sorry,” I say and lower the flashlight. “But we can’t stay here. You’ll get sick—you only just woke up from whatever my stupid magic did to you. I’m—”
He kisses me. His mouth is hot on mine, and I close my eyes, falling into him. His tongue slips against mine, and I wish I could kiss him forever. But he pulls away from me, still holding my shoulders.
“I’m in love with you,” he says, his words curt and emphatic. “So I need you to know.”
I stand there, open-mouthed, scrambling for the reply that won’t come. No matter how my heart thunders, this isn’t a romantic declaration but something else entirely. Jack doesn’t seem happy—he’s frowning, and there’s a desperate hope in his eyes. But I don’t understand what he wants from me.
He doesn’t give me a chance to ask. With quick, sure steps, he walks to where the sea is lapping at the pebbles, each wave reaching higher than the last. The tide is coming in, and soon, this little crescent of beach will be submerged. We need toleave, not—
Jack crouches by the water and plunges his hands into the sea. For a second, nothing happens, and I’m just about to call out to him to return. I don’t care what he wants to show me, this is not the time. I need to tell him that I feel the same way about him, that my stomach flips every time he looks at me, even when he’s being crazy and naked on the shore.
Then shimmers dance down his body, golden sparks that obscure his skin. This glow is magic, I’m sure of it, and my heart thuds at the sight. Jack’s body changes. His torso lengthens, growing scales, and I can’t follow all body parts at once because he’shuge. There are legs, four of them, each as thick as a tree trunk, and a tail that coils down the beach. Long, sharp spikes sprout from his spine. He’s got talons larger than my hand, vicious and lethal.
