Page 65 of The Poison Season

Whether Sage thought Leelo was lying about the boy or about liking someone at all, one thing was clear: Leelo hadn’t fooled her cousin for one second.

Leelo had a secret, and Sage wasn’t going to rest until she discovered what it was.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Jaren was sound asleep when he heard a tap on the door of the cottage. He opened his eyes, blinking in the darkness. He had waited for Leelo all day, knowing she had the afternoon free, and had fallen asleep thinking of her. For a moment, he was convinced he was having a lucid dream. Saints knew he’d imagined Leelo’s presence enough times lately. But then he felt a pain in his hip from sleeping on the hard ground, and he blinked fully awake, worried it was Isola. Or worse, someone else.

The door creaked open, but it was Leelo’s familiar silhouette in the moonlight, and the tension in Jaren’s muscles was replaced with a different kind of anticipation.

She crept in quietly and crawled over to where he was lying, and without really thinking about it, he closed his eyes again and pretended to be asleep.

There was a long silence, and then he felt a slight tug on the blanket as she lay next to him, curling her slender body around his carefully so as not to wake him. It was a warm night and he was sleeping shirtless, the blanket down around his waist, and every nerve in his body came alive when she slipped her arm over his torso.

He inhaled and rolled toward her a little. “Leelo.”

“I’m sorry I woke you,” she whispered, placing a small kiss on his shoulder. “I just needed to see you.”

“Is everything all right?”

She shook her head and closed her eyes, and he could see tears slip down her cheeks in the moonlight.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his heart breaking at the sight of her crying. She always seemed so strong and confident. He didn’t know what to do with her like this, raw and vulnerable as an open wound.

“It’s nothing,” she said, but he could hear her struggling not to sob. “I just... I don’t want you to go, but I also know you can’t stay.”

He rolled over all the way, and she buried her face in his chest, her tears cool against his bare skin. “Did something happen?” he asked gently.

“Not yet. But I’m terrified it will. And I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”

“It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay.” He wrapped her in his arms, realizing for the first time how little she was. She was like an egg in his palm; he could crush her, if he wanted to. And while some small, selfish part of him wanted that, wanted to hold on to her so tightly she could never leave him, the vast majority of him wanted to cradle her like some precious, delicate thing, to make all the hurt go away, to shelter her from the world and everyone in it.

Eventually, her tears subsided amidst his soothing words and tender touches, and then something shifted. She kissed him once, hesitant at first, as though she was confused by how her sorrow could have transformed so quickly to something else. But Jaren understood. He was sad and frightened, too, but he needed her. Out there, in the real world, he might have listened to the conventions of society that said they should wait until they were older. But he knew there could be no waiting. They would never have anything other than this moment, and if it was greedy to want her, then he was greedy. If it was selfish to need her, then he was the most selfish person in the world. How could he let her go, when he’d only just found her? Why shouldn’t he consume all the happiness he could, when it was such a fleeting, elusive thing?

Jaren had never asked for much out of life. He’d only wanted the security of his family. He had no big dreams of seeing the world or aspirations to make a name for himself. He hoped his sisters would find happy marriages, that his father would find solace in his new life in Bricklebury, perhaps even a new wife of his own so he wouldn’t have to be alone when the children left. And yes, Jaren knew he wanted to start a family of his own one day, but he had never dared to imagine this kind of joy. In truth, he hadn’t even known it existed.

He had meant what he said before, about feeling found. The furious, constant spinning in his head quieted when he was with Leelo. That terrible longing he’d been trying to fill his whole life was sated in her presence, and the only longing he felt now was the sweet, sharp craving of wanting more of something wonderful. Of wanting, and knowing that she wanted him, too.

He opened his eyes to find her looking at him, and they both stopped for a moment, their bodies pressed closer with each breath. She sat up and raised her arms above her head, waiting for him to help with her dress. As he set it aside, she reached for the blanket to wrap around herself, then seemed to realize there was only one.

“Are you cold?” he asked her gently.

She shook her head.

He took the blanket from her and smoothed it on the floor, where they lay down beside each other. In the moonlight, her hair and skin were luminous, as if her entire body had been dipped in liquid silver. Her kiss-swollen lower lip was caught in her teeth, and it felt like the entire universe was there in that tiny gap between them.

The feeling in his chest was almost overwhelming. How could one person change his entire sense of purpose just by looking at him? How could a single touch make him forget everything he’d ever known? Could he even really fall in love in a matter of days?

As she lowered her mouth to his, he decided that he could, because he knew without even the slightest doubt that he had.

Chapter Forty

Leelo woke to the twittering of birds in the trees, realizing with a start that she was not home in her bed. She’d fallen asleep in Jaren’s arms.

She sat up abruptly, rousing him. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice thick with sleep.

“We fell asleep!” Leelo pulled her dress over her head and tied on her boots as quickly as she could. “I’m supposed to be Watching this morning.”

Jaren blinked blearily. “What time is it?”

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