Ember X (Death Collectors) - By Jessica Sorensen Page 0,54
my eye, I watch Asher and he meets my eyes. My desire mirrors his expression.
“Now where are we going?” I ask, buckling my seat belt.
He runs his tongue ring across his swollen lips. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
I lean back in the seat and watch the trees blur by, feeling alive and carefree for the first time in my life. I wish I had a pen so I could write about this moment and preserve it forever. Then I could remember what it felt like when death consumes me again.
Chapter 11
We drive along the highway, making small chitchat about the fight as “Forever” by Papa Roach plays softly in the background. Asher doesn’t ask questions about what was said in the bar and when he looks at me, it feels like he’s really looking past the girl who was brought in to the police station for the suspicion of her dad’s disappearance.
Eventually, he veers off the main road and parks the car in a gravel turnout that overlooks the lake. He shuts off the engines and dabs the cut on his lip with the collar of his shirt, giving me a view of his perfectly sculpted ab muscles.
“You know, this whole night really didn’t turn out how I was planning it,” he says, licking the last of the blood of his lip. “However, I don’t think I would trade it for anything.”
The lake shimmers and the moon reflects against the surface, the water rippling against the breeze. The mountains are black and the trees are dark silhouettes in distance.
“How were you planning it to go?” I ask, wondering if he ever meant to kiss me and feel me from the inside.
He puts the parking brake on. “A little less bar fighting and a lot more making out in the back of the bar.”
I look at him to see if he’s being serious and he stares at me with hunger in his eyes. “How did you learn to fight like that?” I ask, unclicking my seatbeltbefore leaning over and placing a finger to his injured lip. “You were kind of amazing.”
His jaw tenses. “My dad taught me.”
“Yeah, mine too,” I say, lowering my hand away from his mouth.
He relaxes a little, his shoulders unstiffening. “Yeah, I saw you knee that guy… You didn’t so much as hesitate.”
“Hesitation shows weakness,” I say robotically. “At least, that’s what my dad used to say. He was a do-or-die kind of guy.” I pause, scratching nervously at my neck. “I didn’t kill him.”
“I know.” His voice is steady, his gaze fierce.
I lower my hand to my lap. “So you don’t believe the rumors?”
He shakes his head and a wisp of his hair falls into his eyes. He leans over and sketches along my lower lip, before reaching for the glove compartment in front of me. “Come on, there’s something I want to show you.” He grabs a flashlight and then hops out of the car.
I climb out and meet him at the front of the car. We hike down a dirt path, holding hands, and he lights the way with the flashlight. An owl hoots from in a tree and the crickets sing a melody that haunts the night. It’s strange but peaceful knowing we’re the only two out here and that we’re sharing a private moment no one else can ever touch.
Asher unexpectedly makes a sharp turn off the path and ducks into the trees. The leaves and twigs crunch under our shoes as we hike deeper into the woods.
“Where are we going?” I whisper, forcing my eyes to adjust to the night as branches claw at my skin.
He shoves a branch aside and lets me walk through first. “There’s something out here I want to show you.”
“What? A roll of tape and a shovel,” I say sarcastically.
He spots the flashlight on my face. “Am I scaring you?”
Shielding my eyes with my hand, I shake my head. “I think it would take a hell of a lot more than a creepy walk in the forest with a really hot guy to scare me.”
“You think I’m hot, huh?” It’s nearly pitch black, but I hear the smile in his voice.
I roll my eyes, playing off my slipup. “So what’s really—”
He silences me with his lips by crushing into mine and our bodies weld together and steam up the woods as he presses himself against me. His fingers find my waist and he grips at my skin like he can’t get enough of me.