“I want to walk with you,” she whispered back. “I can’t sleep.”
Without a word, Jai slipped back into the room. There was some more rustling and then he was back, wearing a t-shirt and boots. So they wouldn’t wake anyone tip-toeing down the creaking staircase, both of them used the Peripatos, bringing them out to the backyard at the outskirts of the woods.
“You want to walk in there?” Jai raised an eyebrow.
“Scared?” Ari teased.
Roling his eyes at her, Jai took off at a slow strol and Ari quickly fel into step beside him.
“You worrying about everything?” he asked softly, glancing down at her in the near dark.
She nodded. “There’s a lot going on in my head right now. Thank you for coming out here with me.”
“I couldn’t sleep either.” He shrugged.
They were silent for a moment—the only sound they made was the breaking of twigs, crunch of leaves and squish of soil under foot. It smeled so clean and fresh out here. It reminded her a little of the woods back home in Sandford except the air was brisker somehow. And the trees around her were thicker than the ones back home. The thought of home just reminded her of everyone she’d left behind and more melancholy set in. Needing solace, Ari reached for Jai’s hand, sliding her cool fingers between his.
She watched his strong profile as he looked uncertainly down at her grip. Finaly he squeezed her hand in his.
“What?” she asked. “The handholding too much?”
To her surprise he looked down at her with a rueful smile, shaking his head. But he didn’t say anything.
“You can tel me, you know. I do remember what you were like when we first met. You’re not exactly the hugging, handholding type.”
“With you… it would appear I am.”
Smiling a little shyly at that, Ari moved closer to him, wrapping her right hand around the wrist of his hand that held her left. “I can’t believe my mom was watching out for me this whole time.”
“It makes a lot of sense now.”
“I’m so mad at her and I’m so mad at Red… but there’s a part of me that feels…” she shrugged and he drew them to a stop. Looking up at him, Ari tried to find the right words. “I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Try.”
“I feel… less abandoned.” Somehow admitting that made Ari uncomfortable and she abruptly let go of Jai to continue, “My real father created me like I’m some genetic experiment and I’m pretty sure he just tried to kil me or at least was going to torture me. My fake dad literaly told me to my face that he never realy loved me enough, and my mom… wel, al this time I thought my mom abandoned me and then got herself magicaly incarcerated. But she didn’t abandon me, Jai. And she told me that she loves me.” She smiled weakly. “It’s crazy, but I don’t feel so alone anymore.”
Puling her close, Jai’s expression was unreadable. “It’s not crazy, but Ari, you were never alone.” He took a shuddering breath and to her surprise she felt his fingers tremble on her face. “I love you,” he admitted, his voice rough with emotion. “Okay? I love you. You’re not alone.”
For a moment Ari couldn’t believe he’d actualy said it, but the warm, rushing feeling of delirious joy that exploded through her chest and throughout her body finaly brought it home. Melting against him, a stupid grin on her face, Ari whispered back, “God, I love you too. So much.” She felt almost desperate as she slid her hands up around his neck, clutching his nape. “You know, I stil don’t have al the answers. About my mom, or Red, or White… or Azazil. Lilif, Asmodeus. Al I know is that there are al these people who think I belong to them. And the truth is, Jai, I’l only ever belong to you. If you want me, I’l belong to you forever.”
His eyes widened a little at her declaration and then seemed to spark with some unnamed emotion. “Ari,” he groaned and wrapped his arms around her waist, puling her so close, she was nearly off the ground. “I’l always want you,” he whispered urgently against her lips. “You’re mine now, okay. Only mine.” His kiss was as desperate as her declaration had been, and she clung to him tightly, reveling in the taste of him and the taste of their newfound certainty of one another. His kiss softened, becoming drugged and languid, sweet and hot al at the same time. Ari moaned, as he trailed butterfly kisses down her neck, her breath halting as he reached up to unbutton her shirt so he could press kisses against the rise of her br**sts. Excitement tugged in her bely as her hormones took off at a run. Needing his lips back on hers, Ari grasped his head and reached for his mouth, touching her tongue to his so soft and tentatively she knew it would drive him crazy. His muffled groan reverberated through and Ari’s knees almost buckled beneath her. Wanting some skin on skin, she slid her hands up under his shirt, her fingers trailing across his six-pack. Jai shuddered and kissed her harder, his body propeling her back against a tree. She didn’t even feel the impact, she was too busy running her hands al over him under his shirt and pushing her h*ps against his in a way that she knew was sure to escalate things.
“Stop.” Jai puled back, his hands sliding off her and bracing the tree on either side of her head. She felt his heavy warm breath puff against her face as he tried to gain some control. Ari’s nerves had snapped one by one, her whole body trembling, and she did not want to stop.
“I’m so over this whole going slow thing, Jai,” she complained.
He laughed humorlessly and reached down to press a tentative kiss against her lips. “Me too. But we can’t here.” He narrowed his eyes, perhaps at the thought of having to wait to be with her. “This assignment needs to be over tomorrow.”
Ari shook her head. “No, you need your own room again and I need to be sneaking in and out of it.”
Pushing off the tree, Jai rubbed a shaky hand over his head and smiled affectionately down at her. Ari could now identify that wondrous look in his eyes as love.
“When we get back to Jersey I’m getting my own place and we are teling everyone that you are mine. Okay? I don’t care who knows. I don’t care about the dangers.
I want everyone to know that you’re mine.”
Ari nodded, loving the sound of that. “Yours. And you’re mine?”