Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,114

back by now? I should check on him. Maybe he got stopped somewhere,” I thought out loud while continuing to pace.

I felt an anxious energy that propelled me to keep moving. Keep talking. Anything to keep myself from thinking. Since the moment I heard of their disappearance, my mind had become a continuous loop of worry.

“Yes, yes. I—I think I’ll go check on Jacob. He could have gotten lost. Or maybe he got hurt on his way to the Scavenger camp. That’s it. I can’t sit here. I’ll go find him. That’s what I’ll— ”

“Ash! Sit your pretty ass down and stop talking. I’m trying to come up with a plan that doesn’t involve us dying, and your stupid rambling is going to drive me crazy.” I watched as Huxley gripped his knees and stared at me with a look of utter frustration. His hair was wild and matched the lightning that danced across his green, piercing eyes.

“Well, I’m just so sorry that I can’t be as emotionless as you!” I screamed, needing to release some of my worry, fears, and frustration onto someone.

Huxley stood and stalked his way over to me, and I flinched at his aggressive movements. Once in front of me, his familiar scent filled me. My nose was just inches from his defined chest, and if I wasn’t so mad at him right now, I might have sought the comfort of his arms. I needed to be held. To be reassured. But I surely didn’t need Huxley. I needed Cyler and Patrick to be home, safe and sound.

“I love them, Huxley. I can’t lose them,” I sobbed while my resolved crumbled, and all my fears began suffocating me. I felt my anxiety and inner turmoil begin to snake itself around my throat like icy vines.

Huxley gripped my shoulders and stared at me. His thick fingers were steadying and firm, as though he was trying to stop me from jumping off the emotional ledge I was on. I saw a flash of pain and uncertainty in his eyes before he shook them away. Huxley then bent over slightly and pulled me to him before claiming my lips with his own.

His lips were cold and trembled with the emotion bouncing between us. Shock was my first reaction, but quickly that feeling faded and a totally new sensation took its place.

Lust. Want. Need.

Huxley kissed me with such certainty that I had no choice but to fall a bit for him in that moment. His lips moved against mine with a force that I felt everywhere. His hands slid down my bare arms, leaving waves of tingles beneath them until he grabbed my waist and pushed closer to me. Our hips rocked like waves against one another. Between kisses, I gasped and whispered out. “What are you doing?”

My back hit his bedroom wall, and in one swift moment, my hands were anchored to my side, preventing them from roaming the large muscles on his back like I ached to do.

A low moan grumbled within his chest. “Can’t you tell? I’m fucking kissing you, Ash.” He continued to move his lips against mine in frantic movements, as if he wanted to drink every last drop of this moment and savor it.

After what felt like hours, he sucked on my bottom lip before exhaling a slow and steady breath. Huxley then slowly pushed me away in a strained display of control. I saw the protruding veins in his arms throb with the evidence of what we just did.

“Now. Sit here and be quiet like a good little Walker,” he said, his voice hoarse. With a smirk, he walked back over to his bed and plopped down in a lying position. He threw a thick forearm over his eyes and sighed in contentment. He looked completely relaxed, and my heart was crushed at how unaffected he was.

I felt unsure of what just happened. Hux kissed me. I mean really kissed me. What did this mean? Why now? My shaky legs and pounding heart ached for rest. I traveled to the corner of the room where his recliner was and sat down, silently agonizing over what just happened between us.

“Ahhh, much better,” Huxley said with a chuckle.

Realization washed over me. The kiss was a distraction. A cheap ploy to get me to stop talking. If Huxley wanted me to calm down that definitely wasn’t the way to do it. I muttered, “Jackass,” before walking out of his room and towards the living room.

I resumed