That was what living was about. That was being human. When everything hurt and everything was wrong, to have that one person who could make you smile even when all you wanted to do was cry.
These were the moments that got you through the bad.
Abigail looked up at him. He stared into those clear eyes as her breath tickled his skin.
And in that heartbeat, he knew he would die to protect her.
God help me.
The last time he felt this way, he had died. Leaning his head down, he pressed his forehead against hers and tried to see the future.
If there was one after all of this.
But he knew the truth. He was a Dark-Hunter, and she was ...
Unique. There was nothing in the Dark-Hunter handbook about this situation.
He looked outside the car wash to see the wasps still swarming as they tried to find a way in. He didn't know how long this wave would last. How much time they had for anything.
Abigail cupped his head with her hand as her thoughts warred with each other. In spite of what Jess said, she couldn't see anyway out of this.
Except for death.
She'd really screwed up this time. In a life marked by mistakes, this had been the mother lode. And she'd dragged a good man into the nightmare with her.
Emotions ripped through her so fast, she couldn't even sort them out. She wanted to feel grounded again. To feel like she had a future.
But the only thing that kept her anchored was Jess.
Her heart swelling, she pulled his lips to hers and kissed him. This was probably the last night of her life. She'd be lucky if any of them were alive by dawn.
And all because she'd been an idiot.
She owed him a debt more than she could pay for standing by her and saving her life. But it wasn't just obligation she felt for him. There was something so much more. Deeper.
She felt like she was a part of him. And she didn't want to die without letting him know.
Rising up in the seat, she straddled his hips.
Jess frowned as he looked up into Abigail's eyes. There was a hungry fire there he'd never seen before. And as she started unbuttoning her shirt, his breath caught. "Um ... Abigail-"
She stopped his words by pressing her forefinger to his lips. Then she slid it slowly down his chest, heading south until she reached his fly.
"I know we don't have long, Jess. But this may be the only time we'll ever have. And I don't want to die without making amends to you."
"You don't have to do this."
She smiled. "I know. I want to do this."
And all his arguments and thoughts scattered as she slid her hand into his jeans and touched him. Oh yeah, he was lost now.
He knew that after this, he would never be the same again.
Abigail had never done anything like this a day in her life. She'd never even fantasized about it. But as they waited here, so close to death and with her mortality breathing down her neck, she couldn't help herself.
Jess didn't love her-she knew that. But it didn't matter. She'd seen inside his heart to the man he'd been and to the one he currently was. And the woman in her wanted to touch that part of him and share it. Once she was gone from this earth, he'd remember her.
For eternity.