She's Mine - Jenika Snow Page 0,28

nights were getting chillier, and she felt goose bumps pop out along her arms. He came around from the back of the truck, and she noticed he held a blanket.

“It’s a surprise,” he said, answering her question from just moments before, and took her hand before leading them past the gate and onto the property. Then they made their way down the darkened path that was only wide enough for one vehicle.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to the side of his body. He was hard where she was soft, warm where she felt cold. The chill on her arms raced away instantly as he held her.

They walked in silence for a while, and as the trees parted, she could see Angel’s Sin Lake. The moon was full, and its silvery glow lit it up as if it were ablaze. The lake itself was small but surrounded by the lush forest, the massive mountains right up against it.

“Reese, what if we’re caught? This is private property, and as much as I like spending time with you, ending my night in a jail cell with you isn’t high on my list.”

He chuckled. “We won’t get caught. I’ve been coming here for years, and the owner is so old he’s in bed for the night before the sun even sets. I promise, I won’t let you get in trouble.” He tightened his hand, which was still wrapped around her shoulders, and she nodded as they started walking again.

Although she wasn’t the type of person to break rules, she couldn’t lie and say a part of her didn’t feel exhilarated over this.

They kept walking, and soon the trail turned into wilderness. He helped her maneuver the rough terrain, and the closer they got to the lake and away from the owner’s house, the more at ease she felt. And as the trees opened up again, that's when she saw the dilapidated structure just up ahead. It could have been a barn, or maybe it was a home at one point. But either way, it looked like it stood on its last legs.

The roof was half missing, the windows long sense broken out. They stepped inside, and the sight of age and decay was evident. It was like a look into the past.

“You come here a lot?” she asked softly as she looked around.

“I did when I first got a vehicle and could escape my father’s drunken nights when he wanted to fight… literally.”

She glanced at him, and her chest hurt. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. He shrugged and smiled, and she wondered if he was putting on a front over it all, or if he was just so used to that shit he genuinely didn’t care. Either way, she hated it.

“It’s just right over here,” Reese said and took her hand again, leading her through the structure.

There was another smaller room off to the side that had been hidden from her initial view. He helped her walk over the debris that littered the ground, and once in the room, she stopped and looked around.

The roof was high and littered with gaping holes, the same as the main room in this place. It was small, tiny in comparison. Maybe it had been a child’s bedroom at one time, if this had been a house. Or maybe a stable room if it had been a barn.

“Look,” he said softly and pointed at the ground.

The way the roof holes were positioned, and how the moonlight came through, she could see what he pointed at. A perfectly shaped heart right in the center of the floor.

“I used to come here so much before going to BMA. I still come here occasionally, but after my father stopped trying to beat the shit out of me on his benders, because I could handle my own, I haven't been here much.”

They still held hands, and she gave him a light squeeze, telling him without words she was right here with him.

“But I noticed this the last time I was here and thought you might like to see something a little unusual.” He let go of her hand only long enough to lay the blanket on the floor.

She sat on the blanket, and he took the spot beside her. The blanket wasn't very big, so it had them sitting so close their bodies touched. The heart-shaped moonlight was just inches from where they were, and they didn’t say anything as they stared at it. And then she