Journey 'The Chosen One Trilogy: Book Two' (34 page)

She frowned. “I’m not sure.” She looked
around. “Are we there?”

He laughed. “Yes. You don’t remember
this lake?”

“You know me.”

He tilted her head up so he could kiss
her. “Yes. I know you. Here you are.” He handed her her swords and
she chuckled.

“You would remember to grab
those.”

He smiled and took her hand and started
walking up the deer trail that led to the crossing. “Let’s go.” He
put his free hand in his pocket and pulled the little bag out that
contained his crossing stone, Shawn’s crossing stone, and Brice’s
shifting stone.

Hayden squeezed his hand. “Are you sure
you want to come?”

“Yes. It just about killed me the last
time you crossed and I stayed behind and that was just over a
month. This will be close to a year. I’d rather hurt and be with
you than hurt because I’m not with you.”

She looked up at him with soft green
eyes filled with grey and gold flecks. He could get lost in those
eyes.

“It’s just…I saw the look in your eyes
the last time. I could tell it hurt you.”

They had reached the fork in the trail
and he stopped so he could turn her to face him. “I’ll be fine,
Shlova. Just think. Shawn has been doing it for over four years.
I’m sure I can handle nine or so months of it.”

She reached a hand up to touch his face
and he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. “It’s starting to
get dark. Is there anything important I should know before we
cross?”

“No weapons allowed. I’ll bring my
swords but once we reach my parents’ place, they get put away. So
do our daggers. I’ll keep the boots on with my little knife hidden
if you insist on it. Also, no fighting. I can’t see why you might
feel you need to fight, but I don’t need to be trying to explain to
the justice system why you don’t have any ID or don’t show up in
their computers.”

He nodded. “Anything else?”

She laughed. “Yeah. Try to relax and
enjoy yourself. After the past couple of years, this is going to be
like going on vacation.”

He smiled. “If you say so.” He leaned
down to kiss her softly.

Hayden sighed that little content
internal sigh that only he could feel, the one she got specifically
when he held her.

“Let’s go, Shlova. I’m sure your
parents will be overjoyed to see you.”

Her smile widened. “God, I missed
them.”

They started down the path that would
let them cross. The instant they crossed over he gasped. His legs
wanted to give out and he was having trouble breathing. It was like
someone was pulling all of his ribs out one by one.

“Are you ok?”

He took a few deep breaths and nodded.
“It’s a shock, that’s all. I didn’t quite remember what it felt
like.” By the look on her face, she knew he was lying but he was
grateful she couldn’t feel what he was feeling. Had she known, he
was sure she would have turned back. He took her hand and started
walking again. “It’s not as bad when you touch me.”

She smiled. “I guess it’s a good thing
I like touching you, then.”

They walked a while in silence. The
deer path turned into a paved one and he noticed the trees were
changing the farther along they went.

Hayden looked around and let go of his
hand long enough to wrap her swords in her cloak. “This is the park
behind my house.” Hayden stood on her tip toes and kissed him
softly. “If at any point it gets to be too much, you let me
know.”

He nodded. This was going to be a long
year.

*****

I glanced up at Jasper. I could see the
pain in his eyes and knew he was trying to hide it. We had reached
the street that ran along the park. I looked both ways before
crossing then jogged across before any cars showed up.

“What were you looking for?” Jasper was
looking around, tense.

I smiled. “Cars.” I pointed to a Honda
CRV parked in a driveway.

“They’re dangerous?”

“Well, no. I mean, you don’t want to
get hit by one because then they can hurt you. They’re like wagons.
Without horses. I’m hoping my dad still has my truck so we can get
around.”

We crossed another street and walked up
my dad’s driveway. My ’85 Dodge one ton was covered, my mom’s car
parked behind it. My dad’s SUV was missing and the house was
dark.

“It must be poker night. Shit. I hope
they still leave the spare key at the back door.” We walked into
the back yard and I checked the usual spot under the flower pot on
the deck. I smiled. “Come on.” I unlocked the door and turned off
the alarm.

“What was that?” Jasper peered at the
keypad.

“It’s an alarm system. It’s connected
to wires and sensors all over the house. If anyone breaks in and
trips a sensor an alarm goes off to alert us.” I looked back at him
and realized that nothing I had said would have made sense to him.
“I’ll explain it better later. Actually, dad can explain it to you.
He’s great at things like that.”

I turned the hall light on and Jasper’s
eyes widened. “I thought there was no magic here.”

I wanted to laugh but managed to keep
it down. “There isn’t. It’s called electricity. It’s…” I tried to
think back to high school science. “You know what? We’ll keep all
the magic looking stuff for when my dad gets home.”

I scribbled a quick note letting my
parents know it was us in the house in case they got home and we
were upstairs.

I looked at the clock. “Nine thirty. We
have a good two hours until they get home.” I smiled. “I’ll show
you the shower.”

He laughed. “I finally get to see this
mysterious shower you always talked about when you first
crossed.”

I took his hand and led him up the
stairs to my room. “This is my room.” I put the swords and dagger
under my bed and motioned for him to give me his. He handed it over
absentmindedly, too busy looking at the drawings and pictures on
the walls.

“Is that Dodge?” He chuckled at a
picture of my horse the first day I had gotten him.

“Yeah. He was so little.” I laughed.
“Remind me to take that one back with us so I can show
him.”

I led the way to the bathroom and
started the shower.

Jasper watched the steam rise and shook
his head. “No magic?”

“None. There’s a machine that heats up
the water.” I stripped and stepped into the shower.

He smiled at my sigh as the water hit
me. “Are you coming in?”

I watched him undress and got my usual
rush at seeing him naked.

“Shlova.”

I looked up and saw him standing with
his eyes closed.

“Oh! Sorry. I didn’t think you would
feel it here.” I pulled back on my feelings and he
smiled.

“I felt them last time you were
here.”

“But you were over there. I thought
because there’s no magic here, you wouldn’t be able
too.”

“I don’t think I feel it because of
magic.” He stepped into the shower with me and I let him stand in
the spray while I shampooed my hair.

“So, what do you think?” I nudged him
out of the way so I could rinse and handed him the shampoo bottle.
“You don’t need lots. It’s liquid soap.”

We switched spots again and he smiled.
“It’s nice. We should figure out how to make one at
home.”

I watched him rinse. The bubbles ran
down his chest, over his hip, and along his legs. I moved closer to
him and looked up into his eyes. The pain was still there. I put a
hand on his waist and the pain dimmed. More than anything I wanted
to make that pain disappear.

I pressed myself against him and
dropped my shield a bit. His skin was hot from the water. I
groaned.

His hands cupped my face and he brought
his lips down to mine. “In here?” His voice was just a whisper
against my skin.

I nodded and he lifted me so that my
legs were wrapped around his waist. He thrust up into me and I
moaned. “Oh, god.”

He turned and pushed me up against the
wall. He barely moved at all, simply letting me slide down the wall
and slowly moving his hips. He filled me completely. His breathing
was hard in my ear.

My head was spinning, every nerve in my
body on the verge of exploding.

Jasper caught the change in my
breathing and stopped.

I lay pressed against the wall, shaking
with my need for release. “Jasper.” I could barely
think.

He pushed up into me and caught his
breath as I clenched around him. He thrust harder, impaling me
against the wall.

It took everything I had not to scream
with pleasure. I projected how he was making me feel and he
groaned. He gave three more quick thrusts and I felt him swell
inside of me. That feeling alone was enough to make me come
again.

He looked at the water which was
starting to get cool. He set me down and I quickly turned the taps
so that more hot water came out of the shower head.

I kissed him softly. “Are you sure you
can handle this?”

He nodded. “Do you remember when Ream
almost killed me on the ridge?”

“It’s not likely to be something I’m
going to forget.” I could still picture clearly how Ream, in wolf
form, and stepped on Jasper’s ribs, puncturing his lungs. He had
then ripped his throat open with his jaws. By the time I had been
able to get to him, it had almost been too late. He had lain on the
ground, the blood soaking into his fur. “I still feel like crying
when I think of it.”

He smiled at me. “Don’t cry. It turned
out alright. I’m just bringing it up because if I survived that,
and I survived my time in the cave, I’m pretty sure I can survive
this. At least here I’m not actually dying. It just feels like
it.”

I turned the knobs again and
reluctantly turned them off when it was obvious we had used all the
hot water.

I handed Jasper a towel and watched him
wrap it around his waist. “I’ll go get you some of my dad’s pants.
They’ll be a bit big, but until we can go shopping tomorrow,
they’ll have to do. Yours are filthy.”

I pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of
sweat shorts and went hunting for the smallest pair of shorts or
pants my dad might own. My adoptive father wasn’t a big man width
wise, but at six and a half feet, he was much larger than Jasper’s
six even.

I went to my dad’s closet, looked
through his selection of pants and settled on a pair of khaki cargo
pants. I went to the dresser to find a belt.

“Oh, mom. You kept them all.” My throat
tightened at the sight of a small box that sat open on the dresser.
In it were all the letters I had written my parents since crossing
to Quelondain.

“Is everything alright, Shlova?” Jasper
came up behind me and rested his chin on my head.

I nodded. “Yeah. I just saw that mom
kept all the letters I sent them. You know, I’m so busy over there,
I forget how hard it must be for them.”

“You make them sound like terrific
people. I can’t wait to meet them.”

“They are terrific. They’ll love
you.”

He smiled at me in the mirror. “Maybe I
should be dressed when they get here.”

I grabbed the belt and pants off of the
dresser and laughed. “Here.”

We headed back to my room and he pulled
the pants on.

I had to laugh. Even with the belt on
the pants barely stayed on his hips. I rolled the legs up, stood
and grinned. “We definitely need to go shopping for you tomorrow.
Lucky for you, I had a savings account before I left.” I pictured
him in a pair of wranglers and smiled to myself.

Jasper yawned and lay back on the bed.
I crawled in beside him and snuggled into his chest. I didn’t hear
my parents come home.

*****

I woke to the sun shining in the
window, the smell of coffee brewing, and the sound of laughter
coming up the stairs. I took a deep breath and savored the coffee
smell, stretching under the covers.

I got up, pulled my hair into a
ponytail and headed down the stairs. I couldn’t help but grin at
the scene that awaited me in the kitchen. Never in my wildest
dreams had I ever let myself think that I would one day find my
father and my mate having coffee together.

My dad and Jasper were both leaning on
opposite counters, each with a cup of coffee in their hands. My dad
was in his pajama pants and Jasper was wearing a pair of dark green
camouflage colored cargo shorts. These were a bit big but were
staying on much better than the pants I had found for him
yesterday.

“Good morning, Shlova.” Jasper’s eyes
lit up with his smile.

My dad put his cup on the counter
before turning towards me. I took three big steps to reach him and
wrapped my arms around his waist. “Morning, dad.”

He kissed the top of my head. “Morning,
Hayden.” He let go of me, looked at me closely and smiled. “That’s
quite the tattoo.”