Storm Season (20 page)

That’s easier said than done.
Curls bounced as Tobias shook his head, but there was a glimmer of… something… in his eyes as he peered at Jasper through lowered lashes.
What should I think about instead? ’Cause, you know, if you don’t give me something else to think about, I’ll just keep thinking about that thing you told me not to think about.

Jasper didn’t even try to wrap his mind around that sentence. “Well, um….” And then he stopped, leaned forward, and slipped his fingers under Tobias’s chin, lifting it so he could press their lips together.

That’ll work.
Tobias smirked against Jasper’s lips as he shifted, bringing his hands up to tangle in Jasper’s hair as he turned on the bed, angling his body toward Jasper’s.
Are you sure, though? Last time….
He pulled back ever so slightly as he trailed off, unable or unwilling to finish the sentence.

They both knew how it ended.

Jasper pulled Tobias back closer, slid his tongue across Tobias’s lips as he deepened the kiss, letting his actions speak for him. Tobias’s lips parted, and their tongues brushed together.

T
HIS
time, the kiss tasted only of Tobias, the dark, earthy flavors untainted by the lighter flavors Jasper knew must be the way he tasted to Tobias. It was delicious, perfect and wonderful and exactly what Jasper had wanted the first time… only not. Tobias was holding back, Jasper could tell, could feel the tension in Tobias’s muscles that had nothing to do with the men following them or the storm raging outside, tension that wouldn’t fade no matter what Jasper did with his tongue or his hands or anything else.

Reluctantly, he moved back and cupped Tobias’s cheeks in his hands. “You’re holding back.”

I have to.
Tobias’s eyes darted around the room, focusing everywhere but Jasper’s face.
Otherwise I can’t…. You don’t want….
His eyes slid shut, his expression forlorn.
You can’t have it both ways. If I don’t hold back, you’ll feel… everything.

“That’s what I want.” The words were surprising, but even as he said them, Jasper realized he really meant them. “I want to feel what you’re feeling. This,” he brushed his thumb across Tobias’s lips, “without it, doesn’t feel right.”

Tobias withdrew, freeing his face from Jasper’s hands.
It’s not that simple.

“Why not? You want this; I want this, what’s the problem?”

You can’t… I can’t….
Tobias sighed, let his head flop forward into his hand.
You can’t just want it sometimes. I’ll never know. And I’ll mess up.
He looked up, met Jasper’s eyes with a gaze so intense Jasper had to resist the urge to scoot away.
I know that what—what I do, with feelings and thoughts, projecting them, that it scares you. That it’s not something you’re used to. It’s just… I can’t stop myself just some of the time. It’s too hard to stop, too hard to keep it from happening, and if I lose that concentration, I don’t know that I’ll get it back. I know I won’t get it back if I have to try again and again and again.

The tight desire in Jasper’s gut uncoiled a little as uncertainty and fear wormed their way into his consciousness, but he pushed them aside, forced himself to meet Tobias’s eyes. “What do you mean? I can’t….” He let his eyelids fall closed, sucked in enough air to save a drowning man, and blew it out in one long huff. “I need to know that you’re not going to make me feel things.”

Then I can’t―

Jasper held up a hand, cut off the desperate voice in his head. “Make me feel things like they’re
my
feelings,” he clarified, desperately trying to make Tobias see the difference, desperately trying to get it clear in his own mind. “When I can tell it’s what
you’re
feeling, it’s
—
it’s different.”

But yesterday, you… when I…

“It surprised me. I panicked.” Jasper shook his head and looked up, meeting Tobias’s eyes with a steady gaze. “It’s strange, okay? Different. Not something I’m used to.”

But―

“I’ll get used to it.” Jasper let the corners of his mouth slip up into a smile. “I want to get used to it.”

Are you….
Tobias looked down, licked his lips, and shyly looked back up into Jasper’s eyes.
Are you sure?

The last vestiges of Jasper’s doubt fell away at the desperately hopeful look in Tobias’s eyes. The hand on his thigh was trembling, and Jasper knew the look in Tobias’s eyes barely scratched the surface of the hope and desire he was feeling. His smile widening, Jasper leaned in, his fingers catching Tobias’s chin, and pressed his lips against Tobias’s. “Yes,” he whispered straight into Tobias’s mouth before he deepened the kiss, his hand sliding back to stroke Tobias’s hair.

The sudden flood of sensation―need, want, hope, desire, happiness―nearly sent Jasper reeling. He tightened his fingers in Tobias’s hair, his grip on Tobias’s shoulder and concentrated on the taste of Tobias on his tongue, on the taste of himself on Tobias’s tongue. He could feel Tobias’s fingers in his hair, too. It was different than Tobias’s hair―coarser, less silky―but the sensation was familiar and sent tickles down the back of his hands where Tobias’s curls didn’t reach.

“Clear skies,” he murmured straight into Tobias’s mouth, unable―unwilling―to pull back just yet.

Yeah.
It was a simple toss-off word of agreement, but Tobias deepened the kiss, pushing Jasper back to lie on the bed, his legs still hanging off the side as Tobias straddled him.

Jasper slid his hands under Tobias’s shirt, ran his hands over the smooth skin and solid muscles of Tobias’s back, and thrust his hips upward, rubbing their jean-clad groins together and eliciting a moan from them both. He touched and rubbed and lost himself in the sensations, his tongue delving and his hands stroking, knowing exactly how it felt to Tobias. He wasn’t going to be able to hold back much longer. He didn’t want to.

J
ASPER
woke with a start, gasping as he sat up and blinked into the darkness, his heart racing with unidentifiable terror. Outside, wind and rain pounded against the building. Apart from the drone that everyone who lived through wet seasons learned to ignore, the room was silent. Even Jasper’s ragged breathing was drowned out by the noise from outside, and he couldn’t hear Tobias at all.

Carefully, so he wouldn’t wake Tobias if he were still sleeping, Jasper twisted and leaned down. “Tobias?” he said, pitching his voice so it was just audible over the pounding rain. “Are you awake?”

The lump that was just visible in the dark room shifted and a warm hand pressed clumsily against Jasper’s arm.
Yeah. Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.

Jasper fumbled with the lamp, blinked as light filled the room, and turned to look down at Tobias. “What happened?”

Nightmare, I think.
Tobias sat up, brought his knees to his chest, and wrapped one arm around them. The other hand stayed pressed to Jasper’s arm.

“You think?” Jasper blinked. “What else could it be?”

Messages?
Tobias shrugged.
I don’t know if we’re close enough to Samantha for her to send to me or not.

Jasper didn’t know what the range was, but they still had at least a week’s journey. “How far can you send? We’re still about twenty-five hundred miles from Shaleton.” Their route wound a little and thus was slightly longer, but Jasper didn’t think that the psychic connection between Tobias and his sister would be affected by the landscape that forced the roads to twist.

Probably not that far, but maybe?
Tobias sighed and leaned against Jasper as he pulled his knees in closer.
If she’s hurt or in pain, she could maybe send further. I don’t know. Maybe they’re hurting her.

He looked up at Jasper with a wide, worried gaze that cut straight to Jasper’s heart. He looked young and vulnerable, more like a boy than he had since Jasper had first seen him, and it brought out Jasper’s protective instincts. “Do you want to tell me about it?” Based on Tobias’s reaction, Jasper didn’t think he wanted to know, but he couldn’t let Tobias just fret if telling him would help.

There isn’t anything to tell, really.
Tobias sighed and rubbed his hand over his face before returning it to his knee.
It was just pain, mostly. Samantha was worried about something—I don’t know what—and she hurt and she was scared and I don’t even know what else. There wasn’t anything specific.

Jasper wrapped his arm around Tobias’s shoulders and tucked him in a little closer. It felt comfortable having Tobias tucked under his arm like this, and though Jasper regretted the circumstance― particularly since it was a far cry from how they had both been feeling before they fell asleep―he was glad he was able to provide the comfort. “Maybe it was just a nightmare. It’s been a long few days and we were exhausted.”

Maybe.
Tobias didn’t sound as though he believed it.
Why would I dream about Sam though? I had other things on my mind when I fell asleep.
He glanced up at Jasper, a teasing smile on his lips.
I don’t think I’d dream about my sister after that.

Jasper returned Tobias’s grin. The memory of what they’d done before falling asleep wasn’t fresh in his mind after his rude awakening, but it was close enough to the surface that he could easily recall the pleasant lethargy he felt as they’d curled up in bed together. They hadn’t gotten beyond fondling, both of them coming in their pants before they’d had a chance to do anything else, but it had ensured Jasper fell asleep with a smile on his face.

“Maybe it wasn’t, then,” Jasper said, his grin fading. “It could have been her, and you were more receptive since you were so relaxed?” He wasn’t sure how Tobias’s abilities worked, but the idea seemed logical enough.

I guess.
Tobias sighed, slumping further in Jasper’s arms.
I don’t know which I’d prefer, to be honest.

“I know.” There were downsides to both, ones Jasper didn’t care to think about. “We’ll figure it out, though, whichever one it is.”

Tobias made a soft snorting sound.
How?

Jasper shifted his grip on Tobias and lay down with him. “You can start by trying to send something back.”

What if she doesn’t answer?
Tobias shifted so he was lying stretched out along Jasper’s side and lifted his head so he was looking worriedly at Jasper.
What then?

“You try again when we’re closer.” Jasper gently pushed Tobias’s head down so it was resting on his shoulder and started carding his fingers through Tobias’s dark curls. He put his other hand on Tobias’s back and gently stroked as he tried to soothe the tension he felt there. “If she doesn’t answer right away, it could just mean that you’re not strong enough. Or she could be asleep.” It was a stretch, he knew, but he had to give Tobias something to cling to.

Maybe.
Tobias sighed and the tension slowly started seeping out of his muscles.
I wish there was some way to know for sure.

“I know,” Jasper whispered, stilling his hands. Tobias was relaxed now, lying limp against him, though Jasper could still feel the worry he was projecting. “I wish there was more we could do.”

Thanks.
Tobias let out a final sigh and let his eyes slip closed.
I do too.

“We’ll move in the morning,” Jasper promised as he gave into his exhaustion and reached for the light. He closed his eyes as soon as it was dark, relaxed under the comforting weight of Tobias and let sleep claim him. If Tobias answered, Jasper never heard.

I
N
THE
morning, the alarm woke them early, though it turned out to be pointless for them to even get out of bed. Though the sun should have been peeking over the horizon according to the clock, Jasper could still hear the hard patter of rain against the walls and the roof, and it didn’t sound as though it would be letting up any time soon. “Hailstones,” he muttered, eyeing the outside door and wondering if the inn’s proprietor would unlock the interior one or if they’d be forced to run through the storm to get any news.

Tobias stretched out and brushed his fingers against Jasper’s leg.
Is something wrong?

“The storm isn’t letting up.” Jasper went over to the door directly opposite the one they’d used, and tried the handle. It was locked, as he’d expected. Most inns had small hallways that led to the main office and the proprietor’s living quarters, but they were only used during the worst of the wet season. The rest of the year, the doors that accessed them were kept locked for security and the guests would use the outside doors.

Tobias sat up, held out his hand, and waited patiently for Jasper to take it.
How long will we have to wait?

“I don’t know.” Jasper ran a hand through his hair as he sat down. “If that door is unlocked, I might be able to get some news from the office. Otherwise, we’ll just have to wait until we hear it let up.”