Darksoul (15 page)

No. Of course not. They couldn’t be normal guys who liked guns and fast cars and shit.

We ended up watching a horror flick.

Which would’ve been fine. Really. Except I kept
hiding under the neck of my hoodie, yelping and yanking it over my eyes during the scary scenes, and that gave Hunter and Ash a reason to have a ball. Fantastic. I swore they were watching me more than the damn movie.

But w
hen I poked out my face for the fiftieth time, they were gone. I blinked. The room was dark except for the giant screen.

I was alone.

“Goddamn it, you guys, this isn’t funny,” I said, looking over the back of the sofa. Maybe they were hiding behind it like stupid twelve-year-olds.

But there was nothing.
They must’ve left, gone to the kitchen to get drinks. Fine, then. The idiots. Grumbling, I plopped back down and brought my knees to my chest. The scene swept me in and I found myself biting my fingernails to their beds, trembling in my seat.

Five minutes passed. Ten.

Then, just as the horrors were reaching their crescendo, two identical pairs of lips pressed against my ears.

A whisper. “Boo.”

To say that I screamed—no.

I didn’t scream.

Let’s just say I might’ve done permanent damage to all of our ears.

They were still laughing about it long after the movie was ov
er. I proclaimed my hate for them and shook my fists at their faces, which made them laugh more. Even Hunter, who barely laughed, was about to bust a nut the way he was going. The dimples were killing me, and I almost poked my fingertips into them. Not a great idea.

Ash insisted on driving me home. I nearly clipped him in the face, but figured that wasn’t a good thing to do to your secret crush. Yay for stupid feelings. I left my bike at Hunter’s—it wouldn’t fit in Ash’s car—and went home with Io and my bag. During the drive, she cowered on the shoulder that was closest to the
window, as if she wanted to escape through the glass.

I was dropped off roughly
at nine. Ash’s headlights illuminated the garage door as he rolled up the driveway. He put the car in park, got out—and came around to open…my…door?

Stricken,
I looked at the empty driver’s seat, and then turned to blink up at him. “Did you just—”

He splayed a mockingly hurt hand on his chest, moonlight glinting off his rings. “Your shock really and truly despairs me, Miss Lisle,” he said, his accent seeming to be all the more fitting. “Haven’t I proven to be a gentleman in the years you’ve known me?”

It took everything I had not to burst out laughing. “Yeah. No.”

He closed the door for me when I stepped out, and leaned a hand against the car so his arm was in my way. When I moved to walk up the driveway, he shifted slightly, blocking my path. Io trembled on my shoulder and, letting out a dejected purr, shied away from him.

“If you don’t mind,” I said.

He looked amused. “I mind.”

“Damn it, Ash, it’s cold.”

“I can think of a couple of ways I could keep you warm. Ironically, none of them involve clothes.”

“Verbal.
Porn
.”

He
reached out and grabbed a loose lock of my hair, letting it slip between his fingertips. “Doesn’t this feel like the end of a date?”

“No,” I said.
“For starters, you haven’t even walked me to the door.”

“The only thing missing is a goodbye kiss.”

“The only thing missing is your head, which seems to have floated off somewhere.”

The side of his lips twitched. “Depends on which head we’re talking about.”

Dear Lord. “You know what you are? You’re gross. Nasty. Disgusting. I don’t know why I put up with you. Why anyone puts up with you. Have you heard of a tongue scraper? Try to use that on your mouth. Maybe then you’ll be more bearable. And—”

I wasn’t able to finish.

Because Ash pulled me close, leaned down, and crushed his lips against mine.

My eyes widen
ed in surprise before falling shut. They were soft lips, warm and startlingly familiar, gentle and firm and lush. He sighed, brushing his thumb over my jawline before pressing it into the hollow of my throat. I gasped and tilted my head back. He delved deeper, his tongue caressing my own. Something slid around my waist. Brought me closer.

Io
circled my torso like an angry bee and rushed down my arms. He didn’t notice her. Only pulled away and plunged back in, his lips parting against mine. A half-sigh, half-moan escaped me. He smiled against my mouth.

And then—

C-Crack
.

I froze.

A flood of images. At school. In the hallways. In my room.
Kiss tongue lips piercing fire heat kiss lips biting mouth tongues more more more—
I brok
e contact and shoved him away. Io yanked at a raven tuft on the back of his head, looking as though she wanted to tear it off. She steered clear of the dark wisp that slithered around his neck.

“Ash, what the—” I could
n’t shake the images no matter how much I tried to.
Kiss tongue lips piercing hot—
“What the—hell?”

He said nothing
.

“So many—” I pressed the heels of my palms against my temples. “Damn it, there are so many!”

His facial expression didn’t change. “So many what?”

“You kissed me! When did you—” Another ba
rrage of images flooded in, and I tried to keep track of them as they flickered over my eyes. A flurry of warmth accompanied each memory. “What the—what the hell is this! You kissed me! You’ve
been
kissing me—”

A familiar jolt.

—
nothi
—
No.

I reached up and grabbed the collar of his hoodie, yanking him to my level. “Stop it,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “Stop doing that!”

His voice was
steady. “Stop doing what?”

“Stop cutting
off time and making it go back again!”

He stepped forward.
I stumbled back against the car. I tried to keep my grip tight on his sweater, but he reached up and eased my fist aside, interlacing his fingers through mine. “I’m afraid I don’t know what this is about.”

His proximity was doing something to me. Unfortunately, it was butterfly-related. “Shut up. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

His eyes—which had suspiciously familiar gray flecks in them—were cool, amused. “Oh?”

I
gritted my teeth. “I’d appreciate it if you’d let me go, asshole.”

Apparently
, so did Io. She fussed over our interlocked hands, circling them like an enraged wasp. He didn’t seem to notice. A barely-there smile brushed across his lips as he leaned down, his face coming breathtakingly close to mine.

I
turned my head. “Don’t kiss me.”

“
Mmm?” he murmured, catching my mouth with his own. I reached up to shove him away, but my attempts were weakening by the second. There was something breathless and startlingly gentle about the way he kissed me now, as though he couldn’t bear to let me go. I hated that I was responding. As if I couldn’t help myself. As if I, too, could never bear to let him go.

Then I got back to my senses.

I stomped on his foot. So hard that he gasped and loosened his hold. I yanked my fingers out of his, reared back with a tight scowl.

And then I clipped him in the face.

Io, who’d been pulling at the back of his shirt, looked startled before she grinned and patted her paws together. As if she were clapping. His head whipped to the side, inky hair brushing across his eyes and an alarmingly red blot forming on his cheek. Just like Hunter a few weeks back.

Honestly. I wasn’t about to take shit from either of them. I knew so then, and I knew so now—kissing and throwing me on the bed was their way of
toying with me. And I was so not amused.

Once again, I grabbed the
collar of his hoodie and pulled him down. “I want you to listen to me, Evans, and I want you to listen good,” I ground out, drilling his eyes with my own. “I’m not one of your babes to play around with. All right? You want to kiss someone, you kiss them. Leave me the hell alone.”

Ash stared at me, and
I tried not to crack under the weight of his gaze. That was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do since—well—ever. I liked Ash. A lot. And in all honesty, I wasn’t going to sit here and say I didn’t like his suddenly-remembered kisses. Of course I did. That didn’t mean I’d let him yank me around like a rag doll.

He was
still looking down at me from his six-foot-three perch, and to say that I felt like a dwarf would’ve been the understatement of the year. Getting back to my senses again, I shoved against him. He didn’t budge.

“You’ve kissed me,” I said, not about to walk away without an explanation. My tone grew hard and clipped. “And I only remembered just now. Care to tell me what that’s about, or am I going to have to drill it out of you?”

He said nothing. Io twirled around his neck as though to choke him, her light making a tight band around his throat. He didn’t seem to feel it.

“So…
” he said at last, searching my face. “You’re not wondering why?”

I frowned. “Wondering what?”

His voice softened. “Why I’ve only ever kissed you, Zel.”

And then, before I could stop it—

Jolt
—nothingness—

“—your head, which seems to have floated off somewhere,” I heard myself say.

Ash’s lips parted. Just slightly. Then he pressed them
into a straight, unreadable line, and I blinked. A blur. A faint image. His mouth on…mine?

I scrunched up my eyebrows.
“Did you just…”

His eyes were
cool. “Did I just what?”

“I could’ve
sworn—” But then I stopped. Could’ve sworn what? I didn’t—I couldn’t—fuck. Why couldn’t I remember?

He made no move to help me.

“Oh, my goodness, Ash.” I reached up and gently eased his head to the side, moonlight winking off his eyebrow piercing, outlining it in silvery white. Forget the damned piercing; his cheek looked like it’d been stomped on and chewed by a cow. I bit back a pained hiss and gingerly touched the tender skin. “What happened?”

He said nothing. Io blinked from him to me and back, and then,
seeing something in Ash’s eyes, fluttered closer to him. She pressed a paw against the side of his face and gave it a hesitant stroke. She looked skittish, as if she were afraid he would lash out at her.

“Did Hunter do this before we left?” I asked, meeting his gaze.

“No. We don’t fight.”

Ha.
“It’s true that your bromance levels are completely off the charts. Like, seriously, I’ve never even seen him laugh around anyone other than you.” I inspected the damage again. “Want to come inside, get some ice?”

“I’ll be fine.” Ash
turned and walked to the driver’s side, reaching into his back pocket as he did so. I followed. A second later he had a cigarette in his mouth and was lighting up. He opened the door, climbed in.

Io purred
in my ear. To my surprise, she sounded worried.

“Ash,” I said.

He glanced up and froze when I reached toward him, nudged his chin up, and brushed my thumb over his cheek. His cigarette went still between his lips. Coolness slithered around my wrist and tugged me closer, a barely-there pull. My fingertips entangled themselves in the silky tufts at his temple, and I started to lean down. He didn’t seem to be breathing. Neither was I.

And then I noticed
.

My knuckles were an angry, shrill red.

Abruptly, I pulled back. He held his breath for a moment longer before reaching up and grabbing the damned cig. He brought it down, blew a trail of smoke into the night.

“You should—” I strained to keep my eyes off his
cheek. “You should put that cigarette away. Not good for you.”

He held it up to me. “Want to try it?”

“No, thanks. I think I’ll let you get lung cancer by yourself.” Then, because my position as his best friend demanded I do so, I snatched it from him and threw it on the ground. Looking faintly amused, he watched as I stomped on it like it was the devil come alive. Done with that, I said, “Now. Good evening. Drive safely.”

“Don’t dream about me tonight.”

Please. “As if.”

Laughing softly, he shut the door, and I
waved as he rolled out of the driveway. Halfway down, he took out another cigarette and lit up. I didn’t wait until he drove away. By the time he was on the street, I’d jogged to the house and slammed myself in.

Leaning against the wall
, I examined my right hand. Held my breath. My knuckles were definitely red, and they definitely hurt. I brushed my fingertips over them, perplexed. I’d punched Ash. That much was clear. The question was, why would I do such a thing?