Linked (35 page)

An
airplane hummed overhead. Maybe it was time to tell him. Tell him I was a
Dentelle. Tell him I was going to meet the Ray-pacs. Maybe with the element of
surprise, we could go in there together and destroy them. But if something
happened to him or to any of my friends…

He
mistook my silence, and said, “Alex, I don’t know what we’re going to do, but I
do know one thing for certain.” He licked his lips and smiled. Holding me by
the wrists, he brought my hands up to his mouth and kissed them. He leaned
forward, wrenched my sweater off to the side and gently nibbled on my shoulder
before nuzzling his face into my neck. “You smell incredible, and I want you,”
he mumbled.

My
eyelids shuttered closed, and I reveled in the sensations of his lips on my
throat…all over my neck. I moaned when his teeth tugged gently on my ear lobe,
and then his soft, supple lips were brushing my cheeks, all over my face, and
then against my eyelids as well.
“Alex,” he whispered, and my eyes popped open. His face was only inches away
from mine, and he was giving me that sexy smile, the one that outdid me. He
brought his face closer to mine, until our noses were touching, and then he
brushed his lips against mine – teasing, enticing.

“Jason,”
I almost sobbed.

He
stopped and raised one eyebrow, a hint of mischief played upon his face. “Yes?”

“Just…”

“Just
what?” he laughed.

“Just…”

“Wait,
what’s that I hear?”

I
gazed into his eyes and listened.

The
party-goers inside were counting down together. “5…4…3…2…1 – Happy New Year!”

Horns
and loud party poppers erupted from inside the house just as Jason’s lips
crushed against mine with renewed urgency. Our mouths locked and our tongues
explored roughly…passionately, once again. His hands cupped my face, and I
responded desperately; fearlessly. Eventually, he lifted me off my feet, and I
wrapped my legs around him as he moved us backwards, until I was leaning
against the house for support. Our passion was intense and frenzied; he stirred
feelings in me I’d never known existed. We were ravenous, devouring each other
with hungry kisses and further entangling ourselves in one another’s embrace.
My world was perfect. My world, which finally included Jason, was perfect for
about ten minutes, and then all mayhem exploded around me.

Suddenly,
Jason was being pulled violently out of my arms, and Max was shouting, “What do
you think you’re doing, man? Get away from her. Right now.”

Laci
grabbed me and held me back, and we both watched in horror as Jason took a
swing at Max and connected with his jaw. Max’s head snapped back, but after a
quick recovery he launched a blow into Jason’s chin. The contact was loud and
frightening. Jason hunched over, but eventually he stood up and spit blood over
the railing.

I started
to walk towards him, and Max put his hand out. “Stop Lexi.” His voice was
severely harsh, and I cowered back. I started shaking, and Laci put an arm
around my shoulders.

Jason
gazed up at me. “It’s okay, Alex.”

“No!
It’s not okay,” Max roared.

“What
are you doing here?” Jason took a defensive stance but looked ready to tackle
Max at any moment.

“Lucky
for you, Jessica sent us to find you.”

“Jessica?”
Jason’s head jilted sideways, and I could see he was totally taken off guard.
Betrayal flashed across his face. “Why?”

Max
was shaking his head, barely able to control his own rage. “Ryan has Jessica
and Rob searching the house for the both of you. He’s throwing around
accusations that you’re trying to seduce Lexi.” He gazed over at me, sighed
deeply, and then returned a cold, hard stare at Jason. “Obviously, his
allegations are right on. Jessica, lucky for you, has been leading them on a
wild goose chase all over the place until she could get word to us that she
thought we’d find you up here.”

Laci’s
grip tightened on my arm, and she broke in, “I don’t know what’s going on
between you two, but thank goodness we found you before they did.”

“Jason,
you know Ryan’s dad is a Senior Guardian. If he has any proof of the
accusations he’s making against you, he’ll rush straight to his dad with the
news. What do you think will happen to your family then? Or your dad’s position
as a Senior Guardian? Or you and Lexi for that matter?” Jason switched his
stance.

Devastated,
I spoke up. “I’m sorry. I’m so very, very sorry.”

Max
put up a hand. “This is not your fault,” he said angrily. “I will not have you
taking the blame for him.” He swiped his hand in Jason’s direction. “He knows
the rules, and he knows he shouldn’t be acting on this infatuation he has for
you.”

That
did it. Jason initiated one of his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu moves. Flying through
the air with full momentum and legs extended, he plowed into Max and sent him
sprawling backwards. Afterwards, Jason stood over him shaking with rage, his
hands balled into barely controlled fists. Laci shrieked and looked at Jason as
if he’d lost his mind. Disbelief flashed across Max’s face as he sat up and
supported himself but made no indication of rising.

“Don’t
you ever attempt to define my feelings for Alex or refer to them as an
infatuation ever again.” Jason’s voice seethed with anger as he looked hotly at
Max. “Do you understand me?”

With a
pained expression, Max nodded and rubbed one hand on his cheek. Laci left my
side and kneeled down next to Max.

Jason
looked over at me and his eyes softened around the edges. In a clear voice, he
said definitively, “I love her. I love her with everything I am and everything
I will ever be.”

Max
and Laci gasped. And quite frankly, so did I. My mouth hung open at his words –
at the verbal admission he’d just made in front of Max and Laci, no less. Tears
pooled in my eyes, and I wanted to go to him and hold him – tell him I’d always
loved him. My thoughts tried to keep up with my heart. Despite the
impossibilities and the unfair circumstances surrounding us, he had finally
admitted he loved me.

“You
don’t know what you’re saying,” Max said, desperation hanging from every
syllable.

Jason
held one hand up in Max’s direction, warning him to be silent. With his gaze
locked on me, he said, “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my entire
life, and with you and Laci as my witnesses, I will say it again.” He strode
towards me, placed his hands on my cheeks and said, “With complete clarity and
absolute certainty I tell you now Alexandria Adams – I love you.”

Tears
streamed down my cheeks. With the rawest of emotions I said, “I love you, too.
I always have.” As the magnitude of our words hit me full force, I started
shaking, but he steadied me in his warm, protective embrace.

His body
relaxed, and a smile spread across his face. “I’m glad I’m not too late. You
are everything to me.” Max groaned behind us as Jason kissed me lightly on the
lips and wiped my tears away with his fingertips. “I have loved you for so
long. I love your eyes and this little mole right here,” he said and kissed it.
“I love your smile and your touch. I love the way your face lights up when
something makes you happy. But mostly, I love how you’ve never given up on me.”

I was
blown away. He’d kept his emotions locked away from me for so long. It was like
I was getting a back log of the best Christmas presents ever.

“Okay,
fine. We believe you,” Max said in a frantic but somewhat supportive voice.
“But please Jason, I beg you to move away from Lexi before someone else steps
onto this balcony and destroys your lives in a way you can’t even begin to
imagine.”

Jason
touched my nose. “We’ll find a way to make this work. I will not lose you.”
Complying with Max’s request, he took several steps back until he was standing
next to Max, who’d finally risen but was standing with wariness.

“I
don’t know how you’re going to make this work, but I damn sure hope you’re not
implying that she follow in my mother’s footsteps,” Max sputtered. Laci, whose
face was awash with emotions, came and stood by my side again.

“No,”
Jason seethed. “I would never ask Alex to give up her gift.” He dropped his
face towards the floorboards and walked around in circles with his hands on top
of his head. “I don’t know how we’ll make it work, just that we have to. Even
if we only have one day every month…” his voice drifted off, and he looked up
at me.

Smiling,
I said with conviction, “We’ll find a way.”

Laci
cleared her throat. “Okay, but guys this is not the time or place to figure
this out. You two really need to separate and wait a couple days until all the
guests are gone. The sparks flying between the two of you are so obvious it
won’t be long before everyone knows how you feel about each other.”

“Yes,”
Max agreed. “Laci’s right. You need to stay away from each other for a couple
days, and then we’re gonna have to tell your dad.” Max stopped and looked at me
pointedly. “Lexi?”

“Yeah?”

“If
you care about Jason like you say you do, you will go back into the house with
Laci. You two could dance for awhile, maybe catch up with Ryan and put his
suspicions to rest—”

“No,”
Jason interjected. “I don’t want her near that cocky—”

“Jason,”
I said sternly. “Let me talk for a minute.” He slid his hand into his pockets
irritably but nodded. “Yes, I will go back to the party with Laci and smooth
things over with Ryan,” Jason’s breathing hitched, and I raised a brow at him,
“but I want a promise from you Max.”

“What?”
he asked guardedly.

“First,
no more fighting with Jason.” I waited for him to agree. “Second, under no
circumstances are you to tell Jason’s dad about any of this. You must give me
your word that you will give us time to work it out and then let Jason approach
his dad.”

“Only
if it’s a reasonable amount–”

“Max,”
Laci said threateningly.

He
flung his hands in the air. “Fine. Fine. But let me tell you from past
experience – nothing good comes from secrets. The longer you wait the worse it
gets.”

What
an understatement. And if he only knew half of my secrets, he’d probably launch
a full blown attack on me right now. But, if I didn’t make it back from my
Ray-pac encounter, then all of this would be a moot point anyways. So, the
extra time was necessary in case it never came to be, and nobody else would
ever need to know. “Good,” I said calmly. “Then we have a deal.”

“Yes,”
Max muttered. “But I think we’d better get Hannah up here for some damage
control.”

“Hannah’s
here? I haven’t seen her,” I said with surprise.

“Good
idea,” Laci agreed. “If Hannah can think up an excuse as to why she wants to
link with your dad tonight rather than tomorrow, then she could easily erase
Ryan’s and Rob’s suspicions regarding a relationship between Jason and Lexi.”

“Yes,”
Jason said adamantly. “That’s a perfect idea. She can do it without them
knowing too.”

“She
can do that?” I asked with astonishment, and three heads nodded simultaneously.
I’d been under the impression a person had to agree to having a memory erased.
I’d had no idea she had that kind of talent. She could be seriously dangerous.

“All
right,” Max said. “That’s the plan. You two get out on the dance floor and be
seen, while Jason and I track down Hannah.” Amazingly, we all agreed. But
saying good-bye to Jason was the hardest thing I’d ever done. I trembled as we
hugged each other hastily.

“Everything
will be okay. We’ll see each other soon,” he promised and brushed his lips
against mine. “I love you.”

I
simply nodded and said in a broken voice, “I will always love you.” After
taking in his scent, running my hand across his face, and committing to memory
the color of his eyes one last time, I turned decisively and walked into the
Retreat.

After
making appearances and catching up with Ryan, all of which took the better part
of an hour or so, I finally retired to my room. Jessica insisted on going to
bed at the same time, mostly because she wanted to know what was going on
between me and Jason. Breaking down, I told her about my feelings and what had
transpired that evening. She listened well and kept comforting me with hugs.
When I cried, so did she. Talking with her about Jason felt good, but my head
was pounding, and I needed to get some sleep. With Jessica curled up in the
trundle bed and me snuggled under the warm quilts on my familiar antique bed,
we were ready to turn off the lights when Madison and Laci walked in the room.

Slamming
the door, Madison huffed, placed her hands on her hips, and stomped her feet.
She screwed up her face, stormed across the carpet towards my bed, and stopped
directly in front of me. Crossing her arms, she said angrily, “I told you to
monopolize him on the dance floor so we could get him away from Carissa. At no
time do I remember part of our plan being for
you
to
seduce
him.”

My jaw
dropped as Laci and Jessica both shouted, “Madison!”

I rose
from my bed and got right back in her face. “That is not at all what happened,”
I snapped. “
He
found
me
on the dance floor and basically told
Ryan to get lost. And Jason is the one who dragged me onto the balcony where
he…where he…” my voice softened and trailed off.

“Where
he what?” Madison demanded.

“Where
he told her he loved her,” Laci said.

“You’re
kidding right?” Madison said fiercely. But by the look on her face, I could
tell she knew it was true.

“No,
I’m not,” Laci said. “And then Lexi told him that she loved him, too.”

“What
a mess! What an idiot! How can this possibly work? My God! They’ll probably
ship him off to Hawaii or something.” She glared at me. “If you really love
him, you need to let him go.”