Page 24 of Cerulean Truth
Carefully, I eased onto the bed beside him, afraid making too big a wave on the bed would set him off.
He let out a sigh and turned to me, his eyes carrying a curious mix of emotions that caught me off guard. I couldn’t quite place it but he appeared to be studying me with a hint of worry. Orsomething akin to it? It must have been the trauma messing with my head. After all, this was the same guy who had threatened my life only a few hours ago. It was highly improbable he’d spontaneously developed genuine concern for my well-being.
But against all expectations, he inched closer, gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear and without thinking I leaned into his touch, his hand cupping my cheek. The metal of his black thumb ring was cold and grounding, a sharp contrast to the heat creeping up my neck. In that moment, with such a small movement, I felt safer with him than I had ever felt in my entire life.
He gazed at me with his sharp green eyes and I marveled at his beauty.
“Are you hurt?” he asked me again, softly, almost like a whisper. I shook my head no, not daring to speak, as not to break off any magic happening between us—pun intended. His fingers traced delicate patterns on my cheek, each touch sending heat racing through me, causing my breath to hitch.
Captivated by his intense gaze, an unexpected and intense desire started building within me. The urge to kiss him grew stronger with each passing moment, like an instinctive need hardwired into my very being. As if I were drowning, and his kiss contained all the oxygen I needed.
I was fully aware it made no logical sense. After all, I hardly knew this man, and the evening had taken a far from romantic course. However, the intense desire to crash my mouth to his coursed through me so strongly, I felt like I might combust if I didn't act on it.
Just as I was about to lean in, he withdrew his hand and rose to his feet, abruptly severing any connection forming between us. "Let’s go for a walk and talk," he ordered in that godawful commanding tone of his. Despite the late hour—it was nowthree in the morning—I found myself surprisingly alert, and the notion of resistance didn't even cross my mind.
Leaving my apartment, an unexpected veil of normalcy draped over us, as if the tumultuous events of earlier had been but a fleeting dream. We strolled toward the park, the streets devoid of any other souls at this late hour. The silence hung heavy around us and the faint sounds of our footsteps on the pavement seemed amplified.
I turned toward James, studying his face illuminated by the moonlight. My gaze trailed from his eyes, to his lips, then to his right forearm, where his tattoo peeked out from his sleeve.
Despite my burning curiosity about Kevin and a genuine desire to understand how James had resolved the situation, I refrained from voicing my questions. Instead, I waited with growing anticipation for him to initiate the conversation.
"So, where's Stephen?" I finally inquired, my impatience getting the better of me.
"He's gone back to his consensus tour," James replied absent-mindedly.
"Consensus tour? What's that?" I asked, arching a brow.
"He's attempting to rally all the Collectives to agree on something, to establish a consensus."
"A consensus on what?" I probed.
"Just...something. Look, it's a complicated story, Emma, and we should really focus on what happened tonight," James responded impatiently.
My puzzlement lingered.
"Why are you being so cryptic about this consensus tour?" I inquired, furrowing my brow.
“I’m not! Fuck, I just want to talk about something real!” he nearly snarled, clearly frustrated with me. Already.
I couldn't resist a snort. "And having the entire world agree on a topic isn't real enough for you?"
He shot me a piercing look. "Are you always this argumentative, or is it only when you're trying to deflect?"
I blinked, taken aback. He had discerned my evasion rather swiftly.
After a hesitant moment, I lied. "Always."
He rolled his eyes, and I discreetly hid a smile, secretly pleased he’d seen through me so quickly.
"Let me explain later, okay? Right now, let's focus on what happened tonight," he urged.
I sighed in defeat. "Fine," I muttered.
He stared at me harshly, then said, “I really don’t want to start off with an obscure ‘I told you so’ but to be fair, we did warn you something like this could and probably would happen. You are not in control of your own actions, because you don’t understand how it works.”
I maintained my silence, avoiding any verbal response and keeping my head down, considering the night’s events kind of proved him right.
“I know you had your entire life planned out,” he furthered, “but as you are well aware, the world is full of nasty surprises, and next time you’re confronted with one, you might not be so lucky and actually kill someone.” I jerked my head up, realizing this probably did mean Kevin was still alive.
