Page 29 of Stone Crest: Rise of a Raven
“I’ve lived all over.” He swipes his mouth with a clean napkin.
“Where about?” I ask with curiosity.
“Here and there.” He shrugs. “I visited the west coast for a time before moving back.”
Everything he’s telling me is surface level. Vague.
Distant.
I just laid out my deepest emotional scar and he’s barely admitting he has relatives.
“Locke.” I reach for his arm.
“Do you want to stay tonight?” He asks, his eyes finally meeting mine.
The gold flecks almost look stormy. Ironic that a storm is what brought me to this town.To him.The longer I look into them, the more mysterious he becomes. He’s real. Standing right in front of me, but still so far away.
I just wantpeace.So, I answer responsibly for the first time in months.
“I think it would be better if you take me home.”
We both know it’s the right thing to do. Doesn’t mean we like it.
“Ok.” He holds out a palm to help me off of the counter.
He doesn’t remove it when I catch my balance. If anything, he squeezes tighter. “Can you do one thing for me, Rae?”
“Depends.” I tilt my head.
“I just want one. One kiss.” He leans in, ghosting his lips across mine.
Taking my hands, I frame his handsome face, pulling him down to press my lips to his. This isn’t like the night we met. This isn’t lustful and frantic. It’s emotional. It’s tender, and the sheer truth that it can’t be anything more than a harmless kiss is soul crushing.
“I hate this,” I whisper.
He presses another kiss to my lips, knowing exactly what I mean. The circumstances.
“Could you do another thing for me?”
I lean back, and search his gaze, and his request makes my heart stop.
“Wait for me?”
Chapter twenty-one
Locke
“Now. I expect this to be in depth. I don’t want surface level opinions. I want a real response. This paper will be compared to your final essay to see how your thoughts and opinions on mythology have changed over the course of this class.” I lean my forearms on my podium and scan the room full of students.
Most are facing me, making notes, and actually paying attention.
Except for one.
Raven is staring off into space. Those blue eyes lazily blinking at something across the room.I don’t like it.
I was rattled from our discussion last night. Her pain. Myneedto soothe it. We still hadn’t discussed what was happening between us. We knew it was there, alive and haunting, but we didn’t discuss what to actuallydoabout it. All I could do was ask her to wait. Wait until this year is over. Until she graduates, and I figure out what the fuck this curse has done to me.
The door to the front of my classroom opens and Sasha steps in.
