Then the defenses went back up and he pulled away. “We can’t. Especially now that you see what they’ll do.”
I put my hand on his chest. “There’s nobody around, Jayce. It’s okay.”
“You don’t know that,” he said. “You don’t know what Sid’s men see. One mistake is all it takes and you’ll end up like her, just another dead woman thrown at my feet by a man too high to know which way is up.”
“I’m not scared,” I said, stepping closer. “Not around you.”
He shook his head and refused to meet my gaze. “You should be.”
“Maybe so.”
I hugged him again, standing on my tip-toes so that we were cheek to cheek, and this time I felt his tension fading away like the dying light at dusk.
“Don’t you feel better now?”
I felt his smile against my cheek. “A little bit, Peaches.”
“Good,” I whispered, feeling something massive settle in my chest. “I’m glad.”
He took a long, shuddering breath, and let it out slowly. “You’re special, Charlotte. Special in a way I can’t explain. I want…” He shook his head. “Now you know why I can’t get close to someone. It’s too dangerous. I can’t… I just can’t have someone else’s blood on my hands.”
“I understand,” I said, though I wished I didn’t.
“Thanks for not fighting me on this.” He brushed back a strand of my hair.
“If things were different…” I began. I wanted to hear him say more. It was what I’dneededto hear.
“But they’re not,” he said with a sad smile. “Maybe in another life, Peaches.”
“Maybe,” I said.
Jayce bent back to the grave and ran his fingers along Theresa’s name, tracing the letters chiseled into the stone. He laced his fingers in mine and we held hands while we walked back to his bike. It felt more intimate than any kiss.
Neither of us saw the Copperhead watching from the trees.
20
Charlotte
The days in Eastland began blending together.
We spent two more days at Judge Benjamin’s house, first finishing the fence and then pulling weeds around the perimeter. After that were three straight days fixing potholes around town, using cheap bags of cement mixed in a wheelbarrow. Jayce complained that the cement would crack in the heat and the town would have to fix them all over again in a few months, but Mindy only shrugged and said that she didn’t make the list, the judge did.
We worked through the weekend, which made me happy since I just wanted to get my hours completed as quickly as possible.
Now that things were out in the open with Jayce, it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. We chatted about anything and everything. Music, movies, sports. Which parts of Georgia were worth visiting (Savannah) and which should be skipped entirely (Macon). We were like college roommates, pressed into proximity every day and forced to get to know each other.
We flirted, too. A comment here, a dirty joke there. I made the mistake of stretching my arm and saying, “I’m really tight today.” I was talking about my muscles, but Jayce only smiled and said, “Bet you’re tight every day, Peaches.”
I spent the rest of the day blushing after that one.
But our flirting was lighthearted and innocent. Part of just passing the time. Jayce couldn’t be with anyone, and I respected his decision.
But it didn’t stop me from dreaming about him.
The dreams were getting worse. Orbetter,depending on how you looked at it. Jayce didn’t just spread my legs on the bed and eat me out. He bent me over the chair and ravaged me until I was screaming with ecstasy. He straddled my face and filled my mouth with his hard length while rubbing my slit with his calloused fingers. He took me in the shower, slowly and passionately while the water ran over our slippery, soapy bodies, and his kiss silenced my cries of ecstasy.
I woke each morning wet and aching for him. I couldn’t get Jayce out of my head.