I sigh and drop my head back on my pillow as I finish my sandwich, curling up tight and pressing my eyes shut, going over every moment of my conversation with Luca in my head. Thinking about his handsome face, the way his eyes fell to my mouth, the way the shiver ran down his spine – The fact th

Jesse sighs and puts a warm hand on my shoulder. “I get that you’re a big girl now, and that I have no right to tell you what to do, and that you’ve already got an overprotective big brother to play this role. But…” he hesitates and I step closer, wanting to hear what he has to say. “Just…maybe give

My glare deepens, because we both know that’s not the truth, but I look away, not wanting Jesse to get suspicious about the connection between us. Frankly, I’m shocked Jesse hasn’t figured it out already – Luca’s making it so obvious. “And how do you propose to help?” Rafe asks, his voice low and

“Ari,” Rafe hisses, trying to get my attention in the sparring circle next to me. But I can’t take my eyes off of Jackson, who stares at the floor in front of us, rolling his shoulders back. God why is he even stretching – it’s not like he’s going to have to expend any energy at all to push me out

The rest of the bouts around us begin to end pretty quickly, with Lieutenants moving around the room recording the results. Rafe and I sit quietly together in my circle and, even as my mind whirls fruitlessly, trying to figure out what the hell just happened, my eyes scan the room for Jesse and for