was a pop, and the cork flew into the air. Jon caught it as it fell, then laid it before me with a smile. The champagne inside foamed up but didn’t go over. As Jon poured into one glass and then the other, I saw he was watching me closely.
I reached out and picked up the cork. It was strangely warm. It felt good in my hands. I raised it to my face, sniffed—the champagne smelled delicious, though I was no judge—and then kissed it.
“Kyle,” Jon said, sounding a little strangled.
I pointed at his stew.
He began to eat very quickly.
I was starving too, but I ate more slowly. The stew had herbs in it I’d never tasted before, exotic and flavorful. The champagne was sweet and bubbly. It went straight to my head. I kept finding myself gazing at Jon. And he was always gazing right back at me.
“Wow, you got company fast,” a voice called from the edge of the road. “Is this why you didn’t come to the beach when the sun came out, Kyle?”
Shit. It was Sue. I’d been so deeply asleep on the island that I hadn’t even known the sun had burned through the mist and come out.
I started to turn, afraid she would recognize Jon from her photo and unsure how to get rid of her. But before I could do anything, Jon raised his left hand and made a gesture toward her site, as though directing her to keep walking. And to my amazement, without another word, she kept going.
“I hate doing that,” Jon said quickly as I turned away from Sue’s departing figure. “But it’s probably not a good idea for me to speak to her right now, considering I was seriously thinking about murdering her when she hugged you. To say nothing about that damn photo she got of me. I don’t get caught by surprise very often. And yes, I know about the other one she’s got, but she’ll never figure it out.”
It made me warm to think that Jon had been bothered by her hugging me. I didn’t think for a minute he’d really considered killing her. But something told me he could if he wanted to. The way she’d turned and kept walking….
He searched my eyes, trying to read me. I thought about reaching for my phone to show him words for the first time, but then, I wasn’t sure how I’d frame what I wanted to know. It was hard to reduce the concept of who and what Jon was to something that would fit on a screen.
“I need to explain,” he said, rising. I got up quickly too. He’d eaten a whole bowl of stew and a piece of bread, and I trusted him to know if that would give him enough strength for whatever he had to do later.
Jon drew me away from the table until the tent blocked us from the road. Then he cupped my shoulders in his hands, my hair brushing across his fingers. “I know,” he said. “There’s a huge ton of stuff that has to get dealt with, and it’s not all going to be easy. And even putting it into a phrase like that isn’t doing it justice. I can’t just say ‘I’m a loon’ and expect you to go along with it, no problem. And my other—form—is a small part of the picture.”
I’d already gathered that.
Jon’s hands moved up to my neck, gently massaging, as though his touch would keep me calm. It worked, until his next words. They made my heart clench. “Hal and I are very old, Kyle. We’re part of the land here, part of the balance of the way things were before any humans walked this ground. We answer to old, long-forgotten powers, and sometimes certain sacrifices are demanded of us.”
I thought of him on the table, his arms raised to the sky.
His right thumb brushed my jaw; his other hand slid through my hair to cup the back of my head. I felt the strange sensation that he controlled my breathing again, as he had when he’d kissed me. If he forbade me to draw breath, I would not do it until he said I might. And knowing that brought not fear, but a deeper sense of connection than I’d ever felt to anyone before.
He pressed closer to me. I was glad my tent blocked us. He was arousing me deeply again.
“I
I reached out and picked up the cork. It was strangely warm. It felt good in my hands. I raised it to my face, sniffed—the champagne smelled delicious, though I was no judge—and then kissed it.
“Kyle,” Jon said, sounding a little strangled.
I pointed at his stew.
He began to eat very quickly.
I was starving too, but I ate more slowly. The stew had herbs in it I’d never tasted before, exotic and flavorful. The champagne was sweet and bubbly. It went straight to my head. I kept finding myself gazing at Jon. And he was always gazing right back at me.
“Wow, you got company fast,” a voice called from the edge of the road. “Is this why you didn’t come to the beach when the sun came out, Kyle?”
Shit. It was Sue. I’d been so deeply asleep on the island that I hadn’t even known the sun had burned through the mist and come out.
I started to turn, afraid she would recognize Jon from her photo and unsure how to get rid of her. But before I could do anything, Jon raised his left hand and made a gesture toward her site, as though directing her to keep walking. And to my amazement, without another word, she kept going.
“I hate doing that,” Jon said quickly as I turned away from Sue’s departing figure. “But it’s probably not a good idea for me to speak to her right now, considering I was seriously thinking about murdering her when she hugged you. To say nothing about that damn photo she got of me. I don’t get caught by surprise very often. And yes, I know about the other one she’s got, but she’ll never figure it out.”
It made me warm to think that Jon had been bothered by her hugging me. I didn’t think for a minute he’d really considered killing her. But something told me he could if he wanted to. The way she’d turned and kept walking….
He searched my eyes, trying to read me. I thought about reaching for my phone to show him words for the first time, but then, I wasn’t sure how I’d frame what I wanted to know. It was hard to reduce the concept of who and what Jon was to something that would fit on a screen.
“I need to explain,” he said, rising. I got up quickly too. He’d eaten a whole bowl of stew and a piece of bread, and I trusted him to know if that would give him enough strength for whatever he had to do later.
Jon drew me away from the table until the tent blocked us from the road. Then he cupped my shoulders in his hands, my hair brushing across his fingers. “I know,” he said. “There’s a huge ton of stuff that has to get dealt with, and it’s not all going to be easy. And even putting it into a phrase like that isn’t doing it justice. I can’t just say ‘I’m a loon’ and expect you to go along with it, no problem. And my other—form—is a small part of the picture.”
I’d already gathered that.
Jon’s hands moved up to my neck, gently massaging, as though his touch would keep me calm. It worked, until his next words. They made my heart clench. “Hal and I are very old, Kyle. We’re part of the land here, part of the balance of the way things were before any humans walked this ground. We answer to old, long-forgotten powers, and sometimes certain sacrifices are demanded of us.”
I thought of him on the table, his arms raised to the sky.
His right thumb brushed my jaw; his other hand slid through my hair to cup the back of my head. I felt the strange sensation that he controlled my breathing again, as he had when he’d kissed me. If he forbade me to draw breath, I would not do it until he said I might. And knowing that brought not fear, but a deeper sense of connection than I’d ever felt to anyone before.
He pressed closer to me. I was glad my tent blocked us. He was arousing me deeply again.
“I
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