“It's all right, Eden; get some sleep. He'll still be here in the morning,” Jericho continued.
“Let her finish,” Sebastian shouted with surprising force.
My gaze flew to his and the hatred renewed.
“You are not a prince here, inside these walls you are our prisoner and you will act as such,” Jericho shouted back and Sebastian fell silent. His eyes drooped again and his demeanor lost the moment-long spark of something desired.
“I'll take you upstairs,” Jericho's voice was soothing again and he gripped my elbow inside of his hand.
I let him. Somewhere, deep inside, I knew that he was right, I knew that I needed to sleep and that whatever the end result would be with Sebastian tonight, whatever it was, I would regret in the morning.
Suddenly I was exhausted. I tried to remember the last time I got a full night's sleep, but I couldn't. Even before I set out on this.... this.... journey, I wasn't able to sleep. I leaned heavily against Jericho and let him guide me upstairs.
The townhouse was gigantic. Upstairs were numerous bedrooms, all fully prepared for house guests and plenty of bathrooms to let the house get full without any visitor feeling inconvenienced. Jericho led me to a bedroom with a full bed, and private bathroom. My backpack and clothes from earlier that day lay on a small chair sitting next to a white, decorative, writing desk.
The bed, covered with a plush, navy blue, paisley comforter and at least ten pillows with the same design, reminded me of home, of my bed back in Omaha, with at least an equal number of pillows. I almost burst into tears at the sight of it.
“Is this Ok?” Jericho asked, gesturing towards the bedroom.
“It's perfect,” I gushed and then turned into him, throwing my arms around his neck. He, likewise, wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, absorbing me into him. I fought the tears that banged against the floodgates of my eyes, and in the end won.
'It's been a long day,” Jericho whispered softly in my ear, pulling away just a little.
“It's been a long couple of days,” I mumbled sarcastically. “Thank you for intervening down there.” I pulled back and looked into his eyes.
I felt something then, something that moved at my heart like a crash cart against a heart attack victim, violent and reviving. I could trust Jericho, not just with protecting me from others, but from myself as well. He didn't just want what was best for the Resistance or my brother, he wanted what was best for me, but he never forced that on me. He let me decide and gently offered his help every step of the way. The trust was there, I couldn't do anything to stop it.
Moments ago, I believed I would never trust another person for as long as I lived. Yet, I couldn't help but trust him; the decision was made before I even realized what was happening. He forced my soul back into innocent belief, not by empty words or false promises but by consistent action that never failed. He was safe.
“Of course,” he answered. “You'd better get some rest. Tomorrow we can figure out what to do with....” and he moved his thumb back and forth toward the stairs, motioning downstairs.
I looked back at the bed again, excited about the idea of getting in to it and then back at Jericho. I didn't want to be alone tonight. As much as I craved the idea of falling asleep, I was still afraid of being completely alone. Jericho had yet to pull away, had yet to even look away, but I couldn't ask him to stay.
Whatever would come out of our time together, whatever feelings or relationship that either of us anticipated, needed to happen naturally. And I wasn't ready for Jericho. I wasn't ready for everything a relationship demanded. Trust was a step, but Jericho deserved more than what I could give him right now. If anything my chest remained an empty cavity where a heart used to beat, one day there might be more, but it was definitely not tonight.
Still my blood quickened at our closeness and some animal instinct took over, silencing my better judgment. I leaned forward on my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. My lips lingered for several seconds longer than what would have been natural, but even if my emotions weren't ready, it didn't mean my body wasn't crying out for my heart to move.
I tried to walk away from him. I tried to leave his arms, his safe embrace and walk all the way into the room, but I was fighting an internal war and everything inside of me, except my heart fought against letting go.
My lips moved, without my permission from his cheek to his lips, and there they stayed for moments too long. I kissed him with a passion I did not know was waiting and with fervor that should have been buried. His lips moved against mine with equal feeling and for a few seconds the world melted away; my problems, this journey disappeared and all that remained was the two of us.
Our magics met with slow consideration, mine reluctant to move and his waiting as if always in that position. But when they finally touched each other, when our auras finally found the other, it was as if it should have always been this way. It was as if this was how the world was meant to turn.
I pushed my body against his with more force so that his embrace would cover me completely. My weight shifted towards him still, I couldn't bear any separation between us, no matter how small, and the boards underneath my feet let out a loud squeak of protest. The sound was deafening in the silence of the hallway and I immediately pulled away from Jericho, shrinking back into the shell of solitude I had come to accept.
“Goodnight,” I half laughed at Jericho, touching my fingertips to my lips. I promised myself there was life after Kiran, but maybe, after that kiss, I could actually believe it was true.
“Goodnight,” Jericho replied, confused and disconcerted.