Page 99 of Dark Destiny: A New Thread in the Tapestry

Tomek was asleep in his room and wouldn't wake up until the next morning. The boy could sleep through anything. It was a gift she envied.

How many nights had she lain awake, staring at the ceiling while he slept peacefully, curled up against her?

A part of her missed those days, but a bigger part loved that he had his own room and wasn't afraid to sleep in it alone. It meant the island hadn't gotten him. That she'd saved him before it was too late.

She walked over to her mother's room and closed the door quietly without explaining a thing. Leehy might have fallen asleep in front of the television, and there was no point in waking her up.

When the soft knock came, she opened the door, and there he was, her Yaaf, in all of his freshly showered glory.

His hair was still damp, and he smelled of soap and warm skin. He had put on a clean shirt, and the care he'd put into his appearance moved her. He had gotten ready for her, made himself smell nice for her just because he wanted her to like him.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi." He stood on the step with his hands in his pockets, as though he was not sure of his welcome.

She smiled. "Let's go to my room. We can watch a movie together, just the two of us for a change. It will be fun."

They had watched several movies together in the theater in the keep, but it had always been with others present. It would be nice to watch something alone with him.

Or do other things.

He nodded. "I'd like that."

"Then come." She took his hand and led him to her room.

She'd brought a pitcher of water, two glasses, and a bag of potato chips in case they got thirsty or wanted a snack, and she actually turned the television on.

"What would you like to watch?" She picked up the remote.

"Whatever you want."

"The selection is endless. They have every movie ever made on their servers."

That might have been a slight exaggeration, but she was quoting Margaret.

"I will watch whatever you like."

"Okay." She smiled at him. "Don't complain if what I like is boring."

"Never." He draped his arm over her shoulders the same way he'd done in the movie theater.

Sullha chose a film that her mother had seen and recommended. She dimmed the lights, and they settled in to watch. For a while they sat side by side on the couch and pretended to watch. Or at least Sullha did, but she suspected that Yaaf wasn't paying attention either. She rested her head on his bicep, and then he found her hand and laced his fingers through hers, and the film went on, entertaining no one.

She turned to him, expecting to see his profile, but he was looking at her, or rather her mouth, and her breath caught. She didn't want to wait anymore because it was killing her.

"Kiss me," she whispered.

He leaned in, and then his mouth was on hers, soft and gentle, and it was the first time they had kissed like this since his cell in the keep. All their other kisses had been stolen in dark corners and empty classrooms, and there hadn't been nearly enough of them.

Now they were finally alone, with no threat of someone surprising them and them having to jump apart. They didn't have to stop at kissing either.

They could go much further than that.

They could spend the night together if she had the courage and he had the drive. She still wasn't sure how far he could go given his long drug-induced celibacy.

He'd said the eight of them had transcended those kinds of urges, but she had noticed the change in him and the way he would harden when they kissed. He hadn't said anything, but those were responses a male couldn't hide.

Unbidden, the dream rose up behind her closed eyelids, and heat surged through her, but then the rest of that dream pushed to the surface, and Sullha froze.