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Did that mean Cyn felt something for me he wouldn’t admit to—even to himself?

The thought terrified me as much as it thrilled me. But I didn’t have the spoons to unpack his hangups.

I squirmed, trying to pull away from him as his teeth scraped the spot he hadn’t stopped kissing. I needed to keep my wits about me.

His hands and mouth weren’t conducive to rational thought.

“Cyn? Are you up here?”

Cyn shoved away from me, stepped into my bathroom, and slammed the door.

59

CONSIDERATION

RAE

Zeke glanced at the bathroom door as he stepped into the bedroom.

“He’ll be out in a sec. He came up to see what I needed done.”

He tilted his head, studying me. “You okay?”

I nodded, turning back to the box of makeup. “I’ll be fine.”

“That’s not a yes or no,” he said, taking a seat next to the mess on my bed.

I brushed my thumb across the eyeshadow palette in my hand, the letters blurring.

“Rae,” he whispered, reaching for my arm and pulling me toward him. “Come here.”

I dropped the palette and let Zeke pull me until I stood between his knees.

His thumbs brushed my arms where he held my wrists, the open affection in his gaze cracking the dam holding back my tears.

I didn’t want to cry in front of him.

After my parents died, I spent years suppressing emotions. Patricia called them “dramatic displays.” Grandma let me cry, but after Papa died, I forced everything down. But something about Ash and Zeke broke through the walls I’d built up to protect my heart.

He pulled me into his lap, holding me like a child with my legs draped sideways over his lap.

“It’ll be okay. I promise.” He stroked the side of my head as I let my tears soak into his shirt.

I heard the bathroom door open, but Zeke didn’t move, and I didn’t dare look up. I didn’t want to see Cyn’s reaction to Zeke holding me, and I sure as hell didn’t want to show him my tears.

“You’ll like Elyrdin,” Zeke said, tracing patterns on my thigh. “There’s all sorts of animals and flowers you’ve never seen before. I can’t wait to show you all of them.”

I sniffed.

“You can have your own room too. We all have a room, plus a couple of guest rooms. You won’t be a guest, so we’ll make it however you like.”

I hadn’t thought about what it meant once we left Earth.

I’d wondered if Cornaith would lock me away the moment we arrived. But the way Zeke talked, I’d be living with them.

“Oh, you’re going to love the pool.” He paused, his fingers stilling. “Wait. Can you swim?”

Laughing, I wiped my nose. “Not really, no.”