Glow (Glimmer and Glow #2)(45)
“Then you’ll just have to sleep at the castle every night, won’t you.”
It wasn’t really a question, so Alice didn’t respond. She was too embarrassed to meet his stare. Her gaze clung to his boots and hard jean-covered thighs. The truth was, she didn’t want to be anywhere else at night but by his side. It was just that sometimes, she felt like if she surrendered too easily to him . . .
She’d somehow lose herself.
“I . . . I never got to tell you more about what happened that night. About what I remembered . . . about Addie,” she said, her voice sounding a little congested. She’d surprised herself by bringing it up in this situation. Until that moment—until seeing him again—she hadn’t realized how much she longed to share the incredible experience with someone.
Not just someone. Him.
She started slightly when he placed his glove-covered hand on her chin and forced her to meet his stare. She blinked when she saw the emotion that blazed on his usually impassive expression.
“I want to listen.”
Her lip trembled at his stark honesty. He noticed.
“I’m not what you’re making me out to be in your mind, Alice. I don’t want to control you. It’s a complicated situation, to put it lightly. I’ve told you I was in love with you. Do you believe me?”
She swallowed thickly, trapped in his stare.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I think so.”
“Do you need to hear it more, less . . . or not at all?”
Her heart squeezed unpleasantly in her chest at his expression of grim inevitability.
“It’s not that! Of course I want to hear it,” she grimaced. “I’m just so confused right now,” she mumbled miserably, because she’d withheld the truth. Not the part about being confused. That was pretty much becoming the everyday air she breathed. No, it was that he’d told her he loved her twice now, and it was like a concise rapture on both occasions, a joy too acute for her to truly comprehend or absorb, let alone communicate.
“Do you want to be with me at night, Alice?”
“So much.”
“Then stop fighting it,” he bit out, white teeth flashing.
A small spasm of emotion shook her. She nodded. He dropped the reins and took her into his arms. His mouth captured hers. She sunk into his strength. His heat.
God, she was like a moth to a flame. Did the moths consider it worthwhile, even as they were being incinerated?
There, in that moment, under the influence of Dylan’s kiss, Alice thought maybe they did.
TEN
Kuvi asked her that afternoon if she wanted to join her and some of the other counselors at the Lakeside Tavern in Morgantown that Friday night. Alice soberly explained why she couldn’t. She’d agreed to meet Dylan in the woods tonight and to resume their previous routine—if being with Dylan Fall could be even remotely called routine.
She had all day long to anticipate seeing him, to worry about it . . .
Relish it.
Her kids were in a manically enthusiastic mood that evening because they’d come out tops in the wall climb challenge that afternoon. It seemed that Alice’s initial matchup between Noble D and Judith for the zip line had been inspired.
While things might still be prickly between the pair, she noticed that the physics of attraction were definitely coming into play. D and Judith used to invariably end up on opposite sides of the common room at night, Judith regally ignoring D’s curious, longing glances from afar. Now that they’d been thrown together, however, something new was happening. They were both smart, competitive kids. Scheming for success turned out to be a language they could comfortably use to communicate. The pair had masterminded the logistics of the wall climb today, coming up with a creative solution for various team members’ challenges and strengths. Alice had largely remained hands-off. Relinquishing control and giving the two of them the freedom to handle the task had been a personal challenge for her—Alice. Watching them all work together so successfully had been her reward.
Something certainly had changed, Alice observed wryly as she entered the common room that night. D, Judith, Terrance, and Matt sat in a loose circle around a table, reliving a few exciting moments from the wall climb. Judith was silent as she listened to Terrance describe his harrowing moment on the top of the wall when he didn’t know which direction he was going to crash to the earth. But as Alice approached, she noticed the girl was listening closely and enjoying herself. She was definitely allowing herself to be part of the group.
“If you stayed on top of that thing any longer, I was worried the wall would decide which direction you were going by falling over itself,” D said. Terrance and Matt laughed loudly. Judith was unable to repress her amusement any longer.
“You were like a giant balanced on the head of a pin there for a few seconds,” Judith snorted with laughter. They all busted up even louder. Alice slowed her pace, grinning as she observed the type of moment that comes only through achieving a goal through personal challenge and teamwork. Dylan had been right. He’d told her before that an important part of leading was delegating tasks. Alice felt the truth of that firsthand at the moment.
Judith wiped a tear from her eye. “But you pulled through, Terrance. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
Terrance looked pleased by the rare compliment from Judith.