Page 35

“Ren, seriously, it’s okay,” she said softly. “Please, don’t even worry about it.”

I grit my teeth, because her sweet fucking voice only made it worse. “I just don’t want you thinking I’m doing this on purpose or whatever…”

Her hand went to my thigh, and then I felt the cool ink of the marker on the base of my hot-as-fuck shaft—then her hand was gone, and with it her warmth, her presence.

“All done,” she said.

I opened my eyes, and she was back outside the barrier, already putting everything away in her bag.

“Let me just place these crystals around your house, and say a quick spell. It’ll help to keep the souls calm while we figure things out and make those sigils permanent.”

She didn’t look at me, and her face was bright red. I stayed where I was while she quickly finished up, then headed back to my room. When she walked back out a short time later, she was dressed.

“It’s safe for you to move around the house again,” she said and hustled over to blow out the candles and gather up her string and rosemary.

“Thanks.” I felt like a fucking asshole.

“No problem.” She did up her bag and turned to me. “So, just one more thing before I go. If you’re still game?”

I lifted a brow. “What’s that?”

“Your emotional healing. We can start that now as well. You said touch is hard for you, and I’m sorry to do this now, while you’re feeling so overwhelmed, but it’ll only take a couple minutes, and I really think we should make a start.”

I’d never wanted to do anything less, but if I was going to free the souls around me, then I had to try. “What do I have to do?”

A soft smile curled her pretty lips. “Nothing, just stand there.” She walked over, and her still pink cheeks deepened in color. She tilted her head back and looked up at me. “I’m going to wrap my arms around you. You’ll feel a warmth move through your body when I use my power. Like when I touched your face earlier, but more intense.” She looked awkward and sweet. “Hugging me back is not mandatory. I know that’s not your thing, but everyone else I’ve worked with says it helps.”

Jesus. I hadn’t had so much contact in a fucking long time. I felt twitchy and restless, and I wanted to retreat. But I also wanted to feel Jasmine’s arms around me really fucking badly. I nodded.

Her skin’s going to crawl. She doesn’t want to touch you. She knows what a monster you really are. They showed her what you did to them. Bet she’ll scrub your scent off as soon as she gets home. She thinks you’re a slimy fucking creep, remember? Edward’s voice filled my head, and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to force him out.

Jasmine closed the space between us, sliding her arms around me, and pressed the side of her face to my chest. I jerked in her arms, my heart smashing against my ribs.

“It’s okay,” she whispered.

Warmth washed through me almost immediately, and I curled my fingers into fists at my sides. I didn’t hug her back, that would be…too much. Way too much.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” she said in that soft, soothing voice.

My heart hammered faster and sweat coated my skin.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” she whispered next.

Why was she saying that? I jerked again. It was involuntary, but the urge to pull away, to escape this, whatever this was, filled me hard and fast. “Jasmine?” My fucking eyes stung, my emotions going haywire. What the fuck was she doing to me?

“Just a little longer, Ren. I’ve got you.”

I was breathing harder, close to hyperventilating. “Fuck,” I choked out.

“Thirty more seconds.”

It was too much. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t do it.

She started counting down from fifteen.

My muscles spasmed. “Jasmine.” It was a plea. There was no missing it in my voice. “I couldn’t stop him,” I gasped, the words torn from me. “I fought, but I…I couldn’t…”

“It’s okay,” she murmured softly.