Through the Static by Jeanette Grey Read Free Book Online

business, trying to separate a Three. The connections between the members ran so deep, and Jinx’s mind in particular had already suffered so much damage as the link had degraded. He wouldn’t have been able to recover if she’d just set him loose; the second she’d tried, he’d foundered, sinking to the earth with his brain giving off sparks. He’d reached out through the darkness for anything to grab onto. And she’d let him grab onto her. She’d let him inside her, more intimately than if they’d made love.
    Just beyond the tree line, he pulled her off the dirt road and into the brush. An image of a transport materialized in her thoughts, and sure enough, as they pushed through the leaves, she saw the glint of metal, a stray beam of sunlight reflecting off glass. She tensed in anticipation of his letting go of her hand, but if anything he just gripped onto her more tightly. He led her around to the passenger’s side, still holding on to her as he flung the door open.
    For a moment, they stood there in the shadow of the car, as if on a precipice. Shadowy images of his Three flashed through her mind. The Three he would leave behind. His uncertainty was a heavy weight in her mind as he seemed to brace himself to step off and into the unknown.
    She clenched her hand into a fist at the prickly sensation of his anxiety. He wasn’t the only one taking a leap here. She was getting into this car with a stranger—one who should be an enemy. After refusing to trust anyone for so long, it was terrifying.
    Something warm dulled the edges of her fear, and she looked up into his eyes. His concern blanketed her at the same time that his silent questions wrinkled its fabric.
    She tilted her head up and squared her jaw. “It’ll be all right.”
    God, she hoped it would.
    At her assurance, he searched her eyes, then nodded. He placed his hands on her hips and lifted her, set her down inside the seat before turning as if to walk away.
    He didn’t want to, though. She could feel it.
    She reached out and grabbed onto his shirt, a sudden surge of panic flaring inside her at the idea of not touching him. Her mind and skin were still crying out for contact, and as he let himself be yanked back toward her, she surprised herself by clutching him close, throwing her arms around his neck.
    In the next instant, their mouths crashed together, a hot culmination of everything she’d been longing for the night before and everything she needed right now. With the perfect understanding between them, she didn’t fight it. Instead, she drowned, opening to him and sucking at his bottom lip, tasting the inside of his mouth and letting his tongue play against hers.
    She didn’t know if it was the link or if it was just him, but as she pressed herself against his body, her nerves caught fire, her breasts tight and the space between her legs aching. Kissing had never been like this before.
    His fist slammed into the metal frame above her head. A hundred impressions flooded her mind, pleasure and a gasping need he couldn’t contain. Nothing had ever been like this for him before.
    She pulled her head back and put her hands on either side of his face. For a long moment, she searched his eyes, struggling to process the depth of emotion he was pushing across their link.
    â€œI can’t. I don’t know. I want…”
    And then there were images of the broken bodies of his partners. Their names. Curse. Charm.
    They were still inside. Probably regrouping.
    God, how had she let herself get so distracted?
    â€œYou’re right,” she said, gasping. “I know. I know. Go.”
    He didn’t, though. He leaned in and pressed his lips once more to hers, showing her a wave of gratitude too deep for her to understand. Of trust. When he pulled away, it was abrupt and left her reeling. The door slammed shut, and seconds later, the one on the other side of the transport opened.