evening’s storms, but Jasper had been there once before, not long after he’d moved inland, and was able to find the local inn even in the dark and rain. It didn’t take long to secure a room―the owner did not want to be out in the storm any more than Jasper did, and there was no question of turning someone away once the storms had started―and they were able to slip inside, bags in hand, before the wind picked up and the true lashing rain began.
The room was warm and secure, with thick walls and no windows, and for once, Jasper found the enclosure comforting. He sighed, slipped off his shoes, and collapsed onto one of the twin beds, vaguely noting Tobias doing the same on the other. He could barely keep his eyes open.
A warm hand stretched across the gap, brushing against Jasper’s arm. Good night.
“Night,” he mumbled in return, as he rolled closer to the warmth of Tobias’s hand and let sleep claim him.
Chapter 8
D ESPITE the excitement, Jasper didn’t sleep well, tossing and turning fitfully through the night and waking several times to rumbling thunder and pounding rain and sleet. The last time he woke, the air was quiet, heavy with moisture that stuck in his throat even in the secure walls of the rented room. Sleep was elusive, his muscles itching to move as he rolled and stretched beneath the sheets.
When Jasper gave in to the inevitable and opened his eyes, Tobias was still asleep, sprawled out across the other bed, the covers tangled around his legs and one arm hanging into the gap between the beds. Jasper rolled onto his side to watch the other man sleep; he wondered at the twisting in his stomach as his eyes followed the tanned arm up to the slender figure resting on the bed.
The feeling deep in his gut grew as his eyes slid over the figure to the mess of sheets and blanket. The distance between them stretched, the three foot gap seeming wider than it really was. Somehow, over the past few weeks, without Jasper realizing it, sharing a bed with Tobias had evolved from an act of necessity into a luxury.
Smiling softly, he crossed the distance between them and gently untangled the sheet from around Tobias’s legs, arranging it over his shoulders. There was no reason for them both to be up this early; Jasper planned to grab some fresh food as well as a few additional things he’d thought of in route from Brightam’s Ford. He needed to send a message to Darius and Carla as well, in the hopes that they’d know more about the men now that they had a name to associate with them.
As Jasper picked up Tobias’s hand to tuck it back in the bed, the younger man stirred, rolled slightly, and tugged Jasper toward him. One brown eye opened and peered out from under a mop of tangled curls. Is it time to get up already? The urgency from the previous day was missing from the sleep-muddled words.
“I was going to send a message to Darius, do some shopping. You can sleep if you want.” Jasper sat down on the edge of the bed, smiled down into Tobias’s sleepy eyes. “It will take two days to get to the next town, so we can leave a little later if we want.”
Two days? Tobias’s eyes widened as his hand tightened around Jasper’s.
Jasper could feel the way Tobias’s clenched fingers quivered and didn’t need to be told what was causing his sudden panic. “There’s a spot about halfway that will work for a night, but nothing was ever built there,” he soothed, smiling and squeezing a sheet-covered shoulder. “We’ll be safe from the storms there.”
Are you sure? Tobias clenched his fingers tighter. If it’s safe, why didn’t they build? Why isn’t there a town or something there?
“The area isn’t suitable.” Jasper shifted, turning to look straight into Tobias’s worried eyes. “There’s a large cave, it’s supposed to be fitted with a wall, or something, to keep the weather out.”
It’s just a cave? There’s no way we can make the next town? No other place to
The room was warm and secure, with thick walls and no windows, and for once, Jasper found the enclosure comforting. He sighed, slipped off his shoes, and collapsed onto one of the twin beds, vaguely noting Tobias doing the same on the other. He could barely keep his eyes open.
A warm hand stretched across the gap, brushing against Jasper’s arm. Good night.
“Night,” he mumbled in return, as he rolled closer to the warmth of Tobias’s hand and let sleep claim him.
Chapter 8
D ESPITE the excitement, Jasper didn’t sleep well, tossing and turning fitfully through the night and waking several times to rumbling thunder and pounding rain and sleet. The last time he woke, the air was quiet, heavy with moisture that stuck in his throat even in the secure walls of the rented room. Sleep was elusive, his muscles itching to move as he rolled and stretched beneath the sheets.
When Jasper gave in to the inevitable and opened his eyes, Tobias was still asleep, sprawled out across the other bed, the covers tangled around his legs and one arm hanging into the gap between the beds. Jasper rolled onto his side to watch the other man sleep; he wondered at the twisting in his stomach as his eyes followed the tanned arm up to the slender figure resting on the bed.
The feeling deep in his gut grew as his eyes slid over the figure to the mess of sheets and blanket. The distance between them stretched, the three foot gap seeming wider than it really was. Somehow, over the past few weeks, without Jasper realizing it, sharing a bed with Tobias had evolved from an act of necessity into a luxury.
Smiling softly, he crossed the distance between them and gently untangled the sheet from around Tobias’s legs, arranging it over his shoulders. There was no reason for them both to be up this early; Jasper planned to grab some fresh food as well as a few additional things he’d thought of in route from Brightam’s Ford. He needed to send a message to Darius and Carla as well, in the hopes that they’d know more about the men now that they had a name to associate with them.
As Jasper picked up Tobias’s hand to tuck it back in the bed, the younger man stirred, rolled slightly, and tugged Jasper toward him. One brown eye opened and peered out from under a mop of tangled curls. Is it time to get up already? The urgency from the previous day was missing from the sleep-muddled words.
“I was going to send a message to Darius, do some shopping. You can sleep if you want.” Jasper sat down on the edge of the bed, smiled down into Tobias’s sleepy eyes. “It will take two days to get to the next town, so we can leave a little later if we want.”
Two days? Tobias’s eyes widened as his hand tightened around Jasper’s.
Jasper could feel the way Tobias’s clenched fingers quivered and didn’t need to be told what was causing his sudden panic. “There’s a spot about halfway that will work for a night, but nothing was ever built there,” he soothed, smiling and squeezing a sheet-covered shoulder. “We’ll be safe from the storms there.”
Are you sure? Tobias clenched his fingers tighter. If it’s safe, why didn’t they build? Why isn’t there a town or something there?
“The area isn’t suitable.” Jasper shifted, turning to look straight into Tobias’s worried eyes. “There’s a large cave, it’s supposed to be fitted with a wall, or something, to keep the weather out.”
It’s just a cave? There’s no way we can make the next town? No other place to
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