You answered my questions about Jasper.’
Ana swallowed. Her face grew hot. ‘Until I showed up at the Project yesterday, why did she think you two were going to get back together?’
Cole picked up a pocketknife and began opening out the tools. ‘Rachel’s just like that.’
‘She was working the nightshift on the wall with you, wasn’t she?’
‘You think something was going on between us,’ he asked softly, ‘even after I’d met you?’
Ana blushed harder. ‘Maybe, deep down, you thought I wouldn’t come.’
Cole put away the pocketknife. ‘You’re right. It’s my fault.’
She lifted the backs of her hands to her burning cheeks in an attempt to cool them.
‘Before I met you, Rachel and I were off and on all the time. We’d split up for a few months and always end up back together. No doubt she thought it would happen this time too. But that was before I met you. After I left you with your dad, there was no way I could have gone back to Rach. Not even for a night. Even if you’d never come to the Project and I’d never seen you again. It wouldn’t have been fair on her. I’ve never felt about her the way I feel about you. I couldn’t ask her to accept that. And I couldn’t accept that anymore for myself.’
A knot far inside Ana unlooped. Her heart felt soft and transparent and open. She put down her bowl and leaned in, pressing her lips into the curve of his neck.
‘Let’s not talk about Jasper and Rachel, anymore,’ she said, feeling shaky and light-headed. She’d never made a move on a guy before. Obviously. But this was Cole. She’d left everything behind for him; she’d made herself vulnerable the moment she’d climbed the fence into the Project. In an effort to overcome her nervousness, she focused on her senses: the smell of his soap and a faint odour of last night’s sweat; the feel of his stubble against her chin, rough and solid. His lips turned to hers, meeting them softly, kissing her like he was savouring it. His tongue tentatively pushed through her lips, into her mouth. Anxiety mingled with desire, and Ana felt an electric rush, a feeling of being totally alive and in the moment; letting go and holding on for dear life, all at the same time.
His kisses became deeper, harder. His hand raked through her hair. She opened her mouth wider. He groaned and pulled away.
‘I er . . . er . . .’ He stood up abruptly, taking a step back like he’d just realised he was standing too close to a live electric current. ‘We could do with boiling up some water for later,’ he said, picking up the small pan and limping towards the door.
‘What about your soup?’ she asked, confused.
He turned. ‘The soup’s a bit too hot,’ he said. ‘It could do with cooling down.’ The side of his mouth turned up in a small smile. ‘I’ll be back in a minute.’
Ana hugged her legs to her chest and squeezed. The desire, excitement and nerves created a strange storm in her body. She grinned to herself. He probably thought because of her Pure upbringing and the fact that she was married to Jasper, she’d feel torn and guilty about them becoming intimate. He was trying to give her time; not rush things. But she wanted them to wrap themselves together and shut out the rest of the world. She was scared, but she wanted to be as close to Cole as it was possible for two people to be.
Trust
‘It’s on,’ Ana said, shivering with the drop in temperature and nervous anticipation. She and Cole were sitting in low reeds near the water’s edge, the observatory tower behind them. Ahead, the sun was a bright, hazy disc descending towards the horizon.
‘Seton didn’t waste any time.’
They had Cole’s interface propped up on the ground between them. The light from its projector was focused on a small piece of white plastic, dug into the earth to make a miniature screen. Cole had set the sound to speaker mode so they could both hear the news.
‘An alleged twenty year old recording,’
Ana swallowed. Her face grew hot. ‘Until I showed up at the Project yesterday, why did she think you two were going to get back together?’
Cole picked up a pocketknife and began opening out the tools. ‘Rachel’s just like that.’
‘She was working the nightshift on the wall with you, wasn’t she?’
‘You think something was going on between us,’ he asked softly, ‘even after I’d met you?’
Ana blushed harder. ‘Maybe, deep down, you thought I wouldn’t come.’
Cole put away the pocketknife. ‘You’re right. It’s my fault.’
She lifted the backs of her hands to her burning cheeks in an attempt to cool them.
‘Before I met you, Rachel and I were off and on all the time. We’d split up for a few months and always end up back together. No doubt she thought it would happen this time too. But that was before I met you. After I left you with your dad, there was no way I could have gone back to Rach. Not even for a night. Even if you’d never come to the Project and I’d never seen you again. It wouldn’t have been fair on her. I’ve never felt about her the way I feel about you. I couldn’t ask her to accept that. And I couldn’t accept that anymore for myself.’
A knot far inside Ana unlooped. Her heart felt soft and transparent and open. She put down her bowl and leaned in, pressing her lips into the curve of his neck.
‘Let’s not talk about Jasper and Rachel, anymore,’ she said, feeling shaky and light-headed. She’d never made a move on a guy before. Obviously. But this was Cole. She’d left everything behind for him; she’d made herself vulnerable the moment she’d climbed the fence into the Project. In an effort to overcome her nervousness, she focused on her senses: the smell of his soap and a faint odour of last night’s sweat; the feel of his stubble against her chin, rough and solid. His lips turned to hers, meeting them softly, kissing her like he was savouring it. His tongue tentatively pushed through her lips, into her mouth. Anxiety mingled with desire, and Ana felt an electric rush, a feeling of being totally alive and in the moment; letting go and holding on for dear life, all at the same time.
His kisses became deeper, harder. His hand raked through her hair. She opened her mouth wider. He groaned and pulled away.
‘I er . . . er . . .’ He stood up abruptly, taking a step back like he’d just realised he was standing too close to a live electric current. ‘We could do with boiling up some water for later,’ he said, picking up the small pan and limping towards the door.
‘What about your soup?’ she asked, confused.
He turned. ‘The soup’s a bit too hot,’ he said. ‘It could do with cooling down.’ The side of his mouth turned up in a small smile. ‘I’ll be back in a minute.’
Ana hugged her legs to her chest and squeezed. The desire, excitement and nerves created a strange storm in her body. She grinned to herself. He probably thought because of her Pure upbringing and the fact that she was married to Jasper, she’d feel torn and guilty about them becoming intimate. He was trying to give her time; not rush things. But she wanted them to wrap themselves together and shut out the rest of the world. She was scared, but she wanted to be as close to Cole as it was possible for two people to be.
Trust
‘It’s on,’ Ana said, shivering with the drop in temperature and nervous anticipation. She and Cole were sitting in low reeds near the water’s edge, the observatory tower behind them. Ahead, the sun was a bright, hazy disc descending towards the horizon.
‘Seton didn’t waste any time.’
They had Cole’s interface propped up on the ground between them. The light from its projector was focused on a small piece of white plastic, dug into the earth to make a miniature screen. Cole had set the sound to speaker mode so they could both hear the news.
‘An alleged twenty year old recording,’
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