Free Borrowed Ember by Samantha Young

straightened, his arms stil barricading her against the door. His eyes had darkened to a smoldering emerald and his breathing was a little uneven. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. You should go back to your room.
    No. She protested, wishing his hair was longer so she could tug a hold of it and keep him there. I want to talk to you about something.
    Jai puled back, frowning. What?
    Ari was going to broach the subject of returning to work for The Guild but her eyes lowered to his mouth and those words just… dribbled out of her head. Wanting a real kiss, Ari jerked him down to her mouth, kissing him hard and demanding he kiss her back. His tense surprise melted into a shudder as Ari’s tongue touched his and suddenly he was meeting her demand, his kiss lush and desperate as his arms wrapped around her so every inch of her was pressed against him.
    And stil Ari wanted to be closer.
    She didn’t know which one of them moved but suddenly she had a mattress beneath her back and Jai’s strong body braced above hers. Jai broke their frantic kiss and a flushed Ari drew breath before urging him back to her for more. The frenzy of their make-out finaly eased into long, languid and passionate kisses. They learned the taste of one another, the smel, the feel. When Jai brushed a hand down her side, his thumb tickling the side of her breast, Ari gasped into his mouth in excitement.
    The noise and his reaction to it seemed to wake Jai up and he wrenched himself from her, colapsing beside her on the bed.
    “Okay, time out,” he whispered hoarsely.
    Ari groaned. Spoil sport.
    Chuckling Jai shook his head. You said you wanted to talk about something.
    Flipping over onto her side so she could look at him, Ari rested her head in her hand and nodded reluctantly, her body stil strung taut with the tension he’d created inside of her. I wanted to talk about a couple of things.
    Such as?
    Whether you’re really okay about keeping our relationship quiet until…
    Jai snorted. Until when? We don’t know how long your situation will last. Indefinitely, possibly.
    Okay, well let’s just keep it quiet until my father makes his next move. And until you and I have spent more time together.
    In private.
    In private. I’m trying to protect you. It’s not that I don’t want to be with you openly, because there’s nothing more I’d like in the world than for
    everyone to know that I love you. But you’ve also got your family to think about and I… just think it would be better if we waited to tell people.
    Jai was silent a moment as he stared up at the ceiling. Ari waited, tense, butterflies rioting with the gremlins in her stomach. She wanted to see if he’d acknowledge her second ‘I love you’.
    I understand, he replied slowly as he turned to meet her gaze, and you’re probably right. We’ll keep it quiet.
    And..? She couldn’t help ask, annoyed that he was ignoring those three little words.
    Jai frowned. And…? But she saw a flash of something in his eyes. Something desperate and uneasy… and almost pleading.
    After a moment, Ari began to understand what his look meant… or what it might mean. An ache in her chest grew for him and al the hurt his family had put him through. They’d messed Jai up emotionaly, but Ari was determined she would be the one to put him back together. Relaxing so he would relax, Ari reached out to stroke his cheek. He wasn’t like her. Jai was not an open book and this was new to him. Trusting her. Caring about her.
    He wasn’t ready.
    And she would be understanding for now…
    And, she replied instead, about our next move? Like you said, we don’t know how long my situation is going to play out for, but I’d really like to
    return to The Guild. As a hunter.
    Her guardian seemed to let this sink in and then he sat up, his arms braced over his bent knees as he turned to look back at her. If that’s what you need, we’ll
    talk to Red. I’m sure The Guild will offer us sanctuary for a while.
    Us?
    He