Witch & Wizard: The Kiss by James Patterson

Author:James Patterson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arrow (Young)

Chapter 41

Whit

I CLENCH MY JAW as we set up camp on the rocky platform. Wolves howl in the distance, and the wind whistles against the rock. I’m trying to keep my teeth from chattering with cold, or grinding in anger and frustration.

Tomorrow. I settle back into my crude bed, sighing, and promising once again: If Pearl’s inside that house of horrors, tomorrow we’ll bust her out.

“You’re shivering,” Janine says, putting a hand on my cheek.

I hold her smooth, gentle fingers to my face. “My clothes are still damp from the river,” I answer, not mentioning the thoughts that are really chilling me to the bone. “It’d be kind of unreasonable for me to expect to be warm at this point.”

Janine shakes her head. “Not unreasonable, really.” I notice she’s got her sleeping bag balled up in her arms. “I was thinking Ross and Feffer have the right idea.” She points over at our sleeping friend, his arms wrapped around the dog. “Shared body heat,” Janine explains, and her wry smile is the first thing that has truly made me feel warm since we started up this Mountain.

“That’s better,” I say, once she’s curled up beside me. I breathe her in, a sweet smell of pine and dirt all her own, and the night feels a little less dark. For a long time we lie quietly, listening to the screech of bats and the rustle of leaves.

“It wasn’t just for the warmth,” Janine finally says, her voice muffled by my chest. “I just . . . I didn’t want to be alone tonight, you know? I see his face every time I shut my eyes.”

“I know. Me, too.” All their faces. Their eyes, most of all. I see Sasha’s eyes as the life went out of him, Wisty’s eyes brimming as I turned away from her, and the dead eyes of the girl with the missing hand.

“How do we ever sleep again?” Janine asks hopelessly. “I mean, how do we get past this?”

The moonlight catches in her eyes, making them glisten with life, and suddenly I can’t help it—I’m not thinking about the sadness, or the tragedy, or the cold anymore. I’m thinking about the heat in the spot where our legs press against one another. I’m thinking about the outline of her body under the blanket, about how smooth her skin must feel. . . .

I’m thinking about a night spent under the stars with a girl who drives me crazy. Janine.

“Maybe we remember the people we still have,” I whisper, and hear the desire in my voice. “Maybe we act like each day is all we have left, and go from there.”

Janine tilts her head up to me. “So, what would you do if we just had right now?”

I kiss her fiercely then, and she kisses me back, her hands pulling me closer. Even if the world is crumbling around us, tonight Janine and I will feel as completely alive as we ever have, and hold each other tight until the last star is gone from the sky.

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