Page 12 of One Forbidden Moment

He needed to get back and find Finn and talk to him.

The shower shut off.Silence filled the house again, thick and heavy.A moment later, the bathroom door opened, and Jillian stepped out with her hair wet and clinging to her shoulders.She held her pile of dirty clothes in her arms and waited.

He dipped his chin once, giving her permission to wash them.She always waited for permission.Always looked at him like she wasn't sure what she was allowed to do.It had become their ritual every night since he'd bought her sweats from the store so she could change out of the only outfit she had with her.None of the jeans or shirts at the store fit her, and since no women's clothes ever showed up in Everstill, she lived in sweatpants and sweatshirts that hung off her small frame.She cinched the waist tight and rolled the sleeves and legs, but she still looked swallowed by the material.

The washer kicked on, water filling the drum in a steady rush.Moe leaned back on the couch, stretching his legs out.He could hear her moving down the hallway, soft steps, hesitant.She appeared a moment later, hovering in the doorway before crossing the room.

She sat in the cushioned chair across from him, pulling her legs up and hugging her middle.She kept her gaze fixed on the floor, her wet hair dripping onto the oversized sweatshirt.

He watched her.She knew he was watching her, too.He wasn't going to deny him the pleasure of looking at a beautiful woman.

After a long stretch of silence, she asked, "Was this your life when I wasn't here?"

Her small frame curled into the chair.The fear she tried to hide.The exhaustion she couldn't mask.The way she held herself like she was bracing for something.

His life before her was empty.He didn't feel anything then.Didn't want anything.Didn't need anything.

But he needed to know how Finn was able to leave.He wanted to know why the road endlessly looped.More than anything, he wanted to know who had control over his life since ending up in Everstill and how they stole all his emotions and memories.

Since going through the veil, he learned there had to be something more exciting than working at the store every day and living life stuck away from women.

He remembered a time when there were women in his life.He enjoyed touching them.That he knew, but he couldn't remember why.

Now he had ideas that kept his mind constantly busy.Jillian was always at the front of his thoughts, making him think of his life before Everstill and wanting different things now.

He leaned back, eyes never leaving her."Yeah," he said finally, voice low."This was it."

Her arms tightened around her legs.She didn't look up.She didn't ask anything else.

The silence was welcome.It gave him time to study her.She kept her gaze fixed on the floor, but he could practically see the questions bouncing around in her head.

For a long time, he didn't move.Didn't speak.He just watched her and tried to figure out what she meant by that question.Was this your life when I wasn't here?What did she think he was missing?What did she imagine happened in this house after he spent a day working at the store?He didn't understand why she judged him.Or why it mattered.

He leaned back slowly, the couch creaking under his weight."It's time for bed."

Her head snapped up, eyes wide."Already?"

"It's late."

She shifted in the chair, pulling her knees tighter to her chest."Can't we...talk more?"Her voice was thin, strained."You didn't tell me much.About this place.Or...or anything."

Moe narrowed his eyes.She wasn't suddenly interested in Everstill.She was stalling.He could see it in the way her fingers dug into the fabric of her sleeves, in the way her gaze kept darting toward the hallway where the bedroom waited.

She didn't want to go to bed.

More specifically, she didn't want to go to bed with him.

He exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his jaw.She tensed every night when he told her it was time to sleep.She didn't understand why he stayed close, why he kept a hand on her wrist or her sleeve or her fingers while they slept.

He didn't do it to scare her.

He did it because he couldn't risk her running again.Not in the dark.Not in a place she didn't understand.Not when she was the only thing that could get him back through the veil.

But she didn't know that.All she knew was fear.

He stood slowly, the movement making her flinch."There's nothing else to talk about."

Her breath caught."Can't we stay up a little longer?"