Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Jackson

Ayen was still as I leaned forward to kiss him, his cheeks pink with a light flush while my impulsive desires took over and drove me into pulling him closer to me.

His lashes fluttered down over those beautiful brown eyes of his, hiding them from me. I longed to stare into them again and watch his pupils dilate like they had right before he'd closed them on me but held off on asking him to open them again.

Instead, I tilted my head and brushed my lips over his.

They were just as soft as I thought they'd be, pursed enough for me to deepen my peck into an actual kiss.

He let out a small, barely audible noise from his throat that had me wanting to back him up into the nearest tree immediately.

Fuck, I wanted him.

I'd never wanted someone this badly in my life. We had a good twenty-five minutes until I needed to check back in with the group. That was plenty of time to get Ayen undressed enough to touch him and to feel the rest of him to see if his body matched these perfect lips of his.

The radio at my hip screeched loudly, jerking us both apart.

" Fuck ." I ripped it off of my belt and flipped to the channel it was signaling me to go to. "What?"

"Mr. Hall," CO Barlow's voice crackled over the frequency. "How's Gonzalez's ankle doing?"

I held back rolling my eyes.

Barlow struck me as an overbearing watchdog that didn't know when to trust the authority of those around him. He was constantly double-checking my and my team's work, even with our track record being as stellar as it was.

It had me wondering what the hell he was like back in the prison and in his element—I'm sure he was known for running a tight ship but translating that into the outside world with a work program was never a good fit.

To do this kind of job, flexibility to the unplannable was your best bet.

"He's doing fine." Ayen quickly averted his eyes while I spoke, clearly flustered with what just happened. But he didn't step away from me or put any distance between us. In fact, he'd practically tucked himself against me. "We'll be meeting up with you all in a bit."

"Make it quick. We're almost at the site."

"Sure. Will do." As I flipped back to the main channel, I sighed.

The atmosphere was awkward now and still filled with that unresolved tension that had been brewing between us since this morning. I'd been trying to convince myself that I was reading into it, seeing signs that weren't really there when it came to Ayen and his sweet attitude.

But he continued to play with me—bantering back and forth—and had not at all leaned away from me as I pressed at those boundaries that separated inmate from volunteer.

He'd whole-heartedly leaned into them with me.

"I, uh..." Ayen cleared his throat. "I guess we should get going then."

I frowned.

Fuck, maybe I really was reading way too much into all of this. He could just be placating me because I was the only familiar face around now that his friend was gone.

Guilt curled in my stomach. "Yeah, of course."

I waved him on and began walking, silence falling over us the entire way there.