The Society

Chapter 18: Threat

HALE

Ella's hair was made up of a thousand different colors. Each strand was different than the last, yet they all came together to make one beautiful shade of blonde. I'd been running my fingers through her hair all night, and it was well past the break of daylight now. She had dozed off a few times, but I hadn't let my eyes drift once; they stayed fixed on her.

Her breathing was smooth and even again, suggesting she had fallen asleep once more. Her head rested on my bicep, and her hands were curled around my forearms. Her back was pressed up against my stomach, and I could feel her body move with every breath she took. Then, she shifted a little and rolled around to face me.

"Hi," she said sweetly, her big blue eyes peering up at me from underneath her long eyelashes. There were slight dark circles under her eyes, and her hair was tousled crazily, but she still looked adorable. She smiled, pulling her lower lip in between her teeth. It made me want to bite her lip too, but I refrained.

"Hi," I replied with a smile. It was the first time either of us had talked since the night before.

"Did you sleep?" she asked.

"A little," I lied, shrugging.

She saw right through me, but let it go and slid her arm over my back and hugged me tightly, burying her head in my chest. "I love you," she whispered.

My heart skipped a beat. I pressed a kiss into the top of her head. "I love you too." My voice was muffled by her hair. I felt my phone buzzed beside me and I picked it up, unlocked the screen, and read the new message.

Parker: I'm outside.

I sighed, then put my phone back down and acted like I didn't read it.

"You should go," Ella said, obviously having seen the message.

I gave her a wary look.

She rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine! I promise."

I nodded and slowly slid out of bed. When I looked back down at Ella, she looked like a goddess. She was only wearing sweats and a sports bra, but she made it look undoubtedly sexy. I wouldn't touch her for a long time, though. I cringed at the thought of how she must see anything sexual after last night. I would always be there to hold her, but anything else was indefinitely off limits. I knew it would be a long time before either of us could be intimate without thinking about the incident with Jax. If being close in that way wasn't appealing to me, I couldn't imagine how repulsive it seemed for her.

I walked over to the chair in the corner of the room where I had tossed my clothes the night before. I pulled my shirt over my head, and quickly slipped on my shoes.

"I'll be back soon," I said, and went over to kiss Ella's forehead.

I slipped out of the room, carefully closing the door softly so no one heard me. I tiptoed down the hallway, and nearly sprinted down the stairs and out the front door so that I didn't risk running into my mother, or anyone else.

Parker was leaning up against the side of his car, parked on the side of the driveway, and he gave me a small smile when he saw me walking in his direction.

"Hey," he said softly as I approached. I returned his greeting, giving him a quick hug and pat on the back.

"Let's go around to the side yard," I said. Parker nodded and followed me as I started heading around the side of the house. We walked across the lawn to an area heavy with trees, which hid a little english garden and a patio in their shade. I sat down in a hammock stretched beneath two of the trees, and Parker took a seat on one of the lawn chairs.