YOU HAVE ME ~ JAKE SULLY

12

Before diving in: I hope yall are enjoying the book so far. There aren't many consistent readers yet but I'm really hoping as it continues that the number of readers will build! If you guys could interact more with the book, liking it, commenting, sharing, and recommending it, I would really really appreciate it. 

___

Two Weeks Later: Two and a Half Months Since the Incident

Jake and Nessa had fought more than ever in the past two months. Li'Nessa was always on the brink of blowing up and Jake always seemed to be the one taking the hits. Mostly because Jake was the only one who continued to treat her like a normal human being after the incident, and no matter how many horrible things Nessa said to Jake, he would always treat her as if nothing happened the next day.

Li'Nessa only had three modes over the past two months: emotionless, angry, or seemingly happy. Even with two of those modes being 'emotions,' Ness would still say, even in the midst of being angry, that she felt nothing. She felt totally empty. Maybe that's what was making her so angry... she didn't really know.

By this point, Nessa had started to feel some emotions creeping back in. Starting with the only one she was desperately trying to avoid... whatever feelings she had toward Jake.

She knew there was something sparking between them within the first week after her arrival. She felt the tingling sensation that ran through her stomach and up her chest when she felt his eyes on her, and the burning feeling left behind where his hand had touched parts of her skin.

Even that night, as Jake gently coaxed her down from her panic attack, before everything went numb, Nessa felt this overwhelm of emotions wash over her as she looked at Jake. She didn't know what to call it, she wasn't even sure she recognized the feeling.

It felt like falling, into a deep pit, and she had no idea what was down there. And at some points, she wanted to reach out and grab at anything to stop herself and free herself from the feeling that it left in her chest.

But... at other points, she never wanted it to end. Like if it ended, she'd be done for because instead of being caught by someone when she reached the bottom, her back would hit the cold hard floor and knock the breath out of her. Leaving her to deal with the injuries and the consequences of looking into the pit in the first place.

But now, two months later, Li'Nessa can only faintly remember that feeling. She got glimpses of it, for the past two weeks after her argument with Jake in the main bunker, when he looked at her a certain way or his hand grazed past her skin. She felt it... even if only a small portion.

"You know, staring isn't very polite," Jake joked, a small smile playing on his lips and that small tilt of his head that made normal Nessa go crazy.

Nessa snapped out of whatever daze she was in, blinking her eyes to focus on the man in front of her, sending daggers his way when she finally registered who it was, "You wish I was staring at you," she shot back, playfully.

Jake's eyes scanned her up and down from her position on the couch in the main bunker, both legs tucked up towards her chest as she leaned against the armrest.

His eyes squinted when they finally landed back on her face, that same smile growing a little flirtatious, "Always, princess," a name that stuck after he made fun of her for being such a picky eater a few days ago.

Li'Nessa rolled her eyes, ignoring the slight burning sensation in her cheeks. If she even felt it anyway, "Hard to say I'm the princess when you have men waiting on you hand and foot."