Jackson by Ember Casey Page B

hardly looked big enough for one person, and the thought of sharing it with Jackson made her go hot from head to heel.
    “It’s the only option,” he said with a shrug. “Unless you feel like shacking with one of the others.”
    “No, I just…” God, her skin felt too warm.
    “Charlie,” he said, and she suddenly realized how close they were, standing in this narrow doorway. His hand came up, his fingers brushing tentatively against her cheek as his eyes seemed to search hers. She knew she should move away from him, but she was frozen in place.
    “We have some things to talk about,” he told her. But the way he was looking at her, she wasn’t sure he actually wanted to do any talking.
    She wasn’t ready for this conversation—not now, not ever. But before she had the chance to tell him so, one of the other doors slammed open, and Roth stood there. His steely eyes bored right into them, but if he had any thoughts on how close Jackson was standing to her, the man kept them to himself.
    “I need you up on deck,” he said to Jackson, just as Leo stuck his head down below.
    “We’re ready,” Leo said.
    Jackson nodded. “Right away.” He turned to her as Roth climbed the stairs. “You might want to come up. You’ll get sick if you stay down here, at least until you’re used to the movement of the boat. You can sit at the front of the boat while we sail out. But keep your head low if you don’t want to get knocked overboard.”
    She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what he meant by that, but she was relieved when she realized she’d avoided an uncomfortable conversation for the second time in less than an hour. And she was more than happy to go up on deck.
    By the time she and Jackson emerged, the guy Jackson had called Toshi had just pulled up the gangplank. The lithe, blond one—Xavier?—was winding up some rope, while the big Russian—Alexei, if she remembered correctly—stood by Roth at one of the vessel’s two wheels. Roth glanced her way but didn’t say anything.
    A moment later, she found herself sitting at the very front of the craft while the engine pushed them slowly but steadily out to sea. Behind them, the city of Split grew smaller and smaller. From here, she could also see the mountains behind the city—she hadn’t even noticed those when they were in the car. In spite of her uncertainty, her chest swelled with amazement. She hadn’t even been here for half a day, and it felt like every moment she discovered something new.
    In the other direction, the Adriatic Sea opened in front of them, wide and blue and glittering in the morning sun. The wind swept her hair across her face, and she pushed the loose waves behind her ears as she leaned forward. They weren’t even on the open water yet, and she already felt like she was in some strange, wondrous new world. Everything was sun and wind and sparkling water.
    She heard one of the men call out something, but his words were swept away from her. When she glanced back, Jackson was gesturing for her to keep her head down, and she leaned back against the hard, white surface of the boat. Toshi was turning a crank, and before she realized what was happening, their sails were up, one behind the other, and the boat pitched as they caught the wind. She grappled desperately for the rope dangling nearby, terrified for one horrible moment that she was about to pitch headfirst into the sea, but as soon as she steadied herself, she couldn’t do anything but laugh.
    And she suddenly realized why so many adventures started with ships.
    Her last day and a half had been exciting—there was no doubt about that. But this was different. This was… magnificent. She’d never experienced anything like it in her entire life. She felt like she was soaring over the sea, like the whole world was just waiting for her to explore it.
    Her hair was whipping around her more violently now, and she caught it and twisted it into a knot as she threw another glance back at