Chapter 15

I: Zack listened, his face set in emotionless curiosity. He let her cry, he let her explain, he let her speak uninterrupted. Then as she openly told him the worst experience, she had with this young boy she dated, it caused Seth to stiffen his jaw. He remained quiet until she was done.

Zack had plenty to say. He thought he did. In his mind he wanted to tell her that he would never hurt her that way, that he wanted to show her that love was beautiful, and it was not something to fear if you were with the right person. What did this mean? Was she untouched? Was she a virgin who had a fear of love? Zack could tell she was. The way she spoke of it, wanting to stop, wanting to do it on her own terms and in her own time. Every woman had that right. To have it taken away, Zack knew why it made Seth act the way he did. Zack had to straighten this out or he would forever have Seth resent him.

But deep inside, Zack suddenly had so much anger. To think a mundane would try to hurt Jess after a year and a half of building trust. Then for him to ruin her experience and take her innocence of experiencing love in its purest form, he made it a million times harder for Zack to gain trust from not just Jess but her family too.

Zack looked at her as she began to move closer to him. She asked him for a kiss, and he really wanted to give her one. He knew that if he did, it would make him want to go further, and now that he had known about her past, he could never try to urge her or lead her into that activity without her fully prepared.

However, the young lady had asked. How could he ignore her request? Zack smiled to her, the slightest bit of intimacy in the smile. He leaned his head and placed a gentle hand to her back to pull her into his chest. The kiss was soft, his lips pressed to hers, lingering for a moment before he deepened it. Zack began to gently taste the softness of her, pressing himself against her to lay her back down on the bed. He covered her, his arms around her, making her arch her body to kiss him deeper. Zack somewhat growled against her lips as he realized that this...this was too far.

He softly kissed her cheek, then her neck, then her shoulder. "Goodnight, Jess." He whispered and stood, and he left her room. The first place he would go? Straight to Seth. Zack had to prove he was not going to be like the mundane, and that he wanted a chance to be trusted. Yes, he wanted Jess, but he would never force her. It would be when she was ready, and only then would he give into his lust.

B: Jess was taken back by his sudden urge to leave. She sighed and rolled over and pulled the covers up around her. I wish he would have stayed longer. She thought as she lay there. She had wanted to continue kissing him, but she did not want to go too far. Was she deeply attracted to Isaac? More than anything. Did she want to go all the way? Yes, but after they dated for a while. Did she want to fall asleep in his arms? Yes. But all this was just a desire to her. She would pursue it one day but not yet.

Seth was just leaving the dining hall. He had a smile on his face. When he saw Isaac, he stopped, the smile dropped a little but there was only a slight bit of anger in his eyes. "Isaac." he said coolly. "May I help you?" He asked without any emotions. He was no longer as pissed off, but he was still angry, but not at Isaac.

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I: Zack came a little closer. "I want to talk to you Seth." He nudged his head behind him to the private hallway. Open enough for Seth not to want to murder him yet private enough for a brief conversation.

Zack leaned against the wall and folded his arms. "Your sister opened up to me, and she told me the reason why it is hard for you to trust me." He said in a low voice and stared at the ground as his face frowned. "It made me very, angry." He said the words slowly trying to hold in his own rage. "I know that you want to protect her Seth. So, by all means, protect her. I just want you to know that I am not like that, and I would never hurt your sister that way. I want her to accept me, and I want her to trust me. I'm asking you to...wipe the slate clean. Consider me as a friend who wants to make your sister happy. We can hunt together, we can travel together, I can even bring you on the missions the Institute has set up for Jess and I to do to get her back in good standing. Basically, I want to open the door for you to see us together. See how I am with Jess and see that you can trust me. I won't hide how I react to her, and I won't try to be someone else behind closed doors. You can always ask me for the truth. I want you to get your sister back. I want her to fight beside me Seth. Eventually, I want to make Jess a happy woman once we begin to date. I am trying to show you this is not for my own personal gain, but it's good for me and for Jess. Give me a chance."

Zack lifted his eyes as hunters walked past them. "That's all I wanted to say. We will be hunting tomorrow. If you want to join us and see how I teach her and instruct her. You will see I'm not the devil." Zack left Seth at that and went back to his room.

He wanted to be with Jess, but now that this new information had arrived, it simply meant he would have to work much harder for her trust and hopefully someday for her love. He closed his eyes to sleep and imagined the kiss he had given her today. It was the best feeling he had ever had.