Unwilling (Book One of the Compelled Trilogy 1) by Kristen Pike

turned slowly, thoughtfully, a sad look crossing her face that she quickly wiped away. She eyed him a moment before gathering herself and moving to sit by him, making his heart stammer and he hoped she couldn’t hear it. “If you could make any one do anything you ever wanted, would you?” She asked him gently, her voice like the summer breeze as it skimmed across a shimmering blue pond.
    Jace thought a moment . If I could make you love me, too, I would do it in a heartbeat . But then, he thought, she would not really love me, and would probably hate me for making herself think she did. “No, because whatever you wanted them to do wouldn’t be real. It would all be a lie, and I wouldn’t want that kind of control over anyone.” Jace paused. She was looking at him intently, and it was hard to focus on breathing when those blue eyes stared at him like that. “I think it would be a terrible thing to have.” He added, thinking of her brother and if she thought the same.
    A fraction of a minute later she nodded almost imperceptibly. For a while, he thought she would not say anything else, and he was content just to sit by her, their arms almost touching. If he just moved his so slightly-
    “I think about the past. About my life, what could have been different.” She said lightly, he thought more to herself then to him. She sounded immeasurably sad, and he wanted to do anything, and everything, to make her sound happy.
    Jace hesitated a second, before allowing his arm to move that fragment of an inch to touch hers. She jerked away immediately, her head whipping to stare at him in confusion. He started to say he was sorry, but as he opened his mouth to do so, he saw a look flicker across her face. Resolution maybe, before she settled down, placing her arm gently against his with a deep exhale of breath.
    “Is this ok?” Rowan asked delicately as if her touch would hurt him, indecisiveness creeping into her voice. Jace could only nod as he looked into her eyes, his skin sizzling where her arm touched his, falling perhaps more in love with her than humanly possible.
    They sat there a while, breathing in the cold, Jace’s chest rising and falling, his senses hyper aware with Rowan so close.
         “It’s Elias’s birthday today, you know.” Rowan spoke softly, staring at the ground in front of her.
    “I didn’t.” Jace replied softly, unsure of how to respond.
    “He’s 20 now.” Rowan told him, her voice soft and slow. “What do you think he’s doing?” Rowan asked suddenly, swiveling her head to look at him. She looked vulnerable, and broken, Jace blinked slowly, trying to clear the guilty feelings that had crept upon him though he wasn’t the cause of her distress.
    “I think he’s thinking about you. Wondering what you’re doing.” Jace answered, hoping he was saying the right thing.
    Rowan turned her eyes from him, but not before he saw the shimmer of a tear slip from her eye. “Rowan.” Jace sighed, concerned.
    Rowan stood, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“ 
    Jace stood behind her as she began to walk off, reaching out and grabbing her wrist. He pulled her to him, her small body feeling fragile and slim pressed against his, the top of her head resting just under his nose. Rowan was rigid, her body tense and stiff.
    “You don’t ever have to be sorry. Not to me.” Jace told her, wrapping his arms around her and holding on as if his life depended on it. I might die if I have to let her go, Jace thought, closing his eyes as Rowan relaxed against him, letting herself be held.
    A cricket sounded near them, a break in the silence that had overtaken the world, reminding him that they weren’t the only beings in existence. Rowan pulled away from him, as if startled.
    “Thank you.” She said hastily, her eyes downcast as if in shame. She hurried off, fleeing back into the cabin the group and them had been staying in the past couple days. Jace felt cold in her absence, staring