Page 80 of The Towering Sky

She realized that all she wanted was to be alone with Watt,away from everything. Somewhere they could shut away the world, if only for a little while. “Do you want to get out of here?” Leda twisted at a coil of her hair, suddenly nervous. “My parents are away. I mean, if you want to.”

“Yeah. Of course,” Watt stammered, as if half afraid she might change her mind.

“Okay.” Leda reached for his hand again and gave it a squeeze. There was that impish smile she loved, curling up at the corners of his mouth.

When they were back upTower, through the front door of her family’s place and up the stairs to her room, Leda pulled the door shut behind her.

To think that at this time last year, Watt had been nothing to her but the person who filled her hacking requests. Now he was her co-conspirator, her partner in crime, the boy she loved. Watt had slipped into her life and under her skin, and Leda was so very glad of it, even though she knew it was what he’d intended all along.

Well, if she was going to do this, she’d damned well better dive in headfirst.

WATT

WATT HADN’T BEENin Leda’s bedroom for almost a year.

It was different, he thought—hollower, with new blank spaces on the walls and shelves. Leda had meant it when she said she had tried to sweep away all the detritus of her former life.

But she was still Leda, still the girl he loved, standing before him—slight and trembling, yet not fragile at all. Watt knew the implacability of her strength, like a blade that was whip-thin but sharp.

“Leda,” Watt said softly. “We don’t have to, um...”

In answer, Leda grabbed Watt’s shirt to pull him closer, and kissed him.

They fell backward onto her bed in a feverish tangle. Leda fumbled with the hooks and fastenings of Watt’s jacket, tossing it aside. He reached behind her to pull the zipper of her dress. “Here, let me,” Leda said impatiently, tearing herself away fromhim just long enough to shimmy out of it. It fell onto the floor with a hiss.

Then she was facing him in nothing but her wispy bra and underwear. Watt felt his heartbeat echoing in the space between them.

He reached up tentatively to trace her smile. He adored Leda’s mouth, the eager fullness of it. He adored everything about her: the arch of her neck, the softness of her arms, the way she fit so perfectly tucked into his chest. Everywhere they touched seemed to explode in a white-hot friction.

Watt regretted every moment of the last year he hadn’t spent with her. He regretted every kiss that he had ever given to anyone who wasn’t Leda, because he knew now how much a kiss could mean.

He loved Leda—for her wildness and her inner fire and her fierce, stubborn pride. He loved that she was more ruthlessly alive than anyone he had ever met. He wanted so desperately to tell her that he loved her, but he didn’t dare, because he was terrified it might send her running. Instead he kept kissing her, again and again and again, trying to pour his love into the kisses.

He hoped, desperately, that she loved him too.

Early the next morning, Watt leaned on one elbow, glancing down at Leda with unadulterated wonder.

She shifted on the pillow, which was warm and slightly perfumed from where she’d slept. The dim light gleamed on her earrings, which Watt realized were shaped like a pair of tiny crescent moons. He wondered if they had some meaning: if Leda had bought them on a trip, maybe, or if they’d been a gift. He felt hungry for every last detail about anything that mattered to Leda.

He fought back the urge to reach out and touch her, to check that she really was here. That last night wasn’t just a dream.

Watt realized with a start that she was awake, her eyes fluttering open to shine in the darkness like a cat’s.

“Watt,” she breathed, and he leaned in to kiss her.

“I hate to say this, but I should get back.”

“I didn’t think you were the type to run off,” she murmured, teasing.

“Trust me, the last thing I want is to leave. I just don’t want to be the guy who gets you in trouble with your parents.”

“You’re right.” Leda let out a breath and sat up, letting the sheets spill forward off her shoulders. “Watt?”

He paused at the door to look back at her. “Yeah?”

“Will you go to the inauguration ball with me tonight?” She gave a hesitant smile. “I know we’ve had a few ups and downs at formal events, but I thought this time...”

Watt grinned, pretending to deliberate. “I’m not so sure. I mean, last time you only invited me because you wanted access to Nadia.”