Read Marked. Part I: The missing Link for Free Online Page B

gruff voice startles me.
    He's standing on the other side of the island, back facing the kitchen, drinking from a mug.
    “Coffee, please.”
    He goes to work filling me a cup.
    “I don't like it when you use that tone with me,” I state, watching him pull out creamer.
    “ What tone?” His face contorts in question.
    “ That mean, low throat one. I like your normal voice, it's warm and comforting.”
    He snorts, “I think you're the first person to use those two words to describe anything about me.”
    I grab the creamer and pour it into my coffee, then take a seat on the bar stool. “It's true, I could listen to you talk all day.”
    “ You're strange.”
    “ So are you.”
    Our eyes stay glued to each other as we drink our morning caffeine fix.
    “How old are you?” I ask, breaking the minutes of silence.
    “ Twenty-five.”
    “ Hmm.”
    “ What does 'Hmm' mean?” Jay refills my cup and pours in more creamer.
    I shrug, “You look older.”
    He leans his back against the refrigerator, “I've lived through more than most do their whole lives. That probably has something to do with it.”
    In that moment he has sucked me in. I want to know who he is, what he's thinking, and everything about him.
    “You’re looking at me weird. It's kinda creeping me out,” he shifts uncomfortably from my stare.
    “ I'm creeping you out,” I laugh at the absurdity of his words.
    A true smile forms on his face. Stevie's right, if you take away the scar and put a little light into his eyes, he's beautiful. We go back to staring at each other, absorbing the other in. Normally this would be unbearably awkward, but with Jay it's not. I'm beginning to like the way he looks at me, analyzing me, studying my face. I feel like he sees me, as cheesy as that sounds.
    “ Did you sleep okay?” He asks, cutting in on the silence.
    “ Yeah, I did,” I realize, surprised. “Maybe last night had no effect on me now and I'm fine.”
    “ Just do me a favor and don't pretend you're okay if you're not.”
    I nod my head in consent.
    “I'm serious.”
    “ I know, I can tell.” The hardness in his features says it all.
    “ Good.”
    We go back to silence, but this time we look anywhere but at each other.
    I finish my coffee and I know I should leave, but I don't want to.
    “ Won't your family be worried where you are?”
    “ No,” I answer him, “My mom is staying over at her boyfriend's, and my brothers could care less. Is that your way of politely asking me to leave?”
    “ No.”
    A delighted smile crosses my face and he rolls his eyes, which I find cute – it makes him appear more his age.
    “Happy New Year by the way.” What a crazy way to bring in the new year. I hope it's not foreshadowing how this year will be, and just more of a shitty farewell to a crappy year, “I think my purse got left at the bar.” Which completely sucks. I'm low on funds, as I have yet to find a new job. I only had a twenty in it, but I need every cent I have. Plus, my cell phone. How am I going to pay for a new one?
    “ Your friends grabbed it for you. It's on my couch.” I twist my head and relief washes over me when I see it laying on the far cushion. I decide to ask him the questions I've been holding back.
    “ So, about last night...how did you know I was in danger?”
    “ You make it sound like I'm your protector or some shit. I heard a faint scream. Decided to check it out. Found a car not too far down behind the bar. Four men. Car rocking. Shouting. I checked it out. Saw some girl struggling inside. Got closer. It was you. I saw red. You know the rest.” He states it all so matter-of-fact, as if he's filing a report.
    “ Why did you break the window instead of opening the door?”
    He rubs his hand on the top of his head. I think it's an old habit from when his hair was more of a buzz cut. “The door was locked.” He lets out a long sigh, “Well, shit, that's a lie. I actually didn't know that until after I broke the window. I