Page 54 of Bones

It wasn’t, of course.

A beautiful brunette in a flowing skirt stood next to him, unfazed by the cold and the snow that began to flutter down. She smiled, and my heart surged with fondness like even I was falling in love a little.

The very same heart that cracked as I watched her touch his arm.

Riled up and impulsive, I tossed the binoculars onto the bed and jogged down the stairs. I turned off the stove as I moved to the back door. But when I opened it, the beautiful woman was gone.

And so was Deke.

Did he go somewhere with her?

Is he going to return smelling like her perfume and sex?

The cracks in my heart split into chasms. I rubbed my chest as an emptiness filled me.

I’m not going to wait around to find out.

CHAPTER TEN

TARDY TO THE PARTY

DEKE

Islammed down the axe, using more force than was necessary to split the logs I had no use for. I could go the rest of winter and not put a dent in what I already had stockpiled.

But I had to get out of the house. I had to put my pent-up need toward something.

I had to get away from Aurora before I planted her ass on my counter and took her with the desperation I felt down to my bones.

Because when I’d looked down into her eyes, half a second away from finally kissing her full, fuckable lips, my instincts had flared brighter than before. Screaming that something was wrong.

Off.

The last time I’d ignored them, Marissa happened.

Aurora was different in every damn way. The bond we shared made it even more obvious that the one I’dthoughtI had with Marissa was nothing but fabricated bullshit woven together by a lying bitch. Even during the best moments, it hadn’t felt close to what I already had with Aurora in only a week.

In that week, though, she’d barely mentioned her life. The few times I’d tried to ask about her home or her plans,she’d changed the subject. I’d told myself that she was likely still confused by the bond. Or that it was good she hadn’t mentioned returning home because I knew I wouldn’t let her—even temporarily. I’d been shocked yet fucking thrilled my mate had effortlessly settled into life with me, happily spending time in the cabin or at Black Horse. But as the days passed and her evasiveness grew, I couldn’t keep my head buried in the sand.

Or jammed up my own ass.

Aurora wasn’t simply the world’s most easygoing person.

She was hiding something.

I contemplated what that could be as I took my frustration out on the lumber when I became aware that I was no longer alone. Not that someone had approached while I’d been in my head. I still would’ve heard—like how I knew a family of deer grazed across the yard, gray foxes slept in the bushes right under the bedroom window, or hawks lingered just inside the tree line. It was instantaneous, as in materializing from one second to the next.

Staying alert, I kept hold of my axe as I turned to take in whoever it was behind me.

The woman looked around Aurora’s age, not that appearances meant shit since I looked in my thirties and was… a fuckuva lot older than that. Not to mention, the strongest magicks could easily morph every detail of a person until they were unrecognizable.

Shocked eyes stared back at me before darting around us.

Joy.

Fear.

Confusion.

---