Page 10 of The Lightkeeper

I rarely slept well—nightmares were my frequent bedfellows. But last night was different. Last night, it was dreams of a different kind that kept me restless.Aching.Dreams of a woman I never should’ve met.

Aurora Cross.The woman invading my lighthouse. My closed-off corner of the earth.

I didn’t want her there—I didn’t want anyone there. It had taken me years to whittle my life down to the bare essentials and the very barest of interactions, and in one fell swoop—or onequick slip—she’d crashed right through those barriers and brought with her a whole host of chaos.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing when I found her on the side of the tower. It was as unbelievable as a damn mermaid washed up on the rocks, too preoccupied with the aquatic equivalent of a dinglehopper to pay attention to her surroundings.And just as damned enticing… even in those ridiculous waders.

Even more so when I saw what was hidden underneath.

Those big, curious eyes and wild black curls were nothing compared to her curves. I hadn’t looked at a woman in so long—not like that. But Christ, the way she crashed into me left me no choice. She was all softness and warmth packed into a lush frame—a shot of temptation straight into my veins. There was no stopping it. No stopping the fantasy of those curves overflowing my big palms, her almond eyes hooded with pleasure, and her full lips leaking unencumbered moans as I fit myself to her hips and buried myself—buried all my broken edges in her softness.

“Fuck,” I muttered and pounded my fist into the mattress, but the second I squeezed my eyes shut to try and wipe her from my thoughts, it was only her face I saw.

“You’re very rude, you know that?”It was the look on her face more than her brash words that struck me. The recollection of her pink cheeks, wide eyes, and full fucking lips… she had no idea what rude was. Rude was what I wanted to do to her mouth. The way I wanted to stuff it full with my?—

“Enough,” I warned and sat myself upright with a harsh exhale.I hadn’t been with a woman in so long—which was no fucking excuse. I had enough demons to deal with—ones far bigger, far more vicious than desire.“Enough.”

It was only ten weeks, I’d reminded myself countless times in the hours since I’d left her standing in my doorway. Ten weeks where she should be working outside and I, inside. Ten weekswhere I’d figure out every possible way of avoiding her just like I avoided everything else that provoked my damned demons.

“Hello?” Jamie’s voice rang through the barn.

Shit.

I should’ve expected this—did expect this, but at the same time, I hoped I’d be able to avoid it.

“Yeah,” I croaked and threw off the thin blanket I’d slept with last night, dragging my hand through my hair and along my beard. I pushed myself off the cot in the loft with a grunt, adjusting myself in my jeans, the stiff fabric no match for the stiffness of my cock.

“Kit?” Jamie’s heavy footsteps clunked closer.

“No, your other brother,” I quipped andexhaled slowly. He appeared at the bottom of the ladder a second later, his gaze meeting mine.

So much of us was similar. Our brown eyes. Our smiles. The way our protectiveness strengthened and sharpened after Dad died. We both looked after Mom, though Jamie thought it was his sole responsibility as the oldest. And then, after Mom got caught up with Frankie and Lou’s father… I shuddered. Thank God that gold-digging piece of shit was out of our lives.Thank God, the only father figure the twins had ever known was Jamie.

“You alright?”

I tensed, his concern like hot water on burned flesh. To be fair, I was sleeping in the loft of the barn on Mom’s property that he’d long ago converted into his woodworking shop. The loft was relegated to unsold or unfinished pieces of furniture, historic furniture that Jamie sometimes put on display, and excess wood.

After my dreams last night, a little more excess wood than usual.

“Fine.” I grabbed my sweater and pulled it over my head, stuffing my dog tags underneath the fabric. “On my way out.”

Dawn was fast approaching, and I had work to do. My list oftasks—my routine—was what kept me sane. Gave me purpose. And I wasn’t going to let anyone interfere with that.

“Surprised you came here in the first place,” Jamie said, holding his place at the bottom of the stairs. “Everything okay at the lighthouse?”

I gritted my teeth. Last night, I almost didn’t bother texting him to let him know I was going to crash in the loft. I knew there was an extra bed up here from the days when Jamie would work into the early morning hours on his custom furniture or when the weather was too bad to risk leaving. That was before Violet—before he had every reason to go home.

Still, I’d given him a heads-up, and now I regretted it.

“Yeah.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Change of scenery?”

His scowl rivaled my own as he folded his arms. “Bullshit.”

“There’s a student doing research at the lighthouse,” I revealed carefully, tugging on my boots. “It’s just better—easier if I’m not one more curiosity for her to study.”

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