Page 16 of Bond Strength

“I can tell by your alligator-green kitchen,” I teased.

Declan leveled me with a flat look. “Did you come to fix my masonry or critique the decor of my house?”

I snorted. “I did, but I’m going to be limited with what I can achieve today. I planned on getting the area prepped, since there’s a storm coming. Once the rain hits, I won’t be able to do much.”

Declan wrinkled his nose as he glanced up to the sky. “How much time do you need on that?”

In the short time from driving here to getting out, the clouds now looked like charred marshmallows. The air all but vibrated with the tension of the oncoming storm, and disappointment flooded me. This was the job I’d been looking forward to all day, but I hadn’t managed to beat the storm.

“I could try—” I said, but then the winds swept in.

With each passing second, the world grew darker, and an intense breeze whipped around, scattering stray leaves and sticks. Well, apparently, it would be a pretty hefty storm coming our way.

A few droplets of rain smacked me in the cheek, right as the wind increased.

“The rain’s arrived.” Declan put his hand out as if to collect the water.

“Mm, I’m pretty aware of that,” I returned in a deadpan voice.

“So, work today…” Declan hedged. “Delayed, I presume?”

“I’m sorry,” I said, my shoulders dipping inward with my hunch. Disappointment thumped in my chest a bit harder.

“Why? You can’t control the weather.” Declan’s matter-of-fact tone and the complete lack of judgment were a relief, which was one of the reasons being around him soothed my soul. I was a perpetual worshipper at the Anxiety Temple, and being around someone who viewed the world in such a clear, logical way offered a balm I didn’t realize how badly I needed.

“So you think,” I said. “Except that’s my mutant power.”

“Out of all the choices, you’d pick Storm’s?” Declan asked, even as the rain started to leave drops on his glasses.

“We all know you like Gambit best,” I teased. “Unless that’s changed?”

“His molecular acceleration abilities are some of the most unique.” Declan’s smile crept out, and I wanted to keep that in my pocket. “Plus, he had a fun attitude.”

The winds whined around us. I stood straighter and looked around. The tension in the air increased a thousandfold, and the droplets of rain not only increased but smacked with a stinging intensity. A swooping feeling rushed through me, a prickling sensation caused by nature’s raw malevolence. Of power and force with a level of chaos found in the wild.

“I should get out of here.” I took a step toward my car.

The whine increased.

A crack of lightning burst through the air, blinding and tumultuous.

As if in slow motion, a tree in Declan’s front yard teetered forward and crashed to the ground with a loud creak and splintering boom.

Right in front of his driveway.

The lights in his house and the ones along the road flickered and then snapped out.

The rain, which had been lighter despite the intense shearing winds, morphed into a torrential downpour.

Declan’s gaze locked on mine. “Come on in.”

I swallowed hard and walked in behind him.

So much for “just a storm.”

Chapter seven

Declan

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