Page 27 of Beautiful Exile

And then she was gone.

I stared at the screen for a long time. The background image was the same one the phone had come with. No photos of a wife or kids to personalize the device. Not even a damn dog.

As I stared at the endless array of apps, a sense of loneliness settled over me as if I had some gaping hole in my chest that would always be empty.

But it was more. There was a sense of true fear. Because theperson I loved most was diving deeper into the shark-infested waters. And I worried she’d never get out.

I shoved to my feet, locking my phone and stalking inside. I made my way to the guest room Cope had given me and quickly changed into swim trunks. Grabbing my goggles, I went straight for the pool, diving in with no pretense or easing into it.

The cold water was a shock to the system, but it would be when I hadn’t bothered with the heat. I welcomed the brutality of it and gave as good as I got, attacking the water as I swam. Back and forth, lap after lap. When my muscles burned, I kept right on pushing.

Until I saw a pair of feet dangling beneath the surface at the far end. The toes were decorated with a dark purple polish, and some part of me just knew who they belonged to.

When I reached the end, I popped up and tore off my goggles. Arden stared back at me, not a care in the world. “You done doing battle with the devil?”

9

ARDEN

I’d hoveredon the stone patio around the pool for too long, simply gazing at the man in the water. No, thebeast. He was warring with his demons, and I couldn’t stop watching like some kind of stalker.

When I slipped my feet into the water and felt how cold it was, I knew he had to be truly tortured to put up with those temperatures. But studying him now, his bare chest heaving and muscles and tattoos on display, I knew he didn’t feel it. Not one bit.

Water slid down the planes of his chest, and my fingers itched to trace each droplet. But more than that, his tattoos. The ink was a work of art. Thorny vines, not unlike the ones in my painting, curved over Linc’s sides and up his chest. One pec had the wordtruth. The other,trust. The combination packed a punch. And the fact that it lined defined muscle with a dusting of dark hair only made the effect headier.Dumb, dumb, dumb.I was not going there.

Linc stared up at me, those gold-flecked green eyes still the slightest bit stormy. “What are you doing here?”

Wasn’t that the million-dollar question? I fought the urge tosquirm on the pool’s edge. With my luck, I’d end up tumbling right into the water. Instead, I lifted my chin, defiance sliding through me. “Ilive here. What’s your excuse, Cowboy?”

His lips twitched, the scruff coating his cheeks and jaw moving with the motion. “I live here, too.”

“Temporarily,” I shot back.

Linc chuckled, and the sound was just like the man: surprising. It was all warmth coated in grit. The kind of sound that had all my nerve endings waking up. “Fair enough.” His gaze roamed over me like the featherlight caress of fingertips. “What do you have there?” he asked, inclining his head toward the white bag next to me.

I instantly regretted my decision to search Linc out. To make sure he was okay. But I couldn’t change my tack now. “The best chicken pesto sandwich ever created.”

Linc arched a brow. “That’s a bold claim.”

“I know how to back it up.”

“Seems kind of cruel to brag about the best chicken pesto sandwich ever created when I just swam for a good hour and am starving.”

“I brought you one.”Dumb, dumb, dumb.I should’ve left Linc to his demons. He was obviously doing just fine in the world. But I was a sucker for shadows, and he had them in spades.

A smile spread across Linc’s face—no, a grin, and a cocky one at that. “You brought me dinner?”

I kicked water at him. “Don’t get too excited. It’s an apology. For being a bitch the other day.”

His grin fell. “Arden, the last thing you are is a bitch. I got pushy. It wasn’t cool.”

I shook my head, strands of hair tickling my bare shoulders with the movement. “You weren’t. You asked for what you wanted. I could’ve said no in a nicer way.” I plucked up a loose string from my jean shorts and twisted it around my finger, pulling it as tightly as I could. “I’m not the best with new people. It takes me a little while to get used to them.”

I didn’t hear him move. And I sure as hell wasn’t looking at him. So, I didn’t see Linc until he appeared right in front of me. My kneeswere just a breath from his chest. One slight shift, and I’d know what that skin felt like.

Linc’s hands lifted out of the water. He gently took mine and slowly unwound the thread from my finger. “I think you’re doing just fine, Arden.”

I let out a scoff as my eyes lifted to his. Fine wasn’t how I’d describe my people skills. But what did you expect when you’d been hidden away for most of your life? Nora had homeschooled me through middle school, and I’d tried our public high school for all of two weeks before begging her to let me take online classes.

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