Page 40 of Stone Seduction
Iwatched the colors of dawn bleed across the sky from the balcony, wrapped in a long gray dressing gown, snapping at my rose quartz bracelet.
I’d barely slept, spending most of the night staring at the back of Luke’s head. Lost and helpless, with no idea how to move forward, who to be for him other than a deceitful lover.
Man, this limbo shit sucked. Hard.
A knight patrol flew past, the five of them offering me a nod. I’d be joining them this morning. Not those five, but a fresh team. Back to my old job, leaving Luke here at the mercy of Seth.
Our bond told me no, to never be too far from him. It flared in my core, spiked in my heart, demanding I reject this.
Honestly, another part of me wanted to be out there fighting the good fight. Crystals and candles only went so far to pacify my anger. Kicking monster ass also helped, and I was more than ready for a touch of violence.
I cracked my knuckles, pushing Seth from my head. That’s what he wanted, to get to me, to force my hand. Yeah, I’d attacked him again recently—after he’d attacked Luke. Theincident got swept under the carpet, but one more punch would get my ass booted out of here.
The weaver liked Luke, bordering on obsession. I saw the jealousy in his eyes. He’d admitted it, told me how much it hurt to see Luke give me the twinkly eyes. And that made him a risk.
Touch him and lose your teeth.
Yeah, yeah. Right you are, liar…
“Hey, bro.” Dane landed on my balcony, stretching his arms above his head.
“What’s up?” I asked, grateful for his arrival.
“Checking in. Got a message from Carissa about packing your stuff.”
My hands were so tightly balled into fists that my knuckles might pop out of my skin.
Dane retracted his wings, adding, “I’ll meet Tom at the lighthouse in a bit.”
“Cool. Thanks.”
He folded his arms, picking up on my unease. “Talk to me, bro.”
“Nothing.”
He glanced at the closed balcony doors. “Luke sleeping?”
“Yeah.”
He dropped his arm, slipping a hand into the pocket of his black leather trousers. “It’ll be okay. And you know you can talk about anything with me, eh?”
I couldn’t look him in the eye. “I should shut this down.”
“Your attraction to him?” he inquired.
I ran a hand though my hair, giving my knuckles a break. “Yeah. It makes things too complicated.”
“Isn’t that the point of attraction?”
“But I…” Bollocks. I couldn’t get the words out, wouldn’t even let them touch my tongue. They were bullshit, a pathetic denialof my feelings. Blaming the mark, burying my head in the sand. Dead paths. We’d already crossed one line.
There would be no going back from here.
I knew I wanted Luke, felt for him on a deeper level than our current relationship. Wanted more of him, craved his presence, his touch, his smile, his eyes. Everything. But the lie pissed on that big time. How could I take things further with him when it dangled over my head?
“Fuck…” I breathed.
Dane moved closer. “Talk to me.”
