Page 17 of The Witch's Shifter
Aurora
“I’M SO SORRY ABOUT THIS. Maybe I should go with you. It’s my fault. I’m the one who insisted we bring Faolan in...”
“It’s fine,” Alden says, already pulling a tunic over his bare chest. “And you don’t need to go. It’ll be an uncomfortable journey. Stay here and focus on yourself. You’ve looked tired these last couple days.”
It’s still early morning, and the sun hasn’t yet risen, so I can only just make him out as he prepares for his trip to Wysteria, gathering clothes into a canvas bag while I sit on the bed watching him, still wrapped in blankets to ward off the chill in the air.
“Besides, I could use the breathing room,” he continues, tone light and calm. “Been a bit cooped up in here. Too much testosterone for one cottage.” He ruffles his dark curls, then gives me one of those gentle smiles I love so much.
Goddess, I adore this man.
Getting to my knees on the bed, I reach for him, and he steps closer so that I can wrap my arms around his waist and pressmy head to his firm chest. Beneath my ear, his heart beats out a slow, steady rhythm. When we lie in bed at night, I love listening to his heart, imagining that mine is beating in perfect time with his.
Ba-bum. Ba-bum.
“When will you be back?” I whisper into the darkness of the bedroom.
“Shouldn’t take more than a few days. I’ll be there and back before you even realize I’m gone.”
“Impossible.” I pull back and look up into his dark eyes, trying not to cry. “I already miss you, and you’ve not even left yet.”
I don’t know why, but I hate the idea of him being gone for even a few days. I’ve become so spoiled, having him around all the time, being able to reach out and hold him whenever I need the stability and support he offers.
He gets a little spark in his eye, then eases me back onto the bed, pushing my knees apart so he can settle himself atop me, though he’s gentle now with my belly between us, always careful not to put too much weight on me.
“Missing me will be good for you,” he says. His mouth finds my throat, and he places a trail of kisses up my neck and across my jaw, then to the soft spot beneath my ear.
“Will you miss me?” I ask, turning my head just a bit so he can more easily draw his lips across my neck.
His low chuckle rumbles through his chest and into mine. “Always, little witch.”
ALDEN LEAVES AS SOON AS the sun illuminates the autumn sky. I stand on the porch, wearing my nightgown with a quilt wrapped around my body, and watch him go, and only when his dark cloak has vanished into the trees do I finally step back into the cottage and close the door behind me. Saying goodbye to him was only the first challenge of the day. Now I’ve got to deal with the redheaded one.
Rowan slept on the couch last night, and we’ve not spoken since Faolan crashed through the parlor window. I was so cross with him, I knew I’d say something I’d regret, so I chose not to say anything at all. Auntie taught me to always speak from a place of love, and I wasnotin that place last night. But I suppose the time has come.
In the kitchen, I pour two cups of tea. I’m just putting a teaspoon of honey into each when the floorboards creak behind me.
Make tea and they always come. It’s one of those tricks I keep up my sleeve.
In preparation, I take a steadying breath.From a place of love, I remind myself.
Quilt draped in the crooks of my elbows and teacups in hand, I turn and find Rowan leaning in the doorway, hair mussed from sleep. He’s wearing lightweight cotton pants, but his chest is bare, revealing the lean muscles that taper down to his hips and beyond. He looks much too good for someone who’s just woken up—and from a night spent on a couch, no less. Why do all these men look so beautiful the moment they open their eyes?
Without speaking, I set the teacups upon the kitchen table, then take a seat and pull my knees up to my chest. Accepting my offering, Rowan eases into the chair across from mine. We sit in silence while the teacups steam in the soft morning sun.
Finally, he meets my eyes. The green in his irises looks like pale new leaves in this light.
“I’m so sorry, Aurora. I made an utter ass of myself.”
Well, we’re off to a decent start.
I lean my cheek on my knee and regard him coolly. “Why’d you do it?”
“Because...” He averts his gaze and stares into his teacup. “Because I don’t like the guy. I don’t want to share you with him.” Before I can interrupt and tell him how silly that is, he holds up a hand. “And I know how ridiculous that sounds—I’m already sharing you with Alden. It’s no excuse.”
A strange look comes over his face, and as he continues avoiding my eyes, a suspicious tingle goes down my spine. Something about his explanation feels... off. What isn’t he telling me?
“Rowan,” I say softly, “is that really why?”
