Page 57 of Spellbound & Speechless
Aspen
I waitup for him all night—not to continue what we started, but… because I’m protective of him, too. I don’t realize until it’s too late. He’s running in fear, and there’s something to protecthimfrom now. Is it me? Did he run away because of me?
That’s easier than the alternative. I can’t exactly fight the moon.
Self-care is the only thing that can calm me down now. It usually is. I lounge on my bed and rub lotion on my legs. It almost feels like any other night.
But it’s not. Midnight has passed, and the round moon is high in the sky.
He’s fine. Mac is tough, and… hehasto be all right. He’s the one who protects us. His wolf is out there, doing wolf things, as wolves should. I’m happy for him. He probably loves having so much space to run around, and?—
Finally, the door swings open.
Goddess. No one should look this good after being out in the woods all evening. His hair is a wild mess, that’s true, but his gazeis intense, and…
Where did his shirt go?
I tilt my head to the side. I have seen him shirtless before, just once, but this is the first time I’ve realized how chiseled he is. His abdomen, his brawny arms… Mac is truly a being of brute force.
The pulse in my core awakens. I ignore it and rub lotion on my thighs. “Nice of you to come home.”
He shuts the door with a click. “I had to get out.”
His breaths are harsh, like he’s been running around. He probably has.
“Why?” I murmur. “Is your wolf giving you a lot of trouble tonight? I can ask Rowan if there’s something wrong with the moon. It may be an eclipse?—”
“No. It’s not the moon. It’syou.” He collapses onto the cot and groans, draping an arm over his face. “You’re driving me insane.”
My lips part. I’m shocked into silence for several moments. “What are you talking about?”
“You know what you’re doing.”
“I don’t! You keep claiming I know things, but you’re just… you’re being daft. I’m not a mind reader, Mac.”
He moves his arm and glares. “You don’t need to be a mind reader to feel what I feel. Stop pretending.”
What is he saying? There’s no way Mac, after weeks of pushing me away, feels anything for me.
I struggle to keep my voice even when I speak. “And what, exactly, do you feel?”
He rubs his eyes, pushing the palms of his hands in. It’s as if he wants me to disappear. Why can he talk about feeling something for me and still behave likethis?
“I know what you’re doing,” he says. “You’re trying to pry it from me, to make me open up, but it won’t work.”
“I’mnot.” I put my lotion aside and stand. “I don’t havesome grand plan. Of course, I want you to open up, but I know I can’t force you to.”
“What about the reading?” He drops his hand from his face. Behind those crystal eyes, he’s fuming.
I falter. “Excuse me?”
“The tarot reading you were getting was about someone else. Is he out of the picture already?”
What tarot reading? Who is the someone else? After a moment of silence, my lips flapping open and closed, I realize what he’s referring to.
Laurel’s reading.
“Mac!” A laugh falls past my lips. “That reading was about you, you—you—fool!”
