Page 2 of Muse (Fighting Fate)

I watched his brow flick up sardonically as he gazed at the fire. “You’re missing me?”

I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say reality can really be a bitch sometimes, and this time she really slapped me in the face.

I didn’t have to hear the high sing-song voice through his phone’s speaker to know who it was. Kacey. She wasn’t his girlfriend. Jace didn’t do girlfriends, but it was obvious from the way they’d been flirting with each other since they’d arrived in Aspen that Kacey was in line to be his next whatever.

I took a step back without another thought, then my own phone started to ring. Scooping it up off the coffee table, I noted my brother’s name on the screen before answering it and stepping closer to the fire. “Aiden, are you alright?”

Aiden laughed in my ear. “Yeah, I’m fine, baby girl. I was worried about you. Is everything okay there? Is Jace with you?”

I looked up at the dark figure by the couch. He was looking right back at me as he listened on his own phone. “Yeah, he’s here. Do you know what happened?”

“Apparently there was a small avalanche on one of the runs. I’m trying to find out some more, but there’s talk that the road back to the cabin might be cut.”

“Oh…okay. I’ll-” I broke off as the lights began flicker, then suddenly went out. “Oh, crap!”

Aiden went on sudden alert. “What?!”

“The lights just went out.” I looked back at Jace who was now off the phone. I was glad the fire was burning brightly.

“What’s Jace doing?” he demanded.

“I don’t know.” Tucking the phone under my chin, I said to Jace, “Aiden wants to know what you’re doing.”

“Tell him I’ll stay here until we know what’s going on.”

Lifting the phone back, I went to relay the message, but Aiden was already way ahead of me. “Yeah, I heard. I’ll go try find out what’s happening and I’ll call you back, okay?”

“Call Jace. I’m going to turn my phone off to conserve power, just in case.”

“Good idea. I’ll talk to you soon then. See ya, baby girl.”

I ended the call and switched off my phone before placing it back on the coffee table and heading straight for the back door. I wanted to bring in as much fire wood as I could. Just in case.

With a torch tucked awkwardly under my chin, I’d just bent down to pick up the first log when Jace appeared beside me. “Here, load me up.”

I gazed at his outstretched arms for a split second before beginning to pile as many logs as I could on them. We worked quickly, getting all the logs inside and stacked by the back door in hardly no time at all.

With the door firmly closed from the wind, I looked down at my dirty shirt and arms. “I might go have a shower,” I mumbled.

“Yeah, good idea. Who knows if there’ll be any hot water tomorrow.”

I gave him a horrified look and shuddered. Was he trying to scare me?

Chapter 2

Jace

Not good.

Soooo not good…

My body was frozen, and unfortunately it wasn’t from the fucking cold. I would’ve happily taken the biting chill of the blizzard outside than this.

The curse that slipped out told me how much trouble I was in as I watched the soft, round curves of Mia’s ass disappearing down the hall to the bathroom.

The sound of the door clicking shut was the only thing that seemed to release me from the hell I’d suddenly found myself in, and with a slight discomfort in my jeans, I forced myself to walk in the opposite direction. Down boy.

After lighting some lanterns I’d found in a cupboard, I stood in the middle of the kitchen, leaning my hands on the bench and tried to work out what the fuck just happened. I’d known Aiden for three and a half years – been at his house practically every fucking weekend - known he had a fucking twin sister – seen her in passing every now and again. But I’d never actually seen her, if you know what I mean.

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