Page 42 of Midnight Rain

“Remember when we first met?”

Austin nodded.

“I saw Lila sniffing around the café but didn’t give it much thought, not even when she wandered toward me. I’m a cheetah, so Tiny Terror didn’t even register until she squatted right on my boot and relieved herself. I couldn’t believe she did that.”

Slowly, the room stopped spinning.

“When you turned around, my breath caught. I didn’t feel the pull at the time, because I think I was too busy being angry that I’d been used as a fire hydrant, but I noticed you, Austin. I noticed you in a way I’ve never noticed another guy.”

Austin was finally getting his breathing under control. His chest wasn’t hurting anymore, and his heart rate was slowing down. “I couldn’t tell you were interested.”

With so much on his mind that morning, Austin’s head had been somewhere else.

“I cursed myself the entire ride home for the way I acted. True, I’d been peed on, but I could have handled it better. The entire day, before you showed up in the backyard, I couldn’t stop thinking of you.”

Austin took a few deep breaths and let them slowly out.

“Better?”

“Physically, yes.” He looked down at their clasped hands, knowing that Cormac’s touch helped ground him. He focused on the guy’s fingers, noticing the small dark hairs that dotted his knuckles.

Cormac sat on the couch next to Austin. “Do you want to eat upstairs?”

“I’m not hungry,” Austin said. “I think I just want to go lie back down.” He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to sleep, but Austin didn’t want to return to a room full of people.

“We only had three hours of sleep.” Cormac stood and pulled Austin up from the couch. “Beckett is going to call Sheriff Harper. We’ll get some rest until he arrives.”

He took Austin’s hand as they walked up the steps and went to Cormac’s bedroom. He peeled Austin’s clothes off, leaving on only his underwear, and then did the same.

They crawled into bed, Cormac curling around him. Finally, Austin felt safe again. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the last of his anxiety slip away.

Chapter Twelve

Austin was going stir-crazy. It had been ten days, and there still wasn’t any sign of Jaycee. Not a single sighting. The guy hadn’t texted or called either. It was as if he’d dropped off the face of the planet.

“I wish,” he grumbled to himself as he lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling. He was in the guest room he’d been given when he’d first arrived, lying on his back, eagle spread, bored out of his ever-loving mind.

Cormac wouldn’t even let Austin go outside to the backyard. Everyone took turns taking Lila out to do her business. His own dog had more freedom than him.

He understood why Cormac was taking so many precautions, but after ten days, the guy could at least let Austin get some fresh air. Watching the television or listening to music had lost its appeal. Worse, Austin felt horrible that the other mates were on lockdown, too, even if no one complained about it.

At least, not around him. Bran, Santee, and Orion acted as if nothing was wrong. Like they didn’t mind being stuck in the house. Aside from Bran going to work a handful of times and making his therapy appointments, they all stayed in.

Someone knocked before the door opened, but Austin didn’t bother looking to see who it was.

“What’re you doing down there?” Orion asked as he entered the room.

“Doing laps in a pool. The water feels nice. You should join me.”

Orion got down on the floor and mimicked Austin’s position. “I can’t swim, so you’ll have to save me if I start drowning.”

That made Austin chuckle. “You always were weird.”

“Me?” Orion said. “You’re the quirky one.”

Austin turned his head to look at his cousin. “How so?”

“Please don’t tell me you forgot about the last time I visited you. I slept in a spare room full of mannequin heads that didn’t have any faces, each topped with a different wig. You kept telling me they were your roommates and even had a name for each of them.”

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