Page 54 of King of Tides

He sighs in my head, cutting me off.“My anger is not with you. It’s with the fact that you could have been hurt. I think we’re moving too fast. I need to do better. This is my fault. Go back with Reilly. I will see you when I return.”

“You’re not coming back?”

“Not tonight. I need to remain here with them. They are frightened and confused.”

“I understand.”

Lost Communication

I’ve been in my feelings all day. I thought Ardan would return before I had to leave for my shift, but he didn’t. I understand I fucked up. When I saw the woman from the warehouse bleeding out on the floor, I snapped into action.

If there was a chance I could save her, I wanted to. I wanted to find out who she was and ask her questions about Candido and that night he tried to kill her.

By the time I realized I had thrown myself in the middle of the problem, it was too late. I don’t regret helping the boys tokeep them from being harmed. Although I’m still not sure how I even managed that.

“What a long day,” I groan as I step into the bedroom at the clubhouse and kick my shoes off.

I don’t know what made me come here. It’s like I’ve been moving on autopilot. My body brought me back here, not my mind.

I stand with my hands on my hips, not knowing what to do with myself. Ardan hasn’t said a word to me all day, which has me pulling further into my shell. I felt the moment he entered the necklace this afternoon as I stepped into my car to head to work.

I wasn’t expecting to feel this hurt from his silence. It’s grating my nerves that I miss talking to him. At this point, I just want to forget about everything and decompress.

“What are you thinking, little mate?” Ardan says, startling me as he wraps his arms around my waist from behind.

“About what I plan to do before I go to bed.”

“I’m going to make you something to eat,” he says.

“You cook?”

“Yes, I can feel you are hungry, and cooking relaxes me. Go relax. We can talk later.”

I turn in his arms and look up at him. “Why won’t you talk to me now?”

He looks at me with his brows furrowed. Then he reaches to brush his thumb across my cheek. I want to know what he’s thinking so I open my thoughts for him to see mine.

After a few beats, he grunts and pulls a frown. “You think I’m upset with you? I’m not.”

“But you haven’t spoken to me all day. You didn’t return until I had to leave for work, and you said nothing as you entered the pendant.”

“I lost track of time while in the oasis realm. I had to hurry back to make sure I left with you. The boys were struggling with what happened.

“They never want to hurt anyone and were very upset they attacked you. When I returned, I could feel you shutting down. I knew we needed to talk, but I didn’t want to distract you from work.

“This isn’t a quick conversation we need to have. When you’re in the human world, you need your focus. I would never place you in danger by rambling in your head.

“You were also surrounded by people and situations today. There was never a free moment for us to talk,” he explains.

“I’m sorry. This is all so new for me. All of it. Not just your world but dating too. I feel like a fish out of water.”

He cups my face and leans in to kiss me. All the sadness and frustration melt away as his soft lips touch mine. I begin to wonder if I can close off compartments of my thoughts to allow him in more.

“Yes, you can. The more you work at it, the more skilled you will become,” he murmurs against my lips in response to my thoughts. “This is on me. I should be helping you to understand more.”

“I could have reached out to you today as well. It’s my fault too. I did shut down.”

“Because you felt like you weren’t needed or wanted. Billy, I want you wherever I am. Last night, I was angry with myself. You could have been hurt and that would have destroyed me.”

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