Page 23 of Cold Heir

“My guess would be that he answered on the first ring,” he laughed. “If his feelings for you areanywherenear as severe as my own, he’s gone mad with worry.”

My lids drifted closed, and I didn’t reject how his admission made my heart flutter, how it made me embrace the depth of our closeness even more than I already had. And I missed Julian too. With any luck, Levi was right, and Julian’s concern for mehadovershadowed his anger, his hurt. I imagined often what it would feel like to be swept up in his arms.

Since being away, I’d embraced a new truth, one that would likely take him by surprise. My notions about their people as a whole hadn’t changed much, but I now knew there was kindness among them, and I managed to land among three of the kindest—Roman excluded, of course.

“Rest while I go speak with Glenn.”

The feel of Levi pulling away, and then climbing out of bed, made me suppress a whiny protest. Turning, I stared at him unashamedly, in all his naked glory. Catching me, he smiled, confident as usual as he slipped into the pants that had been removed so hastily the night before.

While the workings of the Claiming we engaged in were still somewhat of a mystery to me, there was the unmistakable sense of belonging to him. As in, I knew beyond the shadow of the doubt that I was his, and he was mine—mated for life.

His eyes drifted to my bare chest I hadn’t bothered to hide beneath the blanket. On second thought, I may have done it purposely, a means of ensuring he’d hurry back.

Hunger filled his eyes and the sight of it made me smile.

“You’re killing me,” he groaned, never tearing his eyes away.

A quiet laugh slipped from my lips. “Then do us both a favor and don’t be gone all day.”

The bed shook violently when he hopped back on, raining feverish kisses on every inch of me he could reach, pulling more bubbly laughter from within me.

“Yes, ma’am,” he mumbled against my neck, pressing his lips there right after. He hopped off again, stealing one last glance before he was off to find Glenn.

Despite being in the room alone, the smile still hadn’t faded from my lips, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done so this freely. He just brought something out of me I hadn’t realized was there. Something that felt so normal.

Daydreaming, I wondered if this was what love felt like, before the fall of humanity. It was strange to think there had been a time where survival hadn’t overshadowed everything else. This—the warmth he caused to spread within my chest—had to be close.

A familiar scent was breathed in when I turned onto my side. I recognized it, but just barely. Inhaling it again confirmed that it held significance, and the acknowledgment of it made me uncomfortable, as if the memory attached held darkness, dread. The effervescence Levi brought to my spirit had now begun to dissipate, and I inhaled for a third time.

Leather and mint.

Aaric.

I bolted upright, pulling the comforter up to cover myself. My eyes darted from one side of the room to the next, scanning it as if I expected to see him standing here in the flesh. I saw nothing, but, as crazy as it sounded … Ifelthim.

Reaching beside the bed, I scrambled to find the shirt I carelessly tossed to the floor, pulling it on because I was suddenly no longer in the mood to recreate the scene between Levi and me. More than anything, I wanted to figure out why that smell was so heavy in the room where we slept.

My senses were on overdrive. With each movement, I felt my heart thrumming inside my chest. Slowly, I stepped out of bed, taking small steps toward the few places within this space where someone might be able to hide—inside the closet, behind the large mirror propped in the corner. A quick scan provided me a list of objects that could be used as weapons. The handiest—in terms of weight and its proximity to where I stood—was the large candleholder on the nightstand.

Within a second, it was in my hand, and I gripped it tightly, prepared to wield it if necessary. At the sound of the floor creaking when I took another step, I thought to check beneath the bed first. Quickly, I got to my hands and knees, peering beneath the frame, letting my eyes dart from one post to the next.

Nothing.

My sights immediately shifted to the closet and mirror again. I moved quietly, but with intent, crossing the wood slats until reaching my reflection. Holding my breath, I swung my head left only to find this space empty just like the first time.

This wasn’t my imagination. The aroma I detected, the eerie sense of that bastard having been here. I wasn’t wrong about this.

A quivering breath passed between my lips as I glanced toward the closet again. While I was certain Levi would have been much better equipped to handling a one-on-one brawl with Aaric, it never even crossed my mind to call out for his help. Until now, of course, as my hand grazed the door knob, as I imagined Aaric lurching from the closet the second I opened it.

Deep breath, Cori.

The makeshift weapon felt heavier in my hand now, and I gripped it. If my senses were right, if he was inside, I was about to be in for the fight of my life. Deciding there was no sense in waiting, I turned the cool metal I squeezed, and pulled fast.

Even the haunting squeak of the door nearly made my heart leap from my chest. However, the only thing awaiting me when I opened it was a rack of old clothes, boxes marked as memorabilia, and the smell of about a million mothballs.

You’re losing it.

From what I could tell, there was no other trace of the one I dreamed of, but my mind still hadn’t changed.

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