Page 20 of A Trial of the Heart

Daxton grinned softly as he tilted his head to look at me, his hands caressing my back until they rested comfortably on my waist.

“What is it?” he asked as his smile evened out into a thin line of concern.

Curse him. How did he know?

“I don’t want there to be any secrets between us, Daxton,” I confessed. “I want to…”Shit. I didn’t understand exactly what I wanted with him, but I knew I needed honesty to begin figuring it out.

Daxton shifted backward, giving me his undivided attention. “Ask.”

I bravely swallowed the fears that were holding me back. If I could survive my night terrors, torture, and betrayal, then I could do this. Right? It made sense. I just had to take the leap and try.

“What were you talking about today with Adohan and Castor just before I arrived?”

Dax tensed, moving me from his lap and swinging his feet over the side of the bed. He gripped the edge of the mattress, his fingers digging into the sides with ice forming at his fingertips.

“What don’t I know? What would be a burden on me if I knew?” I paused for a moment, allowing my questions to sink in. “Daxton, I need to understand what’s going on.”

“Spitfire.” His voice trembled as he spoke. “I-I can’t tell you. Not right now.”

“Dax!” I sighed with frustration. I couldn’t believe he was admitting to hiding something from me.

“I can’t,” he exclaimed as he turned, his brows pinched, creases forming in his forehead. He was fighting against the urge to tell me, and I knew this was not an easy decision for him to make. “Please… Please, Skylar. I’m asking you to trust me. I know you have every reason and right in the world to demand this answer from me, but I’m begging you to wait.” His breathing quickened. “I promise, when the time is right, I’ll tell you.” He moved to kneel on the floor beside me, looking up at me with a desperate plea in his eyes. “Don’t ask this of me right now. Please,” he said again. “Iwon’t be able to deny you the truth if you ask me again.” He bent his head forward, resting it on my knee.

This is it, I told myself. Would I take the leap of faith and trust him, or would I retreat inside myself and go at this alone?

My heart raced as my animal surged inside my middle, responding to Daxton’s trembling nerves. Then an important lesson I learned long ago from Magnus surged into my mind.

A pack is stronger together. Someday, Sky, you’ll find someone that you can truly rely on. Someone you can trust with your life. My advice to you, my daughter, is to never let them go. They’re a gift from our creators, and regardless of who they are or where they come from, they are family. They’re… pack.

My pack.

Like me, Daxton wasn’t a shifter, but he was someone I trusted.Someone I cared for. Someone I—

Gods, there it was again. That warm, tingling feeling inside my chest, and I knew what my response would be.

“I trust you, Daxton,” I said tenderly, running my fingers through the free-flowing hair at the base of his neck.

He lifted his gaze to find mine and sighed with relief as he kissed my hands. “Promise me that you’ll ask again when the time is right… and I swear I’ll tell you. Trust me. There isn’t anything I wish I could do more.” I could sense he was teetering on the edge of telling me right then and there, but he kept his secret locked away—for now. “Another time, ask me again?”

Me asking a question? Was he seriously nervous about that? I coyly grinned, leaning forward. “That’s practically a guarantee, Princey.”

Daxton smiled as he pulled back, adjusting his weight so he was kneeling upright at my eye level. Itentatively licked my lips, turning the bottom one in and biting it, fighting the longing to taste his again.

Daxton’s eyes became heavy with something stronger—perhaps even deeper than pure lust or carnal need. My breathing quickened as heat surged through my middle.

He planted his strong, muscular arms on either side of me and spoke in a low rough voice. “You seem to have something else on your mind right now, Spitfire.”

“That a guess? Or is it something you know?” I teased, aware that he could detect the scent of my arousal that was steadily rising under the heat of his gaze. “You know it’s not fair, right?”

“What is?” Daxton asked, never taking his eyes off the lip I was biting.

“You have your magical shield, barrier thing, up. I can’t sense anything changing from your scent.”

Daxton playfully raised his brows and grinned. “Do you want to?”

“I—” This was dangerous territory. Did I want to do this? Was it wise to cross this line with him?

“Well?” His voice dropped even lower as he pushed forward onto his hands, towering his muscular frame over the top of mine. A body that was perfectly designed by the Gods themselves, carved to perfection in every way possible.

---