Page 18 of Ghosted AF
“What if who I am isn’t good enough?”
I didn’t know who had told him that, but no one came to that conclusion on their own. For their sake, I hoped I never met them.
“You are enough, Rylee.”
“But—”
“You. Are. Enough.”
Then I gripped his chin, drawing him closer and covering his mouth with mine to cut off any remaining protests.
His lips yielded, trembling with a mix of surrender and uncertainty. I skimmed my thumb along the ridge of his jaw, grounding him in the moment, and he responded with a breathy sigh as he arched into me.
I kept the kiss gentle, not wanting to overwhelm him, but when his lips parted in silent invitation, I couldn’t resist delving inside for another taste.
Though I could continue to reassure him, I knew he wouldn’t believe me, not yet, but he would. Eventually, he would come to realize what I had known all along.
He might not be perfect, but he was perfect for me, and I wouldn’t change a damn thing about him.
seven
~ Rylee ~
Iawokethenextmorningto the sound of muffled conversation. I easily recognized my mate’s voice, which meant the other one probably belonged to Lucius.
Rolling onto my side, I slapped blindly at the nightstand until I found my phone, cracking an eye open to check the time. Eight o’clock. Technically, I could still sleep for another hour, but I forced myself out of bed anyway.
After using the bathroom and splashing cold water on my face, I padded down the hall to the living room where I found the brothers standing around the coffee pot in the kitchen.
“Good morning.” Caius greeted me with a chaste kiss to the temple. “Did we wake you?”
“It’s fine. I wanted to get an early start today anyway.” I accepted the coffee mug he pushed into my hands with a grateful smile. “Thanks.” Once I had my first sip, I finally turned to my guest. “Good morning, Lucius.”
He dipped his head. “Sorry for coming over so early, but I’ve got another job out of town.”
I waved my hand. “Really, it’s not a problem. I appreciate you taking care of this.” My front door looked amazing, and even better, I no longer had to wrestle the deadbolt when the humidity spiked. “So, what’s the damage?”
“Just the frame this time. I can’t get to it until the weekend, but it should only take me about an hour.”
“That’s fine. There’s no rush.” I lifted my mug to my lips again but froze when I spotted the giant ass bird in my living room. “Okay, I was not expecting that.”
“Told you,” Caius said with a chuckle. “I’m guessing you’ll have your maintenance guy back by tomorrow morning. Maybe tonight.”
While I had slept, Mykal had been busy growing a whole new set of feathers and nearly doubling in size. Plumage of bright oranges, crisp reds, and metallic golds gleamed in the morning sunlight, and long tail feathers of deep blue swept against the carpet.
Copper eyes shined back at me with an intelligence that hadn’t been there before, and he opened his mouth in what I took to be a greeting. Rather than a caw or chirp, however, the sound that filled the room brought to mind the musical twinkling of wind chimes.
He looked magnificent, like something right out of a fairy tale, and I felt honored to have witnessed something so magical.
At the same time, I found myself wondering what Caius would look like when he shifted, and if I might have the opportunity to see it one day.
“Are you okay?” my mate asked. “You look a little flushed.”
“Mm hmm,” I hummed as I took another deep pull from my cup. “I, um, I’m going to go get ready.”
Then I hurried out of the kitchen before the deepening color in my cheeks could invite any more questions. I didn’t hear what had been said between the brothers, but as I entered my bedroom, Lucius’ laughter rang behind me, followed by Caius’ more exasperated grumble.
Choosing to believe it had nothing to do with me, I quickened my pace, not stopping until I reached the privacy of the en suite and closed the door behind me.
