Page 120 of Firestorm
I warily eyed the darkened corner of my office, where one of my overhead lights had suspiciously burnt out. I’d had the bulbs replaced after Rafe’s last outburst, so seeing one burnt out was not a good sign.
Rafe had still been in bed when I’d left this morning, mumbling Skye’s name in his sleep. But he could very well be up by now…lurking…
And I didn’t know if he had enough restraint not to beat the shit out of Aiden.
We were a mess of a goddamn Chain.
“Have a seat,” I said, holding out my hand to one of the chairs opposite mine.
Aiden, ever the little asshole, flopped down on my couch, then sighed and kicked up his feet on my coffee table.
I clenched my jaw, but quickly soothed my expression, slipping on my counselor mask.
“How have you been?” I asked, even though he was clearly glowing from just having fucked a goddess like Skye.
“Good,” he answered seriously. “Really good. Really, really good. I found my Key. We connected. She’s amazing.”
I exhaled slowly, nodding.
“That’s wonderful news, Aiden. You’ve been spending a lot of time together, I assume?”
“All our time,” he replied. “I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
“This isn’t causing any issues with your schoolwork, right? That’s one of the concerns we’re watching out for.” I was pleased with how even I kept my tone, how pleasant I was able to keep my words.
“Not at all,” Aiden said quickly, shaking his head. “She’s in a lot of my classes actually, so we end up doing a lot of homework and projects together. And she’s way smarter than I am, so it’s definitely helping my grades.”
“You’re plenty smart, Aiden.” I said softly. “You should be on the lookout to make sure she doesn’t become a hinderance to your studies. Are you feeling more settled? How did the whole process go for you?” I cringed inwardly at the question. It was clear Skye hadn’t told Aiden about me and her…or how I’d run from her. How she’d run from me.
Fucking Rafe had been right the other day. This was turning into a conflict of interest on my part.
“Easy,” Aiden replied. “It’s all just…so easy. She makes me want to be better, you know? I don’t want to let her down. I want to be a good man for her.”
My heart thawed slightly.
Skye deserved that. Aiden did, too.
“Have you met any of the other Links?” I asked, my heart pounding slightly.
Aiden shook his head, and an errant red curl fell into his eyes. “She didn’t show me the results. She only cared that I was on there.”
He flashed me a shy grin that had my heart clenching. There was no smugness in his tone, only pride. The endearment I felt toward his grin was gone the next moment, as I considered how easily Aiden trusted Skye. How could he not ask who else was on the list?
“I almost lost her, too.” he murmured wistfully.
That had my attention.
“Really?” I asked lightly. “How so?”
“My mother…the last time we spoke…she really upset me. I got drunk, I took it out on Skye. And she didn’t just forgive me. I had to grovel, but we found what works for us, and now…things are just so good.”He laughed softly. “I’d be grateful for that phone call if it hadn’t been so awful.”
I knew he was referring to the night of the fight between him, Skye, my sister, and the Iykos’, but I was shocked to learn he’d said something awful to Skye. If she was able to forgive a dumbass like Aiden Brandt after he fucked up, could she do the same for me?
Aiden sighed dreamily, his eyes trained forward toward the window opposite where he sat.
“So, you had to grovel, huh?” I asked, trying to sound casual. Maybe I could get some tips from the asshole.
“Yeah,” he replied, laughing softly again. “Literally got on my knees, if you know what I mean.”
