Page 29 of Destined Bear
But Vivienne lingers behind for the first time as everyone else walks out the door.
My senses are immediately on alert. She wouldn’t be hanging around without a good reason. If anything, she goes out of her way to avoid me.
I approach her, and I’m relieved when she doesn’t move away from me. “What’s going on?”
“I can’t sleep,” she confesses. “I’m constantly pacing through the halls at home, waiting for Millie to make her move on my mom.”
I nod, stepping closer. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”
Her luminous eyes bore into mine. “I still don’t know if you should approach her.”
“No, not that.” I hesitate. “I want you to bring Circe here and stay under my roof where I can keep an eye on you both.”
My hand reaches up to place a strand of hair behind her ear gently, and her cheek intuitively dips into my palm. “Wouldn’t you feel safer here?”
She visibly swallows, her lips parting, and my control shatters. Every stolen moment we ever shared comes floodingback—her laugh, her touch, the way she used to look at me like I was her whole world.
Her eyes indicate that she’s remembering, too, feeling the same desperate need that’s been clawing at my chest.
I can’t stop myself.
I lean in, my mouth pressing to hers, and every buried feeling rushes back in waves, rekindling what we’ve fought so hard to deny. Our bodies remember what our hearts never forgot, five years of separation melting away as the connection between us reawakens with breathtaking intensity.
But just as quickly as it started, Vivienne pushes me back. “Stop!” Her eyes widen as if she can’t believe I dared to kiss her.
Ashamed of myself, I step back, but embarrassment quickly turns to frustration. “How long are you going to pretend there’s nothing between us?”
“As long as I have to.” Her voice is carefully controlled, like she’s working hard to keep her real feelings buried.
The silence stretches between us, heavy with unspoken words.
“About your offer,” she says quietly, not meeting my eyes. “For my mother’s safety, we’ll move in.”
I blink. I wasn’t expecting her to agree. “You will?”
She nods slowly. “Just until we know what’s happening. As soon as there’s no longer a threat, or my mom recovers, we’re going back home.”
“I’ll have Heath help you pack.” My heart pounds with fierce satisfaction, but I don’t let her see how much her acceptance pleases me.
“We don’t need help—” Vivienne starts to protest.
I cut her off. “Viv, stop being so stubborn and accept help when it’s offered.”
She scoffs. “Look who’s talking.”
Frustration builds in my chest. And now we’re back to where we started again. Fighting.
She takes a deep breath, and diffuses the heated conversation. “When should we come?”
“Today. Right now. The sooner, the better.” And I mean it. I don’t want to waste any time. “If Alessa and Sabo are already on their way to pick up Seline, we don’t know how her network will react. Once they realize she’s missing, they might target you and your mother. You’re the one who overheard them, so that makes you a threat.”
A fleeting look of panic crosses over her face, like she had not considered that. “Oh no! You’re right! I have to get back to my mom.”
“I’ll come with you.”
To my utter amazement, she doesn’t refuse.
I’ll feel much better as soon as Circe and Vivienne are under my roof. As much as I know it will upset Vivienne, a small part of me hopes Millie will come, too. I want to keep a close eye on that one.
