Page 22 of Ensnared
“There’s so much to learn,” I whisper.
Jack leans over me and switches off the light. The room is plunged into darkness.
“Don’t worry,” he says on another yawn. “I’ll be right there with you.”
His breathing slows, and he soon falls asleep. I lie in the darkness, safe and cherished, and it’s such a foreign concept to me that sleep eludes me.
Over and over, I think of the confession he made just before he shifted into a sea dragon.
I’m in love with you.
I haven’t said it back, and I suddenly want to. I try to turn in his arms, but he mumbles and tugs me in, as though afraid I’m trying to escape. His poor sleepy brain doesn’t understand I only want to get closer.
“Jack,” I whisper in the dark. “Hey.”
I pinch his hand, but he doesn’t even twitch. He must be exhausted, both from whatever I did to him at the beach and from shifting into a massive mythological creature. I don’t have the heart to wake him up if he’s so deeply asleep.
Instead, I whisper my own confession in the dark. “I love you, too.”
Nine
Ty
The memoryof last night’s argument kept me awake all night. Witnessing Aiden, Jack, and Skye’s confrontation was horrible, not only because of what they said but because I know how much they’re all hurting now. Since sleep completely eluded me, I know Aiden didn’t come home. I don’t doubt he’s alive—sea dragons aren’t easy to injure or kill—but whether he’s well is another question.
I give up on rest at six and shuffle down into the kitchen. I pull out the ingredients for baked French toast and get a batch going, then decide on a quiche for the savory part of the meal. Keeping my hands busy helps me think, and cooking has always been an outlet for me. Now, I chop the leeks with enough vigor that pieces go flying off the cutting board, and I curse then pick them off the floor.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m being a big, lying hypocrite. Skye screamed at Aiden last night, furious that he’d hidden such a secret from her. I understand why he had, but the man hadn’t slept with her. I did. Jack was so eaten away with guilt, he folded and confessed everything. I wonder where that leaves me.
The thought sits heavy in my stomach, souring my usual morning appetite. I carry the baked dishes into the main room and arrange them on the long wooden table. Maya is there with her partners, and Aunt Georgia is sitting opposite them. Aiden stomps in through the front door, his face a thundercloud.
He sits at the head of the table, piles his plate with food, and tucks in without a word. Aunt Georgia looks from him to me and raises her eyebrows. I shake my head and force myself to eat a bite of the quiche. Cora is muttering something to Maya but falls silent when Jack appears at the door.
He doesn’t meet anyone’s gaze but slips into the kitchen for a moment. Then he appears with a glass dish in his hand and loads up enough food for two people.
“Thanks for the breakfast,” he tells me, though he still won’t make eye contact.
Then he’s gone, and my gut clenches painfully. Is this really what it comes down to? A friendship of three decades, over because of…what? A witch? A woman?
A woman who did nothing wrong.
The thought is unpleasant. It’s not my fault Aiden brought Skye here without telling us what she was. But would I have acted any differently had I known from the start?
Aiden abruptly stands and flings down his fork. It clatters on his plate. He turns and marches down the corridor toward his office. The door slams behind him with a loudbang.
The four women flinch at the sound. Then they all turn to me.
“What?”
I stand, ready to clear the table and get on with washing the dishes. It’s another opportunity to be busy without having to go do something else. Like talk to Jack. Or Skye.
Aunt Georgia points at my chair. “Sit.”
I glance from her to Jack’s sister and her partners. Then I calculate the distance to the kitchen door. If I surprise them, I could get there and lock myself in before any of them knew what was going on.
Maya growls, her eyes narrowing. Okay, so my element of surprise is gone. Her glare promises that she’ll hunt me down and pin me to the floor if I try to escape this conversation. It’s no wonder they picked up on the tension between us. Jack and Aiden weren’t being exactly subtle.
I sit with a sigh and fold my arms across my chest.
