Page 28 of Seduced
“Yeah, but…” Skye seems lost for words. “I never thought…”
“That the meat you ate came from actual animals?” Jack supplies.
“Yup.”
I can’t see her face, but I can still picture her shocked expression from earlier—her disgust, when her lip curled slightly. It must have been an involuntary response, but this just goes to show that she’s not from here. She might never adapt to living here, and her love for Jack and Ty might not be enough. What are we even doing, trying to keep a woman like that in the North? She’ll be miserable here without all her creature comforts.
“Why would Aiden do that?” she asks more quietly.
There’s a pause from the guys, and I wonder if they know I’m still within earshot. I’m also grateful that they don’t spill my secrets straight away. I’m half tempted to burst out there and tell them to keep their mouths shut. But I don’t. That would mean admitting that I’m hiding in here, eavesdropping.
“I think it was meant to impress you,” Ty offers carefully. “Like a gift.”
I resist the urge to punch a hole through the wall.
“Oh,” Skye says.
There’s a wealth of meaning in that little sound. I want to rush out there and demand to know what she means, what she’s thinking. Instead, I retreat farther into the house, to my bedroom, because it’s the one place I still have for myself, and lock myself in for good measure. But even here, memories of that first spell we all did together—and the hot scene I got to watch afterward—assault me all the time. It seems like Skye’s scent has permeated the floorboards and the walls, because I still smell echoes of it, even though I changed the sheets immediately.
I can’t get her out of my head.
There’s a soft knock on my door. I tense, knowing it’s Skye, and don’t reply. If I remain quiet, she might give up.
But she doesn’t. The doorknob rattles.
“Aiden?” she calls. “Will you let me in?”
I stifle a growl and get up to open the door. “What?”
She steps inside, forcing me to retreat, and closes the door behind her. Then she leans against it, her hands behind her back, and stares up at me with those large brown eyes.
“Did you really bring me a moose as a gift?” she asks quietly.
I can’t stand her serious gaze. It’s like she’s trying to pry open my brain, and I don’t want her in there—she’s already taken over every other part of my life. I turn away from her, but I’m not trying to be rude, so I answer honestly anyway. “Yeah.”
A warm hand touches my arm. “Thank you.” She pauses, then adds, “And I’m sorry for not understanding. I really appreciate the gesture.”
I face her again, and she’s standing so close, my boots bump into hers. “Do you mean that?”
A corner of her lush mouth ticks up, and she gives my arm a light squeeze. “Yep. It’s not what I’m used to, but I know what you meant.”
I can’t resist her. I bring my palm up and touch her chin, then trace her cheek with my thumb. “I’d bring you anything you wanted if—”
My words get lost when she shakes her head vehemently. “Aiden, I don’t need you to bring me things.”
“You don’t?”
Ty’s advice was shit, then. Maybe I should have listened to Jack.
“No,” she says. “I just want you to trust me. You’re like…” She gestures with her hands as though searching for the right expression. “You’re all closed off. You don’t let anyone in. And if we’re going to be together, I need you to let me in.”
I can’t help but grin at that. “Are we going to be together?”
She flushes, her cheeks turning a pretty pink. “No, I mean—if that’s what you want. I get that you mightnot. I’m also with Jack and Ty, so if that bothers you, I get it. But I’d like to try?”
Her voice rises with her last words, making it a question. So she’s not sure that this is what she wants. Neither am I, but why am I suddenly certain that I have to convince her to want to be with me? Isn’t that why I displayed that kill on the porch, to impress her?
Fuck, this is complicated.
