Page 60 of Spies without a Face
No, he wasn’t like that. He didn’t play games. And that was one of the things I liked about him.
“I know it’s a lot to take in.” He adjusted his weight from one foot to the other. “I didn’t know what to make of it myself. But I don’t want to deceive you in any way, Pandora. Keeping it from you didn’t seem right.”
My hand fluttered to my heart. I stepped away from the sink and the ruckus of the cat food cans that I’d dropped in my shock. That was another thing I liked about Austin, he was earnest and decent and—and everything that Marius wasn’t. Marius who deceived for his benefit and pursued his own best interest over others. Austin was good and… he thought I was hismate?
That was too much. Too much too soon.
I was getting used to the idea of being in a relationship with him, moving beyond the idea of having a fling with the guy next door, but I’d known enough shifters to know how serious Austin’s declaration was. After all, I worked with one daily—Lucas, the former playboy. An exotic dancer who’d craved female attention. Lucas was now firmly committed to his mate, Zoe, and they were now married. When a shifter found a mate, it washuuuge.
“I can’t be your mate, Austin.” Shaking my head. “You must be mistaken. Besides, I’m a witch, not a shifter.” Not that it mattered. Zoe was an elf, Gianna was half-siren, and the many shifters I’d met throughout the years had also found mates outside of their species.
“I don’t want to scare you off,” he said. “I’m guessing you need some time to process it. Maybe we can talk about it more at dinner tonight?”
My heart raced and leapfrogged into my throat. The changes were coming too quickly, and I wasn’t prepared to deal with them.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I stepped away from him, yanking my gaze from the hurt in his eyes. Although I’d said it already out of incredulity, I repeated it for finality. “I can’t be your mate.”
He didn’t speak for several seconds. When he did, he said, “I understand.”
The sting of rejection in his voice tore at me, and I winced. I couldn’t bear to see the pain I’d caused him. But it would be crueler to lead him on.
“This can’t work.” I motioned between us. There wasn’t any way we could have an easygoing relationship after his revelation. Definitely not a neighbors with benefits arrangement—although we were well past that point. “I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”
He winced as if I’d poisoned him with hemlock.
“I’ll leave you alone, Pandora. If you change your mind, you know where I am.”
The sound of the back door opened and then closed. Only then, did I look that way. I gulped. We could have talked about it some more. I could have agreed with him that I’d need some time to process the information. Instead, I’d pushed him away.
My kitchen never seemed so empty. The walls seemed to pulse with my regret. When I realized the enormity of pushing him away, my heart cracked.
What had I done?
I triedto distract myself with work throughout the day and a walk along the shore, attempting to rationalize all the reasons why Austin and I couldn’t work. Each one seemed more vacuous than the previous.
When I returned home that evening, Austin’s car wasn’t there, and his lights were out. A dull ache inside reminded me of what I’d lost.
When I entered my kitchen to get a glass of water, a prickling at the back of my neck unsettled me. I glanced outside and gasped. A pair of eyes stared at me from the darkness. They weren’t human and glowed with an unnatural silvery hue. I squinted and tried to adjust to the darkness but couldn’t see the rest of its face or body in the dark. Just eyes. Like the Billy Idol song “Eyes without a Face.”
Whatever it was appeared perched on the top of my privacy fence that separated my yard from my neighbors–where Austin lived. What the trembling toadstools was going on?
I ran to fetch my wand from my altar.
What kind of being would that even be? No birds or squirrelly creatures had eyes like that. In fact, I couldn’t think of anything animal or supernatural that did.
Since this was on the property line separating where Austin lived, my suspicions jumped to him. Maybe I was wrong thinking Marius was behind it. He was gone, right? And after all, Austin had kept that tiny detail about him thinking I was his mate from me. What else was he hiding? I grunted. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d made a mistake about a man.
When I returned to the window, I flicked on the light switch for the exterior light. Nothing was there.
I released a nervous laugh. Had I imagined it?
Lowering my wand, I leaned against the counter. Should I call my staff to have them investigate?
What for? Nothing was out there. It was probably my subconscious trying to justify why I shouldn’t be with Austin. Either that or I was getting paranoid. I raised my hands to my temple. It was all bullshit, wasn’t it? Because every part of my body ached with regret.
AUSTIN
After leaving Pandora’s that morning, I fed Tuxy and then left my apartment. I couldn’t stay there knowing she was so close and had to get out of there—far, far away.
