Page 29 of I Replaced His Husband
His long black hair was slightly messy, some strands slipping out of the braid coiled behind his head on the pillow. His arms and shoulders were marked with my hickeys, though they seemed strangely pale, which surprised me a little because Ihad sucked hard on his skin; they should have been almost beet-red. Interesting.
My eyes kept sliding over his body. His neck was bare, his glands a little pink and swollen. The curve of his spine led to that gorgeous, firm, and round ass. Kay was the definition of temptation. I quickly grabbed a blanket and covered him up, trying not to get too worked up just looking at him.
But truth be told, he looked so vulnerable now, peaceful. His lips were slightly parted, his face soft. Something about that defenselessness hit me hard. My body fought me, as I wanted to lean down and gently stroke his cheek, but I could not. It wasn’t my place.
Fuck, I had to get out of here. Being that close to him right now was too intense.
Back in my room, I changed into workout clothes. I needed to move. Needed to burn some of the strange, emotional tension off.
Jogging was my thing, a daily habit. So I decided I’d do the whole lake loop. Probably too ambitious.
The lake was way bigger than I’d thought, with long, curving bays that stretched it out way farther than expected. The path through the forest was stunning and picturesque, with tall trees bending their branches over the silvery lake. Sunlight filtered through the tree crowns, casting playful patterns on the sandy-gravel trail that wound through the woods.
The air was filled with the fresh, invigorating scent of pine. But after an hour and a half of jogging, I was feeling it. My pace slowed, and I switched to a walk.
The forest was so quiet, peaceful… Still, as I walked, a thought began to tug at me: Storm.
His situation wouldn’t leave my mind, and I felt some guilt, some unease. We’d always had our differences, but was it really worth hanging onto that? Especially now, with everythinghe was going through? Losing the job he loved, his reputation shredded, his marriage falling apart.
Was he guilty? Honestly, I doubted it. We all knew our dad's horrible past, and we were raised to be respectful and caring toward omegas.
Sighing, I decided to set my doubts aside and, on impulse, took out my phone.
After five rings, he answered.
"Storm?"
"Oh. Wow. Rain."
There was a pause. Yeah, he was just as surprised as I was. If it hadn’t been for Dad, I probably wouldn’t have called.
Clearing my throat loudly, I fumbled for words. Talking with Storm never came easy for me.
"I heard what happened," I finally said. "I just wanted to see if there’s any way I could… you know, help."
Now it was official; I’d never land a job at a theater. My acting skills were garbage.
Sure enough, I heard his bitter laugh.
"Dad told you to call? And say that?" His voice was low and raspy.
Yeah, peace between us was never easy.
"I’m not gonna lie, Dad told me what happened and said I should give you a call."
Storm didn’t say anything, so I cleared my throat and made myself sound a little softer. "I mean… it just felt wrong not to reach out to my own brother, especially with something this big going on."
I was almost proud I managed to say that last part without too much sarcasm. And that tone usually ruled our conversations.
He still didn’t reply. I could only hear his breathing, heavy and slow. Was he thrown off by the sudden show of concern? Orjust sizing it up, figuring out if I was full of shit and working on some kind of clever comeback?
Whatever the case, I pushed on. "Are you out already?"
"Yeah. A few hours ago."
"So, are you at your apartment?"
"No. Come on. Tom’s still there. It’s not a good idea for me to be anywhere near him right now. I’m crashing at Nathaniel’s."
