Page 45 of Grave Robbing and Other Hobbies (Grave Concerns 1)

He shushed me, then set my hands on my knees. “Relax.”

I huffed softly. Relaxing wasn’t something I was good at, and honestly, doing it when he wasthisclose was impossible.

I opened my mouth to argue, but he pulled me against him.

“Follow my breath, Ava. Nice and slow.” His breathing warmed me, and I did as he said, following the inhalations and exhalations.

Slowly, the tension drained from me. I leaned more against him, his steady heartbeat thumping evenly.

In. Out.Amazingly, it all worked. My heart slowed, my muscles unknotted. It felt nice, the ability to close my eyes and relax into the snap of the candles and Troy’s scent.

He smelled wild, like a forest at midnight or the flicker of stars.

“I’m sorry I never said anything,” he whispered.

I didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “Why didn’t you?”

He slid his thumbs against my hands, the touch gentle and calming. “Because I assumed you were human. Humans and werewolves don’t mix well.”

“So I keep hearing. And again, I’mstillhuman.”

“So you say.” He moved his fingers to drag them over the tops of my thighs. “I didn’t want to endanger you, but since you seem to put yourself in danger all the time, maybe it’s safer if I’m not so far away.”

“Why are you so worried about my safety?”

“Because I’ve seen what happens, Ava, when people try to live in a world they aren’t equipped for.” He spoke like someone who truly had seen. It wasn’t something hypothetical, or something that had happened to someone else. It was personal.

But he hadn’t always been this person, had he?

Still, I didn’t ask more. We weren’t that close, for me to poke at his wounds, for me to expect him to tell me whatever had taught him that. Or, maybe the more honest answer was thatIwasn’t ready to know…

Thankfully, he didn’t force me to respond and kept talking. “I still wouldn’t think twice about you if I thought you’d live a safe little life next door. I’d already decided to back off, to keep my distance. You were something I looked forward to catching glimpses of but knew I could never have. Then I saw Kase, and I realized you had already ventured into a world you had no idea the dangers of, and I thought…maybe I’m not the worst thing out there for you.”

His touch teased me, even through my clothing, and I didn’t look at him like a stranger. He wasn’t the hot guy next door, the one who was nice to look at but always out of reach. Instead, he was right against me, offering—well, I wasn’t sure what he was offering but it was more than nothing.

I drew a deep breath and stopped fighting.

I stopped fighting him, the fear, the unknowns. What I was, what any of this meant, I let it all go. His presence behind me let me do it.

And the second I did, a shock ran through me that made my back straighten and my mouth open in a silent scream.

Thiswas why I hated seances.

Spirits always showed at the worst times.

* * * *

Seeing the world through someone else’s eyes was always disconcerting. I was me but I washertoo. I felt what she did but still knew what I did.

So while I wanted to shudder and scream at the sight of Olin, Rachel was there too, and she smiled.

Olin was even larger, even more intimidating than he’d been in the picture. He smiled, the tips of his fangs showing as if Rachel—I—were the best thing he’d ever seen. We stood on her front porch.

Words between us escaped my lips, but I didn’t say them. I was nothing but a passenger, someone to feel and witness Rachel’s echo but unable to do a thing about it.

“I didn’t think you were coming over today.”

He smiled wider and pulled me into his arms. His kiss was deep and familiar, the sort that happened after years together.

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