“Sure,” I replied. “I assume you were looking forward to showering in the pink bathroom this morning.”
Rafe’s eyebrows hit his hairline, and then he grinned. “Actually–”
“You okay?” Skye was suddenly very close to us, surprising me.
“Yeah,” I replied quickly. “All good.”
“Good,” she said slowly, her silver eyes darting back and forth between us like she knew I was lying. She was probably ready to throttle Rafe, though, since she wasn’t sure exactly what was making me uncomfortable.
“Anyway,” Rafe stretched his arms, his voice back to normal. “The best thing you can do is practice focusing your control on the affinity when you feel it coming to the surface.”
“It only does that when I’m pissed,” I said.
“So, next time you’re pissed, take a moment to practice.” Rafe said with an eye-roll. “Any time you feel that static, try to focus on it.”
“Maybe we should have brought Wyatt,” Skye sighed.
My stomach dropped. I whipped around to face her. “What? Why?”
She shrugged. “Maybe he could have helped. He could get in your head and–”
“No fucking way,” I hissed. Whatthe fuckwas she even suggesting that for?
I’d never actually been irritated at Skye before, and the angerwashing down my spine bothered me. I didn’t want to be pissed at Skye. She had to mean well–
“There it is,” Rafe’s deep voice pulled me out of my head. “Any static?”
I blinked several times. “What? Yeah, I…”
Holy shit.
The static sizzled along my palms, and I quickly tried to focus. I imagined holding it in my hand like it was my fire, a little ball of light. There was a soft sizzling sound, and a few sparks danced in my palm. I jumped slightly, and they fizzled out completely.
“Fuck,” I grumbled.
“Aiden, you did it!” Skye threw her arms around my neck and smacked a kiss on my cheek. “I’m sorry I did that.”
“What?” I grinned at her. With her hanging on me I’d completely forgotten why I was mad at her. Wait…was I even mad? I frowned.
Rafe chuckled from beside us. “It was a good idea, love.”
“I only mentioned Wyatt to piss you off,” Skye explained. “I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.”
Oh.
“I’m not mad,” I replied with a chuckle. “I need to find a new way to summon it, though. I can’t always count on being pissed to use it, or even just practice.”
“I know,” Skye reassured me, then kissed the corner of my mouth. “You’ll get better, I know it.”
I chased after her mouth with mine, smiling against her lips when she laughed. “You can’t put your lips on me and not expect this,” I said.
“I’d expect nothing less,” Skye replied, laughing as I nuzzled against her neck. She pulled back, turning toward Rafe, who was watching us with a smirk. “Thanks for the help, third wheel.”
Rafe’s smirk grew, and he looked away with the shake of his head. Then his expression dropped as he ran a hand through his hair. “So, are you holding up your part of the deal? Dinner?”
Skye sighed dramatically, but then grinned. “Sure.”
Chapter 18
