“Yes,” I say automatically, even though the wordnowas almost formed on my lips.
I missed him.
I miss Ryland and Rowan as well.
“How are the injuries?” I ask, stepping out of his reach. It looks like her want to pull me into his arms, and despite my body screaming for his touch, I move away.
My body aches for him. It would be so easy to cross the space and bury my face in his chest, but I’m doing the right thing by holding myself back.
I don’t need to make this harder than it needs to be.
“We’re all okay,” Travis says. “Just a little sore.” His line of sight falls to the duffel bag on my couch and the suitcase on the floor. “Are you going somewhere?”
His voice is dangerously low.
“I’m going to my parent’s house for a bit.”
He stares at me, his dark eye suspicious. “For how long?”
I shrug and take a step back. “I’m not sure.”
His scent doesn’t escape me. That perfect, delicious smoke and wood won’t stop invading my senses.
“Where does she live?” he asks quietly.
I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. I just…” I chew my lip as my stomach twists. “I just need to go.”
There’s a moment of silence, and I force myself to keep eye contact with Travis, though it’s the most painful thing I’ve had to do in a long time.
“Are you coming back?”
Despite how patient he sounds, there’s a fire in his eyes.
I nod. “I won’t leave the rescue,” I admit, and a flicker of pain crosses his face.
The rescue.
Not him.
I’m more than capable of leaving him and his pack.
He tries to step closer to me, but I move back, my heart aching.
“You don’t have to go.”
It’s not a plea, but it sounds like it pained him to speak the words.
I shake my head. “Travis?—”
“What happened yesterday wasn’t your fault,” he breathes. “You have to know that. It was the slippery roads and a squirrel. A fuckingsquirrel. It had nothing to do with you.”
“Travis, don’t?—”
“And what happened those years ago, tothem? It wasn’t your fault then, either.”
The ice in my veins returns.
“Yes, it was.” My voice is monotone.
