My heart stumbles. But what if I want it to happen again?
“Will you be okay outside, Louie? It’s freezing.”
I know she said she would give us time alone, but I don’t want her to get sick or anything.
“Aurora, I’m a hellhound, remember? It would take more than a chilly wind to faze me. We tend to run hot.”
Louie chuckles at her own joke as she trots toward the front door with me trailing behind her.
Gratitude crashes over me so fast I can’t breathe, and before I even realize what I’m doing, I’m on my knees, hugging her tight.
“Thank you, Lou. I love you so freaking much.”
Louie nuzzles against me with a content sigh.
“I love you, too, Aurora. Don’t forget to think with your brain and not your vag tonight, yeah?”
And there goes the Hallmark moment—straight off a fucking cliff.
Ezra chuckles from the chair as I open the door. Louie takes off into the woods, and although I can’t see her, I feel comforted knowing she’s my first line of defense.
Once again, it’s me and Ezra. Alone. But this time we’re on my turf.
When I turn around, he’s no longer in the chair, but in the kitchen gathering my ice packs, Advil, and an enormous glass of ice water.
He shifts everything into one arm and reaches his hand out to me.
“Let’s get you to bed, beautiful.”
Aurora
When my hand slips into his, I don’t flinch or back away. It doesn’t feel disgusting or wrong or terrifying. Threading my fingers through his feels warm and safe.
The space where our palms meet crackles with electricity as he leads me back to my bedroom. A wisp of shadow curls up my wrist, brushes against my pulse, then bolts the second it realizes I caught it creeping.
Devious little gremlins. And yet, they’re starting to grow on me.
Standing in the doorway, watching Ezra pull down my covers, I realize I didn’t think this through. I want him close, but not in my bed.
And yet, the thought of him in the living room feels … wrong.
Ezra catches me staring. I don’t know what expression I’m wearing, but it must be concerning, because his brows draw together.
“Do you need anything else, Aurora?” His voice is softer now, shrinking the monster down to something almost human. Something I might trust. “I’ll be in the living room if you need me. I know Louie said you wanted to talk, but we can save that for tomorrow. You must rest.”
He’s pulling back, giving me space. And suddenly, I don’t want him to.
“Would you sit in here with me?” The words rush out before I can stop them. “I can grab a chair from the kitchen. I’d feel safer if you were closer.”
A flicker of something crosses his face. It looks like relief, but there’s something else threaded through it. Something human. Something he doesn’t have words for yet.
His shadows curl slightly inward, a pulse of tension across his knuckles. But it’s gone in a blink.
“Yes, Aurora. Whatever you wish.”
He disappears for a moment, then returns with my overstuffed reading chair, moving it like it weighs nothing. How can someone so strong have such a soft touch?
Ezra places the chair in the corner, three feet from my bed.
