I turn to the lawyer, who’s the only source of real calm in the room. “Continue, please.”
He does so, finishing the reading of the will, and after, I leave, taking myself away from the energy clouding up my grandfather’s house. I need to clear my head and make a plan.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and lightning pain curls me in on myself as I notice five text messages and two missed calls. My Sin and my Phineas both. It hurts to read their messages,because I want nothing more than to go back to them. I would rather be there than here. I’m tempted to call them back, but I know if I hear their voices, nothing is going to keep me here, not even my grandfather’s murder.
Hunched over, spasming from hunger pangs and miserable, I read the messages from my men. They need to seek comfort in each other. I need Sin to accept Phin. Phin’s the one, I know he is. There’s something special about him. He’s absolutely perfect for us, but Sin needs to accept him. Sin needs to fall for him.
“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink, Gael,” I remind myself. It will be like ripping my heart out of my own chest if Sin rejects Phin, but I will do it. “Come on, Sin, do what I told you to do. Take care of him. He needs you.” I whisper to the messages.
Sin calls me as soon as those words land in the ether, and my stupid fingers swipe to answer before I can stop myself.
“Hello,” I say even though I shouldn’t have answered this call.
“Gael.” Sin’s voice sends another lightning strike of pain through my nervous system. I want him. I need him. I’m so fucking hungry and he’s right there, but he’s not. Fuck.
“Are you ok?” I ask, hoping he doesn’t hear the hope in my voice that he needs me to come home.
“Sorry. I just don’t know what you want me to do. Phin?—”
Silly man. “I told you, didn’t I? I want you to take care of him.” Please love him. We need him. I need you to need him.
“He misses you,” he whispers, but that’s not what he’s trying to tell me.
Maybe Phin is making the first move? That… might work. “Does he want you to fuck him?”
His whispered confirmation fills me with such relief. I’ll be able to stay here. Phin’s going to woo him. Phin knows we needSin to fall in love with him. He wouldn’t ask for Sin’s cock if he didn’t.
“You sent him to the bedroom before calling me, didn’t you?” He’s such an idiot about himself sometimes. I love him so fucking much it hurts to be away from him. More than just the hunger that plagues me when I’m away from him, it’s like losing part of my very soul when we’re apart.
He confesses that he called me after sending Phin to get ready for him like he wronged me, but he needs to know this is what I want from him. I just can’t tell him that. I need him to choose it for himself without me telling him to do it. I love him too much to force him to accept Phin like that.
I open my mouth to assure him, but Ron comes stomping out of my grandfather’s house, furious and headed straight for me.
“Don’t leave him waiting for too long. I can’t be there now, so he needs you,” I tell Sin, glaring at Ron hard enough to stop his forward momentum.
Sin says something, but I miss it, focused on the threat in front of me. “Everything will be fine. Tell Phin that I love him, and Sin, take care of him. He needs you.” I stand up from the swing I’ve been sitting on, drawing in my enthrallment. I can’t really control it, but I can push more magic into it if I have access to it.
“I miss you.”
Sin’s words pierce through my defenses and I blow out the breath I’d been holding. “I’ll be back before you know it. Go now. Phin needs you.”
“Yeah. Ok. Answer your texts, at least.”
“I’ll try,” I lie, and we both know it’s not true.
“Later,” he finishes instead of saying goodbye. I love that he never wants to use that word with me.
“Of course,” I agree and end the call, pocketing my phone and giving Ron my full attention. “Unless you’re out here todeclare your support of my inheritance, I don’t want to hear a word from you.”
“My Hubert should have been given the leadership,” he hisses at me, putting off the energy of a murderous rage.
I push one foot back, preparing in case he decides to try to attack me. “Clearly my grandfather disagreed. Go back inside, Ronald.”
Ron’s energy spikes and he rushes me, swinging fists.
He’s way out of control, and I side step his attack with ease, pushing him into the swing behind me. He hits head first, and I step on the back of his leg, grabbing the back of his neck and pushing my entire weight on him to pin him face first into the weathered wood. His leg snaps under the force of my weight, which really shouldn’t have happened if he’d been healthy. It’s really hard to injure a mare. This man’s pained scream tells me more than the uncontrolled anger that something’s wrong with him.
I look over my shoulder, shouting, “Hubert!”
