Sure enough, a line of symbols had been engraved into the wood of the trap door. I’d missed them when I’d first travelled through the tunnel.
I scowled and released the handle, letting the trap door slam back in place. Spinning on my feet, I walked over to the poor oak tree. The gnarled branches reached overhead breaking the moonlight and making shadows dance along the forest floor. More symbols were carved into its rough bark. They were faint. I would’ve missed these, too, if I hadn’t been looking for them.
“They’re phaaning everywhere.”
Ace stepped up to the tree and leaned forward. He ran his hand along the symbols. “Three symbols,” he said. He glanced at me over his shoulder, his dark brows angled down. “The three marked tree?”
A sense of annoyance, anger, and relief washed over me as a piece to the messed-up puzzle fell into place. Now we knew where O’Reilly met his accomplice. But what good would it serve us? He was now dead, and his accomplice wouldn’t be hanging out in the bushes waiting for us to discover them.
“Come on.” Ace straightened and walked back to where I stood.
Exhaustion weighed down my shoulders, and I suddenly wanted to sleep for five years.
“Let’s use the tunnel to get back. It’s going to rain again and at least we can keep dry.”
“Can’t,” I mumbled, turning back to the trail. “Sley and I blocked it on the other end. A little ‘phaan you’ to the thief.”
Ace sighed. “Then let’s try to beat the rain.”
27
After being gone for over a week, we finally returned to Ace’s cabin. Damp air clung to the walls with hints of smoke from a woodfire along with the subtle scent of lavender and leather.
Ace closed the door behind me and drew me into his arms, my back to his chest. “How long will it take you to get naked?”
“How long will it take you to light a fire?”
He chuckled into my neck and kissed the sensitive skin. “Go to the bedroom and get naked.”
“Mighty bossy.”
“Yes, princess.” He flexed his hips, pressing his erection into my butt. “I plan to worship you.”
“Oh?” I wiggled my butt back, eliciting a groan. “With what will you worship me?”
“Everything,” he said. “I will give you everything.”
I turned in his arms. “That’s a mighty bold offer to make.”
He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. He kissed me slowly, tenderly, before nipping at my lips and licking my tongue. After melting me from the inside out, he pulled back. His gaze snagged on my swollen lips, and he gave me a small, tender smile. “It’s not a bold offer.”
What? I’d forgotten what we’d been talking about.
“Offering you everything,” he explained, probably seeing my confusion. “It’s not a bold offer to make.”
I licked my lips. “And why is that?”
“Because I’ve already given you everything. It’s already yours. You own all of me, Mouse, and if I’m being completely honest, you always have.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat while a sweet kind of pain squeezed my chest.
He reached up to cradle my face with one hand, running his thumb along my bottom lip. “I think I’ve loved you since the day we met.”
“I was like, twelve.”
“And I was fourteen, yet the moment I set eyes on you, I knew you would be mine and I would be yours. I was helpless against this unseen power that always drew me toward you.”
“So, you acted like a jerk?”
