Page 15 of Branded Souls (Ember Hollow Romance #3)

“I’m definitely not the tired one between the two of us.” She frowned.

A half grin tugged at the corner of his lip. “Sure…” His tone was slightly sarcastic, but he kissed the top of her head. “I know you probably wanted to work when we got home, but I’m dragging that nice ass of yours to bed. ”

Emersyn elbowed him in the stomach. He chuckled as she headed toward the door.

“Call me in the morning,” she called over her shoulder, looking toward Skye. “We’re going to figure this out as soon as possible.”

Skye nodded. “Thank you, Emersyn. For everything.”

Emersyn waved off her thanks. “Of course.”

She pulled the door open, August right behind her.

My brother paused at the doorframe, his gaze shooting between Skye and me. “Good luck, you two.” He raised his brows.

And then they were gone, leaving Skye and me alone in a cabin in the middle of the woods.

We stood in what felt like a chasm of silence. It was heavy, like smothering humidity on a muggy summer day.

It was hard to even breathe.

Skye spoke first.

“Do you…want something to drink?”

I forced my gaze toward her. The question seemed so normal. I had the bizarre inkling to laugh.

“Something to drink?”

She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. It was shorter than I’d ever seen it. I liked it. She’d be beautiful no matter what she did with her hair, though.

“I know this is the last place you want to be,” she said. “But I have water and tea and coffee if you want something.”

Her tone was very matter-of-fact, but her slight fidgeting gave away her nervousness.

I shook my head. “No. Thank you. ”

Disappointment flitted over her face. “Okay.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Her oversized sweatshirt sleeves were pulled mostly over her hands. The leggings she wore clung to her thighs and calves. Skye had an effortless kind of beauty. The kind that used to take my breath away.

Hell, it still did.

But I wasn’t here to gawk at my ex-girlfriend.

I glanced past her at the couch. “I guess I’ll be sleeping over there.”

I slung my duffel over my shoulder, stepping around her to plop it onto the cushions.

“Are you sure?” She sounded surprised. “It’s so…small.” Her brows pinched as she glanced between me and the short piece of furniture. It was smaller than the standard size, probably to accommodate the limited space in the cabin.

“I’m sure,” I said, though I wasn’t exactly excited about it. It looked old. The brown cushions were lumpy in some areas.

“You can take the bedroom if you want. I don’t mind.” She jerked her thumb toward the door next to the bathroom.

I suppressed a sigh. The last thing I wanted to do was fight with her over who was sleeping where.

“It’s fine,” I said, a bit more sharply than I intended.

She tensed, looking away. “Okay,” she said softly.

Guilt flashed through me.

My next words were more gentle. “We should probably both get to bed. You’ve had a long day, and we have a lot to figure out in the coming days.”

“Right.” She bobbed her head in agreement. “Goodnight, then. ”

She walked toward her room, which seemed entirely too close. There really wasn’t much space at all in here.

“Goodnight, Skye.”

She paused in the doorway to her room, glancing at me as if she wanted to say one more thing. But she didn’t. The door closed with a soft click .

I took a deep, steadying breath. I felt better now that there was a door between us.

I stretched my tense neck and stiff shoulders. I hadn’t gone to the gym today and I itched to burn off some of the anxious energy inside my body.

Instead, I took my laptop out of my duffel bag and settled on the couch. I checked the outside cameras again, making sure everything looked clear. It was unlikely someone would come to the cabin, but I knew better than to underestimate the lengths a person would go to hurt someone else.

Not after everything I’d been through.

After I had cleared the outside cameras, I checked the windows and doors to make sure they were locked. I spent a little bit more time sifting through Skye’s laptop, not finding much new information, but I didn’t expect to until I got a chance to dive in at the office with my equipment.

I spun the thumb drive Skye had gotten from the detective in my fingers. Despite my initial bad feelings, I had doubts it was the cause of the spyware. If it was, Whize was really bad at covering his tracks.

Which left the lingering question of who…and why.

By the time I was done messing around with Skye’s computer for the night, exhaustion caught up with me in the form of a headache building behind my eyes .

Putting all the tech away, I got my toiletries and headed toward the bathroom. My gaze caught on Skye’s bedroom. Even with the door shut, I could sense her there.

Trying to ignore the slight tingle of my skin, I brushed my teeth and splashed water on my face. Skye had removed herself from my life a long time ago. It surprised me the way my body still reacted to her nearness, even after all this time.

Finished in the bathroom, I shuffled back toward the couch. I halted, noticing something that hadn’t been there earlier.

My eyebrows furrowed at the pillow placed neatly next to my duffel bag, with a folded blanket on top.

My gaze bounced toward the bedroom. Skye must’ve heard me go into the bathroom and left these out here for me. A warmth bloomed in my chest, though I tried to ignore it. She should’ve been sleeping, not worrying about me being comfortable.

I was probably keeping her awake, though. Sky had always been a light sleeper. She told me once that I talked in my sleep.

I still didn’t believe her.

Taming down the strange fluttering in my gut, I fluffed the pillow and unfolded the blanket.

I shucked off my gray T-shirt, placing it within reach, and pulled the blanket over my chest. I ran warm when I slept. I hated waking up with a wet shirt clinging to my skin.

Settling back against the pillow, I stared up at the worn slats of the ceiling. My ears strained to hear anything coming from her bedroom, but there was only silence .

I threw an arm over my face, letting out a sigh. The mere thought that she was thinking about me enough to leave me a pillow and blanket had my heart skittering like a freaking schoolboy.

I had a feeling staying here would be a huge mistake.

Mercifully, sleep overtook me soon after I closed my eyes.

But as I started drifting toward a dream, I was woken by her scream.