Page 32

KHALIL

T he search is over.

I’m so fucking relieved I don’t even notice the tired ache in my muscles as Seth and I climb from the helicopter. It takes off immediately as we start the short trek down to the edge of the valley, where we left the Ski-Doos.

It’s dusk by the time we arrive, and—minds on the same thing, the same want—Seth and I waste no time hopping on and speeding across the frozen valley. The ride is over in twenty minutes, but it feels like a lifetime until we reach the base of our mountain.

“Do you think Sunshine misses us?” Seth asks the moment we shut off the snowmobiles.

My gaze flicks to him. He’s been talking about Aurelia nonstop from the moment it was safe to do so. “I doubt it, Seth. She hates us, remember? I don’t think two days is enough time for her to forget that.”

Who knows what kind of mood she’s in after being stuck with Thorin? Who knows what kind of mood he’s in after being stuck with her?

It doesn’t slow my steps as we hike up to the cabin.

Seth practically runs there. He’s already bounding up the steps to the front door by the time I reach the clearing.

He leaves the front door open, so I walk right through once I reach the cabin. I can hear him calling for Aurelia, but I don’t see him, so he must be in the basement.

I start for Thorin’s room when I spot the note left on the console table by the door. Seth must have missed it in his haste, so I read it.

Gone hunting. Don’t wait up.

- Thor

Aurelia’s with me.

I read the last line that was written like an afterthought several times and wonder if I’ve stepped into one of those multiverses Zeke is always going on about.

“Sunshine!” Seth yells as he rushes up the stairs. “Sunshine, we’re home.”

“She’s not here,” I tell him tightly. Handing him the note, I push past him rather than wait for what he has to say about it and go downstairs.

As much as I want to track them both down and shake them for being so reckless, I haven’t showered in two days, and I’m crawling out of my skin.

I stop by the laundry room to grab a fresh towel and swear when I see there are none left. They’re all soiled and piled up in the corner, along with the rest of the laundry. “This fucking girl.”

Backing out, I strip off my clothes as I go into the bathroom directly across and shower anyway. When I’m done, I walk my naked ass out, dripping water, and find Seth pouting on the couch. He looks up and over at me, his eyes bugging when they land involuntarily on my dick.

“Dude!” He slaps his arm over his eyes. “A little warning when you’re swinging that thing around?”

“You’ve seen it before, Seth.”

“Not. Without. Warning.”

Rolling my eyes, I walk into my room and search my drawers for clean clothes, only to realize I’m out of everything. Boxers included. I can’t even find a clean pair of socks.

Sighing, I shove the last drawer closed and yank the sheet from my bed, wrapping it around my waist before walking back into the den. Seth avoids eye contact of any kind this time while I make my way to the stairs.

Thorin and I are closer in size, so I head into his room to raid his clothes and find a pair of cargo pants, socks, and a thermal.

For some reason, I peek inside Thorin’s bathroom—maybe to see if he’s hogging all the towels away—but all I see is…

Girl shit—bottles and jars upon bottles and jars of hair products, littering the sink and the ledge above it.

“Who’s gone soft now?” I say to no one.

I grab one of the many hair ties on the sink and pull my braids up before leaving the bathroom. The kitchen is my next stop. After raiding the fridge, I find soup and make myself a bowl. I can hear the tub’s water running downstairs as I eat, and when I’m done, I clean up after myself and go back downstairs to do the laundry.

Seth sings “High School” the entire time he bathes.

It’s one of Aurelia’s songs that he learned while we were at the camp, and I know why he took to it. Aurelia sings about all the things she missed chasing a dream, and Seth—in his own way—can relate. He never had a childhood or any of the normal experiences that Thor, Zeke, and I had. It’s not the first time I’ve considered that each of us might have more in common with Aurelia than sex.

I’m wrapping up the laundry by the time Seth finishes his soak, and I’m still fucking restless. I’ve been trying to put Thorin and Aurelia, and what they might be doing other than hunting, out of my head by keeping my hands and mind busy, but it’s not working.

Seth disappears inside his destroyed bedroom to get dressed, and when he returns, he’s not dressed to relax.

What a coincidence. Neither am I.

“Going somewhere?”

“I’m going to go find Sunshine, and you’re coming.”

“Oh, am I?”

“Cut the bullshit, Khalil. You know you want to see her.”

I roll my eyes but don’t object when Seth grabs my sleeve and pulls me out of the laundry room. I follow him upstairs, and together, we gear up and leave the cabin. We haven’t been home in two days, and it still feels that way because our home is out there somewhere—hopefully not driving each other crazy.

Seth and I search Thor’s usual hunting grounds but come up empty on each one. As we get further away from the cabin, I tell myself that Thorin wouldn’t be this stupid. The next spot we search is a large meadow near the lake that separates the Cold Peaks from the road to Hearth.

I sure as fuck hope Thorin wasn’t reckless enough to take Aurelia this close to civilization. The search is over, but we’re not in the clear yet. The Cold Peaks are still crawling with SAR while they break down the camps.

Seth and I argue about it the entire trek there.

I argue that Thor knows better.

Seth argues that Aurelia can be persuasive and can melt the mind with those soul-sucking eyes.

Madness.

We’ve all gone mad.

We’re nearing the meadow when the avalanche tracker in my pocket starts beeping. It startles the shit out of me because I don’t remember bringing it. I must have grabbed it without realizing it, hoping to pick up Aurelia and Thorin’s trail with it once we got close enough.

Two hundred feet.

She’s close.

Hearing the steady beep, Seth stops, too, and cocks his head. “Sunshine?”

“I don’t see them, but they’re close.”

Pulling out the tracker, I turn this way and that, taking a few steps every time I switch directions until the number on the screen starts to count down.

Coming to a stop once it tells me I’m within a hundred feet, I turn my head this way and that, but I still don’t see her.

Before I can switch directions again, something rustles nearby. A moment later, I spot the bushy tail of a white rabbit as it darts from the bushes up ahead and runs toward the meadow. It barely makes it ten feet before the whistling sound, like something cleaving the air, reaches my ears just before the shunk sound of something sharp piercing its hide.

The rabbit falls over and slides a few feet across the snow.

Before I can investigate, another rabbit—this one gray—is startled from the same bush. It runs in the opposite direction—toward me instead of away—and as it passes, I hear that whistling sound again. This time, the arrow lands in the snow two inches from my foot.

My foot.

My goddamn foot.

“Hey!” I scream at the top of my lungs. “You better fucking watch it!”

Hearing a soft giggle followed by a deeper chuckle, I turn toward the offending sound and see Thorin and Aurelia walking toward us.

Thorin is holding his crossbow, and I immediately know it was he who shot the first rabbit, but what perplexes me is Aurelia. She stands next to him with another arrow notched in the compound hunting bow while she aims it right at me.

“You fucking missed!”

“No, she didn’t!” Thorin shouts back.

Not finding a damn thing funny, my lip curls as I say sarcastically, “Oh, so you’re suddenly an expert shot now? After two days?”

“Actually, it’s the first shot she’s made in two days,” Thorin dryly corrects. “Aurelia needed the proper motivation, so I bet her she couldn’t land the arrow within a foot without hitting you.”

“What did she win if she made it?” Seth asks. He’s bouncing on his toes with a gleam in his eyes. A little chaos and anarchy always get him excited, and Aurelia never stops finding ways to stir up both.

“I got to see Khalil cry like a bitch!” Aurelia calls out.

She’s getting closer but not fast enough, so I decide to meet them halfway. In a weird twist, Aurelia lowers the bow as I stalk toward her, and she doesn’t do a thing to stop me when I cup her nape and pull her into me. She comes without a fight, and I take the crossbow from her, handing it to Thorin without taking my eyes off her.

“You shouldn’t have missed.”

“I didn’t . But out of curiosity, why?”

“Because I’m going to kiss you, Goldilocks.”

Before she can object, I give in to the need that drove me to leave the cabin and find her. I devour her mouth and swallow her moans while driving her backward until her spine hits the tree. She gasps from the impact, but the pain only fuels her. Aurelia slides her hands under my coat and shirt and pays the pain back by dragging her nails down my abs. I grunt, but I don’t stop. If anything, I kiss her harder.

“Mmm…okay, that’s enough,” she says, turning her head away while breathing hard.

I let her have that, but I keep her pressed against the tree as I make out with her neck. “Tell me you missed me.”

“I thought about you once or twice.”

My head pops up, and I glare down at her. “Quit playing with me, Aurelia.”

“All right. I thought about you three whole times.”

“What are you doing out here?” I whisper. I can hear Seth and Thorin doing the same with each other a few feet away.

“Hunting.”

“And whose idea was that?”

“Mine.”

Peeking over my shoulder, I make sure Thorin and Seth are still occupied, and then I grab Aurelia’s throat and whisper, “Are you trying to run again, Aurelia?”

She stares up at me, her dauntless gaze shifting back and forth. It feels like she’s staring into my soul. If she’s looking for anything good, she won’t find it. “Harder.”

Shock ripples through me, and my grip loosens. It can’t be. I must have heard her wrong. She’s too goddamn good to be true. “Say that again,” I demand.

“If you want to scare me, choke me harder, Khalil. You had no problem hurting me before. Don’t pussy out on me now.”

My fingers flex around her neck with indecision, and then I make one. I tighten my hold until her eyes flare, and she bites into her bottom lip.

Fuck, she’s perfect. “Is this hard enough for you?” I ask while squeezing a little harder.

Her face turns red and then purple the longer I cut off her air supply.

Still, she doesn’t fight me or beg me to stop.

Instead, her hand finds the waistband of my pants, and she yanks me closer, nodding only when she feels my hard dick pressed against her stomach. Shoving my free hand down her thick knitted tights, I slip two fingers inside and slowly fuck her wet pussy while staring into her eyes.

“Goddammit, Goldilocks. Tell me you weren’t trying to run from us again.” Finally, she jerks her head left and then right. Curling my fingers, she makes a strangled sound that I cut off before Thorin and Seth can hear because this moment is just for us. “Are you lying to me?” She whimpers and shakes her head again, and then her lashes lower as she begins to lose consciousness. I can’t help but think about the night I fucked her on the kitchen table, how much I want to do it again, and if she will let me. “Are you going to come for me?”

Her nod is weak, but her pussy tightens around me like a vise, and I know she’s close. I grind the heel of my palm against her clit and let go of her throat.

Aurelia inhales, and then she lets out a wail as she comes, making a mess of my hand and her tights.

Seth pauses mid-word, and I can hear my brothers trying to be quiet as they sneak over, but I can’t look away from our girl.

Fucking beautiful.

So softly, I almost don’t hear it, Aurelia pants as she says, “I did miss you, Khalil.”

I kiss her again as I play with her pussy. I’m still kissing her when Seth whimpers like a sad puppy. Aurelia breaks the kiss and looks over at him while stroking my overgrown beard. “What’s the matter, Seth?”

“Khalil’s your favorite.”

Aurelia snorts. “No, he’s not. Thor is.”

I snatch my hand from her tights like I’ve been burned. “What the hell? I made you come!”

“So? I can do that myself.” Aurelia holds my gaze as she adjusts her tights. “Thor is giving me something useful. You want to be my favorite? Impress me.”

“Yeah, we’ll see how useless I am when you need to get off. Cabin rule number seven—keep those pretty fingers away from our pussy, Aurelia.”

Her miffed gaze flicks to me. “We’re not in the cabin.”

“You heard what I said.”

I shove away from the tree and stalk away from Aurelia before I strangle her ass for real. Thorin comes after me while Seth stays with Aurelia. I hear her tell him that she has to use the ladies’ bush, and he cackles like her corny joke is hysterical. I don’t even realize I’m fighting a smile until I hear Thorin cough to hold back a laugh.

The moment we’re out of sight, I turn and hit Thorin in the jaw. Since he was expecting it, he’s quick to parry, and the next thing I know, we’re fucking each other up until there’s blood in the snow, and we can barely stand. After he sends a vicious knee to my gut, I roll several feet away and try to keep from coughing up my stomach.

Thorin groans in pain as he crawls to his feet while holding his shoulder. “You…” He pants. “Done?”

I don’t answer until I catch my breath and stand. “The fuck are you doing bringing her all the way out here, huh? Does she know how close she is?”

“No. Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“Yes!”

“Fuck you, Khalil. Aurelia doesn’t know shit, but she will if you keep bitching about it.”

“Don’t kid yourself and don’t underestimate her. Aurelia pays attention. You might as well have drawn her a fucking map. Anybody could walk by. Did you think about that?”

“Of course I did. I also promised her that I would kill anyone who tried to help her, and I’d make her watch.” His jaw, which is already turning red, clenches as he steps toward me. “Do you think we’ve given her any reason to doubt my word?”

“Do you really think Aurelia cares about anyone but herself?” Thorin doesn’t respond, but he doesn’t have to. I’m right. Per fucking usual. “You shouldn’t have brought her out here.”

“It’s done. Now tell me about the search.”

I blow out a breath, and now that I’ve seen Aurelia, touched her, and heard her voice, the exhaustion returns, and I think about the return journey.

Hell, I don’t know if I can make it.

“CAF called the search with a promise to revisit if new evidence arrives. Something like spotting a girl that looks awfully like our superstar way out in the middle of nowhere, looking like she doesn’t fucking belong.”

“Lay off, all right? No one’s around but us.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No one’s taking your toy from you, Khalil. Relax. Let her have some fun.”

“Oh, so you’re Prince Charming now?”

“You really want to do this, Khalil?”

“I want to know how you could be so selfish! I explicitly told you two to stay inside. Are you trying to get us caught?”

“I was trying to find a way to make life easier for all of us.”

I pause my pacing. “So you were trying to get caught.” The only possible way to un-fuck ourselves and regain a little peace is to let Goldilocks go, and that’s not happening. Ever.

“No, you idiot. I was trying to make Aurelia happy.”

“What the fuck does she need to be happy for? We’re not! It’s called solidarity.”

“Weren’t you the same one that said Aurelia’s the answer?”

“And I still believe that.”

“Then what the fuck is your problem, Khalil?”

“I don’t want to lose her!” My shout echoes through the forest, and a flock of squawking ravens burst from the canopy while Thorin stares at me like I’ve lost my mind.

My heart maybe, but not my mind. My thoughts have never been more clear.

Shit, what the fuck am I saying? “I—”

“Khalil.” Thorin shakes his head. “It’s okay. I know. I feel it, too. We won’t lose her, brother. Whatever it takes.”

The words my heart is bursting to echo evaporate when I hear Seth’s desperate shout from far away. “Sunshine! Sunshine, where are you?”

Thorin and I don’t spare each more than a confused glance that turns into panic before we take off after them. When we reach the last place we saw them, Seth appears out of breath and looking ready for war. He pays us no mind as he picks up Thorin’s abandoned crossbow and takes off back the way he came without even sparing us so much as a glance.

“Seth. Seth, stop!” He does, but I can tell he doesn’t like it. His entire body is vibrating with the need to follow Aurelia wherever she’s gone. “Tell us what’s going on,” I demand. “Where’s Aurelia?”

“She was taken.”

“Taken?” Thorin echoes. “By who?”

“Don’t know, don’t care. Now, are you going to keep wasting time, or are we going to go kill some shit before they get away?”

Thorin and I make eye contact, and then he grabs Aurelia’s hunting bow.

“Lead the way.”