Page 7 of Ghosted AF (At First #4)

seven

~ Rylee ~

I awoke the next morning to the sound of muffled conversation. I easily recognized my mate’s voice, which meant the other one probably belonged to Lucius.

Rolling onto my side, I slapped blindly at the nightstand until I found my phone, cracking an eye open to check the time. Eight o’clock. Technically, I could still sleep for another hour, but I forced myself out of bed anyway.

After using the bathroom and splashing cold water on my face, I padded down the hall to the living room where I found the brothers standing around the coffee pot in the kitchen.

“Good morning.” Caius greeted me with a chaste kiss to the temple. “Did we wake you?”

“It’s fine. I wanted to get an early start today anyway.” I accepted the coffee mug he pushed into my hands with a grateful smile. “Thanks.” Once I had my first sip, I finally turned to my guest. “Good morning, Lucius.”

He dipped his head. “Sorry for coming over so early, but I’ve got another job out of town.”

I waved my hand. “Really, it’s not a problem. I appreciate you taking care of this.” My front door looked amazing, and even better, I no longer had to wrestle the deadbolt when the humidity spiked. “So, what’s the damage?”

“Just the frame this time. I can’t get to it until the weekend, but it should only take me about an hour.”

“That’s fine. There’s no rush.” I lifted my mug to my lips again but froze when I spotted the giant ass bird in my living room. “Okay, I was not expecting that.”

“Told you,” Caius said with a chuckle. “I’m guessing you’ll have your maintenance guy back by tomorrow morning. Maybe tonight.”

While I had slept, Mykal had been busy growing a whole new set of feathers and nearly doubling in size. Plumage of bright oranges, crisp reds, and metallic golds gleamed in the morning sunlight, and long tail feathers of deep blue swept against the carpet.

Copper eyes shined back at me with an intelligence that hadn’t been there before, and he opened his mouth in what I took to be a greeting. Rather than a caw or chirp, however, the sound that filled the room brought to mind the musical twinkling of wind chimes.

He looked magnificent, like something right out of a fairy tale, and I felt honored to have witnessed something so magical.

At the same time, I found myself wondering what Caius would look like when he shifted, and if I might have the opportunity to see it one day.

“Are you okay?” my mate asked. “You look a little flushed.”

“Mm hmm,” I hummed as I took another deep pull from my cup. “I, um, I’m going to go get ready.”

Then I hurried out of the kitchen before the deepening color in my cheeks could invite any more questions. I didn’t hear what had been said between the brothers, but as I entered my bedroom, Lucius’ laughter rang behind me, followed by Caius’ more exasperated grumble.

Choosing to believe it had nothing to do with me, I quickened my pace, not stopping until I reached the privacy of the en suite and closed the door behind me.

After taking a couple of deep breaths to settle my nerves, I started the shower to let the water warm while I brushed my teeth. Focusing on the familiar rhythm of routine helped clear my mind, and by the time I exited the bathroom, most of the jitters had faded.

Dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a navy-blue tee, I checked my reflection in the mirror, satisfied that my hair hadn’t decided to do anything weird. I smiled, ensuring it looked relaxed and natural, then pulled on my favorite sneakers before going to find Caius.

Since Lucius had already left, I busied myself with straightening the living room and wiping down the kitchen while I waited for my mate to shower and change.

When he emerged a few minutes later, we checked that we hadn’t forgotten anything, said goodbye to Mykal, and headed down the stairs to the parking lot.

Once inside his pickup, my anxiety returned, but Caius kept the conversation flowing, asking me questions about my favorite animals. The more we talked, the calmer I felt, and when the zoo entrance finally appeared, I found my nerves replaced by a mounting sense of excitement.

Colorful banners fluttered in the morning breeze, and a digital sign reminded visitors of the new summer hours for the park. Following a white sedan into the parking lot, Caius found an empty space near the front, and I exited the pickup before he had even killed the engine.

Hand in hand, we followed the winding stone path to the front gates where Caius paid our entrance fee while I studied the complementary map.

“Where to first?” he asked as we stepped into the park.

We could skip the bug house because eww, and the petting zoo didn’t open for another hour. “This way.” I pointed to a path that branched to the right. “We’ll start with the savannah.”

The animals seemed to be enjoying the milder temperatures now that the heatwave that had gripped Circle City for the past week had finally moved on. The zebras grazed with the gazelles, and a pair of lions lounged in the sun atop a giant boulder.

We queued in line to feed the giraffes, which was fun, but twenty bucks for three leaves of lettuce felt like robbery. I supposed it all went to a good cause, though.

After watching the first cheetah run of the day—a sleek female named Zola—we finally reached the exhibit I had been most anticipating. And it didn’t disappoint.

“Oh, my goodness.” My lips stretched into a wide smile, and my eyes watered with cuteness overload. “Look at her!”

“It should be illegal for anything to be that adorable,” Caius agreed, mirroring my smile.

“She looks like a giant battle puppy.”

Only a couple of months old, the baby rhino had a lot of energy, but she still seemed to be figuring out how her own feet worked.

She tripped over them a lot, then got mad at the dirt.

Honestly, I probably could have stood there for the rest of the day watching her, and I would have considered it money well spent.

Caius didn’t get annoyed or try to rush me. When more people gathered around the enclosure, all jostling for a better a look, he didn’t suggest we move on to another exhibit. He simply positioned himself behind me and rested his hands on the fence, creating a barrier between me and the crowd.

“Just one more minute,” I promised, laughing when the baby flopped onto her side in the mud.

“I’m in no hurry. We can stay for as long as you want.”

I leaned back, resting against his broad chest, feeling happier than I probably had in my entire life. My “one more minute” turned into another five, but Caius never complained.

Even when we finally walked away, I kept sneaking glances over my shoulder until we rounded the curve in the path.

I also spent longer than strictly necessary at the red panda enclosure, but it really wasn’t my fault. “How are their butts just as cute as their faces?”

“Meh,” Caius responded.

“What?” I demanded as I glanced over my shoulder. “How can you say that?”

His gaze lingered on my ass before traveling up my back, and when our eyes finally met, he cocked his head to the side and smirked. “I’ve seen better.”

My pulse stuttered, and I jerked back around as heat spread up my neck and into my cheeks. Of course, the reaction didn’t go unnoticed, but Caius’ laughter sounded more indulgent than mocking, and eventually, I found myself smiling as well.

I didn’t have a lot of experience with flirting, but I liked it. Hopefully, with time, I’d get better at it, or at the very least, not want to spontaneously combust every time he said something even mildly suggestive.

The rest of the day passed in a sunlit blur of cute animals and casual banter.

We took a break from the afternoon heat to eat lunch in one of the zoo’s restaurants.

As a bonus, the place abutted the gorilla enclosure, and a thick glass wall gave us a clear view of their antics while we enjoyed a couple of pizza slices.

We stopped by the petting zoo on the way out, and I thought I would have to stop my mate from fighting an alpaca when the animal spit at him. Eventually, he calmed down enough to help me brush a couple of goats, and he took pictures of me petting a very lazy potbellied pig.

We made our way to the exit just fifteen minutes before closing, and I deposited the paper map into the recycling bin. Exhausted after a long day, I lumbered along beside my mate, my legs heavy but my heart lighter than it had been in ages.

“Did you have fun?” Caius asked as we crossed the bridge to the parking lot.

“I did. In fact, this might be my new favorite memory.”

“What was the old one?”

“The first time you kissed me,” I answered without thinking.

Caius slowed, pulling me into the grass to let the family behind us pass. “Wait, so both of your favorite memories are about me?”

“All of my favorite memories are about you,” I confessed, my face stinging with discomfort

His unoccupied hand came to rest on the side of my neck, his thumb pressing under my chin. He held me there, my face tilted up, his eyes narrowed and searching.

“Good.”

He didn’t elaborate. Just that one word, spoken with unwavering conviction before he dragged me closer, hugging me against his chest.

We lingered there for a long time, holding onto each other, Caius’ wings curved to create a natural cocoon between us and the rest of the world.

While acutely aware of the swarm of zoogoers rushing past us only feet away, I forced myself to focus on the big shifter, on the strength of his arms and the warmth of his embrace.

After what felt like an impossibly long time, when the crowd began to thin to only a few groups of stragglers, he brushed his lips across my temple and took my hand.

Neither of us spoke on the drive back, but the silence felt different now, charged with a kind of nervous anticipation. Caius held my hand the entire way, his thumb drawing lazy circles over my wrist that made my pulse jump and my stomach flutter.

The late afternoon sun filled the living room when we entered my apartment, the light casting long shadows across the walls and floors. Stepping up behind me, crowding against my back, Caius rested his hand on my arm, his fingers flexing around the muscles.

Even his touch felt different now, more intentional, and I held my breath as I waited for him to speak.

“Rylee,” he murmured, his breath fanning against the shell of my ear. “I’m not going to pretend I don’t want you because I do. I know you can feel it.”

“I feel it,” I admitted, finding it easier to be open and honest when I didn’t have to look at him.

“If it’s too much, tell me, and I’ll back off. There’s no rush. I don’t want you to feel pressured into something you’re not ready for, but I need you to know this isn’t temporary. Not for me.”

“I feel the same way.” Maybe I always had and just hadn’t realized it yet, but from the moment he’d busted through my front door, everything had changed.

His hand slid down my arm to my elbow, and he applied gentle pressure, urging me to face him. Then he waited, unmoving, for me to gather the courage to meet his gaze.

“I love you, Rylee Burke.”

“It’s not too soon?” I asked, my heart and mind at war between what I felt and what the world told me couldn’t be true.

“That’s for us to decide, not anyone else.” Reaching out, he took my hand, cradling it between his much larger ones. “If it’s too soon for you, that’s okay, but I know what I feel.”

“It’s not too soon. For me, I mean.” I pressed my lips together and breathed through my nose, determined not to ruin the moment with incoherent rambling. “I love you, too, Caius.”

His lips twitched into a warm, pleased smile. “If you’re not ready—”

“I am.” I straightened and pulled my shoulders back so that my body language reflected my certainty. “I want this, and I’m ready for all the new and scary things that come with it.”

With a boldness I didn’t think myself capable of, I squeezed his hand and took a step back, pulling him toward my bedroom. “Make me yours.”