Page 27 of Mending Fate

Her expression cooled, and her eyes narrowed. “Well, this isn’t all about you, is it?”

My brothers moved behind me, and I didn’t have to look at them to know how uncomfortable they were at the conversation.

“Besides, I have to stay here in case Soleil needs me.”

The same girl who’d gone missing before. I hadn’t asked Lumen about whether or not the girl had been found, and if she had, what the circumstances had been. Was that proof of what Lumen had been saying, that the reason Lumen had to look for Soleil was because no one else cared that a foster girl was missing?

“Well, now that you’re not waiting on me, you can leave.” Lumen jerked her chin toward the door. Then she hesitated, expression softening. “I hope Evanne’s there, and you get her back.”

“But you don’t want to come with us.”

She shook her head. “Like I said, I need to be here for Soleil.”

Of course.

If that’s where her priorities were, I wouldn’t keep her from it. Without bothering to say anything else, I turned and walked away. My brothers followed, and the sound of the door closing behind them echoed in my head. I pushed it away, though. I was too close to getting Evanne back to let anything distract me again.

Sixteen

Lumen

What.The. Hell.

Was I ever going to have a nice, boring weekend? Or a boring week, for that matter? Honestly, the way this school year had been going, I was beginning to wonder if this was just what my life was going to be, moving from one moment of confusion and chaos to another, in both my professional and personal lives.

Getting involved with Alec McCrae had been a huge mistake. I should have known the moment he’d walked into Real Life Bodywork that he’d derail the plans I had in place for my life. There had been so many red flags. I really had no one to blame but myself.

The realization only made me feel worse, especially since I knew I still cared about Alec. I still wanted him.

I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and went back to the kitchen to clean up. I had some grading to do, and lesson plans to write, but I wasn’t in any frame of mind to do that. What I could do, however, was find physical things to do. Like cleaning and doing laundry. Both were things that needed to be done, and all the anger I’d had bubbling up inside me needed to get out somehow. Being constructive seemed like the best way to handle things.

Once I was done with the kitchen, I moved into my bedroom. Still standing in the doorway, I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, but as the scent of him filled my lungs, all it did was bring back images from last night, vivid enough to make my body tingle.

The soft cotton of my t-shirt rubbing against my hard nipples.

The sting of his teeth on my throat.

The stubble on his jaw chafing my skin.

His thick shaft pulsing inside me.

Fuck.

I forced my feet to carry me over to my bed, and I stripped it completely, tossing the sheets and blankets to the floor. I wasn’t sure which would be better, to keep my breathing shallow to take in less of his scent or to keep breathing deep in order to desensitize myself to it.

I should have slept in Mai’s room like I’d planned. I still would’ve wanted to wash my sheets, but at least I wouldn’t have needed to deal with the scent of sex along with everything else. Even the tinge of alcohol from his sweat couldn’t cover it up.

With the washers and dryers in the basement, I didn’t have the luxury of staying in my apartment if I wanted to sleep on clean sheets tonight. Besides, running up and down the stairs sounded like a good way to burn off some of the adrenaline still in my system.

While waiting for the washer to do its thing, I went back up to the apartment to start cleaning the living room. The problem with the sort of cleaning I could do blindfolded was that it didn’t take much brain power, and that meant my brain needed to find other things to do. Unfortunately, it wanted to focus on the last thing I wanted to think about.

Alec.

The first time I’d seen him, coming in out of the rain, I’d been struck by how good-looking he was. For the first time ever, I’d been tempted by a client.

That should have been my first clue to get the hell away from him.

Instead, I’d played nice and learned how gorgeous the body beneath the expensive suit was. The fancy, intricate cross that covered his back. The initials SAM that I had later learned belonged to his mother.