Page 29 of Those That Are Lost

“This is really nice,” she surmises.

I nod my agreement as a thick atmosphere settles over us. My skin itches like it does whenever I’m separated from her.

Dumping my own bag at the foot of the bed, I half expect her to kick me out before we get to the point of sleeping. Maybe she only wants me in here whilst she showers. Not that I’d be lucky enough to join her, but I’m guessing she would feel safer if I was guarding the room.

“Did you want to wash up?” I enquire.

“Yeah, you?” It’s not an invitation and my dick gives a valiant pulse in hope anyway.

“Definitely, but you can go first,” I tell her.

“Thanks,” she replies. She takes a couple of minutes toroute through my pack for her clothes. She’s been borrowing mine, which I’m one hundred percent loving, but her jeans are now dry after the lake. When she disappears into the shower, I hear the door click but she doesn’t lock it.Interesting.

I take a seat on the armchair and try not to think about her stripping in the next room. An unlocked door dividing us.

CHAPTER 15

AURORA

I’m walking into a room full of wolf shifters. Even though my life has careened into the unbelievable in eighteen months since the accident, I couldn't have predicted this in my wildest fantasies.

Butterflies fill my stomach as I fiddle with the neckline of the polo jumper in the absence of my necklace. Nothing the wolves have said or done has hinted in the slightest that they are going to be aggressive towards us but I can’t help the apprehension of being around so many supernatural beings at once. A bonded pack of them.

I try to force the colour of sandblasted walls and the clanking of chains from my mind but they won’t go back into the dark recesses where I’ve shoved them. The shallowness of my breathing, as well as my general twitchiness, has alerted Ty to my rising panic. He places a gentle hand to my lower back.

I wish it wasn’t so reassuring to have his presence near, to have his hands on me. I hate myself a little for how quickly I’ve grown addicted to him again, to needing him to feel grounded.

I’d thought my defences these last few months had beenforged in steel. Don’t get me wrong, I know I have issues, the frequent breakdowns proved that, but I was able to cope without leaning on anyone.Cope-ish. Sometimes. Sort of.

Anyway, it's only taken him a couple of weeks to prove me completely wrong. To show me just how much I was suffocating without him.

That in itself is terrifying. If I open myself to him fully again, take this thing between us even further, and it gets snatched away again, I won’t survive. The emotion in my chest surges as I let the fear remind me that I must keep my distance. My heart aches to just let it fall freely and unencumbered. It wants nothing more than to repeat what happened the night Ty reappeared in my life. To take it further, to feel as much of his skin on as much of mine as is physically possible. To get lost in his scent, his touch, the words I know he’d whisper if I let him.

I almost groan as I feel the pads of his fingers gently rub little circles on that space between my spine and my hip. Even through the jumper I’m wearing, I feel the spark, the heat.

Last night has made everything that much harder but my resolve was none-existent.

“Hey, we’re just about to sit down,” Ash greets us, putting bowls of steaming food onto the middle of the oval dining table set up in front of the kitchen area. “Grab some seats.”

Ty steers me over to it and pulls out a chair for me. He takes the one next to me.

“Help yourselves to wine or water if you want any,” Ash calls over his shoulder, now ladling what looks like mash potatoes into a large serving dish. There’s already thick buttered slabs of bread on the table in front of us, and a huge pan of what looks like some sort of stew. The unappealing smell of pepper and gravy wafts into my nostrils, making me want to gaga little.

“I’m good thanks,” Ty replies. “Do you want a drink?” he asks me.

I shake my head, glancing to my left when I feel Ty’s eyes linger on me.

You okay?He mouths, cocking his head.

Taking a deep breath, I nod my head. The butterflies are back in full force.

A moment later the sounds of the front door slamming open, and several loud voices, makes me jump.

Ty’s hand comes to my thigh, it's instantly reassuring.

“Evening bro, this smells delicious.” A tall male with red cheeks from the cold strides into the room. Three more follow him, another two males and a female. Without being told, I know they’re all siblings. They all have the same eyes and very similar shades of rich gunmetal grey hair.

Chairs scrape and cutlery jangles as they take their seats and two of them immediately start reaching for the food.