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Embarrassment filled Harrison as he thought of what he must have seemed like, seething with jealousy. It had just overtaken him, and now he could barely look at Hale sitting next to him in the back seat.
They were riding with Grey and Cort this time, though Grey had grumbled a little about Hale’s determination to find a soul mate getting on his nerves. And just what would Harrison do if he did? It wasn’t like he could stop fate. Hale deserved a soul mate as much as the others.
He scrubbed his hands over his face and stared out the window. This twisted knot of chaotic emotions was fucking with his head and distracting him from the real reason he was traveling with the Weavers in the first place. Closing the rift came first.
And if Hale was to have any hope of surviving this, he needed his soul mate. Harrison couldn’t mess with his chances of finding that special person, even if the idea of Hale with someone else was like acid burning a hole through his soul.
He took in the passing scenery without really seeing it. It was nothing but flat land anyway, with hardly anything to catch his attention. He should have ridden with Wiley so they could study the spells. Anything was better than this awkward silence.
Glancing at Hale, he found the man staring out his own window, his profile exposing his pensive expression. What was it about this one man that drew him so deeply?
Hale turned his way and gave him the same sweet smile he’d given the ranger. They stared at each other, and then he felt other eyes on him, only to see Grey looking at him in the rearview mirror. He wanted to ask if Grey was sure they weren’t soul mates, because that would explain so damn much.
But they weren’t. Grey would have known. The man was the expert at this. He’d spotted all the other soul mates.
He was nothing to Hale. Only the Keeper of the Heart of the Earth.
How very funny when not being Hale’s mate had left him hollow and empty inside. As if his own heart had been scooped out of his chest slowly over the past several days.
The four of them made light conversation as they drove for hours. Harrison spent part of that time trying to talk himself into being a little less proprietary when it came to Hale.
That night, when they reached the hotel Clay had chosen, Harrison got out and stretched his cramped legs. He took a big breath of fresh night air and looked up at the stars Hale loved. But all he could think about was another night spent sharing a hotel room with Hale.
At this rate, he was never going to get any sleep.
Chapter
Fifteen
Harrison’s promise not to be jealous didn’t last long.
As they unloaded the vehicles, a Jeep drove up full of college-aged young women. They took one look at Hale and immediately jumped out to flirt with all the men. Clay and Dane were amused while Lucien and his men brushed them off. Baer and Wiley talked to the women, but their hands were clasped the whole time, so it was obvious they were only being friendly.
One young woman was particularly attractive with long, dark hair and a tall, curvy figure. She sidled up to Hale with an open smile on her pretty face.
“We hit the jackpot,” she said as she looked Hale over. “Lots of gorgeous men and not another woman in sight.”
“Yeah, well, most of these men are married to each other.” Hale laughed. “But I’m single. You guys staying in this hotel, too?”
“We’re having a girls’ trip, seeing the sights, seeing what trouble we can get into.” She moved closer to Hale. “So, what are you doing with a bunch of couples?”
“These are my friends and we’re on a trip ourselves.” Hale pulled his satchel out of the back of the SUV, his arm muscles bulging.
Harrison scowled. He wasn’t the only one paying attention to Hale’s body. The brunet was all up in his personal space. Hale caught his expression and lifted an eyebrow. The other girls came up to Hale until he was surrounded, all of them laughing and flirting with him. And Hale was enjoying it if the grin on his face was anything to go by.
The one brunet touched his arm and Harrison barely held in a growl. She was gorgeous with thick, dark hair and enormous eyes in a delicate heart-shaped face. And the way she looked at Hale was exactly the same as that damn ranger back at camp.
Hale was eating up the attention.
Cursing under his breath, Harrison glared at the girl, then stomped into the room he was sharing with Hale and threw his suitcase onto the bed. He’d promised not to act jealous, but it was all he could do not to stalk out there and put his claim on Hale.
