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I knew what it was like to be used. I knew what it was like to have someone take and take and take. This worthy male didn’t deserve that. Until I had something to give back, the most I could do was accept what he offered without asking for more.
One twin rolled over in her bed up in the loft. Seff held his breath as if the sound might wake them.
I gazed down at our hands again and said, “They’re hard sleepers. They always have been. They know they’re safe.”
He let out the breath he’d been holding. His rough finger stroked over the back of my hand before tracing up my wrist and over my forearm, following the delicate white lines of my tattoo. He seemed...enthralled. As if he’d never seen a tattoo or touched ink on another’s skin. His dark eyes sparkled in the light of the single candle I’d lit when we’d first come home. He’d swept his thick, wavy hair back from his face. A short beard, maybe only a week's worth of growth, covered his cheeks. It didn’t hide the faint scar running from the corner of his upper lip, disappearing below his ear and into his hair.
I flinched when his finger tickled the crease of my elbow. He jerked his hand away.
“Sorry. Damn,” Seff whispered as he scrubbed his palm over the face I’d been admiring. “I shouldn’t even be touching you.”
“Don’t stop.” I reached for his hand and sighed at the instant warmth that traveled through my body. “I need...”Your touch. “I need...to know I’m not alone.”
His lips curved up just a tad, as if what I’d said made him happy, but he wasn’t sure he should show it.
“Seff,” I said, as his eyes found mine. Gods, his face was something else. With his long, dark, wavy hair framing his brown eyes and soft lips, he might’ve passed for a gorgeous rock star. Or a model, or my dream cowboy, if I’d had one. He had the body to match—broad shoulders, thick biceps, muscled forearms that ended in large masculine hands. Whatever he did for a living showed in the perfectly defined lines of his chest and abs. Maybe I should have been embarrassed at ogling him, especially when my heart was so broken, but I wasn’t blind. I couldn’tnotsee him or fake how his touch affected me.
“Des.” His eyes made the sweetest crescent moons when he smiled, and he was smiling at me.
I’d been staring. Gazing. Whatever it was called, I’d been lost doing it.
A familiar emotion touched my senses just as I opened my mouth to speak. I lost my train of thought as my brother’s irritation hit me. With a long sigh, I stood from the futon, Seff’s hands slipping from mine as I stepped away.
“My brother is back.”
Alert, Seff stood beside me and inhaled deeply. “I don’t smell him.”
“It’s a twin thing.” I waved a hand. “I can’t deal with him now, and he definitely doesn’t want to deal with me.”
Seff seemed to study me for a moment, then said, “Deck never told me what’s goin’ on between you two, but I can tell, it’s not good.”
If this connection between Seff and me was what I suspected, I would have all the time in the world to explain my complicated relationship with my twin and tell Seff my life’s story.
“I won’t lie to you, Seff, and I won’t hold anything back,” I said. “I promise, I’ll tell you everything, but...not now. Not tonight.”
Secrets untold would taint any chance for a relationship between this male and me. There were things about me, about my life, Seff needed to know up front. He deserved the truth and the chance to walk away.
Decker’s paws thudded heavily on the wooden walkway as he traveled toward my yurt. His brewing frustration made my skin itch. He had wanted to go to Red Lodge, search out our parents, to make sure they were safe. I’d wanted that, too. Having grown up here on Beartooth, I knew the weather would make the trip nearly impossible. Part of me was glad he’d turned back. The other part of me, the part that wanted to throttle him for being such an overbearing, controlling jerkface, that part simmered. Always.
“And I promise to show you the same courtesy, Desarae.” Seff’s smile fell away, replaced by a severe look. “I won’t hold nothin’ back either.”
With his declaration, I discovered I absolutely adored every word he spoke in that smooth Texas accent.
“Damn,” he whispered. “That smile of yours is a killer.”
He leaned in and kissed the corner of my jaw, his breath warm against my ear. I shivered as heat traveled down my neck and tingled in my breasts. Then, he turned toward the door and was gone.
I drifted toward my bedroom and pulled aside my privacy curtain. My reflection stared back at me from the mirror above the headboard. And yes, a small smile curved my lips. And it felt good.
The sound of my brother’s clipped voice drifted into my bedroom and wiped away the tiny happiness I’d felt.
I had made a promise to myself and refused to allow my brother any influence over my life ever again. If the sound of Deck’s voice could steal my joy, I had already failed. I wouldn’t fall into the same trap I’d broken free from with Tillman. I was not the same dreamy-eyed female who’d left home with a male who’d promised me the world and then lied to me with his every breath.
Seff’s deep voice drifted in and eased something deep inside me.
My silly human heart cautioned me that this male could make me believe anything. And that was frightening.
My wolf's heart sang a completely different song. A sweet melody full of love and promises. A sensual song full of passion and desire.
