nothing but trouble. Guys I used to run with every day wanted nothing to do with me. People I’d never met shouted profanities at me or stuffed mean notes in my locker. Just because I’d been accepted into the program by the college didn’t mean that the student body had accepted that the world was changing. Male witches were becoming part of the Dominion. Maybe someday the world at large would realize it. “It’s easier to focus on my studies now.”
Sei’s expression said he knew the truth but didn’t call me on it. I smoothed the wrinkles out of my pants, got up from the bed, and offered him my hand. The tremble had started again. “We should get food.”
“Jamie won’t let me in the kitchen. It wasn’t clean, so I started to clean it. But he wouldn’t let me. The chef had a fit ’cause I said his kitchen was dirty. He probably won’t cook for me.” He shook his head like he’d been horrified. “But you should have seen it. There were piles of crumbs on the counter and stains in the sink. It was awful.”
“Okay. Let’s go down and sit by the fire. I’ll bring you food.” Maybe some tea or cocoa if I could find it. Gabe would need to take Sei in hand. Obviously the seclusion and the storm were getting to him.
Chapter Nine
G
ETTING Seiran into a chair by the fire with food had been harder than I originally thought. Neither Jamie nor Gabe was in the lodge. Mrs. Gossner said they’d gone to the garage and were putting Ron, the dead maintenance guy, in there until help could come. The second storm was blowing in like another snow twister on a warpath.
Hans had already fixed the front door, shaking his head as to why it had been locked to begin with. Mrs. Gossner expressed apologies about it. The whole thing made me wonder just who wanted to ensure we wouldn’t get back inside before the storm. I gripped Sei’s hand and was determined to keep him close to me.
Sei had tried to follow me into the kitchen, twice. He didn’t want others staring at him, and Cat had already asked him where Jamie was. Con glared from across the room like he already knew Seiran intimately. Every time I got between them, his eyes lit up, and he smiled an invitation my way. I wasn’t going there.
The tension in Sei vibrated like a cord about to snap. And with no other option, I became the buffer that separated him from the world. By the time the two older men returned to the lodge, Sei was in my lap reading a romance novel, sipping cocoa, and wrapped in a borrowed blanket. The wind slashed around the outside of the lodge, whipping up so much snow the windows appeared covered in fog. I shivered from the pressure and clung to Sei like he had clung to me so many times before.
“Everything okay?” Gabe asked as he leaned in close and kissed Sei lightly.
“We’re good,” I said.
Sei glanced back at me then up at Gabe, his eyes narrowed with that observant nature of his. Sei stretched and whispered to me, “Come to me if you need to.”
I nodded and let Gabe lead him toward the stairs. Jamie dropped into the chair next to me.
“So was it the maintenance guy?”
“Yeah.” He slid the rubber band out of his hair, which
he must have put up again while he’d been working on the sleds, letting the blond length flow through his fingers. It reminded me of the dreams I’d been having. He looked really tired. “Appears to have frozen to death, but until we can get out of here, no one will know for sure.”
“Do you think it might be something else?”
Jamie just shrugged. His lack of trust stung. “Seiran already asked if I’d put water in the sleds to try
to extend our vacation.”
“Yet he was curled up in your lap.”
“He has to suspect me. Sei is my best friend, and if I
were going to extend our vacation anywhere, it would be a place filled with sunshine and warm blue ocean.” I tugged the blanket up around my shoulders and flipped through Sei’s abandoned romance. It was the only one he’d brought that
Sei’s expression said he knew the truth but didn’t call me on it. I smoothed the wrinkles out of my pants, got up from the bed, and offered him my hand. The tremble had started again. “We should get food.”
“Jamie won’t let me in the kitchen. It wasn’t clean, so I started to clean it. But he wouldn’t let me. The chef had a fit ’cause I said his kitchen was dirty. He probably won’t cook for me.” He shook his head like he’d been horrified. “But you should have seen it. There were piles of crumbs on the counter and stains in the sink. It was awful.”
“Okay. Let’s go down and sit by the fire. I’ll bring you food.” Maybe some tea or cocoa if I could find it. Gabe would need to take Sei in hand. Obviously the seclusion and the storm were getting to him.
Chapter Nine
G
ETTING Seiran into a chair by the fire with food had been harder than I originally thought. Neither Jamie nor Gabe was in the lodge. Mrs. Gossner said they’d gone to the garage and were putting Ron, the dead maintenance guy, in there until help could come. The second storm was blowing in like another snow twister on a warpath.
Hans had already fixed the front door, shaking his head as to why it had been locked to begin with. Mrs. Gossner expressed apologies about it. The whole thing made me wonder just who wanted to ensure we wouldn’t get back inside before the storm. I gripped Sei’s hand and was determined to keep him close to me.
Sei had tried to follow me into the kitchen, twice. He didn’t want others staring at him, and Cat had already asked him where Jamie was. Con glared from across the room like he already knew Seiran intimately. Every time I got between them, his eyes lit up, and he smiled an invitation my way. I wasn’t going there.
The tension in Sei vibrated like a cord about to snap. And with no other option, I became the buffer that separated him from the world. By the time the two older men returned to the lodge, Sei was in my lap reading a romance novel, sipping cocoa, and wrapped in a borrowed blanket. The wind slashed around the outside of the lodge, whipping up so much snow the windows appeared covered in fog. I shivered from the pressure and clung to Sei like he had clung to me so many times before.
“Everything okay?” Gabe asked as he leaned in close and kissed Sei lightly.
“We’re good,” I said.
Sei glanced back at me then up at Gabe, his eyes narrowed with that observant nature of his. Sei stretched and whispered to me, “Come to me if you need to.”
I nodded and let Gabe lead him toward the stairs. Jamie dropped into the chair next to me.
“So was it the maintenance guy?”
“Yeah.” He slid the rubber band out of his hair, which
he must have put up again while he’d been working on the sleds, letting the blond length flow through his fingers. It reminded me of the dreams I’d been having. He looked really tired. “Appears to have frozen to death, but until we can get out of here, no one will know for sure.”
“Do you think it might be something else?”
Jamie just shrugged. His lack of trust stung. “Seiran already asked if I’d put water in the sleds to try
to extend our vacation.”
“Yet he was curled up in your lap.”
“He has to suspect me. Sei is my best friend, and if I
were going to extend our vacation anywhere, it would be a place filled with sunshine and warm blue ocean.” I tugged the blanket up around my shoulders and flipped through Sei’s abandoned romance. It was the only one he’d brought that
Similar Books
