Total pages in book: 193
Estimated words: 184001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 920(@200wpm)___ 736(@250wpm)___ 613(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 184001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 920(@200wpm)___ 736(@250wpm)___ 613(@300wpm)
After I offered to make us food, he gave me a weird look like I’m a puzzle he can’t figure out but wants no part of before disappearing. Intuition tells me that the more I try to make him like me, the less he’ll trust me.
Of course, I can’t take it personally, but it’s easier said than done when he wears the face of the man I love. There are moments when he even sounds like Seth—though I suppose it’s not hard to do when the differences in their cadence and tone are subtle.
Seth is loud and chaotic, his mirth spreading throughout the cabin and infecting us all.
Zeke is quiet and pensive, darkening the mood of everyone around him.
And then there’s the moment in the dell earlier when Seth’s anger poked a sleeping Bane and the alter I hoped to never meet spoke in that terrifying rumble. I know what you’re doing.
The mere memory raises the hair on my nape.
Khalil and Thorin are wrapping up their plans by the time I’m done whipping together our lunch. Thorin disappears to fetch Zeke, and I keep my gaze pinned to the table when they return to avoid looking at Zeke. Even the way he walks is different. I hear the hesitant shuffle of his steps behind Thorin’s commanding stride.
I dare a peek when he passes Seth’s usual chair directly across from mine and a guilty pit forms in my stomach when I glimpse the hard line of his mouth and the muscle in his cheek pulsing with unhappiness as he takes a seat at the far end of the table facing Khalil—as far away from me as possible.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Zeke didn’t come willingly, so I throw everything I have into the glare I pin Thorin with when he takes his usual seat next to me. The last thing I want is to force Ezekiel to accept me.
Thorin startles and winces when he notices my displeasure and then glances at Zeke, who drops down into the chair and crosses his arms, blatantly ignoring the plate of food I left at Seth’s place.
Seth, who would have shoveled half of it down by now like there was a prize for finishing first.
Don’t make comparisons, I scold the moment the thought manifests.
I clear my throat. “Um…so fair warning,” I say jokingly to break the tension. “I have a lot of talents, but cooking isn’t one of them. I’m awful at it.”
My nervous chuckle dies an abrupt death when Zeke simply stares back at me.
“The trick is to avoid tasting the food while eating,” Khalil says, coming to my rescue. “That’s a mistake your stomach won’t recover from.”
When I cut my gaze at him, he flashes all of his teeth before lifting my hand to brush his lips over the back in apology. Suddenly, I’m desperate to feel his lips elsewhere, but Thorin speaks and breaks through that lustful fog. I reluctantly pull my hand away and banish all thoughts of Khalil’s lips.
Right now is about making Zeke comfortable.
“Water to wash it down is also your friend.” Thorin lifts his glass in the air in salute and takes a healthy gulp.
I snort out a laugh that isn’t all for show, but Zeke still isn’t buying what we’re selling. His gaze was hostile when he first sat down, but it’s the assessing look he levels at us that makes me squirm. Zeke’s green eyes flick toward the untouched plate of food, but he still doesn’t touch it.
Probably thinks I poisoned it.
The moment the thought forms, there’s a demanding knock on the front door that threatens to break it down if we don’t answer.
Naturally, the hackles of all three alpha males rise at the challenge.
“Shit,” I blurt out at the same time Thorin pushes back his chair to answer the door. Thorin pauses, and three sets of eyes fly toward me, waiting for me to explain the expletive. “It’s the sheriff,” I confess without a trace of doubt, as if I’d personally invited him here. I can’t believe I forgot about my encounter with him earlier—before Seth and the death squad and the avalanche.
“We know,” Khalil answers.
Right. Because the sheriff is the only one who ever comes up here.
Still, Khalil’s expression turns thoughtful as he wonders how I knew. His gaze flies to Thorin. “There’s no way he found the bodies already. All that snow?” he asks rhetorically. “They’ll be buried for a few more days at least, so what the fuck?”
Khalil and Thorin are frowning at each other, but I can feel Zeke’s eyes on me when I finally speak. “It’s my fault.”
“Your fault…” Khalil echoes slowly.
“I’m so sorry. We crossed paths while I was out hunting.” I look at Khalil. “H-he knows I’m not your cousin. I think he’s here for me.”
“If he knows who you are, why did he let you go?” Thorin questions.