My lip starts to tremble as I listen, tears again stinging my eyes, but Jesse leans forward. “Rafe,” he murmurs, glancing between us. “Slow down a little, man. I mean, if we’re aware of what they’re feeling, then she’s aware of it double – she can feel it all down their bonds. And that, on top of
“Yeah,” Jesse says, considering, assessing. “Yeah, Ari, with all of it - I think you did as well as you could.” “Really?” I ask, kind of shocked. “Yeah, I agree,” Rafe says with a sigh. I turn my eyes to him. “I mean, you had to get to know them first to know if you even wanted to tell them you
“We got your back, Ariel,” Rafe murmurs, patting my knee. And then we spend the next few hours talking softly, letting our thoughts wander, none of us really making a move to go to bed. Instead, slowly – perhaps simultaneously – we all fall asleep curled up next to each other like we used to do when
As I anxiously study Luca, waiting for his next move …damn, but I can’t help but notice how good he looks. Luca’s freshly showered, dressed in the Cadet black that makes him look so sharp, his hair falling a little into his face in a way that just begs me to touch it, wanting to push it back. His li
“Enough of that,” Rafe calls from across the room where he’s tossing what few personal possessions he has into a backpack. “Hands off, Luca. Still my sister.” “Still my mate,” Luca calls back, but his voice is cheerful as he pushes himself up from the wall, letting his arm drift from behind my bac
I lift my eyebrows in surprise as Luca turns to stares at Jesse, appalled at the accusation. Jesse continues, either pretending not to notice or not caring. “I mean,” Jesse says, turning his palm up as he talks it through, “unless I’m mistaken, you’ve never told her that you loved her before, righ
“Neither do I,” I whisper back, taking a step closer. To my surprise, Luca lifts his arm and wraps it around me, tucking me in against his side, where he likes me. “But we can figure it out together.” Luca murmurs something I don’t quite hear, raising a hand and cupping my cheek in his palm, stari
Neumann laughs at my inappropriate remark, shaking his head. “I was hard on you to push you, Clark. You work harder when you’re terrified. Someone has to herd you along towards your potential, after all,” he looks around the room now, glaring a bit at my friends and my family, who all beam at me. “T