Chapter 96 AURORA

I was barely aware as Dane led me away from Holden’s rooms. I thought, vaguely, that we were going to mine, but he took me to his.

I struggled weakly, but stopped when I realized why he was bringing me here.

Tristan and Seraphina weren’t there. Neither was Mrs. Jamison. Evander and Trajan were still out searching.

I would be alone.

Tears burned behind my eyes again. I didn’t know how much weeping I could do before I would turn to dust.

“I want them back.”

I said the words with every part of my soul. It felt like they should be a scream, but they were a simple whisper only one man could hear.

We got to his rooms, and he led me to his bed. “I know. I feel it.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant. He felt the same? Or he could actually feel my pain? But that intimacy was reserved only for the strongest spirit bonds, only for kindred souls or fated mates.

We’d been in each other’s lives for eight years. If we were fated, we would know.

I put his words from my mind and let him pull me into his arms. He held me, rocking gently. He didn’t speak. We both knew there were no words for this pain and uncertainty.

Finally, he let me go. “I need to get back to the search. I want you to rest.”

“No!”

The word tore from me. I didn’t mean it to. Of course, I wanted Dane out there searching for the twins, and I knew I needed to rest, or I was going to be useless. It was getting late, and I was so tired I could barely stand.

“No?” he asked.

I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest. “Don’t leave me alone. Rest with me, just for an hour. Then take me with you when you search. I can’t… I can’t just sit here.”

He was quiet for a long time, then he said, “I’ll rest with you, but I want you to sleep, not just rest for an hour.”

“I can’t.”

“You can,” he insisted. “I’m here with you.”

His hands were already moving over me, gently removing my clothes. It sent a shiver of heat over my skin, but I was too tired, too nauseous, too worried to feel more than that.

“Dane…”

“Shh.” He removed everything except my panties, then ran gentle hands over my skin. Any time he touched me, heat flooded my body, but this wasn’t sexual. It was just… comfort.

He stripped down to his boxers, then lifted me and laid me in the bed. He got in after me and pulled me against him, so our bodies pressed together.

Again there was a spark of heat, but it was overtaken by that feeling of connection, of peace, of comfort and soft energy flowing from his body into mine in every place our skin touched.

“You aren’t alone,” Dane whispered. His big hand braced against the small of my back, then trailed up and down, stroking my skin.

It was beautiful, and despite my fear for the twins, which was as strong as ever, my body began to relax into this intimate comfort that—even if it wasn’t making love—only a lover could give.

My mind stopped racing. My breathing slowed.

Like he had said I would, I slept.

DANE

Aurora slept, thank the goddess. I wanted her to rest. I wanted her to be on top of her game. We needed her clever mind and her steel spine if we were going to find the twins.

I meant to climb out of the bed as soon as she was sleeping, but when I was tangled in the sheets with her, soft and warm, I couldn’t make myself get out again.

The pack was still searching. Trajan had organized them since Archer was still hunting for Remington Reed. I couldn’t touch his mind, but I could speak to the others.

Trajan knew his job, and he was doing it well. I could leave things in his hands for a few hours.

I could stay here with the woman I had fought against wanting for so long.

Thank the goddess that was one fight I had finally lost.

Aurora felt so incredible against me, but I kept my mind and body reined in.

I would have her again. I would explore her and love her and hear her whimper my name. I would feel her fingers tangle in my hair as I pleasured her the way she deserved.

But now, today, I would just feel her next to me, breathing softly as sleep allowed her to release her worries, even if it was just for a little while.

EVELYN

I hovered outside Dane’s room, my hand raised to knock, but when I breathed in, I caught a scent I wasn’t used to. Not here, in his bedroom.

Aurora.

I gritted my teeth. Then I flipped open my phone.

If my mother had those twins, it was damn well time for her to tell me her plans.