22. Skyler
Twenty-Two
Skyler
I was naive to think I’d be able to sleep tonight with Amethyst this close.
With her scent drifting through the shared door to our rooms and her voice still echoing in my mind hours later.
It’s okay, Angel. Amethyst’s nickname for me had my heart skipping a beat. She’s getting more comfortable with me.
You make me see the light in this world. Even before I knew how intricately entwined our souls were, I fell.
She is the light. I’ll make her see herself.
No use laying here for four more hours knowing I’ll just toss and turn. I pull myself out of bed and throw on a dress shirt, leaving the top few buttons undone. I stuff my phone and keys in the pockets of the gray sweats I’d changed into.
The woman working the desk is completely out now. Her head lulled to the side, and the book sprawled across the counter. I can’t help smiling at the scene. Maybe someday I can have a job like that. With a chuckle, I push the door open.
Coming to stand beside the car, my phone dings three times. I frantically pull it out to make sure Amethyst doesn’t need anything. Seeing Nitasha's name on the screen has me pulling a cigarette out of the center console. Goddess, I wish she’d quit.
Under her two texts stating she won’t be there in the morning is one from Sage. With a slow inhale, I unlock my phone to see the full message.
Sage
You’re missing all the fun here. Actually took someone into custody tonight. How’s all that alone time with your mate treatin ya?
An amused grin tugs at my lips. The last sentence has my heart hammering in my chest. As much as I try not to go there, my cock perks up.
I drag the cigarette butt on the pavement to make sure it’s out before slumping into the driver’s seat and tossing it in the trash can I keep in the back floorboard. My head rests on the seat as I greedily suck in a deep breath of Amethyst’s sweet vanilla that still coats the car.
I wanted to pull her into my lap. Dedicate the rest of the night to worshipping her body. When she leaned her head back, pressing her chest toward me…
Fuck, it took everything I had not to give her what she wanted — needed right then and there .
Clearly that’s where her mark will manifest. I will kiss those inked lines along with every inch of her Goddess-blessed skin. She’s holding the reins, though. We’ll go further only when she’s ready. Adjusting myself and my train of thought I respond to Sage.
Skyler
What’d they get this time? And head out of the gutter Rivera.
Running a hand through my hair with a sigh, I open Lineup. It’s three in the fucking morning. No one in their right mind is going to be awake if I offer up Nitasha’s shift. Fuck it, they’ll figure it out. I mark it as available, switching back to my text thread with Sage.
Sage
Press on nails of course. It’s mind* and mine happens to live in the gutter thanks
Always with the fucking nails. The second half is definitely the truth. There’s only one person who can rival Sage when it comes to thinking about sex, and that’s August. I run a finger across the stubble on my chin. Actually, they’re tied.
I don’t respond, resting my eyes for a moment instead. I’d love to go for a run, but unfortunately, that’s out of the question. I don’t know Vrynthis very well. The last thing I need is to accidentally encroach on a pack’s territory.
I pull up my emails instead. Not that I expect any updates at this hour. I placed an application for a position I’d love to have. It would allow me to leave Burrow’s, and the pay is slightly higher. As suspected, no new communications. Just that they are reviewing my application.
I should head back inside and check on Amethyst. A ding comes from my pocket as I step inside the lobby. I fish my phone out and pray it isn’t Nitasha. My brow quirks seeing it’s a notification from Lineup that someone picked up the shift.
With a shrug, I continue down the hall to our rooms. It hits me then. A coldness seeping into my left hand. Biting, then numb. My breath catches as a chill creeps up my spine.
Amethyst.
On instinct my feet rush me to her door. Knocking twice, I call out her name. No answer. I try again, fear lacing my voice. Nothing. “Goddess damn it!” I growl, turning on my heels.
Miraculously, the door to my room stays intact as I shove it open with more force than intended.
Throwing open the door connecting our rooms, my heart fucking cracks.
Her eyes are distant, tears staining her cheeks.
Laying on her side, tucked into a tight ball, one hand fisting her hair tightly enough I can see the whites of her knuckles.
“Amethyst.” I coax, kneeling at her bedside. Placing a hand atop her shoulder, gently rubbing, I keep talking to her. “Sunlight, I’m here. I’m here with you, you’re safe.” Slipping the shirt off my shoulders, I wipe her tears with its collar. “You’re safe, love, I’m here.”
Slowly, she rises and wordlessly throws her arms around my neck.
With a sigh of relief, I tug her closer.
The jumbled movements knock us off balance.
As my body tips back, she slips off the bed.
I run my hands along her thighs, pulling her into my lap where she buries her face in the crook of my neck.
An entire century could’ve passed, and it still would’ve felt like a single second. Amethyst pulls back just far enough to look in my eyes. “Angel,” her voice is raspy, “you’d better up your guard, because someone is watching me. I’ve felt it for days.”
Her face falls. She adds in defeat, “I couldn’t sleep and thought it was my mind playing tricks on me. That it was malfunctioning after everything I’ve been through in such a short amount of time.”
I’d do anything to take away the pain etched on her beautiful face.
“I’ve always been... this way , after all. Conjuring up scenarios in my head, blurring the lines between my paranoia and reality.”
This way has my defenses flaring. She says it like it’s something to be ashamed of.
There is nothing wrong with her mind. I can feel her fumbling fingers on the back of my neck.
Head turning toward the window, she mumbles, “Someone was out there, Skyler. I heard a hushed voice. I couldn’t see anyone, and I couldn’t make out the words. ”
My gaze narrows on the window, curtains still open just a sliver. There’s nothing that could make me leave her side for the rest of our time in Vrynthis. “Even if I lay on the floor, I’m not leaving this room.”