Chapter Twenty-Nine #2
I vaguely see him nod, and I nod back like a bobblehead.
“And how are we going to explain this to people?” I prod, desperate for that particular question.
Rayne pauses for a moment before he sighs. “Listen, I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, and there will be judgment. But if you can tough that out, so can we. Doesn’t matter what anyone else says, right?”
I’m nodding again, agreeing wholeheartedly, because I’m not a stranger to judgment from outside sources.
My family and friends have never once judged me or my choices, and I’m sure they won’t start now.
Everyone else, however, will have plenty to say.
I have confidence I can deal with it all, but can all four of them?
Can I put them through that? And if they do want to try it, at what point will it grow to be too much?
There are so many questions, so many thoughts, and I have no idea how to sort through them properly.
“You’re overthinking it,” Rayne whispers.
“Am I overthinking, or are you underthinking?” I whisper back, taking a deep breath while I try to unscramble my brain, Rayne’s kisses still lingering at the very forefront of my mind.
Rayne huffs a short laugh, tugging me closer again as he says, “Mayhem, we had almost a whole week without you, and it was spent overthinking everything that revolved around you, but not once did we worry about anything more than you. Everything else we’ll figure out, so long as you’re on board.
I can’t say I’ll be the best partner you’ve ever had, because my experience is limited at best, but this is something we’re all going to learn on the fly. ”
I pause for a long moment, the biggest part of me wanting to say yes, and the smallest part holding back for several reasons I can’t seem to verbalize right now.
As though the two months spent with me has taught him everything about me, Rayne lifts my head with his knuckles under my chin, and I have to focus in the dark to pinpoint where those pretty eyes of his are.
“How about you think about it?” he suggests suddenly, and my chest lightens instantly, the pressure disappearing so fast that I can finally take a deep breath without worrying my lungs might collapse.
“We’ll take it day by day, and when you give us the go-ahead, that’s when we’ll make it real. Sound good?”
It does. It really does. Because I definitely need a minute to wrap my head around everything, to think this through until I’m certain.
Because one of my biggest flaws is that I don’t do things in halves, which is one of the things that bothered Toby so much.
I give everything I love my absolute all, no matter what.
I don’t do half-assed relationships, I can’t give minimal energy.
When I’m in, I’m in, and apparently that’s a lot for someone to deal with.
I have to take the time to really decide if I can do that with not just one man, but four.
Would I be able to deal with the fallout if things didn’t work out?
Would I be able to cope if they finally realized just how much I am to deal with and leave me hanging?
I don’t have those answers right now, and Rayne seems to know it, and he chuckles under his breath as he brushes my hair from my face in such a sweet gesture that it almost floors me.
“Think it over, and give us a signal when you’re ready,” he commands, leaning in to press one more kiss to my mouth before finally dragging me out of the closet.
Clearing my throat, feeling all tingly when he links our fingers together, I ask, “What signal am I meant to give you?”
He shrugs, actually thinking about it, and I catch sight of the rosy tint to his cheeks as soon as we’re back under the lights of his studio.
I don’t know why that sends a rush of satisfaction soaring through me, but I love it, seeing just how affected he is by me.
It makes this thing feel a whole lot less one-sided, and it makes me realize I haven’t been reading this man as well as I thought I’d been.
I didn’t have a clue he even liked me. I thought Rayne simply tolerated me for the benefit of the others.
This is a very welcome development I’m enjoying, even as it sends a flurry of butterflies soaring through my stomach once more.
“How about this? The moment you kiss one of the others, I’ll consider it a green flag,” he suggests, and I snort instantly. He flashes me a smile over his shoulder and mutters, “Can’t have a more obvious signal than that, right?”
Shaking my head while I grin, I think over everything Rayne has said, only to come to a sudden stop when I realize something incredibly important.
Rayne stumbles to a stop, checking my hand in his as I squeeze in surprise, before he looks up at me and questions, “What? What’s wrong?”
Eyeing him closely, checking every nook and cranny of his beautiful face, I lower my voice and ask, “Are you feeling okay? Feeling like yourself? Any signs of body snatchers you might be worried about? You can tell me. I can keep a secret.”
Rayne eyes me as though I’ve suddenly lost my mind. In his defense, I fear I might be in the early stages, but I’m not quite there yet. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Shaking my head, I narrow my eyes on the devilishly handsome bastard, trying to find something out of place about him and coming up empty.
So I say, “Are you aware that this is the most I’ve heard you speak in all of the two months we’ve known one another?
I’ve heard your voice more today than I have in eight weeks. ”
I’m on the receiving end of an unimpressed glare before I can blink, and I know right then and there that the skinwalkers haven’t snatched the real Rayne and replaced him.
Rayne Hunter is the only man I know who can wield a glare like a weapon and cut something with it, the look impossible to recreate no matter how good a body snatcher you are.
“Very funny,” he grumbles, and I relax knowing that he’s the real deal, even if he’s suddenly a chatty one.
“It’s nice,” I tag on, squeezing his hand once more and feeling my cheeks grow warm when he links our fingers more securely, like he doesn’t want to release his hold on me just yet.
It’s something I never would have expected from Rayne of all four of them, but I can’t say I’m not pleasantly surprised.
I really like this version of Rayne, just as much as I like the mysterious, standoffish, and silent version.
“Don’t get used to it,” he mutters, dragging me across the room that houses four different tattoo stations, each one decorated differently.
I knew which was Rayne’s the moment Laylah and I came up here, the space in the farthest corner with only black-and-white landscape prints on the wall and a single photo of a pretty woman with a smile I see on Rayne when he finally graces me with one.
With his hand still in mine, I let him guide me through the stations and down the stairs, only pausing before we reach the bottom step.
He releases my hand, and I miss the contact instantly, but he says, “We’ll keep everything low-key until you’re ready, okay?
No pressure, no stress. It’s all on your terms, so take your time. ”
And with that, he walks right back into the room that houses the reception desk, and I follow behind him, a little stunned but a big ball of appreciation filling my chest for the silent sentinel I can still taste on my lips.
When we rejoin the others, it’s to find Gene sketching on a tablet with his digital pen, Laylah hanging off Mikey’s arm, and Billy scrolling through his phone with his back to us. “We should just ask her anyway. Fuck it.”
“You wanna poke that bear again already?” Mikey asks, giving me a head jerk and smile, Laylah giving me a chocolate-mouthed grin to match.
Billy shrugs, likely having no clue we’re even here, and says, “Yeah, why not? If we gang up on him, he’ll have no choice but to agree.”
Like a panther walking in stealth mode, Rayne walks over to where Billy sits and leans close to his ear, drawing near enough that he doesn’t give himself away but close enough that I know how this is going to pan out before it happens.
Sure enough, when Rayne speaks, he does it loudly in Billy’s ear, and the copper-haired man with hair long enough to braid damn near jumps out of his skin. “We don’t need promo. Knock it off.”
I’m laughing as I head back to the couch, deciding that spending the day here might just be the plans I needed.