Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Siobhan
He’s so graceful it nearly hurts to watch. The way he walks like he’s floating, every movement intentional and easy. He picks a deck and carries it over, sitting down an entire cushion away from me again, like he’s afraid to get too close.
I wish he’d sit closer. Close enough to touch.
The way he listened and accepted what I do for work without the tiniest hint of judgment has me wanting to leap into his arms. My head pounds in protest at that idea, and my stomach roils uncomfortably. I ignore it, turning my attention back to the sensual beta in my reading room.
And now, how he seems to be truly interested in my work, my passion.
I’ve never had that in anyone before. My friends think it’s fun, maybe even interesting, but it always feels like they’re indulging me more than engaging.
And everyone I’ve dated in the past has treated my job like some sort of kitschy hobby, or a cute little side project.
Like it’s a phase I’ll outgrow someday before I get a “real” job.
But Aury hasn’t made me feel that way once.
He’s easy to talk to, a good listener, and it makes me want to open up and share more with him.
His warm cinnamon scent slowly permeates my space, sinking into the green velvet cushions and making me want to cozy up to him and snuggle into his side. If only my head wasn’t throbbing, my jaw didn’t ache, and the idea of moving two feet didn’t feel equivalent to running a marathon.
I slip the pastel green top off the box he chose and tip the cards into my hand.
Shuffling them is not nearly as easy as it normally is with this stupid splint on my wrist, and I debate taking it off for about two seconds before I toss the idea, knowing Aury would throw a fit.
I force my irritation away, not wanting the negative energy around my cards.
Since this is going to take longer than usual, I figure it’s a good opportunity for me to learn more about him.
“Where did you learn tai chi?” I glance up at him, irritated all over again that shuffling with a splint requires me to watch my hands as the cards tip between them.
“My grandparents on my dad’s side were from Guangdong, outside Hong Kong.
My dad was born there, but then they all moved here when he was a baby.
Anyways, my ye ye—grandpa—is the one who taught me tai chi.
He used to practice outside on the front lawn every morning and I’d follow behind him.
” Aury has a fond, nostalgic smile on his face, the kind that tells me his ye ye is no longer with us.
“How old were you?”
“Oh, very young. As my mom tells it, I’d started following him around before I could even walk. Crawling to the front door and sitting in front of it to watch him through the screen.”
“That’s so cute.” I grin, imagining a tiny, chubby Aury crawling after his ye ye.
“It wasn’t until I was about six, when he realized he wasn’t getting rid of me, that he started officially teaching me tai chi. I think he thought I’d grow out of it.” Aury huffs a laugh and his eyes refocus on me as he comes out of the memory.
“I guess you never did.” I tilt my head, contemplating the beta in front of me. “Your parents were both betas?”
Aury nods. “All my grandparents, too.”
I hum, wondering what that means about his thoughts on pack life.
Then I internally scoff, because I am getting wayyyy ahead of myself.
I decide to plant myself firmly in the here and now, so I look back down at the cards in my hands.
I tap the deck three times and tell him to gently blow across the top, and finally I splay them in an arc on the cushion between us.
He leans forward, sending another hint of his scent wafting over us, and I peek up at him.
“Close your eyes,” I instruct, taking the opportunity to absorb the details of him.
Dark shiny hair, cropped in a neat fade on the sides but just a touch long and messy on top.
Warm, tawny skin with golden undertones on his sharp cheekbones.
Thick brows, a straight nose, full lips, and a strong jaw and neck that my fingers ache to trail down.
Slender, defined muscles peeking out from his short-sleeve shirt.
My mouth starts watering and heat builds low in my stomach. I force my eyes away before I start perfuming again.
“Now reach out your left hand.” I use it as an excuse to touch him, guiding his hand over the cards.
“Starting here,” I say, our hands hovering over one end of the arc and then slowly moving across to the opposite end.
“All the way to over here. Let the fates, Mother Earth, or your own intuition guide you.”
I reluctantly release his hand, and his fingers follow mine for a moment before he catches himself and returns them to the cards. I bite my lip to hold in a pleased grin.
“Pick whichever you feel called to.” My eyes continue to devour him, taking in the tendons and veins cording his hands and forearms. How his fingers look strong, and long enough to wrap all the way around—
I clear my throat, my thoughts coming to an abrupt halt when his eyes pop open and catch me staring. Then I notice his finger has landed on a card, and he nudges it towards me.
I flip it over, then freeze with my hand in the air above it.
Do not perfume. Do not perfume. Do not perfume.
I clench my thighs together and lick my lips, sucking in a slow breath to try to calm the images that are bopping around in my head.
“What is it?” Aury says, eager curiosity lining his voice. “What does it mean?”
I look down at the card, a picture of two wolves running together, the moon and sun both shining down on them.
“The Lovers,” I say, my voice raspy with want.
My cheeks flush, but I force myself to continue.
“It means mutual attraction, the potential for love.” I pause to glance at him, but the way his eyes are searing into me, his white teeth biting at his plump bottom lip, only makes me hotter.
“With this deck in particular, it means finding strength in unity, embracing what’s in your heart.
It…” I hesitate, but he nods for me to continue.
“It indicates trust in the power of love and… bonds of companionship.”
At the word ‘bonds’ my perfume explodes out of me, and I gasp, half in mortification and half in desire. I can’t look at him. I’ve certainly scared him away, and he’s probably trying to figure out how he can get out of staying here with me.
“Siobhan.” The tightness in his voice doesn’t sound like anger or judgment. No, it sounds like…
I peek up at him again, and he’s beaming. A broad grin that transforms his face from handsome to downright devastating in its beauty. He reaches out one hand, then pauses.
“May I touch you?”
I nod and remind myself to blink, to breathe.
He cups the unbruised side of my jaw in his palm, so tenderly it nearly brings tears to my eyes.
“Siobhan,” he whispers. “When it comes to you, everything you just said rings true for me. This card,” he pauses to pick it up, holding it between us. “This card is not fully accurate, only because there’s no way one card can fully encompass the way I’ve been falling for you.”
He can’t be serious. We barely know each other, despite knowing of each other for a couple years now. He reads the doubt in my eyes, and he’s quick to dispel it.
“I know it might seem fast, but from the moment I met you, I sensed you were special. I just never thought I’d be deserving of you. Never thought I’d be enough, or that you’d ever…” he trails off, suddenly looking concerned.
It takes my concussed brain a few seconds to process his words, to figure out why he’s pulling away. I grab his hand and bring it back to my face.
“I feel the same way. I…” I wrinkle my nose, not wanting to admit it, but feeling it’s the right thing to do. “I’ve kind of had a crush on you for a while.”
He brightens again, his smile shining back at me as a hint of mischief twinkles in his eyes. “Oh yeah? How long is a while?”
I huff a soft laugh, trying not to make my headache worse, and pinch my lips together.
“A month?” Aury says, and I shake my head the tiniest amount. “Two months?”
I giggle. “So much more.”
“A year?”
I roll my lips between my teeth, and slowly shake my head again. Aury sucks in a breath, the playful grin falling from his face.
“Are you saying…” he says, his voice dropping an octave, “that I could have had you all this time?”
I twist my lips to the side, all my recent card pulls flashing through my mind. New beginnings, leap of faith, dream big, be patient, take a risk, embrace my inner boldness, mutual attraction.
The potential for love.
“Yes,” I whisper.
Aury stares at me, dumbfounded, and I bite my lip, wincing at how much I’ve abused it in the last few minutes. His eyes drop to my mouth, and I wonder if this time… but then he leans back, seemingly bracing himself against the couch.
“Siobhan,” he says, soft and quiet. “I’d love nothing more than to kiss you right now.
But do you think we could save that until you’ve healed a bit?
I don’t quite…” He scrubs a hand up and down the back of his head, mussing up his hair even more.
Then he makes some sort of low grumble-grunt sound before he drops his gaze back to the card between us and continues with a gravelly voice.
“…trust myself. Right now. With you injured. And me…”
He trails off again, and I wait, but he doesn’t finish his sentence.
“With you, what?” I finally say, begging him in my head to tell me. My breath catches in my throat when he raises his dark eyes to meet mine.
“Desperate for you.”