Page 17 of Winter Unleashed
“Say what now? I live with Fraser?”
“Um, yeah, you are… were mates. You kept this place as an office. You only come here to write when Philip and I won’t leave you alone.”
“Training. Vampires. I remember all that,” I said. Memories of Philip and Stella attacking me in a gorgeous backyard framed by trees ran through my mind. “Does Fraser have a pool with a waterfall? And a gazebo with those little twinkle lights?”
Stella clapped her hands and bounced up and down. “Yes, yes! That’s his yard.”
A laugh escaped me as I watched her lose her mind. “Geesh, Stell, calm down. I remember the yard not the man.”
“Will you agree to come back there with us? Just for lunch.” She aimed those big, bright blue eyes at me, silently pleading with me, and there was no way for me to say no.
“Sure. Just for lunch,” I said with a small smile. “But don’t get your hopes up.”
The drive to Fraser’s was quiet.I’d opted to ride with Isaac while Stella and Philip drove in her car. I stared out the window while trying to find any reason for my best friends to make up stories about fairies and magic spells. But I couldn’t come up with any logical reason for them to lie to me.
I figured even if they were wrong about Celeste, lunch with the Autumn Alpha would be the worst thing to happen. One afternoon to appease my friends before I returned to my regularly scheduled program wouldn’t hurt… I hoped.
On the flip side, if I found out Fraser and I were mates, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. Sure, I’d noticed how attractive he was, but he had such a disconnect to what went on around him it put a bad taste in my mouth.
“We’ll be there in a few minutes,” Isaac said, pulling me from my thoughts. “I’m not sure if you’ll remember anything today, but I know you only realized you two were mates after you slept together.”
“Whoa! Hold on a second, I am not screwing Liam Fraser. I agreed to a lunch, not a roll in the hay.”
He sighed and shook his head. “I didn’t mean you should fuck him today, Em. I’m trying to fill you in on what I know about you two. Before you slept together, you still felt something for him. Like a pull. You guys messed around but the bond didn’t click until you had sex. I just wanted you to be aware, so you don’t assume there’s nothing when you don’t fall for him over tuna salad.”
My face scrunched up. “Yuck. We’re having tuna salad?” He growled in frustration which made me laugh. “I’m kidding. I understand what you’re saying and will keep it in mind.”
“Does this look familiar?” he asked as we pulled up in front of a wrought-iron gate.
I shook my head. “I mean, I’ve driven by this house before, but it’s not especially familiar.”
“Okay. Listen, Fraser may be a little intense today. It’s only been a few weeks. He hasn’t had time to come to terms with it. He was inconsolable while you were gone. Then he saw you today and spiraled out again.”
I frowned at the pang of compassion that hit me. Even though I wasn’t too keen on Fraser, knowing he was in pain bothered me. “Okay. Thanks for the warning.”
We entered through a gorgeous set of mahogany doors and walked down the marble-tiled hall out to that amazing backyard I’d remembered. I glanced around, trying to bring up memories of being there, but all that came were blurry visions of me wrestling with Philip or Stella or both at the same time.
Just as those memories finished playing through my mind, the couple joined Isaac and me on the patio. A moment later, the sound of heels against the stone had me turning around again to see Ciara headed our way in her usual tight, pencil skirt and high collared button-down shirt.
She was much smaller than Isaac, and even in her high heels, had to rise to her tiptoes to kiss him. She turned to me with a bright smile. “Ember, how are you?”
“Confused. Thanks for asking,” I said.
She laid her hand on my arm. “I’m sure you are. I can only imagine how you must feel. Forgive my brother if he’s a little odd today,” she added in a whisper, echoing Isaac’s warning.
A strange shift in the atmosphere pulled my gaze over her shoulder to the house. Liam Fraser stopped moving when he saw me. There was no ignoring his presence and no denying his anguish as he stood frozen in place.
The only movement coming from him was the breeze gently brushing the tips of his hair over his shoulders. His eyes pinned me with a fierce look that had me wanting to take a step awayfromhim and runtohim at the same time. Those conflicting urges confused me even more while I watched him slowly make his way over to us.
Ciara and Isaac moved aside when Liam stopped about a foot away. His eyes still hadn’t left me.
“Ember,” he said. His voice held an edge to it that told me he was holding something back. I could feel his power, and even as much as he had it reined in, I could tell it was beyond anything I’d ever felt before. He was a formidable shifter.
I studied him while he studied me. His expression was so dark and brooding, I couldn’t decide whether he wanted to hit me or kiss me.
“Fraser,” I replied after a few moments. My mouth was dry, and my lips pulled into an awkward smile as I leaned in toward him. “Can you stop staring at me? I mean if what these guys have told me is true, I need time to get to know you… I think. But I get it, you’re hoping something will trigger and I’ll jump into your arms.”
His lips twitched upward a little. “I’m sorry. It’s all a little hard to believe. It hasn’t fully sunk in yet. I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”