I can only nod, and well...what happens after that is even more magical than I can ever dream of.
Fire crackles next to us as Aidan lays me down on a soft, thick rug, and my eyes close as the hot, hard weight of his body settles over mine. Our mouths touch, and the magic of his kiss seeps into my soul.
We kiss slowly at first.
Gently.
Teasingly.
But just as the flames watching us begin to burn hotter, so do things change between us.
All traces of softness disappear.
And all that's left is wild and feral.
His tongue thrusting hard into my mouth.
His teeth sinking into the fullness of my lip.
His mouth latching onto the sensitive flesh of my neck.
It's magic uncontrolled.
Impossible to contain.
And so heartbreakingly beautiful that even as it has me gasping and moaning, my body shuddering against his powerful hardness—-
There's also nothing I can do to keep the tears from falling.
Just nothing I can do...
Except cry at how magical it is.
And the tears fall harder and faster when I feel Aidan's mouth ease from my skin.
He sits up and leans back against the sofa as I curl on his lap like a baby, my tears wetting the sweater under his coat.
Words explode in my mind.
There's so many things I want to say.
So many things I want him to know.
Just so, so many things I wish I can say.
But I can't.
My lips are trembling too hard, and all I can do is sob—-
"It's alright, baby."
No, it's not.
"Just listen to me," he says softly. "Alright?"
I don't want to.
"I know you think everything's happening too fast, and that things between us can't possibly be real."
I can't and mustn't listen.
"I know you've decided to leave, and I'm telling you now..."
Because whatever he has to say—-
"It's going to be fine, baby."
I'm sure I won't be able to bear it.
"I want you to take as much time as you need."
And it's just as I feared.
"There isn't any need to hurry because we have forever."
He's telling me he's okay with waiting. He's giving me the time that Jack himself doesn't think I deserve, and every word is magic.
"But until then..."
Just beautiful, heartbreaking magic, and it's because of that...
"I know I have to let you go."
It's because of that every word hurts.
Chapter Seven
There was a reason Hartland Books, a charmingly old brick building situated on top of an uphill road, was also located at the farthest edge of the town. Its owner was of a solitary nature, and since he also had a tendency to scowl and speak in a menacingly soft voice, people were more than happy to bend backwards to accommodate his desire for privacy.
Most people that is...except the young woman standing outside the bookshop and gazing dreamily at the tall, dark-haired man standing behind the counter.
The sight made Aidan's lips twitch, and he had to clear his throat several times before his sister-in-law finally turned to him like waking from a trance.
"Aidan?" Blake's tone was an amusing mix of dazed and breathless, and Aidan could only chuckle at the way she started shuffling her feet and glanced over her shoulder right after speaking. The two might have been married for months now, but the honeymoon stage clearly wasn't over, and knowing Blake...
It was unlikely they'd ever get past that stage, Aidan thought wryly. It wasn't so long ago when Blake's feelings for Thornton were one-sided, and Aidan had actually taken to avoiding the girl because of all the gag-worthy gushing she did over his twin.
Blake had worn her heart so proudly on her sleeve that the whole town knew about her feelings for Thornton even without her saying a word. And now that he thought about it, Anah had been the same. While she had never been as openly chatty as Blake about her feelings, the way the younger girl always seemed to bloom to life whenever Ethan was around was just as telling, and Anah's unrequited love had become another one of Hartland's open secrets.
It would've been nice if Aidan could say the same thing about his own life, but as things were now...
"Things must be really bad if you've come to me to talk."
Thornton's gruff tone had Aidan starting, and the way the other man's lips tightened told Thornton that his twin hadn't even noticed Blake going inside the bookshop to get him.
When Blake told him Aidan needed to talk to him about the girl, Thornton hadn't believed her, but now that he had seen his twin...
"What's wrong?" he asked bluntly.
"She's leaving."
"Fuck."
Aidan's lips twisted. "Exactly."
"What's your next move?"
"Nothing."
Thornton's impassive expression didn't change. Nothing, where his twin was concerned, still meant something.
Although he and Aidan had always presented a united front in public, one little-known secret about them was how intensely competitive they were with each other behind closed doors. Even Ethan didn't know about the hours Thornton and Aidan used to spend playing chess against each other in their younger days, and later on, this had progressed into high-stakes games on whose I.T. venture could generate more sales or whose start-up funding had reported more gains at a given time frame.
The Aidan Blackwood everyone knew seemed like an open book; a gentleman whom no one would hesitate to trust and ask help from. Thornton used to believe the same thing, too...or at least he had until they started playing those games, and he had come to realize just how much of his real self his twin kept hidden.
The real Aidan was a sly, cunning trickster made tougher by his subtly forceful nature and rock-solid composure. The first few times they had played against each other, Thornton had been chagrined to realize how his older twin was often ten steps ahead of him, and how the other man's genial demeanor was nothing but a mask.
The quiet charm and impeccable manners. Even those damn smiles that Blake often urged Thornton to try for himself.
Ha!
Thornton nearly snorted at the memory. Everything about Aidan's "public" persona was a sham, and Blake, just like the rest of the town, had completely fallen for it. Control meant so damn much to his twin that if and when Aidan were to fall in love, Thornton had always imagined it would be with a girl who was malleable and uncomplicated. Someone who would never be so troublesome to upset his twin's perfectly mapped life.
But looking at Aidan now...
The mask was definitely off, Thornton thought, and as for the reason behind it...
Aidan saw the way his brother was looking at him and had no trouble interpreting the disquiet in Thornton's gaze. "You looked her up."
"I'm sure you did as well."
"Naturally."
"And you know about the man in her life?"
"He's immaterial." Aidan genuinely didn't give a fuck about Jack-what's-his-face. "It's her..." His jaw clenched, and a rare trace of frustration underscored his tone when he spoke again. "It's Serafina I can't figure out. There are things at play...and I just fucking wish they were things I could fix for her. But I can't."