“Nothing wrong with a girl knowing how to aim and shoot.”

Selma smiled. “I’m a girl and I’ve never been shown how to shoot a gun.”

He snapped his eyes to hers. “That’s a shame. It’s a sick f**king world out there.”

She waved a finger in the air. “That’s a buck in the swear jar, buddy.”

He laughed then… a full laugh Selma wasn’t sure she’d ever heard from him before. The sound filled something inside her and made her want to hear it again.

“Sophie works that jar better than a Denny’s waitress works tips. I swear her first car is going to be a fu…freaking Ferrari when she’s sixteen.”

“With the way you cuss, you’re probably right.”

“Yeah…” He stared at his hands. “I’m relieved she’s getting married again.”

Selma didn’t remember asking.

“The alimony was killing me.”

“I bet.”

He sighed.

“Have you met John?”

He nodded, didn’t meet her gaze. “Yeah. Nice enough guy…for a pencil pusher.”

“Not a man’s man?”

Jake smirked. “Desk jockey at some pharmaceutical company. Pitches new drugs or something like that.”

“Polar opposite of a cop.”

He shrugged, clearly lost in his own thoughts. “She couldn’t handle being a cop’s wife. Damn, we fought all the time. After the girls were born it was better…for about a year. Then it just sucked all the time. We couldn’t find our rhythm again.”

Selma felt her heart melt a little for the man who was clearly unhappy.

“Todd and I would hang. He’d tell me what an ass I was. He was like a brother to me.”

She studied her hands, picking at the polish on her nails. She knew he and Todd were close. Poor Jake lost his wife and his kids, at least full time, and then his best friend. No wonder he fought everything Druid, everything Selma stood for.

“Love is more than a rhythm. More than routine,” she told him.

“Maybe, but when you have kids you’re supposed to suck it up…make it work.”

Selma had a relatively picture perfect childhood. Her family was close, and her parents were still married. They, however, loved each other. They didn’t have to work to make it work, or if they did, it wasn’t apparent to any of the family.

“Your ex didn’t want to work on it?”

He shook his head and didn’t elaborate.

“I want what’s right for them,” he said nodding toward the hall where his daughters slept.

“You’re doing the best you can, Jake. Cut yourself some slack.”

He huffed out a laugh. “So, you’re a witch and a psychologist?”

“Nope, just a witch.”

He looked at her now, and something in his eyes shifted, looking deeper. “So what brought you here tonight anyway?”

She blinked a few times and tried to figure out a way to tell him her concerns without adding a burden to his already busy world..

“Daddy?” one of the girls called from the other room.”

Jake offered a half-smile as he pushed off the couch. “Hold that thought.”

He disappeared and when he didn’t come back, she tiptoed into the room that housed the girls. It looked like they’d all climbed into the same bed and Jake had fallen asleep with a book in his lap…the girls snoozed right along with him.

Selma let herself out, realizing for the first time that Jake had a huge soft side…one he reserved for his girls.

Chapter Sixteen

Amber couldn’t bring herself to be embarrassed. Gavin clearly knew what he was doing, knew her body better than she did.

He pulled her from the cooling water and carefully dried her with a ready towel.

Without covering himself with clothing of any kind, he lifted her into the bed in the other room and tucked her into his side. He didn’t reach for her, nor did he take any more liberties with her.

“You’re a gifted teacher, Gavin.”

He stroked her damp hair as he spoke. “You’re a beautiful student.”

“I feel the need to thank you.”

She heard his soft laugh. “My pleasure.”

“Oh?” She twisted to see his face. “I don’t believe you took your pleasure at all.”

“One thing at a time.”

We’re running out of time.

“Would bonding with me be so awful?” he asked once she settled again.

She thought of the stream, hoped he couldn’t read her thoughts. “We don’t know if bonding will make your shield hold me without a physical link.” He was whole and didn’t need her ending his life if their bond wasn’t strong enough. The danger for Gavin was too great for her to risk it.

“We don’t know it won’t either.”

“’Tis not something we can try for a short time. If it doesn’t work, we cannot undo it. You know this.”

“We should try.”

His hand squeezed around her, holding her tight, and pulled her closer.

She couldn’t. “Tomorrow will be here soon enough,” she told him. Hoping her delay would pacify him.

She felt part of him relax with her words. Amber took his unspoken words as acceptance and closed her eyes…pretending to sleep.

Gavin fought exhaustion for several hours until finally he slept. His breathing became steady, and the stream she’d place in his head drifted to his own dreams. They weren’t clear to her, but she knew they were a sign his conscious self was deaf to the world.

She closed her eyes and lowered her own barriers to feel him. Like all warriors, he was deeply convicted…and in Gavin’s case, dedicated to seeing her safe, dedicated to a higher purpose than his own life, his own desires. A glimpse of hope touched her heart. Desire for her outside his need to protect her was there, but it wasn’t enough to convince her that they needed to bond. Though she knew before she searched his feelings he couldn’t possibly want to be bound to a woman he hardly knew, she couldn’t help but wish for a different outcome.

An underlying desire for him to act rose to the surface of his dreams. He slept now from need, not desire. He wanted to stay alert to keep her at his side…to protect her. That thought brought tears to her eyes.

Sleep, she told him in her head.

He sighed deeply, and she repeated herself many times until most of his thoughts were a jumbled mess of dreams, none of it making sense, none of it meaning anything.