Out Cold by Misty Provencher

Author:Misty Provencher [Provencher, Misty]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Corner Stone Publishing, LLC
Published: 2020-02-06T00:00:00+00:00

43

Hoomstid and Esther exchange a horrified glance.

Isaac retreats from the wall slowly, turning back to me, fangs invisible.

He must’ve seen Athen. Must have. There’s nowhere for the stranger to hide on the other side of the wall, but Isaac shows no sign of it.

“Who was here?” Isaac barks, his dark eyes swallowing me.

Everything I felt for him before rushes back, but I bite down on the edges of my tongue to keep Athen’s name, and the general admission of his presence, silent.

“No…no one was here.” The guilt makes me stutter. My fingers find the mysterious chip in my pocket and trace it.

Esther and Hoomstid gather themselves and the butler steps forward. “It was only us, sir.”

Isaac moves closer and my thoughts melt away like sugar in the rain. I close my eyes. It only helps me to concentrate on the specifics of the handsome stranger a little, and then, not at all, when Isaac touches my cheek.

“You don’t need to be out here any longer,” he says.

“You’ve found the intruder?” Hoomstid asks.

“There was no intruder. Only Wayne, the boy from the carriage house, breaking the new mare in the pasture.” Isaac’s eyes flick to the stall wall again. Suspicious. “I want a full inspection of the grounds to be certain there is nothing else.”

I can’t explain why, but I place my hand on Isaac’s cheek to draw his attention back to me. Maybe it’s not to betray him by lying about the stranger. I can convince myself that it is simply because Isaac’s attention feels as strong and good and relaxing as the sun, radiating on me.

“I’ll come with you,” I say.

His shoulders relax, but he shakes his head. “The hunt is work for my men. Not for you.”

Wow, that’s chivalrous. Or misogynistic. I’m not sure which.

He turns to the servants. “The two of you will saddle up and join the rest. I want the entire estate scoured, every inch. Go, get out of here. Nova is safe with me now.”

The dismissal is so harsh, I cringe. Esther’s displeasure is audible, but I’m not sure if it is because Isaac’s lumped her with ‘his men’ or if it is because of the way he rubs his thumb gently over my cheek and I curl my face into his touch, closing my eyes on the maid.

All I know is that I will do anything in my power to please Isaac.

As I stand with my cheek resting in his palm, listening to the servants guide horses from the stalls and out of the barn, I understand her jealousy—the yearning that follows Isaac like a trailing cape. He’s the kind of man that is loved or hated, and nothing in between. Isaac is patchouli in a close room, and me…all I can think of is how lucky I am to fill my lungs with him.

I’m busy memorizing the smooth softness of Isaac, basking in the glow of his gaze. My enchantment with Isaac feels methodic and pleasantly numbing. Steadily, it erases the fascination I had with the mysterious stranger who gave me the glass chip in my pocket.

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