wrapped his arms around Fox, and picked him up, spinning the slender man around while he yelped in surprise. He didn’t give a damn about the handcuffs.
Fox had given him the most wonderful gift ever. It was as if he finally had a chance to live. He could breathe and be free. No more voices in his head. No more ghosts demanding his attention. As long as he had Fox at his side, he was blessed with something so much closer to a normal life.
And keeping Fox with him was no hardship. He loved being around the man. They laughed together and shared common interests. He was cute, funny, and so damn sexy. He’d found a wonderful companion and a break from this curse at long last.
It was on the tip of his tongue to invite Fox to stay with him. To simply move out of Denver and into his home. If he didn’t want to share a space, Winter would renovate part of the building so Fox could have several rooms all to himself.
But he swallowed the words. He didn’t want Fox to feel forced to stay with him or even guilted into it. The man had been kidnapped twice, his life threatened by vampires, and now he was in the middle of a war. Winter wouldn’t be surprised if Fox was anxious to get as far as he could from all of them.
As much as Winter treasured this gift, he also wanted Fox to stay because it was what he wanted. He deserved to live the life he wanted. Not to simply make other people happy.
Winter buried his face in Fox’s neck and held him tight. “Thank you so much. You have no idea what you’ve done for me. I will always treasure this gift.”
A wobbly laugh left Fox as he hugged Winter. “I’m just glad my magic is finally good for something.”
Winter let Fox return to his feet, but he didn’t release the man completely. “This is so much more than your magic, Fox. This is you. I’m grateful for you.”
The words suddenly got caught in Winter’s throat. It was so much more than blocking out the voices and giving him peace after nearly two hundred years. It was every laugh, every touch, every worried look and secret they shared. It was the hours of quiet companionship while watching movies together and the adorable smile that formed on Fox’s lips when he fell asleep on the couch.
But he couldn’t say any of that. The moment already felt too big and heavy. Fox had a life to return to and Winter…Winter needed to concentrate on protecting his family from Damon and a prophecy they still didn’t understand.
Winter cleared his throat again. “But I think there was some talk about sushi for dinner? We should get going before all the restaurants close.”
It felt like a dodge, and Winter hated himself a little for it, but it was better this way. He didn’t want to put more pressure on Fox than he already had. It was enough to worry about the prophecy. He didn’t need to worry about Winter’s curse as well.
Chapter 16
“Which brother are we meeting again?” Fox asked as he shifted in the passenger seat of the SUV. Fox hadn’t expected to be out of the loft so soon following the previous night’s scientific tests in the park.
His heart was still a tangle of confusing emotions over the results. On the entire drive back to the loft, Winter had been abuzz with excited energy, telling Fox about all the years of being haunted by ghosts. He couldn’t imagine how the man had stayed sane under the seemingly endless barrage of voices at all hours.
On the one hand, he was so happy Winter had found some relief and was even more excited that he was the cause of it. He’d done something right! Even if it wasn’t necessarily intentional, he hadn’t brought death and doom or even the crushing weight of his uselessness down on Winter’s head. He gave him peace. Relief.
But on the other hand, was this unexpected gift the only reason Winter stayed close to him? Sure, Winter needed him until this prophecy nonsense was settled, but he could just as easily shove him in a room like Damon had. They joked and teased constantly now. But did Winter really enjoy his company?
Fox didn’t want to think it was all an act. Winter didn’t seem like that kind of person. In fact, Fox liked Winter. He was