Page 61 of Somnium

“But …”

Fuck.

“This is more of a solo project. Too many cooks and all that. I’ll keep you in mind, though, if anything comes up that needs a little extra oomph.”

Cadi’s stomach sank. It couldn’t be much of a solo project if three other people, including Elias, were involved. It seemed more likely that it was her, specifically, that Sera was unwilling to bring into the fold. Sera moved to slip past her, keeping her gaze carefully lowered. Yet even through her evasion, Cadi caught a glimpse of what looked like panic in her friend’s eyes, carefully shielded beneath her composure. Almost as if she couldn’t exit the conversation fast enough.

“Sera, wait.”

She turned to follow her through the swinging door and nearly knocked Elias over in the process. Any thrill she may have felt at seeing him was quickly snuffed out by her growing frustration when she tried to step around him, only for him to block her path with a soft smile as he caressed her arms in welcome. He was hot, but right now she really needed him to move.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were stopping by.”

“Yeah, sorry,” she said, keeping her eyes locked on Sera as she slipped away into the kitchen. “It was sort of a last-minute thing.”

“No need to apologize; you know you’re always welcome.”

She gave him a quick smile, then shifted to the side to try for the door again but he somehow managed to occupy the entire walkway despite his lean frame. The muscles in Cadi’s face drew tight as she watched her window for answers snap shut. And judging by the look in Elias’s eyes, he saw it too.

“Everything good?”

No. Everything was not good, and the only person who could change that had just turned tail and ran. She stared at him for a moment, but knew that a biting response would do nothing to help the situation, and trying to get answers from him was about as promising as her developing superpowers. As far as he knew, Cadi was still in the dark regarding his involvement, so the chances of him volunteering information were practically nil.

Slowly, she began to soften beneath his gaze, forcing a firm breath and a smile. Clearly pressing the issue was getting her nowhere, but she still hated not knowing. She would just have to trust that they knew what they were doing and hope that they didn’t end up inadvertently altering the timeline or pissing off a deity.

“I’ll be fine.”

He eyed her carefully. “You sure?”

No. “Yep!”

“Okay …” He leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead before he turned to begin checking supplies at the register. He didn’t look entirely convinced, but he still let it go.

Something she used to be very good at.

Cadi rested a hip against the bar to watch him work, and quietly began to wonder how much warning she would have if they accidentally brought a god-level wrath down on their entire friend group until Elias’s voice pulled her back.

“Do you have any plans on Thursday?”

She pressed her lips together to make a show of mentally sorting through all of the plans she definitely didn’t have. According to the regional weather channels, there was supposed to be a massive coastal storm blowing through that day. Spots all over the city were shuttering to wait it out. Business, churches, even the hospital where she worked was cutting back to a skeleton crew, so her plans consisted of sweatpants and movies.

“Just gonna hunker down, why?”

Elias stepped toward her, lifting his hand to tuck a curl behind her ear as his lips slid into a flirtatious grin that made her knees weak.

“What do you say to hunkering down at my place?”

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth in an effort to restrain a grin. Even though she had made no attempt to hide how much he affected her, something about the invitation still managed to stir the butterflies that took up residence in her stomach whenever he was around. Plus, she had lost count of how many times he had been to her place. So often, in fact, that she’d given him a key just so she didn’t have to keep tossing hers off the balcony every time he came over. Yet somehow, she had never seen his.

“Worried about me being on my own? Or just looking for a reason to get me into your apartment?”

He chuckled and slipped a hand around her waist. “Two things can be true, but do I really need a reason?”

Cadi shook her head, weaving her hands around his neck to pull herself close. She was really starting to like the way he wanted to take care of her, to protect her. Still, there were some walls she didn’t know if she could ever let fall. A part of her still huddled behind them, afraid that if he saw all of her, he might stop looking at her the way he was right now.

She smirked up at him. “I think I can move some things around.”

A low rumble of amusement vibrated in his chest, and he bent down to tickle her side, making her squeal as she danced away from the attack. Then he pressed his lips to hers before taking her hand to walk her back to her car.