“Is he dead?”
“Yeah.” Aiden scrubbed a hand across his eyes. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen—it’s a tragic situation that won’t be made any better by the father being charged. It’s the council’s decision, thankfully, not mine.”
I twined my fingers through his. “Why is it the council’s? Aren’t there laws regarding the safe storage of guns?”
“Those laws—or rather, the penalties—are somewhat more flexible within the reservation.”
“Even with a kid dead?”
“Even with.” He was silent for a moment, his expression briefly haunted. Then, with a visible effort, he smiled and said, “Let’s talk about something a whole lot happier—like setting a date for you moving in.”
“Not without setting a few ground rules first.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Like what?”
“Splitting costs, for a start.”
My phone rang, the sound slightly muffled thanks to the fact it was buried deep in my purse. I leaned over, dug it out, and looked at the screen; the number wasn’t one I knew.
“Ignore it,” Aiden said, interpreting my expression correctly. “It’s probably a telemarketer of some kind.”
“Probably.”
I hit ignore and tossed the phone back onto the sofa. “So, splitting—”
“No,” he cut in. “Absolutely not.”
“Aiden, I won’t live with you if you won’t let me pay my way. It’s not fair and it’s not right—”
I cut off the rest as my phone rang again. A quick look said it was the same number. I hit decline again.
“You moving in will hardly add much to current costs, given the solar power and water tanks.”
“That’s not the point—”
He cut me off with a kiss. A long, slow burn of a kiss.
“As good as your kisses are,” I said when I could, “they won’t change my mind.”
“Maybe I just needed to kiss you.”
“And maybe you just wanted to distract me.”
Amusement danced in his eyes. “That might also be true.”
“Distract me all you want after we’ve laid down the ground rules.”
He sighed. It was a somewhat frustrated sound. “Fine. We’ll split the cooking, the cleaning, and the washing. We’ll even split the driving when practical. But I will not take your money.”
“And I’m not taking your charity.”
“It’s hardly charity.”
“I’m not going to set up any sort of life with you on such an unequal financial footing. I pay my way or I’ll stay where I am.”
He rolled his eyes. “You really are a stubborn wench. Just as well I adore you.”
It might not be an admission of love, but it was as close as I was ever likely to get. I leaned into him and kissed him, long and slow.
“I adore you, too,” I murmured eventually. “But when it comes to stubborn, werewolves hold all the patents.”
He laughed softly and tapped my nose. “Fine. We’ll split all the costs. How about we start shifting your things in today?”
“You’ve a council meeting tonight, and I refuse to spend my first night here mostly alone. That’d hardly be an auspicious start to things.” I scooped up the last bit of the chocolate cake we were sharing. “Why the hurry?”
“Trying to counter against a change of mind.”
I smiled. “I won’t change my mind.”
“What about Belle?”
“She’s not included in this deal, Ranger.”
He laughed. “Won’t she miss you?”
“Hell, no. She’ll absolutely love having the full run of the apartment.”
“So you have lived apart on occasions?”
“Of course we have. We’re not joined at the hip, despite appearances to the contrary.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “I take it the ‘no men’ rule goes out the window when you’re not living in the same house?”
“It’d be kinda cruel if it didn’t.”
“And when one or both of you marry? How will that affect your relationship?”
“It won’t. Not really.”
“Won’t her loyalties always be split in two, though?”
I hesitated. “We can’t change our relationship, and whoever we marry will have to understand that.” I studied him for a second. “Why the sudden bout of questions?”
“You’re currently the most important person in my life, and Belle’s the most important person in yours.” He shrugged. “I was just curious as to how it might affect things.”
His use of ‘currently’ was a knife to the heart—and a reminder that he still didn’t see us as permanent, despite his insistence we twine our lives into one.
“Then in all honesty, neither of us really knows how one or both of us getting married and having a family will affect things. As far as we’re aware, this is the first time a witch has become the familiar of another. We didn’t come with an instruction manual—we’re making things up as we go along.”
“Does that mean regular type witch–familiar relationships do come with instructions?”
“Volumes of them.”
“Huh.” He pushed to his feet. “Want a coffee? Or shall we do something more substantial to celebrate your impending relocation?”
A smile tugged my lips. “Coffee will do for now. I’ve been drinking so much lately, I’m in danger of becoming a lush.”
“Your lushness is the reason I adore you.”
My heart did another of those bittersweet twists. “I think we’re talking about two definitions—”
My phone rang again. I reached for it and saw it was the same damn number; obviously, they weren’t going to quit until I took their damn call.
I hit the answer button and said, “Who the hell is this, and what do you want?”
There was a long pause, then a cultured, all too familiar voice said, “It’s your father. I’m ringing to inform you the annulment has been approved.”
Chapter Twelve
My heart skipped several beats and then raced so hard it ached. I licked my lips and said, almost in disbelief, “That was a little quick, wasn’t it?”
“Clayton is eager to be done with this whole business and get on with his life.”
Eager to get out from under my father’s watchful eye and get on with his revenge, more likely. “How can it be finalized without my signature?”
“You will of course need to sign the final documents in front of a judge and a witness for it to be official, but that is a mere formality. When that is done, Belle can remove her spell,
