Page 16 of Selkie AU: Beyond the Storm

Heat rushed to my cheeks. I would never live that down. There was no point in denying it. “That doesn’t mean we should be mates.”

“No, but that’s not the only reason.”

“What are the other reasons?”

“My goddess led me to you.”

His goddess?

“Out in the storm,” Milo continued when I didn’t respond. “She wanted me to find you. Rather than get to land to find safety, she wanted me to get toyou. So it doesn’t have to be right now, and we can get to know each other more before we become mates, but I’m supposed to be here, Rowan. I can feel it. Like fate. She answered my prayers. The colony isn’t my destiny anymore. You are.”

I didn’t believe in fate, or his goddess. I didn’t believe the words that hit like a battering ram against the icy walls I’d put up around myself. I couldn’t let him in, because I wasn’t strong enough to let someone new in, only to be left alone again. And hewouldleave. Because everyone always left.

“I’m tired, Milo,” I told him. I hadn’t slept at all last night, too focused on the stranger I’d pulled from the sea and making sure he was alright. “I’m not arguing this with you anymore. So I’m telling you now, we aren’t mates. Your goddess was mistaken. Now, get whatever you want to keep, and I’m taking you home.”

His upper lip pulled up in a snarl as he marched over to the hoard he’d collected. “No. I’m not going, and you can’t make me.”

Milo stretched his coat over his back, and a moment later there was a very agitated seal sitting in front of the fireplace.

No. He’d said no. I wasn’t prepared for him to say no and had no idea how I was supposed to proceed. He’d just decided he lived here now, and unless I was going to remove him by force, there didn’t seem to be much I could do about it. It was some bizarre case of reverse kidnapping, and I was far too tired to deal with it now.

So be it. He could stay another night, and I’d try to talk to him again once we’d rested. Worst-case scenario, he’d just exist around here for a couple of days until he got bored, and then maybe he’d let me take him home.

Milo let me clean up the house and all the mess he’d made, as long as I didn’t touch the nest he’d built in front of the fire.

I considered having another shower before bed, but I didn’t want to risk a repeat of what had happened this morning. If he’d be staying, I’d install a lock on the bathroom door tomorrow.

Then I found fresh sheets for my bed in the linen closet, seeing as he’d stolen the ones I’d been using, along with the pillows and the rest of the bedding.

He hadn’t touched the towels, so I grabbed a couple, using a folded one as a makeshift pillow, and I dressed in some heavier clothing so I wouldn’t get too cold during the night without a blanket.

Despite being exhausted, sleep was difficult. All I could think about was the selkie in my living room, and the words he’d said. He thought I was his fate. The answer to some prayer. I wasn’t. I was just…me. I’d never be enough for someone like him, and the sooner he moved on, the better.

I wasn’t sure how long had passed when I finally managed to drift off to sleep, but I was woken again as my mattress shiftedwith a new weight. I kept my eyes closed, pretending I was still asleep.

The familiar weight of my quilt was pulled over me, and a moment later a very hot, naked, and smoke-scented body was slotting in against mine beneath it.

My pulse thundered in my chest.

“Milo,” I mumbled.

“Shhh,” he hushed me, one finger pressed to my lips before he wriggled around a bit more to get comfortable. Then he grabbed my arm and draped it over his stomach. I tried to pull it back but quickly found out just how strong a selkie could be when he refused to let me.

Then he was finally still and content, quickly drifting off to sleep with light snores as evidence.

I knew, without a doubt, that I wouldn’t be able to sleep any more tonight. Not with his body pressed against mine. And not with the amount of heat that radiated off him like he was his own fire.

The heat of him, paired with the quilt and the extra clothing I’d worn to bed, had me sweating, but even in sleep, his grip would tighten over my arm any time I tried to shift away from him.

How was this my life now?

9

Milo

Rowan was a loud breather. His exhales were heavy enough to rustle my hair as I stirred from a delightful sleep. The moment my arm moved from where it lay on top of his, he retracted it, and the warmth at my back quickly disappeared as he rolled away from me and stood up.

Was he still planning to be difficult about this?