A gentle knock on the door, a step back, and Paxton waited patiently. He wasn't sure how Rachel would react to him after they'd been apart for so long. Probably curse him up and down. Or punch him. Or both.
Knocks on her door were always suspicious. For one thing, she lived in the literal middle of nowhere, and not many people knew how to find her cabin. For another, they usually brought bad news. So who could blame Rachel for picking up her gun and tapping a line. The taste of pine and snow and earth rolled over her, her body on fire with the power, and she peeked through the eyehole.Â
And almost dropped her gun.
The power flared in her with the rise in emotion, and she jerked the door open, half paranoid and half dumbstruck.Â
âP!â she exclaimed, looking him up and down like she couldnât quite believe her eyes. Instinctively, she reached out a hand to touch him, but her paranoia stopped her. Itâd been years, and sheâd seen dopplegangers before. Instead, she opened her second sight.Â
There was no doubt. Sheâd seen his true form before, and it was burned into her memory. The aura, the flames, the blackened soul, all of it was the same.
She jumped on him in a full-body hug, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. âWhere the hell have you been?â
