A shout of joy jumped up his throat, but Winter managed to keep it locked behind his teeth. He’d suspected as much. Fox didn’t just block visions of ghosts. He blocked all contact while he was in the world of the living. It was a fucking dream come true.
Unshed tears burned his eyes and he had to cover his mouth with his hand to hold in the choked cries of relief. It was one of his only wishes in the world and he finally had it.
Fox’s worried voice came softly across the walkie talkie. “Winter? Everything okay?”
Winter quickly scooped it up and cleared his throat before pushing the button. “Two tests done. Everything is good.” He moved to where he’d made the notch in the rope and could clearly see the ghosts. “Okay, go ahead and get out of those cuffs.”
“Roger!”
Winter kept his eyes on the picnicking ghosts and held his breath. A second later, the vision of the ghosts wavered and disappeared completely. Winter quickly took a few more steps away and they returned.
“Done!” Fox said over the walkie and Winter made another notch in the rope. As he’s suspected, Fox’s magic use extended his Fox Effect bubble. “Did it work?”
Winter placed his knife in its sheath and started to gather up the rope as he walked toward Fox, his heart was singing. He grabbed up the walkie and spoke into it. “It works brilliantly!”
“Oh good, because I’ve got some bad news. I think I broke your cuffs.”
Winter laughed and shoved the walkie talkie into his pocket before jogging the last of the distance between him and Fox. He dropped the rope on the ground, 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.