---- waiting for this day for five years." "Five years?" I repeated, something in his phrasing making my pulse quicken. "Since the day you left," he said simply. "I've been counting." I didn't know what to say to that. Instead, I stepped forward and hugged him tightly, pressing my face against his chest. He smelled like rain and leather and something uniquely Garrett-that woody cologne he'd worn since we were teenagers. But underneath it was something else. The metallic scent of blood, the musk of his wolf still close to the surface from whatever conflict he'd just left. I knew Garrett had always spoiled me. Since childhood, whatever I wanted, he'd find a way to give it to me. Even when I was willful, even when I was stubborn and demanding, he'd never lost his temper with me. But this felt different somehow. More intense. ---- "IT missed you," I whispered against his chest. His arms tightened around me. "You have no idea how much I missed you." When we finally pulled apart, Garrett took my suitcase with one hand. "Come on, let's get you out of this rain." He led me toward the parking area, and I noticed he kept glancing at me like he was afraid I might disappear if he looked away too long. "How bad are your injuries?" I asked, watching him try to hide his limp. "Nothing serious," he said dismissively. "Just a territorial dispute with some rogues. It's handled now. " "Garrett-" "T'm fine, Sage. Really." He stopped walking and turned to face me. "Today is about you coming home. I'm not letting anything ruin that." When we reached his car, he opened the passenger ---- door for me with old-fashioned courtesy. After I got in, he leaned over to fasten my seatbelt. The action brought us very close together-closer than necessary, closer than he'd ever been before. I caught a whiff of that light woody fragrance- Garrett's usual cologne-but this close, I could also detect the warmth of his skin, the faint saltiness of perspiration from whatever fight he'd just finished. When I looked up, our faces were only inches apart. I met his eyes, and in that instant, I froze. There seemed to be an emotion in Garrett's gaze that I'd never seen before. It didn't look like how a brother looks at his sister when he's missed her. Instead, it seemed deeper, more intense. Almost like... Like the way a man looks at a woman he loves. The thought hit me like a lightning bolt, and I was startled by my own reaction. My face flushed hot, and I quickly looked down. "T must not have seen my brother in too long," I told ---- myself frantically. "How could I think that? This is clearly just a brother's adoration for his sister. I'm being ridiculous." But even as I tried to rationalize it away, I couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed. Or maybe something had always been there, and I was just noticing it for the first time. Garrett didn't immediately pull away from fastening my seatbelt. Instead, his fingers gently brushed my cheek, and I realized I was still blushing. His voice was low, concerned. "What's wrong? Your face is so red. Are you cold?"