Souls Entwined

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six
Kaden's POV

Elle was standing at the foot of her new bed, rocking back and forth on her heels. Her brow was furrowed, her eyes thoughtful as she stared at the hardwood floor. I guessed what she was doing and was content enough to let her keep at it until she felt like sharing the thoughts roaring through her mind.

Instead, I walked over to the bay windows and opened them to let a rush of fresh air in. I had hoped the smell of fresh paint had dissipated by now, but it lingered slightly. I wasn't sure if she could smell it, but I wasn't taking any chances.

'Aren't you going to ask what I'm doing?' Elle asked, not even looking up as she paced two steps to her right and tried again.

I watched her for a moment, relishing the sight of her, 'You're testing the floorboards to see if they creak just like your ones back home do.' I guessed, pleasantly surprised when she flushed a soft pink.

I liked surprising her, and she hadn't made this one difficult. There was only one loose floorboard in her old bedroom, but she'd made it her mission to walk over it whenever possible. 'I could make them loose if you want?'

She laughed, and the sound shot through me like a lightning bolt. I delighted in the sound, wishing she didn't hold onto it like a secret treasure. 'Don't be ridiculous.'

Except I was, with anything that came to her. Utterly ridiculous. I would gladly rip up floorboards to make her happy. I would do anything to hear her joy permeate the air like it was part of our soundtrack.

I still remember the sensation of suffocation whenever I accidentally looked her way. When she somehow found her way into my line of sight. I used to panic whenever I saw her, even after the news broke. I would convince myself that someone would see, that there would be something on my face that would betray me.

Looking at her now made a million emotions race through me, but instead of suffocating me, they gave me hope.

She gave up trying to get the floorboards to creak, and as she neared, my heart pounded embarrassingly in my chest. I would have known even if there were no soul-line, no sensation of being tied to each other, and no confirmation from a goddess sharing divine intervention. She was one of the best things that had ever happened to me.

'What are you thinking about?' she asked, suddenly standing so close that I could feel her warmth.

I almost told her, but I didn't want to scare her. Something had shifted in the past few weeks, something new and fragile. I didn't want to step too far and shatter the tentative intimacy we'd built. One day, hopefully soon.

Instead, as she gazed out her new bedroom window, I said, 'I don't know if we'll be able to fit all your books in here.'

'I thought I might get another bookshelf and put them on either side of the window.' Elle mused and sounded sure of herself, but her twisting hands said otherwise. 'Is that okay? Or I could donate some.'

'This room is yours, do whatever you want with it. Paint the walls, put a shag carpet down, put clawfeet on the bed.' Her smile made me feel lighter, 'You can do whatever. It's yours. You don't need permission. You can even add things to other parts of the house. I just ask that we discuss it before any changes are made since it'll be a shared space.'

She agreed readily with a soft, 'Okay.' I knew it would take much more convincing for her to make this her space, but I was willing to do the work so she'd feel as comfortable as possible.

'I was thinking,' I started, shaking loose my clenched fist and swallowing the words that wanted to escape. I wasn't sure how she'd take my suggestion, but I meant it when I said this was just as much her place as mine. 'Maybe you'd like to use my old office. You can put all your books on the bookshelf. It could be like a mini library or maybe even your own office.'