Victoria had no answer. The fireman left with his bag and startling information. Victoria’s mind spun. Why? Why return the skull like that? Assuming it’s one of the skulls that was taken. She wouldn’t know for certain until she compared it to the photos and X-rays. But why would they steal it and then return it?

“Does someone know where you live?” Seth said under his breath for her ears only.

“I don’t know.” Her brain hurt. “I need to talk to Callahan.”

“We’re heading in,” Katy said. “We both need bed.”

“Go ahead,” said Victoria. “I’ll be right there.”

The two women walked away. Trinity’s feet dragged in her boots.

Victoria turned back to Seth and Jeremy. “I need to go. Seth, I’ll see you tomorrow. Jeremy, get back to bed.”

“Yes, Tori.” Jeremy winked at her with his use of Seth’s nickname. “Good to meet you, Dr. Rutledge.” He headed in the direction of his house.

Victoria didn’t have the energy to reprimand him. Does it really matter? She sighed, placing all thoughts of the skull out of her head. There was nothing she could do about it tonight. She looked at her ruined home and tried not to cry. There was nothing she could do about that tonight either.

She’d check in with the police tomorrow. And find someone to clean up her house. The mental checklist to restore her home came to a screeching halt. Tomorrow. Take care of it tomorrow. She was too exhausted to think about it.

She looked up at Seth, seeking a distraction from the voices in her head. It was nice to have to look up at a man. Most men were about the same height as her or a little shorter. Something about a taller man made her feel a bit feminine. Few things did.

He rested the umbrella against his shoulder, angling it to keep the both of them dry, and met her gaze, studying her face.

For a long moment, Victoria didn’t hear the mumblings of the firemen and onlookers. The rain splashing on the street was the only sound. Seth’s eyes were dark in the poor light, and she wished she could see their beautiful blue shade. How many times had they stood like this on campus long ago? It felt completely familiar and comforting.

She didn’t want to let him go home.

Seth reached out a hand and brushed back her hair. “The rain sparkles in your hair.”

“It makes it frizz,” Victoria added unhelpfully. What a stupid statement.

Seth’s smile grew. “I remember how you hated the dampness in the air at school sometimes.” His brows angled down. “I remember a lot of things. Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday, our days together. I have to think hard to remember a lifetime has passed. That Eden has grown from a toddler into a young woman. Almost the same age you were when we met. How is that possible? My daughter is still a girl. You were a woman.”

“I suspect it is all in the eyes of the beholder.”

He smoothed her hair again. “Tori…”

She closed her eyes at his touch on her hair and the memories washed over her. He’d loved to touch her long hair. So many nights they’d spent together simply watching TV in bed while he ran his fingers through her hair. It’d been soothing and relaxing. After they’d split up, she’d struggled to fall asleep for months and suspected part of her issue had been the loss of the soothing gesture before she slept.

She felt him gather her hair into his fist at the back of her neck and gently tug her head backward. She arched her head back, her eyes still closed. Rain hit her forehead and eyelids, shocking her with its chill. He must have moved the umbrella, because more drops hit her mouth and neck. She shuddered and parted her lips.

She felt his heat touch her lips before his mouth pressed against hers. Warmth blasted through the sensitive nerve endings of her lips and shot down to her toes. She lit up inside.

Seth.

His mouth commanded hers, leading the kiss, challenging her to keep pace. His fingers pressed into her scalp, stroking in a way that made her want to crawl inside him and avoid the world. Nothing compared to being touched and kissed by Seth. Nothing.

He’d always had this power over her. The power to make everything around her disappear until only he existed. Nothing had changed between them. Only the calendar marked the years. Their souls and minds ignored the fact that time had passed and acted as if they’d never been separated.

After a long moment he pulled back, and she was exposed to the rain again. Her eyes opened, meeting his gaze. He’d lowered the umbrella so they both stood in the cold wet. It wasn’t a pounding, soaking rain at the moment. It was a good rain. Soft and gentle, the type that refreshes. She needed the coolness to offset his heat.

She watched a drop run down his cheek and bounce off his coat, feeling the same action repeated on her face.

She didn’t care. Right now, the Pacific Northwest could throw whatever type of weather it wanted at her, and it wouldn’t change that all she wanted to do was stand next to Seth Rutledge.

She wanted to forget that she needed to go to work tomorrow, forget her house had been deliberately damaged, and forget her lab had been robbed. She wanted three days and nights alone with him to immerse herself in him. She wanted to talk and eat and have glorious sex without interruption. The way they used to. She wanted to talk about the future and map out their plans. She sucked in a giant breath, feeling the cold touch the bottom of her lungs.

“I should go,” he said.

Were there any sadder words?

“I know,” she answered. Inside her brain screamed for him not to leave again. The cold had exposed her, opened wide her vulnerable center, ripe for a man to easily destroy with the wrong words. Or salve with the right ones.