I sneak a glance at him, relieved that he’s too busy looking ahead to notice. I’m able to study his sharp jawline and the sharp line of his nose. His hazel eyes are bright in the sunlight. I can pick out a dozen colors, different shades of brown and green and yellow.
“Do you want to make out?” he asks without looking at me. His voice is perfectly level, but his lips twitch, betraying him. “We’llreallybe risking our timeline, but I’m willing to chance it.”
I roll my eyes, unable to keep from smiling.
This is the life I once imagined as a teenager. Before Harrison raped me, before I had to leave the only person who made me feel whole, I dreamt of a future like this.
“Or I could talk you through that blow job,” he says. His voice is as calm as ever, but blush has made its way up his neckand across his cheeks. I watch the color spread, only responding once it’s touched the tips of his ears.
“Out here, in the open?”
“Afraid a squirrel might see us?” he counters. Finally,finally, he looks at me. His eyes spark with mischief, and despite our current mission, I feel at peace for the first time in as long as I can remember.
“There are plenty of harpies around. Dragon riders.”
Elliot glares up at the sky. Today is cooler than yesterday, but between the fronds of trees, the sky is blue. Not a cloud in sight.
“In the tent then,” he says with a solemn nod. He looks at me, brows furrowing. “Or perhaps I’ll taste you. Do you know if we’ve done that?”
Now it’s my turn to blush.
“Hells, Elliot,” I say, blowing a breath between my lips. “You can’t say things like that. Since when are you so horny?”
“I imagine it started about the time you climbed into my lap last night,” he says. He shrugs, grins. “Or maybe when I saw you in the foyer of the vampire king’s manor. Throwing grown men around like it was your favorite hobby.”
“Perhaps it is,” I say. I look back to the rough terrain in front of us.
“You’ve yet to throw me,” he says.
“Maybethat’s what we’ll try in the tent,” I say. A small laugh escapes my lips, surprising me as much as it does Elliot.
“Whatever you want,” is his immediate response. Then, “I have every intention of making you do that more.”
“What, laugh?”
“Yes. When we get done with this, once we’ve made enough spells for your whole extended vampire family to live happily ever after, I’m going to find a thousand ways to make you laugh.”
“A thousand ways,” I repeat, humming. “That’s going to take a while.”
“I’m a patient man,” he says.
He nods toward a nearby rock, large enough to use as a bench, and I almost sob in relief. My boots are rubbing my heels, and I’m certain my left foot has started to bleed. While I massage my ankles, Elliot removes the canister from his pack and offers me the first drink.
I could get used to this, I think. And what a dangerous knowledge that is, dreaming for something that can never be.
But why not?
Perhaps, if Elliot never sees the two final memories, those two jars tucked at my side, perhaps we could make this work. He understands now that Harrison was no horrific loss to the world. He was vile. Evil. We are better without his energy demanding space.
He could get used to this too, I whisper to myself.He could be happy with me, and he would never need to know.
“Ready?” he asks, standing entirely too soon.
“I think so,” I say. Not to walk, because truly, I think my skin is torn to shreds beneath my socks.
I’m ready to give this an honest try, and if he’s willing to part with just two pieces of the past, maybe we can.
We haven’t spokenin over an hour, and my once sore feet now feel like they’ve been shred to pieces. I’m limping more than I’m walking, and I’ve been waiting for Elliot to demand I hurry. Sebastian certainly would. Or rather, he’d make us wait until night so he could throw me over his shoulder and zip the rest of the way to our destination.
