Page 37 of Feathers and Scales

“I gather you want to feel my presence on the spirit level,” she said.

“Yes.”

Her throat worked as she swallowed. “But that’s not all you want, is it?”

“I wish I could lie to you.”But I won’t. Not to you. Or to myself.He wished to coax out her humanity, the fiery edge of emotion simmering at the back of her mind. But indulging his carnal hunger wasn’t the only way of doing that. He could court her, surprise her, and make her smile and laugh.

“Tell me what you want,” she said.

He grabbed her delicate hand and turned it palm side up. She didn’t pull away and his chest swelled at her trust and willingness. Tracing one finger from the middle of her palm to her wrist, her pulse galloped under his touch. His body tightened as he strove to control his beast.

He met and held her searing gaze. “There’s a sexual pull between us, and I find it—I find you irresistible, Izzy.”

A thread of intense emotion ran thick along the link. Before he could read her reaction, she blocked it. Crimson rose to her face, blooming across the bridge of her nose and cheeks.

His body shook with the need to cover her mouth with his.

“If I’m honest, I’m not fond of my human body and don’t like being touched more than necessary. In a manner of speaking, humanity was the cause of my downfall. But…” Her chest moved as she took in labored breaths. “…the sexual tension between us intrigues me.”

“I could teach you to love your body.”

Her sun-colored eyes gleamed with nerves and a twinkle of wonder. He leaned forward, crinkling the leather. Did he hear the same as she moved toward him subtly? Her lips appeared pillow-soft, kissable…

A boisterous bell echoed into the cabin. Daxton’s body tightened with alertness.

Izzy jumped. “What is that sound?”

Daxton followed the source of the unfamiliar sound. “It’s coming from your luggage.”

“What? That doesn’t make any sense.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and stood.

As she opened the overhead compartment, the tolling of the bell grew louder. Daxton’s muscles coiled, ready for a fight. She ruffled through her bags cautiously.

“I think it’s my laptop, but it’s never made that sound before.” She pulled a bag free, swiveled out her tray table, and set the bag down.

She frowned and sat, eyeing the bag. Even with her barrier, her fear tightened the link between them. “I should call Simon just in case. He’s more tech-savvy than I.”

Luckily, Simon answered on the second ring as the bells grated on Daxton’s nerves just as the adrenaline of the unknown made him antsy.

“I left it on airplane mode when we left the uni,” Simon said over the speaker after Izzy explained the situation. “Unless you’ve set an alarm that makes little sense. You’ll have to open it.”

Izzy licked her lips as she took the sleek black laptop from the bag and set it on the tray. Daxton’s heart hammered as her fingers shook to open the lid.

Window after window launched on the screen like a never-ending pop-up. The words blared in a bold font.

Humanity is the hurdle to reaching strength. A lesson you will soon regret forgetting.

Izzy looked away from the message on her laptop screen, but the words kept staring at her, mocking her until they clouded her sight. A chill ran down her body. She grabbed her aching stomach, and her mind jumped to the Archfiend’s malicious grin—the same expression that had twisted Darcy’s face at the hospital.

“Make it stop.” She stumbled out of her chair and turned her back to the alarming sound her laptop was making. “Just make it stop.”

Daxton and Simon spoke behind her, but human emotions crushed her from all sides like dark walls. The familiarity of Fotios’s doctrine sat heavy in her heart. The threat accompanying them was too much to bear. The Archfiend had been close enough to sabotage her laptop. What else did he have planned?

She couldn’t breathe. The fear shoved her closer to the cracked edge in her psyche. The one where delusions and memories ran wild, and one such memory pulled her under.

“Try it again,” Fotios said in Ancient Greek, limping across the training area from Izzy, one knee bent and arms up.

Her heart squeezed as he couldn’t place his foot down without wincing. Izzy wiped a palm across her damp forehead as she walked aroundhim in the dirt of the courtyard, ready for his next attack. “Can’t we take a break? You’re injured.”