Page 25 of Tears of Gold

I dangle my fingers loosely, and Harper sweeps against them. My ears heat up. I can’t imagine what he would think of me if he knew I was fishing for his touch. A minute later, Rita stops at a sweets shop, and I feel Harper’s hand brush against my wrist. Electricity sparks through me. That had to be on purpose!

My heart thumps. If the music on every corner and fireworks overhead aren’t enough to be a romantic atmosphere, nothing ever will be. Harper’s human, like me. That makes him safe, doesn’t it?

Slowly, I move my hand until the back of mine rests against the back of his. Without hesitation, he slides his fingers around to interlock with mine. Tiny thrills run through my chest.

He does like me!

A strong urge to find an alley and test my theory swamps my mind. In fact, the fierceness of my desire and the way my pussy heats up just from brushing against him catches me by surprise. Maybe this woman with a faulty heart is about to get a boyfriend.

A touch of a headache whispers between my ears.

The ground below us quivers with an earthquake, and we all freeze to keep our balance.

“All good?” Rita asks as the shocks die away.

“Yeah—”

The plaza explodes, and boiling air slams us into the pavement. Heavy thumping ricochets through my brain, and I curl up with my hands over my ears to shelter my hearing from the ringing echoes, certain my ears are bleeding. Flashes of light burn in my vision as heat sears my side. I can’t breathe for a moment, my lungs too stunned to work.

Harper’s grip locks onto my hand with bruising strength as the street fills with smoke. As he drags me upright, piercing screams barrage my ears. The panicked crowd surges around us, dragging with the force of a riptide.

“Don’t fall!” Harper shouts in my ear. Blinking furiously, I clear the smoke from my vision as we cling to each other, staggering as we’re swept along with the crowd fleeing from the mass of flames consuming the end of the plaza where we were minutes ago. Rita grips my other elbow.

My foot slides on a patch of ice that used to be one of the festival sculptures, and I slip, yanking my arm from Rita’s grip. Someone barrels into her, and she’s swept into the crowd, screaming my name and cursing at the crush of terrified party-goers.

My heart thunders as I cough on the bitter ash filling the air.

Harper hauls me upright, swearing under his breath. A few people around us disintegrate into illegal teleports, and the crowd thins marginally. Harper points out an alleyway in the gap in the mob, and we run for it, me hauling my skirt up so I don’t trip.

Harper drags me, but keeping up with his long strides is hard. I murmur a prayer of thanks to whoever might be listening that I’m wearing running shoes today. Still, my boobs flop, and my breath whistles in heavy gasps, made worse by the choking smoke and singeing sparks everywhere. Harper whips me into a side street, and the crush of people dissipates. We slide into a recessed store entry, breathing hard.

“Fuck! You okay?” he pants, but I think it’s from adrenaline rather than the run. He checks over my shoulder for danger, then turns his attention to me.

Glancing down, I find one of my breasts has completely fallen out of my ridiculous dress, the fabric ripped clear of Rita’s magic tape by the blast’s force.

I reach to cover myself, but Harper beats me to it. He glides a finger under my breast to loosen the fabric, then slides it across like it’s the most natural thing in the world. His finger swipes across my nipple, sending an aching burn straight from my breast to my core that makes me gasp. With his thumb, he firmly presses the fabric back down on the tape, his fingers brushing the sensitive skin.

The exquisite torture sends a warm shiver through me, igniting a deep need for connection that’s heightened by the adrenaline surging through my veins. I’m afraid to look at him, not wanting to break the trance. Harper runs his hands up my shoulder, fixing my sleeve, then traces the side of my neck. I lean into his touch as he lifts my chin until our eyes connect. The concern in his gaze mixes with a desire so unmistakable my knees quiver.

Harper wants me.

I rise on my tiptoes, and he comes to meet me. Our kiss is hot and playful, just like Harper. He nibbles on my lower lip, and I pant for air, wanting more. My fists clench tightly into his shirt, keeping him close as he turns us around until my back is to the door and pushes me against it.

I link my arms around his neck and lose myself in the demands of yet another kiss. Pressed this close, the ridges of Harper’s concealed daggers dig into my stomach. He locks one hand around my waist, and the other slides down the split of my dress, lifting my leg to rest on his hip. His fingers settle high on my thigh where the split ends, prints burning feverishly against my bare leg.

When I run out of air, I rest my head against his neck, panting and pulsing against him. He continues to kiss my hair and ear, bringing wave after wave of sweet tingles to my skin.

The ground trembles beneath us with aftershocks. Suddenly, the building behind me groans, and Harper jumps back into the street, dragging me with him as the doorway collapses amid a cloud of dust. The awning falls, and he knocks it away with a flash of pink qi, hissing as the edge of a post catches his shoulder as he covers me.

“You alright?” I gasp.

“Yeah.” He nods and tugs me along the street until we’re facing the plaza again. Glass shatters nearby, and we spin. A group of four creatures with wide pointed ears and square chins jump through a shopfront. Goblins, I think.

One of them points at us. “Humans?”

“Fuck me!” Harper swings between them and me, pushing me backward with his hand. “Go!” he shouts, and I turn back the way we came, breaking into a run at his urging with Harper hot on my heels.

My feet pound on the pavement, and my heart beats with the same desperate rhythm—a drum solo for survival. I follow the streets, skirting around rubble from collapsed buildings and hissing spot fires. My breathing rasps through my dry throat, and my calves ache as I hurtle through the streets, aiming away from the blazing plaza.