Page 50 of Tricks for Free

“Because it turns out it’s not good for me. I could hurt myself channeling magic that way. I met a cabal of people who know how to use magic safely, and they’re teaching me. I mean, I guess they’re teaching me. I haven’t actually learned much yet, except for how not to set things on fire all the time.”

“I thought you wanted to stop setting things on fire.”

“I did! I do. I just . . .” I shook my head. “It feels like something’s missing. It’s weird. I understand why random pyrotechnics aren’t a good thing. I guess I assumed that if I gave that up, I’d get something else in return. Maybe that comes later.”

“So why did Mary tell me you needed me here?”

“She’s been around a long time. She knew my grandfather. He was a magic-user. I inherited it from him. I guess she worries. She doesn’t want these people to take advantage of me, and she wanted me to have some backup.” I took a deep breath. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Weird shit’s been happening in the Park lately.”

Sam tilted his head. “Weird shit? Like what?”

“Like a deep fryer exploded and nearly burned a woman to death. Like a parade float collapsed today, and a bunch of people actually died.” Again, the image of Andrea and her missing face flashed behind my eyes. I shuddered. “It’s not good. It’s not right. Lowryland is obsessive about safety. If they get a reputation for hurting people, they’ll wind up shutting down. I don’t even know if they’ll be open tomorrow. Something’s wrong.”

“Then we’ll fix it.” Sam stood, putting his hands on my upper arms and looking at me solemnly. “I’m here now. I’m not leaving again. You don’t get to send me away.”

“I could run.” I tried to make my voice seem light, casual even. I failed.

Sam wasn’t buying it. His expression darkened, and he said, “You got one freebie. You already used it up. If you run away from me again, I’m tracking you down and looking at you sadly until you agree to stop.”

“What, not shaking me?”

“We both know that wouldn’t be cool, and it’d just give you an excuse to try to kick my ass. I have better things to do with my girlfriend than have superhero fights.” Sam paused before adding thoughtfully, “Although that could be cool. We should put that on the list for later.”

“There’s going to be a later?”

The corner of Sam’s mouth curled upward. “I sure hope so,” he said, and kissed me.

I was filthy, sticky with sweat and smoke and residue from the parade fire, which had smelled chemical and foul thanks to the burning plastic of the artificial trees. None of that mattered. Sam kissed me like he’d been starving since I’d walked away from him and I was the first meal he’d been offered in all that time. His hands moved to cup my ass, fingers splayed to give him the best possible grip.

I pulled away. He looked hurt.

“Did I—”

I shook my head. “No,” I said, and was relieved to watch the glimmers of worry disappear from his eyes. “These clothes are gross. Mind if I take them off?”

Sam looked surprised for a moment. Then he grinned. “Not if you don’t,” he said.

We stripped quickly, both of us, and there was nothing erotic or enticing about it: we were two people getting naked as fast as we could. Sam got out of his jeans while I was still untying my shoes, and “helped” by unfastening my bra with his tail, looking innocent all the while. I was laughing too hard to say anything about it, and kept laughing as I stepped out of my shoes and yoga pants. Then I straightened, laughter stilling, and looked at him. He looked back.

It was strange seeing him without a canvas sky behind him, without the sounds of the midway jangling quietly in the distance. He was a beautiful man. He always had been, although it had taken me a while to see it. When we’d first met, I’d been the stranger in his family’s carnival, the threat to his way of life, and he’d reacted accordingly. I knew now that he was just a protective person. He’d been taking care of his own. Somehow, somewhere along the line, I had joined that list, and I was so grateful, and so afraid of everything that could imply.

He stepped closer, raising one hand to rest his fingertips against my cheek. The heat coming off his skin made me shiver, but in a good way.

“We don’t have to do this,” he said. “I didn’t come here because I wanted to get laid.”

“I know,” I said, and kissed him again, and conversation was over for a while.

The first time—the only time—we’d been together like this, we’d been standing at the edge of the end of the world, and we had gone in knowing we might not get another shot: that we were attempting to put paid to everything our relationship was and might have been in a single hour. There hadn’t been time to slow down or to explore. There hadn’t been time to admire. We had that time now, with morning miles away and both of us carnival-trained into silence, which meant my overprotective roommates wouldn’t come charging in to save me.

For the first time in a long time, there was nothing I felt like I needed to be saved from. I was exactly where I wanted to be.

Sam looked me up and down, appreciation and eagerness in his eyes, and I didn’t move, giving him the opportunity to change his mind. After a moment, he paused, and frowned.

“Annie? You okay?” A faint blush spread across the visible part of his cheeks. “Is it the furry thing? I can . . . y’know, stop . . .”

“You’d be dead if you were human,” I said, and stepped toward him, closing the last little gap between us. There was a fine sheen of fur on his chest, where a human man would have had wiry hair, and it tickled pleasantly, making me press myself even closer. I reached up and traced the whisper-thin outline of the scar on his forehead. It was barely visible. Sadly for me, I knew exactly where to look. “Pow, right in the head, and you’d be dead. No more Sam. No more asshole monkey throwing me around the flying trapeze. The furry thing didn’t bother me before you got shot. Now? I wouldn’t care if you never stopped again. All I want you to do is stay alive.”

“I could say the same thing to you,” he whispered, tail snaking around my waist and pulling tight. There was no way for me to get away without hurting him.