Page 128 of Huntress

“No.”

“Then why won’t you look at me?”

“Because you’re too pretty. It hurts my eyes,” she lied, and he snorted at her, but he didn’t press any further.

Their salads came—plain lettuce, with a few slices of cucumber and tomatoes. A gravy boat, half filled with vinaigrette dressing, sat between them.

“I’m not sure if it has egg or dairy in it, so I had them put it on the side,” the waiter explained. “More beer?”

“Water, please,” Elsie answered.

Saint dipped the tip of his finger in the dressing and tasted it, a thoughtful look on his face. Elsie caught a glimpse of his tongue slipping out and scowled at her plate, stamping down any ideas that tried to form.

“It’s fine,” he said after a moment.

They ate their disappointing meal, while Elsie did her honest best to look at anything other than the gorgeous demon across from her. He didn’t press the issue, but tension built between them, the bond sizzling.

Back in the officer’s quarters, they tossed their clothes into the dryers and went back to Elsie’s room. Her shoulders ached with the stress building up, but he left her alone. Saint walked over to the far wall and slid down it, sitting on the floor.

“What are you doing?” she asked. “You can’t sleep like that, it looks uncomfortable.”

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Elsie sat on the edge of the bed, facing him. “You’re not. It’s the lack of you that’s bothering me. I’m embarrassed about what happened with the shower, because I could have blocked you out, but I didn’t, and also because I liked it, and I wanted more.”

He softened. “You don’t have to be embarrassed, Mistress. I wanted more, too. Fuck, I still want more.”

“It wasn’t enough, and seeing you so soon after almost broke my resolve,” she said quietly, not having to explain how it was like putting a band-aid on a severed limb.

“I know it wasn’t, and it never will be. Not until we—” he paused. “Not until the bond is completed.”

He didn’t say the next part aloud. The part where the bond would fuse their need for one another once it was complete. They wouldn’t be able to separate for months afterward without physical and emotional pain. Not even for a moment. There wasn’t a chance in hell they’d be able to hide it.

“How are we going to get through this?” she asked.

“One day at a time.”

“Come here, please.” She beckoned, and he came, sitting at her feet and laying his head in her lap. Elsie petted his hair, noticing that his dog ears had disappeared. “I don’t deserve how patient you are with me.”

“I won’t push beyond what you’re ready for.”

“Our circumstances are the only thing stopping me. If things were different, I would already have— We would have…” She trailed off. “It’s not because I don’t want you.”

“It’s okay.” He hugged her hips tighter, and they stayed that way for several minutes. “Your fae magic has started to show itself.”

“Weird, right? I always thought it would be some big dramatic event, but it wasn’t. Chasing Murphy was thrilling in the moment. My brain hyper-focused, and all I wanted was to catch him. But then we caught him, and it faded away. The thrill of the hunt was over, and sanity returned,” she described.

“It may have something to do with it being dark moon magic,” Saint suggested.

The magic had shattered along with its moon centuries ago, when the dragons used it to leave the world behind. They’d taken the world’s magic, the elves, and most of the rakshas with them, forever altering the magical terrain of those left behind.

“You’re probably right,” she agreed. “Maybe it was only poking its head out and taking a look at the world before going back to sleep.”

“It’ll awaken fully someday soon,” he prophesied. “It’s important that you don’t come to depend on it. Dark moon magic is too unreliable, failing at the absolute worst times.”

“I can barely use the magic I already have,” she scoffed. “Trust me, I’m not planning to do anything with this new magic.”

“I trust you,” he said quietly. “Let me help you learn to control your fae. If it gets out of hand, you could lose who you are. I don’t want that.”