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I had been able to touch her cheek while she slept, of course, but this was different. This time I was holding her—actually holding her against me! Her soft, warm body pressed against my own and my arm became solid where it wrapped around her shoulders.

Sweet merciful Ancients, what an extraordinary sensation!

Celeste didn't seem to notice anything strange about it. Instead, she gave a little sob and buried her face against my chest, clinging to me as though I was the only solid thing left in her world.

"Oh my God!" she gasped, her voice muffled against my shirt. "Oh my God, I thought that thing was going to eat me!"

"It's all right—you're all right, sweetheart," I murmured, tightening my arm around her. "It cannot hurt you when you're on this side of the bubble. You're safe now, I promise."

She made another little sobbing sound and pressed closer to me, and I found myself wishing I had two solid arms to hold her with. But when I wrapped my other arm around her waist, it became solid too, and suddenly I was embracing a living woman for the first time in a hundred years.

I could scarcely believe it. Her body was so warm and soft against mine, and she smelled faintly of lavender and something sweet and feminine that I couldn't identify. Her long brown hair brushed against my chin, and I had to fight the urge to bury my face in it and breathe deeply.

Damnation, it had been so long since I'd held anyone! I had almost forgotten how wonderful it felt to have a woman in my arms, especially one as lovely and generously curved as Celeste.

Also, it wasn’t lost on me that she was practically naked. Her enormous orange shirt was the only thing covering her upper body, and her long, shapely legs were completely bare.

I was trying very hard not to notice the soft press of her full bosom against my chest or the way her rounded hips fit so naturally against my own. After all, the poor woman had just experienced a terrible fright and was clinging to me for comfort. It would be most ungentlemanly to take advantage of such a situation.

Still, I couldn't help wishing that I could hold her like this for a little while longer.

Which was a ridiculous thought, of course. I was only comforting her because she was upset, and that was all there was to it.

The troll gave another furious roar and slammed its fists against the bubble, making Celeste jump in my arms.

"Easy now, sweetheart," I murmured, rubbing one hand soothingly over her back. "It cannot get through. The protective barrier has stood for centuries, and one stupid troll isn't going to bring it down."

"Are…are you sure?" she whispered, looking up at me with wet eyes.

"Of course, I'm sure!" I said confidently. "I am the Guardian of the Gateway, am I not? I know a thing or two about the magic that protects Hidden Hollow. You're perfectly safe on this side of the bubble, so there's no need to fret."

She nodded and buried her face against my chest again, and I found myself holding her even tighter.

It was a strange thing, being able to feel her like this. Every place where her warm body pressed against mine seemed to become solid, and I could feel the weight of her in my arms. I could feel her little shivers and the way she was slowly beginning to relax against me.

It was the most wonderful sensation I had experienced in a century, and I never wanted it to end.

We stood there for several minutes while the troll continued its tantrum on the other side of the bubble, but eventually, the great hairy brute seemed to realize that it wasn't going to get through. It gave one last frustrated roar, kicked a large stone off the road, and finally lumbered back into the forest.

I watched it go with considerable relief. I had been lucky—damned lucky—that my spectral appearance had frightened the beast long enough for Celeste to escape. If it had realized that I couldn't actually touch it, things might have ended very differently.

And the thought of what might have happened made my temper flare all over again.

"What the devil did you think you were doing, running half-naked outside the protective bubble?" I demanded, looking down at the woman in my arms. "Have you no sense at all? I warned you not to leave the protection of Hidden Hollow!"

Celeste flinched at the sharpness of my tone and drew back a little, though my arms were still around her.

"I…I was just trying to call in to work," she explained, looking up at me with wet eyes. "I only had a few minutes before I was supposed to be there, and my phone was almost dead, and I didn't know what else to do."

Well, damn it all, how was I supposed to remain angry with her when she looked at me like that? Her green eyes were enormous and filled with tears, and her cheeks were flushed from crying. A few strands of her long brown hair were sticking to her damp face, and she looked so sweet and vulnerable that I felt my anger crumbling in spite of myself.

Why did she have to be so damned beautiful? And why did she have to feel so good in my arms?

I had to remind myself that I was supposed to be scolding her, not admiring the way her soft curves pressed against my chest.

"Well…you need to be more careful," I grumbled, trying to sound stern. "I don‘t know what you do for work, but no profession is worth losing your life. You must understand that the world outside Hidden Hollow's protective bubble is not a safe place for an inexperienced witch who knows nothing of magical Creatures."

"I know that now," she said in a small voice. "I just didn't think I'd see an actual troll—I mean, that is what that Sasquatch-looking thing was, right?"