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“What is wrong with you? You sound weird.”
That was it. I had to see if she was real. I blurred up the side of the bluff and had her in my arms before she could stop me. Tangible. Warm. Alive. I dipped my head and pressed my face into the crook of her neck, inhaling her, letting the distinct aroma of my mate overwhelm me.
For a single, blissful second, she relaxed into me, curling into my body. Then she stiffened and lifted her hands, pushing against my chest. “Caleb, what has gotten into you?”
“I thought... I thought you were lost to the sea.” I shook my head, the gut-churning sensation of terror rearing as I spoke the words. “I found the scarf. You weren’t home after sundown. I couldn’t find you. Not a hint of your scent anywhere... the only explanation for that was if you’d been missing for hours.”
Even in the darkness, I had no trouble identifying the wash of color in her cheeks. “Maybe not the only explanation. It’s sort of Moira’s fault. She did a spell to mask it.”
“Why the bloody hell would she do that?”
“Because I asked her to? It was supposed to keep the others from tracking me when I ran away. I guess it’s still working, though.”
The harsh bark of laughter that escaped me was a mixture of relief and shock. “You conniving minx. I thought you were dead. I...”
A flicker of emotion crossed her face as she stared into my eyes. Was it love? I couldn’t be certain, but I had to pull her into my arms fully once more, and there was nothing on this earth that would have stopped me from claiming her lips with mine. The kiss was brief but powerful. My dark heart beating only for her, existing only for her. She was my light in a world gone to hell.
She backed away, her posture tense. “Caleb, no. You don’t get to... do that.”
“What? Kiss you? Sunday, I thought you died. I thought my only reason for not meeting the sun was gone.” Even in my darkest times, I’d never considered it, but at that moment, I knew if she was truly gone, nothing would stop me from following.
She shook her head, biting down on her lower lip as if she was at a loss for words. After a second, she swallowed and asked, “And now? Have your plans for me changed?”
Everything in me went still. “A stor—”
She took two more steps away from me, her eyes shuttering and locking me out. “If you’re still going to insist on fulfilling your destiny or whatever, then you and I cannot pretend to be anything more than a means to an end. I already told you, Caleb. I won’t give you my heart. Not even when it's broken.”
“And I won’t take your body without it.”
Her chin tipped up in defiance. “You say that now, but I bet you’ll be singing a different tune in a day or so. You’ve never been very good at resisting me.”
“I resisted you when you were writhing on the bed, calling out for me in your sleep last night.”
Cheeks burning pink, she cast her gaze away from mine.
“Oh, is that something you want, then? To wake up with me buried deep inside you?” I stepped closer. “I can smell how much you like that idea.”
“I may have fantasized about it a time or two. So yes, it turns me on. What’s your point? Do you want a cookie for keeping your cock to yourself? It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Which is it, Miss Fallon? Am I unable to resist or skilled at it? You can’t have it both ways.”
“You’re only good at it when I don’t want you to be.”
I lifted a lock of her hair, rubbing the silky strands between my fingers. “I’ve only ever resisted you to protect you. And when I gave in, it was because you made damn sure I knew where you stood. You’ve always given me your heart,a stor.Even when you didn’t realize it. Play make-believe all you like, my darling one, but you can’t simply turn off your love for me. Just as I can’t stop my feelings for you, no matter how much I want to.”
“The difference between you and me is I’ve walled my heart away. You don’t have one.”
That shut me up. Little did she know those four words could not have been less true, but the arrow hit its mark as though shot by an expert archer. I steeled myself, resuming the facade of the villain in her story. I’d let her see me vulnerable and lovesick. That was over.
“Right you are. Now get your stubborn arse inside. You need to eat and I have to shower. I took an unexpected swim this evening because of you.”
She narrowed her gaze, remaining silent as she shot daggers at me with those blue eyes of hers. I expected a biting remark, some sort of reminder of how I’d wronged her. Instead she stalked down the path toward the house without another word, not looking back at me.
So it was the silent treatment, then. Just as well. I couldn’t trust myself not to tell her my true feelings as it was.
All the blood in my body rushed south the moment I stepped through the door and saw her. She stood in front of the fireplace, stripping off the clothing that had become damp and chilled by contact with me. With each layer she removed, more of her creamy skin and luscious curves were revealed.
I let out a strangled curse. The bedroom was right bloody there. The woman knew exactly what she was doing. The tease.
