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Chapter 21
Relian took in the smaller form at his side. Cal stood close—so close he could brush his side against hers if he desired. And, oh, how he desired! He fisted his hands to keep from reaching for her. Those stubborn appendages seemed to take on a life of their own if he didn’t.
She’d touched him with increasing frequency since that day by the waterfall, and he’d been happy to return the favor. The fateful events of a week ago broke some reserve in her, anchoring her to his side more fully than anything else ever could have. But they never progressed past innocent caresses on the arm or cheek. He feared to push her, so he’d go at her pace—for now. She was still wary, but the binding was pulling at her, too. The evidence of that was in her eyes, in her touch, in her smile.
Guilt about his lies and withholding of information still bit at him, but he muzzled it, stuffing it deep within. What did it matter because the end result would be the same? She’d fall in love and bond with him. In the end, it’d all work out. It had to.
Time was a strange thing, though, and he’d never realized how much so until she’d arrived. The passage of time had never been of a concern to him before. Why would it?
His kind measured the passing of time by years, centuries, and even millennia. Minutes and seconds had rarely seemed important until now. Now snatched moments were all he caught with her. And he wanted to spend each and every one of them caressing her skin. The very tension of it hummed through his veins.
These times with her were both his pleasure and his torment. He gritted his teeth. The need to touch her grated like a wound, yet so did her absence. He could count the days she’d been in his world.
Nineteen days.
Not even three weeks.
Was that all? Barely three weeks of his life? He took a calming breath and resisted the urge to comb his hand through his hair. If he did, he’d probably tear it out. When had he started to count his days as if they were precious things, to be numbered and neatly ordered?
This was the mortal way of tracking time, but it’d never been his way, until now. An immortal mind was never meant to be confounded by the reality of finite time, at least as it stood by mortal concept. To live so fettered by time’s bonds confused his kind. Yet humanity had always seemed determined to ignore its existence, seeming to think they had forever. He shook his head.
How could they live with such temerity? He’d forgotten this aspect of humanity, as he’d been an adolescent when the separation occurred. Indeed, he’d probably been too young to notice. Young elves were much akin to their human cousins in the way they grew, only it took them centuries to obtain full adulthood and mortals a score of years.
Nineteen days she’d been here. How did Cal view these days? Even from her perspective, that couldn’t be so very long. Was acceptance coming to her? Her capitulation to his presence signaled it was, as did her close proximity. Still, he desired more from her. He wanted to be with her; he wanted to be in her. As so many times before, he slammed the steel door shut on his mind and willed his lower regions to behave. He had no right to want what she wasn’t yet willing to give.
Then again, how did he know what she wanted? Did she not stand close to him, trusting him?
He stopped abruptly and turned to face her. She halted but didn’t move away—a reassuring sign that caused desire to hum through him. Though sentries and other prying eyes could happen upon them, he didn’t care.
His gaze devoured her. Standing before him was the woman he’d dreamed of for years, even before he knew who or what she was, even before he’d met her when she was but a girl. Only in the last few months before her arrival had his dreams given any true hint of her outward exterior beyond her hair color.
To learn her race had come as quite a blow. He’d never considered she would be human. Why would he?
But it turned out she hadn’t been an elf or a human—she simply had been. No more and no less. Just herself, no race. It was an oversimplification, but one that resounded true to the depths of his soul.
Now that he knew her, he could see it had been her all along. There could be no denial in that. It had and could never be another.
Her fidgeting alerted him he’d stared at her for too long. Taking her hands in his, he offered her what comfort he could. The touch of her hands scorched his palms and fingers. Fiery sensation worked its way up his arms in a relentless path. He bit back a groan at the pleasurable pain. The binding was amplifying what would undoubtedly be his already strong reaction toward her, making it a hundred times more potent.
That bond burned through him, waiting to consume all until he wrestled back control. There would come a time when he wouldn’t be able to exert dominance, and he’d crumble under its effects. He couldn’t allow that to happen, not only for their sakes but for that of their worlds. They had to bond—and the sooner, the better. If she didn’t agree...
The thought he was already too far-gone to recover if she left wiggled around his brain like the most tenacious of worms. He’d swear the bond between them was almost completed if he didn’t know otherwise. For the pull to be so strong after such a short time was rare. Something was magnifying the effects. The veil had already interceded, interfered. Why not again? But what it did was no mere thing. It played a perilous game that could destroy two people, two worlds, if not all was dealt out satisfactorily.
He tugged her closer, and the invisible threads of energy that always existed between them intensified. The ecstasy of bond threatened to tear him apart. She had to see that her place was by his side. Letting her go wasn’t an option. His hands tightened around hers. Even if he’d wanted to voluntarily release her, it was impossible on so many levels.
***
Relian’s hands spread warmth through Cal’s arms that wasn’t entirely natural, and she shivered. His eyes pierced her, his regard not wavering. Though she wasn’t sure what was pushing her, she decided then and there she wouldn’t back down. She steeled herself not to break eye contact and kept her gaze glued to his face, determined to match his actions.
Match his actions... She gave a small smile. That had possibilities.
A bold idea took hold. He was so near that she could touch him without much effort. What would he do if she kissed that mouth she’d been hungering for? Relian had instigated their kisses at the waterfall. Since that day, she had no desire or willpower to keep him at arm’s length.
She drew a finger up his jawline. Relian sucked in a breath. As she placed a palm against his cheek and took in his widened eyes and dilated pupils, a thrill shivered down her spine. So she could take him aback. It was nice to know this emotion worked in reverse and that he wasn’t unfazed by her.
Cal let her hand rest there. He leaned into her touch. Turning his head, he placed his lips against her wrist, right above where the binding nestled. The warmth of his mouth forced a gasp from her. Relian had not only used her tactics against her, but he’d also aroused quivers of pleasure with a mere touch.
He gently slid his fingertips down the arm that cupped his cheek. Even through the material of her sleeve, his caress shot electric currents down to her toes. She drew back, quivering from all the warring thoughts and desires flooding her body. This wasn’t normal. No man had ever affected her this way.
