Page 104 of River of Flames

"V," I said, smacking her lightly on the arm, feeling my cheeks heat up. But Theo seemed unfazed.

"That true?" he said with a lopsided grin.

My face got hotter. "Maybe," I said, thinking about the feeling of him against me in the cave.

Vanessa laughed. "Good night, lovebirds," she said, turning her back. As she walked away, she called over her shoulder, "And burn those clothes!"

"She's something else," Theo said, shaking his head. He reached into the trunk and pulled out our bags. "You okay, unicorn?"

I sighed. I pictured Luca and Abigor, and the way they’d blinked out of existence. I thought of Lilin, quietly watching the world through my eyes. "Yeah," I said. "I mean, I guess as okay as I can be, given the circumstances."

Theo slung a bag over his shoulder, then reached for my hand. "Come on," he said. "Julian's right. We can rest before we figure out what to do."

He was quiet as we climbed the stairs, and when we reached the top, for a split second, I wasn't sure where to go. After all, all of my clean clothes were down the hall in the room I shared with Vanessa, and maybe Theo would want a break from me after all the events of the past few days. Maybe he felt as strange and off-kilter as I did. Maybe he was rethinking this entire fledgling romantic relationship of ours. I was pretty sure cohabiting with a demon, sex-fueled exorcisms, and fighting the forces of Hell hadn't been part of his plan. How could he possibly be okay with everything that had happened?

I opened my mouth to put my misgivings into words, but he only rolled his eyes and steered me toward his room. "Stop overthinking."

"How'd you know I was overthinking?"

He rolled his eyes again. "Oh, gee, it's almost like I've known you my whole life or something. C'mon unicorn, let's get some sleep. We can talk in the morning. Afternoon. Night, whatever. I don't even know what time it is anymore."

He led me inside, locking the door securely behind us, then pulled the curtains to block out the sunlight. Bone-deep exhaustion made my entire body ache, and I barely had the energy to shower and change into one of Theo’s shirts. By the time he crawled into bed beside me, my eyes were drifting closed. He wrapped an arm around my waist, drawing me flush against him.

"Night, unicorn," he mumbled into my hair.

I yawned. "Night, Teddy.”

Do you sleep? I asked the silent presence in my head.

She snorted. Good night, River.

I was out before I could think of a retort.

My sleep was heavy and dreamless, and when I awoke, my limbs were stiff and aching. A glimpse of the sky peeked through the curtains. It was dark, but a faint glow was beginning to light the horizon. Dawn, maybe. We'd slept the whole day and night away. I was about to roll over and see if Theo was awake when I felt the slow glide of his fingers drawing up my back, bumping slowly over my vertebrae as they ascended. They tangled briefly in the fine hairs at the base of my neck before reversing course and tracing lightly down to the base of my spine. There was the brief sensation of his fingers on my skin, sending a tingle of awareness through me, before his hand started moving up again, a slow pass, up, then down, then up.

I relaxed into the sensation, enjoying the almost meditative feel of his hand, but it wasn't long before my doubts from the night before began to surface once again. I had to say something. Even if it killed me, I had to give him an out.

"Theo," I said softly. His fingers didn't stop their slow glide up my back, but I knew he was listening. "I'm sorry I dragged you into all this. If…” I took a breath to steady myself. "If it’s…too much…I’ll understand."

At that, his fingers did stop. I felt a gentle pressure on my hip, his hand, turning me around to face him. His eyes were dark and unreadable. "If what's too much?" he asked. "You?"

I shifted a little uncomfortably. "Well…yeah."

"I see," he said. "So if all of…this—" he waved a hand vaguely— "is too much for me to handle, then I'm supposed to, what? Walk away? Fly home?"

I grimaced. "No, I don't mean it like that. I mean, I'll still expect you to fulfill your best friend duties," I joked, trying to lighten the mood, but his expression didn't change. I cleared my throat awkwardly. "But maybe…this isn't a good idea right now." I gestured between us. "Maybe it would be easier if we were just…”

"Easier for who?" he asked. "Easier for you?" The first sign of emotion flashed through his eyes, and my breath caught at the pain I saw there.

"No," I hastened to assure him. "Not me. But you…you didn't sign up for all this. If it's easier for us to just be friends…”

"River," Theo breathed. One hand lifted, pressing gently against my cheek. "Do you think that's how it works? That I can just turn it on and off?"

I swallowed hard. "No, I just—"

"Do you remember the last time we were here, together, in this bed?" he said.

I flushed. It was a little hard to forget.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com