Page 31 of Toward Immortal Ruin

“Eden Hawthorne. I’m a professor at the University of Chicago and staying here for a bit while a couple of things blow over.Citizensthings, actually.”

Happy the stoke the flames on kinship and maybe spark an idea for his mate, Nero joined in. “Jeremiah just moved here—well, part time—from Iowa.”

“We’re neighbors!”

“Nice! It’ll be great having another mid-westerner here on clan lands.”

Frowning, Eden asked, “Clan lands?”

Jeremiah’s poker face was nonexistent. He shot a panicked look over at Nero. “Community and clan are interchangeable on the island.”

“Ah, gotcha.”

Nero didn’t miss Zia pinching her mate, a reminder to keep Eden in the dark about their immortality and their clan. It wasn’t the right time to broach that topic.

By the time they’d finished introductions, Nero was more proud of his mate than ever. She immediately fit in with his lieutenants, as though she’d always been one of the group. In a way, Nero reasoned, she had. Key had foreseen Eden centuries ago, and she’d always been the extra presence that could never be accounted for.

Until today.

They wandered out of the dome, laughing about Nero’s sudden need to finish her book, while he gradually led them down to the water’s edge. Eden had assured him she wasn’t hungry, and he was content to simply sit back and admire her personality and excitement.

Her enthusiasm grew as they neared the beach, the emotion banking across his psychic senses. As soon as they reached the sand, her shoes were forgotten next to a tree. Grabbing the hem of her dress in one hand, she sprinted toward the water, while Nero gamely jogged behind.

Her jubilant laughter sounded in his ears, over the crashing waves. Everything about this moment was perfect: he’d finally found his mate, and she was everything dreams were made of.

“Aaaaaaa! It’s so cold!”

“That, unfortunately, never changes,” he replied. “The good thing, however, is that I’m hot, and I’ll always be game to warm you up.”

Nero’s arms cinched around her middle from behind, content with merely holding her. Eden had other plans. Twisting in his embrace, she locked her arms around his neck. She felt so right, like an entity of pure joy and light, made entirely for him. This is what he’d been missing for centuries, the other half of himself.

The promise in Eden’s eyes short-circuited what was left of his reason. Tension built between them, an unspoken question lingering. The subtle change in Eden’s breath mirrored the kick in his own heartbeat. The way she arched into him was a drug, as was the way her attention lingered on his lips.

Only when she was ready.

But then her mouth was on his, and everything in the world righted itself. At first, it was hesitant, as if she was testing their connection. He responded in kind, letting her lead, andfelt her passionate nature wake up, like a slumbering creature responding to the arrival of spring.

Slow and sensual, she kissed him as though she never wanted to stop and couldn’t even fathom breaking their connection. Nero’s hand came up to cradle her cheek, delicately cupping her jaw and urging her onward. What’d started as innocent and tentative changed as they lost themselves in one another. The kiss deepened, urged toward the edge by explosive feelings of desire.

Finally, breathless, Eden pulled away.

Nero made promises to the fates that he’d keep her lips swollen with kisses every day of their eternal lives together. He could never get enough of the way she tasted.

“It’s always been on my bucket list to swim in the Pacific.”

One eyebrow rose. “You have a fascination with your bucket list. Should I be worried?”

It took her half a second too long to say, “No.”

He could’ve taken the word at face value if it hadn’t been for his psychic senses. What worried Nero was that there was deceit in her emotional cocktail. Before he could ask, she broke the silence once more.

“I’ve never gone for a swim fully clothed before. You want to go in?”

“Now?”

“What better time?” That delicious green gaze and Eden’s ready smirk taunted him. “Come on, Nero, come play in the water with me.”

“How can I say no to that?”

---