Page 16 of Touch

“That’s all I get after the riveting tour I gave you for free?”

Fuck this man and his alluring sense of humor. She twists and struts backward a few steps. “I take up residence in the forest.”

He exhales, his breath a tendril of frost. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

“Don’t get any ideas about hunting for me.”

“Don’t give me ideas at all.”

“And do not tell me what to do.”

Andrew throws back his head, guffaws booming from his lungs, the noise blasting through her like a rocket. Swift. Fast. Sizzling. Unfortunately, this amounts to the sexiest laugh she’s ever heard, the noise accelerating her bloodstream.

Despite herself, Love jabs her tongue into her cheek to keep from grinning. When that proves difficult, she narrows her features into a glare.

Andrew’s reaction finally takes its toll. His humor ebbs to a mirthful hiss as he massages his injured jaw. Until now, he’s exhibited few signs of pain from the battle with Griffin, other than gripping his side a few times.

Love halts and swipes a ball of snow off the sidewalk. “Here. Let me.”

Her fingers sail through his mandible as she presses the snow to his wound. They pause, Andrew’s pulse visibly quickening in the crook of his neck.

Yet again, she hadn’t been thinking and should pull away. But more than that, Love wants to trace that injury. If she could explore and heal him with her fingers, it would be another typeof magic, her skin making contact with his. She imagines the texture of his body, the ridges pliant but solid like silk over bone. The broad shoulders. The slab of his torso. The tapered waist and sloping hips. The surface of his mouth. The muscles of his throat as he swallows.

Andrew’s pupils fire like sticks of dynamite. Her knees tremble, the crease in her thighs tightening, a tiny jolt passing through her core.

Restless, Love eases back her hand. “And how are your ribs?”

“Stop looking at me that way.”

“What way?”

He doesn’t answer. Nor does he need to, his voice hitting a low, gritty register. The air thickens, atmospheric pressure building in a strange way, begging for quick relief. Perhaps a chilled gust of wind.

Is this what heat feels like?

As if to prove her right, a breeze rustles their clothes, breaking the spell. Taking the snow pack from her and tossing it aside, Andrew gives Love a nod of gratitude. “This way.”

As he swerves toward the brick structure, Love follows. The facade is industrial and weathered, with muttons in the windows and a metal door. It doesn’t fit the village, which explains its location on the outskirts.

Andrew twists the handle lever in one direction, exerts pressure, then turns it in the opposite direction. Rather than a key, his motions cause the lever’s inner bolt to unlatch. When the lock clicks, he tosses her a sidelong grin. “You’ll like this.”

Confident to an immortal degree. Presumptuous to boot.

As they step inside, Andrew lingers behind Love and flips a wall switch. Strands of little bulbs ignite from the ceiling rafters, the glass nodules sprinkling ambient light into the space,much like holiday illuminations. Meanwhile, dust and moon rays coat the floor, spilling in from a pair of skylights.

Love’s reluctance washes away. Beneath the spectacle, the vast building houses a row of tracks, each with upright target markers suspended from the ceiling and hooked to conveyor belts.

An archery range.

An abandoned one, based on the cobwebs lacing the corners and the unfinished surroundings. But how has Love never known about this?

While propping his shoulder against a column, Andrew spreads out his arms. “Have at it.”

It’s all Love can do not to rub her palms together with anticipation. Oh, the effervescent zeal of exploring a mortal’s domain without their knowledge or consent. It rarely gets old.

Andrew is right. She does like it here.

If there’s one thing she is not, it’s shy. With gusto, Love accepts his invitation to snoop, inspecting the target markers—renderings of human silhouettes—and sliding them into different positions, then pausing beneath the skylights and viewing an ocean of stars.

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