Page 64 of Bound
I flush and tuck my unbound hair behind my ears. “My magick makes it harder to attempt such things. Many do not want to chance it.”
Her nod is contemplative. “I get that.” Her head cocks. “But intimacy can be found with others outside the fair folk. Caine can offer a night you would never forget. No ties involved.”
“He would agree to that?”
She snorts. “He’s Asmodean. He lives for sex.” Her head cants. “You could convince Horan, too. I saw how he looked at you earlier.” My eyes widen in surprise. She raises a finger to her lips. “He is more quiet about stuff like that. But I imagine your innocence appeals to what he is.”
“What he is?”
“One of the Fallen.”
There is no stopping my shocked glance.
His size, his coloring. The sword.
An angel. Horan is an angel.
A touch of sadness fills me. Like Gage, he is far from his kind here. Alone.
“But you don’t want him, do you?” Nisha’s tone is soft, barely more than a low whisper.
I nibble at my lip. “I remember Gage from the Sith. Years ago.” I grip my dress. “I loved him then. And I fear I love him still.”
“Why do you fear it?”
“When we find Bran, we will have to leave. How can I take Gage as a lover and then walk away?”
“How can you live the rest of your life without knowing what his kiss feels like? How warm his touch is?” I raise my head to find her watching me. She leans up and clasps my hand. “I get it. The worry of leaving,” she admits. “My home is three hours from here. But T and I make it work. I leave in a few days and he will be out to see me come the weekend. It’s hard. I won’t lie. But every minute we’re together, it’s like being home. And one day … One day we will figure out something more permanent. But for now, his job is here, and I care about him enough to respect that. To want him to succeed. And he feels the same way about me.” Her shrug is easy, but her words resonate into me.
Somehow, despite the leagues between them, her and Tanner seem close. In love. Or on the way there.
I want that with Gage. If I can have it.
“What if he doesn’t want the same thing?” I ask, the worry building again.
“Then you at least know that and can move on.” Her hand shifts in mine, entwining our fingers. “It will hurt, but then you can find someone that wants you like you want them. And as for Gage, it’s his loss.”
Her words pull at my lips, forcing a smile despite it all.
She eases back and climbs to her feet. “And if you want some pointers on how to go about talking to him about it, Caine is good for that too. The man is a seduction master.”
Flushing, I nod, a new lightness filling me.
“Caine!” The voice is feminine and high. Panicked. Nisha runs toward the door as Caine and Horan barrel out before her. I climb to my feet and sprint after them.
Lilah is a mess of dark curls and livid blue eyes. “You need to get outside,” she tells the demon. “Gage is at DEFCON 4.”
Caine and Horan exchange a glance. The angel swears and they take off at a dead run down the hall. Lilah spins and flits, her body a blur, as she chases after them.
Dark mist swirls around Nisha. “Go,” she tells me. “They may need you.”
Biting my lip, I pound down the carpeted hall. Something tawny catches up as I reach the stairs down into the foyer. Nisha and I speed out the front door. Her exemplary hearing has her treading grass towards the corner of the manor and I follow, pulling energy from each blade to aid in keeping pace with the leopard just ahead.
I skid around the building. The first thing I see is green and the distant shimmer of water.
Then my eyes track back and I realize the green is Gage. And he is on fire.
From head to toe, emerald flames bathe his body. The seductive expanse rolls and dances in the fading sunlight. His skin is luminous, like moonlight, and his plait is blowing in an invisible wind. I stop breathing at the raw power pouring from him. So dark. So deadly.
