His thoughts were engaged elsewhere. She folded her legs beneath her to ward off the chill night draft and drew her coat tighter around her shoulders, playing idly with one of its buttons. She did not press him to talk, but allowed him to puzzle through whatever it was on his own. She, too, had thoughts that kept her occupied.
She did not want him to regret staying the winter with her and would try to be as little trouble to him as possible. But that did not mean she intended to renege on her promise to the goddesses. Bad things were happening in the world, and while she might not be to blame for instigating them, to sit back and do nothing now, knowing the potential dangers some half demons posed, increased her culpability for them.
And if he did not want to be involved in any of it, he would not. Come spring, if she could not change his mind, she would be forced to let him go. The possibility left her breathless and threw her demon into fits of rebellion.
Blade spoke, breaking the silence.
He hunched forward on the fallen log, his forearms on his thighs, hands loosely clasped between his knees. He tilted his head, his eyes meeting hers. He reached out and took one of her curls and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger, but he did not let his hand touch her face.
“This amulet I’m wearing was your mother’s,” he said. “You should have it back.” He slipped it off and tried to pass it to her.
She did not take it from him. Instead, she cupped his hand in both of hers and folded his fingers closed around it. Then she kissed the heel of his palm. “As long as you’re with me, you’re in danger from demons,” she said. “I want you to wear this and be safe.”
He looked as if he had something more to say but changed his mind with a shake of his head. He stared at the amulet in his hand for a long time. Then, he replaced the chain around his neck.
“I don’t think you understand the value of the gift,” he said.
She did not want to think about that. “I don’t want anyone else to wear it. It’s yours now.”
He leaned closer to press his lips to her forehead. “You have no idea how much I wish things were different for us.”
She curled her fists in the front of his coat and drew him to her so that she could feather kisses along the length of his jaw, then his throat to his open collar where the amulet nestled.
“Thank you,” she said.
He did not move away, but watched her with a quiet hunger that caught her breath. “For what?”
“For making me feel desirable and not something to be afraid of or repulsed by.” She kissed his lips, very gently. “No one else has ever made me feel that way. I wish things were different, too. If they were I would go after what I want, and I wouldn’t worry about what is best for either of us. Because what I want is you.”
The craving in his eyes did not dissipate, but he turned back to the fire and their now-burning dinner.
“You’re too quick to want,” he said. “The dangers are greater than you think.”
She knew that physical danger from the outside world did not trouble him. It was the threat she posed to his peace of mind that had him draw away from her. He had learned to care for very little else in his life so that its loss would not matter so much.
She might be too quick, but he was too cautious. Blade wanted to be with her. For some reason he would not explain, he refused to acknowledge it. He should seize what the present offered him because this was what shaped the future—the present. Not the past.
To her, the future was filled with light, not darkness. And right now, in the present, they were together.
…
The sound of water crashing against a shore awoke Blade from a dream.
No. He frowned. It was not a dream but a place. He could smell the air and feel the wind. The sky above was a deep, animated red, filtered through a gentle blue-green light that gave it a distinct purple cast. A vast and seemingly endless expanse of water stretched as far as he could see. White-capped waves crested, curled, and broke against a beach of aqua sand.
Raven approached him, a greeting in her luminous blue eyes. A sheer, white gown bared the golden skin of her arms and throat and twisted around her hips and thighs as she moved, revealing far more than it hid. The odd lighting of the sky caught the coppery-red streaks in her black hair so that they flared like strips of heated metal.
Possessiveness seized him.
She stretched out her fingers to rest on his arm, her touch warm and real.
“How did you manage this?” He swept a hand around them, torn between watching the beauty of her face and staring at the undulating sea.
“I didn’t. This came from your thoughts, not mine.” She lifted his amulet and held it in her palm as she gazed up at him. “This is what my mother spoke of, why there was no fear in her when she did. It’s another tiny piece of the boundary. Only an immortal she welcomed could come here.”
He had not known such thoughts dwelled in him. He had never seen the sea before but had read of it, a long time ago, and except for the boundary sky, this was indeed how he would envision it.
And how he envisioned Raven—so beautiful, it made his chest ache with longing.
But this place was induced by a demon’s amulet, therefore unnatural, and he did not trust it. He did not care that it picked so easily through his intimate thoughts. They had been pillaged enough for one day.
He took her hand in one of his, the other hovering near a knife tucked in his trousers as he scanned the area around them, unable to believe there was no danger to either of them here. The mortal world held dangers too, but at least in a way he understood and could deal with.
“This place is for demons,” he said.
She stepped into the crook of his arm, drawing it around her so that she was pressed tight against him. The fresh, clean scent of her skin and hair filled his lungs and all he could think of was her.
“Not all demons. Only those you wish to be here. For once,” she said, “can’t you allow yourself to indulge in what you desire without worrying about what might or might not happen if you do?”
He could think of nothing he would like to do more, yet still, he hesitated.
Her eyes softening, she stood on her toes and tipped her head to kiss the underside of his jaw. “We walk here together, Blade.”
He no longer doubted that the amulet he wore was meant for him, that it was more than just a “trinket.” And that he belonged to her. It would not work for them in this way, as it had for her parents, otherwise. It had been crafted by a demon for the woman it claimed, and she had accepted it. Their daughter had given it to him. The possibility that Raven had not yet realized the implications of it was what filled him with a terror unlike anything he had ever known. She could do so much better than him. She did not have to be with him forever.
But right now, she was.
He slid his palms up the length of her arms, entranced by the feel of her smooth, warm skin, delicate and feminine. She trembled beneath his touch, her eyelids drooping so that sooty lashes brushed her cheeks. Her hands came to rest on his bare torso.
He discovered he was naked. He hooked his fingers beneath the fabric of her dress and eased it off her shoulders so that it pooled on the sand at her dainty toes. He stroked a knuckle from her neck to the tip of one rosy-tipped breast, then followed its path with his mouth. He drew her nipple into his mouth, licking the taut crescent. With a soft cry of pleasure she took his head in her hands and buried her fingers in his hair, arching against him. He gathered her close, his hands on her bare hips, so her stomach stroked his erection. She took him in her fingers, sliding them gently up and down his sensitive shaft until he groaned out loud with need. She pressed her lips to his chest, trailing kisses to his navel, then lower. She faltered, looked at him with a question in her eyes, and he cupped her chin in his palm.