There was a trace of humor in his voice. “You need to learn how to knock.”
Now my eyes rose to his face and the small hint of a smile that turned his mouth. “There’s no door.”
He acknowledged the truth of that with a soft, “Ah.”
My hand was still holding his and I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let go. He used his other hand to lift my chin. I was still struggling not to blush and kept my vision locked on the long line of bare chest that disappeared into the soft white magician’s robe. It was impossible to ignore the musky scents that filled the air. “Creede—”
I knew I’d screwed up whatever spell he was casting and had no idea what the result would be. And what had just happened was too … personal, too intimate. And frankly, it had felt too good.
His finger pressed to my lips. “Don’t overthink it, Celia. Just let it be.” His voice was almost too soft to hear over the waterfall. I finally looked in his eyes. It was a mistake. He pulled me closer and I let him. When his mouth closed over mine I melted into his embrace and my arms slid around him of their own accord.
A first kiss is supposed to be soft, tentative—the barest taste of things that might later happen. But this was the sort of kiss that happens after lovemaking, a gentle joining while your body is still flush with pleasure. His tongue entered my mouth and his hands pulled me against him. I allowed the knowledgeable, languid caresses that didn’t so much explore as acknowledge possession. My body wanted things my mind couldn’t fully grasp and I found my hands were doing the same things as his, storing up in muscle memory the lay of his body and what touches brought an appreciative noise from his throat. He expertly navigated the twin fangs but explored them as well while his jaw worked slowly against mine.
It felt amazingly good and I relaxed against him fully, my muscles suddenly jelly and my brain fuzzy.
This was wrong. On so many levels. But I couldn’t stop.
Creede pulled back from the kiss, then softly pressed his lips against my forehead. He ran his fingers through my hair and rested his cheek next to mine. “You terrify me, Celia Graves.”
I let out a shaky laugh and moved my hands so they weren’t resting right on his muscled backside. I wanted to bury myself in the warm power that pulsed from his skin and that terrified me. “Likewise.”
He released me then, turning so quickly I nearly stumbled. “There’s a bathroom down the hall on the left. I’ll put my tools away if you want first shot at it.”
A bathroom? In a cave? But I was more than happy to escape the room for a few moments. I closed the bathroom door behind me and turned on the light. It was a perfectly normal bathroom, including a bathtub with shower. I supposed if magic made the cave, why not make a bathroom? Heck, maybe there was a kitchen, too.
The mirror over the sink revealed the truth. I looked great. Damn it. There’s no way to hide the flush of really good sex. Only time would do that, and friends like Dawna and Emma would spot it on me a week from now.
I cleaned up as best as possible, and when I turned to find a towel I almost ran into the tux Creede had been wearing at the event. That meant that he was naked under that robe. Well, hell. Yeah, I knew mages did that—the whole “get closer to nature” thing—and I’d seen the bare feet. I felt myself blushing again. Well, maybe he’d been wearing underwear. I could hope.
A light tap on the door made me let out a startled yip. “You about done in there? I need to get dressed.”
“Sorry. Yeah. All yours.” I unlocked and opened the door, keeping my eyes firmly on the floor as I tried to slide past him.
He let out a frustrated sigh and raised an arm to stop my progress. “Celia, would you please look at me?”
I’d faced vampires, assassins, and even demons with a steady eye. Now I was terrified to look a handsome mage in the face just because I liked him a little too much? I forced my shoulders to relax and raised my face to his.
There was a look in his eyes that told me that our relationship had shifted permanently, no matter how much I wanted to go back. The realization appeared on his face, too. We were suddenly aware of each other. I could sense his arm right next to my waist and didn’t want to shove it away. If anything, I wanted it to curl around me. It was both a new kind of tension that wasn’t there the last time I saw him and yet no tension at all. It felt natural, normal. When he spoke, it was with mingled confidence and worry: “It doesn’t have to go further, you know. We can go back to the way it was.”
A small laugh escaped me. “Please. You know better than that, Creede. There’ll always be the wondering, the wanting to know whether this was the best or just a sample of something bigger.”
He smiled and it wasn’t forced. It was the smile I saw the first time I met him and it made him real, approachable, and frankly … datable. That wasn’t a good thing, given the roses waiting for me at Gran’s. “I don’t know if I could handle anything bigger. You have no idea what that felt like.”
Oh, but I did. I gave him a quick peck on the cheek and simultaneously pushed his hand away from the doorjamb. “Get dressed. I’ll meet you back at the party.”
“I’d rather you wait. Spend a few minutes looking at the grotto. I turned on the lights. It’s some of my best work and you might never make it back here. I’ll be quick. I promise.”
My head nodded agreement even as I opened my mouth to gently refuse. It was at least a dozen steps before my legs were steady. As I walked back into the main chamber they went wobbly again, for a different reason. It was … amazing. The “lights” were a miniature sun, high overhead. Thankfully it was just light and didn’t burn my skin.
He’d made paradise—a tropical rain forest in the middle of wine country. Birds chirped and called to each other from the branches of trees that were once merely underground roots. It smelled of fresh growth, of eucalyptus and flowers. “You like?” Creede’s voice came from right behind me, meaning he’d snuck up on me while I’d been gawking. He was in the tux again and smelled of nothing but good cologne. If a tour really did walk in the door just then, they probably wouldn’t notice anything unusual.
I smiled and nodded as I watched sparrows flitting around above me. “It’s gorgeous. Was there even a cave here when you started?”
“It was a spring originally. This area had never been planted before, which is why one of the bigger vineyards hadn’t bought the land. I knew if the girls’ idea was going to work that I needed to be underground to push the magic up into the soil. Now the former spring is a waterfall and part of the water is piped up from the basin to storage tanks to water the vines while the rest keeps the grotto alive.” The proud tone of his voice was justified.
“You did good. Really. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
He smiled widely. “We should probably get back. My assistant is going to get grumpy if I’m gone much longer.”
We turned and started to walk out, our heels making muted ticking noises that were tiny in comparison to the other sounds. “Andrew? He sent me down here. He said you were giving a tour.”
Creede let out a sound that was close to a growl, but with amusement underlying it. “I don’t know whether to give him a pink slip … or a raise. He knew damned well I don’t give tours of the grotto. And he knew what I was down here doing.”
“And that was? What kind of spell did I totally destroy?”
“It wasn’t a spell. It was a purification ritual.” He must have seen my furrowed brow, because he elaborated while we walked down the dim tunnel to the outside: “Despite what it may look like, I don’t do well at public gatherings. There was a reason why George Miller was the front man of the company. I have horrible stage fright.”