could be the two of us? I feel…something.” I didn’t know how else to explain it. A spark, a tug, an undeniable urge to be with him sounded too strange to speak out loud.
“Lust?” He grinned and dragged his thumb across my jaw. “Oh yes, I feel that, too. But no, Norah. There isn’t a part of me that thinks you could be my mate. There has never been a Summer fae in the history of Otherworld who has been able to shift.”
My heart dipped. “I don’t think I like this mating business.”
“Hell, I don’t like it too much right now either.”
“Magic is weird, right?”
“It is very weird.”
“What else can Summer fae do, besides healing?”
He chuckled. “We are very good in bed.”
I pushed up onto my elbows and glared down at him before smacking him in the arm—gently. “Well now that’s just cruel.”
His grin widened, and he waggled his brows. “The cruel truth.”
“Oh, come on. You don’t expect me to believe that one of the Summer fae’s gift is the gift of…sex.”
“I guess you’ll never find out, now will you? It’s a shame. You would have enjoyed screaming my name. Over and over and over…”
My mouth dropped open. “I think your gift is being a smug, egotistical—”
“Come here.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me onto his chest, his muscles rippling beneath me.
My breath caught, and I stilled with my cheek plastered against his very taut pecs. “Um. I’m not going to complain, but I’m confused.”
“The rules say nothing about cuddling, and I’ll sleep far better if you’re close.”
My heart did a little flip-flop, and every cell in my body heated up a thousand degrees. He might be able to sleep, but I wasn’t entirely sure I would. His body under mine was very…distracting.
Still, there was something oddly comforting about his touch. The heat of him was like a soft, familiar blanket. I had so many more questions I wanted to ask him, so many things I wanted to say. And there was a lot I wanted to do.
But it did not take long for sleep to drag me under. The last thing I heard as I drifted away was the steady thumping of his heart.
Dim sunlight streamed in through the tiny window overlooking the small Autumn village. I squinted as I opened my eyes, only to find Liam’s face mere inches from mine. We were turned toward each other on the bed, our shoulders digging into the hard mattress. He no longer held me close to his chest. His heart no longer beat beneath my ear. Had he pulled away in the night?
With a sigh, I climbed out of bed and felt my clothes where I’d hung them up. Thankfully, they were dry, so I wouldn’t have to ride all the way back to the Academy in this ridiculous pillowcase gown. That was ripped in half. From when Liam had almost claimed me as his…and then had pulled away, knowing that I wasn’t his mate.
I changed before Liam could wake, but I swore when I turned around, one of his eyes was partially cracked.
“Morning, darling,” he drawled with a slight smile. “You ready to get going?”
So he had been watching then.
“If we don’t head back soon, we won’t get back to the Academy tonight,” I said slowly. A part of me wished we could stay here longer. Just another day or two. I was eager to get back to my lessons, but this time with Liam had revitalized me in a way I hadn’t known I’d needed. I felt even more ready to take down the Redcaps than I had before.
And…I hadn’t hated spending time with Liam, even if I knew it could never be more than what it had been when we’d fallen asleep cuddled up together. Another night spent like that…I couldn’t say I’d mind it. Which was why I could have used another day or two like this. It might not be against the rules, but I doubted anything like that would ever happen behind Academy walls.
“Your wish is my command.”
We were back on the road within the hour. Luckily, the return trip to the Academy was much more uneventful than the ride to Esari. No one tried to stop us, probably because they realized we were on our way out of the Autumn woods rather than trekking in from somewhere else. The sun was still shining in the sky when the horse trotted back onto the Academy grounds. Within moments, we were surrounded