wonder.
So I told her the story, about the stupid bracelet, and what she’d said. When I told her about how she’d said Azrael was always the better brother, she gasped, then raised her hand to cover her mouth, as if she wanted to take those words back across all those years.
When I looked at her, I saw the old Alisa too, and I knew she never would have said those awful words to me for no reason.
But I went on. I told her how I’d thrown the cursed bracelet into the fountain, only to find Herrick watching me.
“That’s the part that’s always bothered me,” I finished.
Her eyes were worried, a rare frown denting the skin between her arched eyebrows.
“Later on, when I thought about it. It was as if he was waiting. As if he wanted to watch you hurt me.” I tilted my head, staring at her. “As if he knew what you would say.”
“Because he did,” she said. “I found my diary, Duncan. Well, and then I lost it. I didn’t get to read it all.” She pulled a face, but real frustration was written across her face no matter how playful she was. “But I know what happened to us. Herrick poisoned our wine. Do you remember drinking wine together?”
“Yes,” I said. “We had our own private party to celebrate your birthday. But I never had any signs of being poisoned.” I paused, thinking. “Unless he could activate the poison with a spell.”
“So I had a good reason to hurt you.” Her voice came out flat, and those words seemed to hang in the air between us.
I raked my hand through my hair. I’d hoped for an answer like that one, and hated myself for hoping. I’d been so angry and to have that long-held fury that had protected my heart suddenly diffused… I didn’t know what to do with how I felt. The cell wasn’t big enough to hold me; I felt as if I was going to go out of my mind, as if I were going to explode.
Then suddenly, she was in my arms, pulling me close. Her lips met mine.
Alisa kissed me hard, kissed me like she loved me, and all of sudden I didn’t feel angry anymore. All I felt was desire.
“I should have trusted you,” I murmured against her mouth between kisses. “I should have tracked you down in the mortal world and told you I’d always be on your side. I should have realized you’d always be on mine.”
Her lips quirked against my cheek, and she paused, her fingers twined in my hair. “That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard, Duncan.”
“Oh?” I pulled back to raise my eyebrows at her.
“Groveling.” Her lips parted in a delighted smile. “You do it exceptionally well.”
I growled at her, then pressed her against the wall. I collected her wrists in mine again so I could pin her against the stone, but she couldn’t stop smiling against my lips.
She pulled away suddenly. “I have one more question.”
“What’s that?”
“What did we do exactly to celebrate my birthday?”
My lips found the spot at the corner of her throat where she loved to be kissed. “Mostly this…”
Her chest fluttered against mine, as if that felt good to her, and satisfaction bloomed in my chest.
“And this,” I nuzzled her throat, down to her shoulder.
Her hands stroked across my body, lighting fire everywhere her touch passed.
I gave in and lost myself to her, all over again. Our lips clashed together; her hands went to my jaw, pinning me still, her mouth claiming mine fiercely. I cupped the back of her head, and she smiled against my lips at the possessiveness before the smile was lost to our kisses. I teased the tip of my tongue between her lips, and her mouth parted for me.
Just before she pushed me back toward the bed. I let her shove me but caught her hips, drawing her with me. Her fingers slid down the front of my pants, brushing over my massive hard-on before she shoved the thin material down.
“In a hurry?” I demanded, stopping to rip her own shirt over her head. I threw it over my shoulder; her lips were parted with desire, her hair wild around her face.
“I wanted a kiss for good luck before I faced the Shadow Man,” she teased.
“Just a kiss?” I cupped her cheek with my hand, holding a distance between us, but I couldn’t resist caressing the fine line of her cheekbone with my thumb.