next lifetime isn't likely to be much better. That is his fate. The fate he created for himself. The fate he wants to pass on to you from beyond the grave."
Alex sighed heavily and turned away from her.
"You're not listening, are you? You're not hearing a word I say."
"I have to go. Before I do, I want my pent' back."
"Fine." She started off down the steps that led to the beach below but didn't step into the circle area.
Sacred space, he figured. She wouldn't take his father's filth into her precious white-lighter circle. She walked along the beach a little ways, off toward the left. He saw a branch standing there, one end driven deep into the sand. That was where she stopped, and then, using the branch as a digging tool, she unearthed the pentacle.
He stood there, watching. When it was uncovered, she knelt in the sand, reached her hand toward it, but didn't touch it. The moonlight bathed her face, and the sea wind played in her hair.
She shook her head. "It's still bad," she said. "I can feel it from here. You should leave it for three nights, Alex. Even then, I'm not sure - "
He reached down, not for the pent' but for her. He couldn't stand this, couldn't stand not touching her when he wanted to so very badly. His hand closed on her upper arm, and he pulled her to her feet.
"Alex?"
He pulled her closer, gently, giving her all the time in the world to resist. But she didn't. He closed his arms around her, and he kissed her. The water washed up over their feet and the moon beamed down on them and he kissed her. He thought, vaguely, that it was magical.
When he could break contact and speak again, he cradled her head to his chest, buried his hand in her wild hair. "Why am I so drawn to you? Are you messing with my head, working your own brand of magic on me?"
"I wouldn't use magic to make you feel anything for me. It would be unethical. But I have to tell you, Alex, I've been wondering the same thing about you."
"No. I wouldn't know how."
"Then what is this?" she asked him, whispering.
"I don't know."
She drew a breath, sighed.
"I've searched for him for twenty years, Melissa. I can't just deny him what was his dying wish. Please don't ask me to."
Closing her eyes slowly, she laced her fingers through his, hands at their sides. "It's a mistake, Alex. At least... at least think about this some more. And promise to let me know your decision before you go ahead with it."
"That much I can do."
She nodded. "You need cleansing, and shielding. You need wards. God, the thought of you going back into that house..."
"I'll be fine."
She stepped back, glancing down at the pent' in the sand. "Your pent' - "
"Leave it. Three nights, like you said."
She smiled, though it was shaky. "Good. Good, it can't hurt."
He held her gaze for a long moment. "Don't give up on me, Melissa. Things are - things are so messed up right now. But for some reason, at this moment, I don't want anything in the world quite as badly as I want... as I want you."
He tipped her chin up with his hand, kissed her again, and buried the pentacle in the sand with his feet.
"I should go," he whispered. "Because if I don't, I'm not going to."
She kissed him again, then pushed him away. Reaching down, she picked up the branch and thrust it into the ground to mark the spot where the pent' lay buried.
They turned, and he put his arm around her shoulders, held her close beside him, and they walked back toward the little beach house. But instead of veering left, toward the house, they veered right, toward her special place on the beach.
He let her lead him, unsure why she was taking him there. At least, he was until she stopped and turned to face him. Slowly, she tugged her fleece shirt upward, over her head, and dropped it into the sand beside her.
Alex caught his breath, his throat going dry.
She heeled off her shoes and socks, then slid the soft gray fleece down over her hips and stepped out of the pants. She stood there, naked in the moonlight. And more than ever before, she seemed like some mystical creature. The spirit of the sea itself, bathed in moonlight.