“Because I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” I pause, tightening my hold on her. “To the both of you.”
She nods again, which surprises me. Usually, she’s so stubborn. I let her cry in my arms, holding her tightly, even when I start to feel the energy draining from my body. It feels like I’m breaking into pieces, and all of those pieces belong to her. I don’t know how to fix it, how to get the all the pieces back, and I kind of don’t want to.
Finally, she pulls away, gasping for air.
After she composes herself, she asks, “Do you think . . . ? Do you think he’ll be okay?”
I look at her stomach and find myself smiling for some insane reason. “I thought it was an it. Now it’s a he?”
She covers her belly with her arm. “No, not that . . . I was talking about my dad.”
“Oh, yeah, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
A beat or two goes by where she simply stares at me, as if trying to read my thoughts. Horrified she might somehow be able to, I keep talking.
“He’s in his own head,” I explain, “which means his real body is somewhere else, so I think he’s safe.” I stare down at the snow. “We need a plan, though. I don’t think it’s a good idea to just keep going to random places.”
“I have two great plans.” She leans back against a tree, yawning. “We can either go find Laylen, Aislin, and Aleesa and try to convince Aislin to get the mark off herself. Or we can go track down my mom, find out how the hell I get to the Afterlife, and end all of this.” She pauses, assessing me closely. “Unless you know how to get there.”
“Why would I know how to get there?” I lie casually. There is no way I am going to offer up information that would get her and the baby killed.
The baby.
Every time I think about it, I feel like I’m going to faint.
She frowns, reading my bullshit lie. “Fine, don’t tell me, then. Make this harder than it needs to be.”
“Gemma, I’m not lying this time. I have no clue how to get there.”
She shakes her head, frustrated. “Then I need to find my mom.”
“Not if it involves going back to the house.
The electricity scorches up a notch as she grows angry with me. “You’re not the boss of me, Alex.”
I bust up laughing, only making her angrier. “I’m sorry,” I quickly say, working to pull myself together. “It’s just that you used to say that all the time to me when we were kids.”
She mashes her lips together, stifling a laugh and trying to remain angry.
“You also used to get this right here”—I smooth away the line between her brows with my thumb—“whenever you were trying to stay mad at me.”
She shakes her head, huffing. “I am mad at you.”
“No, you’re not.”
To prove it, I brush my lips across hers, and she groans against my mouth as her fingers slide through my hair, pulling me closer. I kiss her until she’s breathless, until my heart nearly gives out, until I’m on the verge of dying.
“We should stop,” she whispers, pulling back.
“Just a little bit longer,” I beg, needing more.
So, so much more.
She doesn’t budge as I lean in, giving her a long, savoring kiss. Then she whimpers as I pull away, biting her lip, and the sound only makes me crave more of her. God, I want all of her, whenever I want, without always worrying over whether I’m going to break either her or myself.
“How did you find me?” she suddenly says, jerking back and staring over my shoulder.
I reel around, ready to fight, but no one’s there.
GEMMA
He probably thinks I’m nuts standing here, talking to myself. I’m not, though part of me kind of wishes that was the case
“How’d you find me?” I ask the annoying-as-hell faerie. When Alex tenses beside me, I touch the ring on my finger and explain. “It’s Nicholas.”
His expression plummets. “Great. Just what we need.” He pauses. “What about your mom?”
I shake my head, and then my attention zones in on Nicholas. “Where is she? Because the last time I saw her, you two disappeared somewhere.”
“She’s been detained.” His golden eyes sparkle against the fading sunlight. “But don’t worry; I’m here to help you.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, right. We both know that’s a lie.”