perfect sense to him.
“Can you see okay?” Gabby asked. She was frowning. She seemed to be attempting to get him to look straight at her, but Liam couldn’t get his eyes to be still.
“Not great, but I already know you’re beautiful, so I don't have to see you.”
“You can’t say stuff like that to me,” Gabby scolded. “Now, tell me how you’re feeling. Damn Professor Frost for leaving us here,” she muttered.
“I feel like I need my soul bonded to touch me,” Liam said, and he meant it. Something in him was suddenly screaming at him to get her to touch him.
“I am touching you.” She squeezed his arm.
He shook his head, or at least thought he did. “No. Skin to skin. Touch me, beautiful. Please.” Liam felt his magic running along the inside of his skin, like water running just under his flesh. It was reaching for her. He also felt his soul tugging in his chest. If a human being, without any sort of powers had asked him how on earth he could feel his soul, he wouldn’t have been able to explain it to them. He just knew that the straining in his chest was his soul, and it was determined to get to its mate.
“Liam, I can’t,” she started.
“Touch me,” he said with as much force as he could muster. “Put your hand under my clothes and over my heart,” he instructed.
Gabby’s mouth dropped open. She looked at him like he’d lost his mind. Maybe he had. He didn’t care. He didn’t just want Gabby, he needed her. “Please, baby.” He pushed every ounce of sincerity he could into his voice.
“Do it," another voice said, and Liam recognized it as Josie’s. “You have to touch him if you want him to live.”
Gabby turned to look at the woman, and when she looked back at Liam, tears ran down her cheeks. She released his arm and began lifting the layers of clothing he’d put on because of the dropping temperatures. He hadn’t known he was going to be at the top of a freaking volcano. When she finally reached his shirt, he felt the hot air hit his skin and then her hand was on him. Flesh against flesh. “Damn,” he sighed as his eyes closed. He pushed his magic through his own flesh and into hers. He could have done it while he’d been holding her hand, but he’d wanted it to be her choice. Liam had wanted her to choose him freely, but that flew out the window when he realized that unless he joined their bond, he was going to be a pile of ash on a mountain in Hawaii. It wasn’t exactly how he’d seen his day ending, and he really wasn’t ready to be soot.
His soul wasn’t going to be left out. Liam felt the invisible strand that would connect them begin to push through him and into her. He could see it in his mind's eye, and it was bright gold, strong, and power was pulsing down it. Gabby gasped, and his eyes snapped open.
His vision was no longer blurry, and his arms were working again. He reached up and cupped her face. Liam moved until his lips were an inch away from hers. Her warm breath blew over his face, and her scent swirled around him. “Thank you,” he said quietly.
“What happened?” she asked, her voice just as quiet as his.
“Our souls connected, and our power merged. It’s not complete, not until we consummate our bond, but it’s enough to keep me from melting like a popsicle in August.”
“Our souls?” she asked. Her eyes were searching his, and her lips trembled.
Liam nodded. “I told you, baby, you’re my soul bonded. We’re meant for each other.” He wiped at the tears with his thumbs and wished he could take the worry and fear from her eyes.
“We can’t be,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not, I can’t, this isn’t…” She stumbled over her words, and Liam could feel her trying to pull away from him.
“Gabby.” Josie laid a hand on her arm. “If he’s been able to push his magic into you and it’s created a bond…” Josie looked at Liam for confirmation and he nodded. “Then it’s true. If he tried to push his magic into me, there would be no soul bond with it, because we aren’t meant for one another. My body would reject it. But when he pushed his magic into you, the soul bond began. He’s