fact that she could feel something coming from the bond inside her. It was affection … and something more.
“You’re fire,” Liam murmured against her skin. “It’s like drinking warm hot chocolate while sinking into a hot bath. Mmmm.” He breathed out and then whispered, “Thank you, beautiful, for saving my life.”
“You sort of made me when you demanded I touch your skin.”
“You’re not the type of girl anyone can make do anything,” he replied.
Gabby growled. “Can I take my hand off of him now?” she asked Josie. Gabby sounded angry, but she wasn’t really. She didn't have time to be angry. She was just glad he was alive.
“Tell her no,” Liam mumbled against her.
Gabby couldn’t help the laugh that escaped, even though she was still trembling.
“I’m not going to lie to your soul bonded, dick wad,” Josie said.
“Ooh, language. This woman is harsh,” Liam said as he stepped back. He lifted his shirt and invited Gabby to remove her hand. She did not notice his washboard abs at all. Nope. She didn’t even glance at them. Shouldn’t I be doing something right now?
Liam wrapped his hand around her wrist, pulled it away, and then lowered his shirt. He entwined their fingers, pressing their hands tightly together. Gabby could feel the magic pulsing between them, like it was jumping back and forth between their palms. She had trouble making sense of the sensation. The magic was … happy, she guessed, if magic could feel an emotion.
“Alright,” Frost said as she clapped her hands together. “First crisis averted. It went much better than I thought.”
“What,” Gabby yelled as her stomach hit her feet. “You knew that was going to happen?”
“You actually planned to let me get cooked alive, Professor Frost?” Liam asked.
Gabby glared at her favorite professor, willing the woman to tell her she had not purposely brought a student up to the top of a volcano to put him in harm’s way.
“I knew Gabby would do what needed to be done. She’s powerful and smart,” Frost said. There was no remorse in her voice. “As much as you seem to need coddling, I don’t have time and neither does the island. We have to get the pressure off this volcano as quickly as possible.” She turned to Josie, “Open a portal and get back down to your mate.”
Josie was gone a second later. Frost looked back at them. “Gabby, I know you might be freaking out.”
“I’m not freaking out. Why would you think I’m freaking out? Because I’ve been forever bonded to a guy I barely know? Because we’re on top of a mountain and said guy almost just died? Because he would have died unless I bonded with him and used my magic to make him fireproof? Or maybe because now that we’re bonded, I can literally feel him inside of me, and it’s pushing me off the deep end? Is that why you think I’m freaking out?” Gabby could feel herself word vomiting, but she couldn’t do anything to stop it.
“I was wrong. You are fine,” Frost said dryly.
“Damn straight I am,” Gabby said, “now that I’ve gotten that off my chest.” She sucked in a deep breath and stood a little straighter.
“Then can we deal with this volcano now?”
“Abso-freaking-lutely.”
“I feel like I’m missing something here,” Liam said as he looked from Gabby to Professor Frost.
“You’re not,” Frost told him. “Just go with it.”
“What do we need to do?” Gabby asked. She was ready to be moving. Moving meant she would need to think about things like tripping or falling into a big hole filled with burning lava. Standing still meant she had to think about the fact her soul was now forever joined with Liam’s.
“You and I are going to make the volcano erupt, but before that, Liam is going to use some of the moisture in the air to begin channeling a path down the mountain. Basically, we are creating a riverbed where the lava can flow,” Frost explained.
“I’m still stuck on the fact that we are going to make the volcano erupt … with us on it,” Liam said. “I’ve never been near an erupting volcano so I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure it never works out well for humans that are anywhere close to it … and it definitely doesn’t work out for those who are at the mouth of it.” His voice rose an octave as he finished speaking.