she’d just thought she couldn’t be embarrassed in front of Liam. Apparently, her magic was a shameless hussy determined to get busy, as Liam put it, with his magic.
“Don’t be bashful,” he said, pulling her hand away from her face. “I’m not ashamed to admit I’m jealous. Close your eyes,” he commanded.
Gabby obeyed. It was easier not to look at him in that moment.
“Look inside your mind. See the strands? Fire and water,” he whispered in awe.
Gabby’s breath caught as she looked in her mind as Liam instructed. She saw the cord of flame wrapped, as in an embrace, around a cord made up of water. “What about the gold cord?”
“That’s the soul bond,” Liam explained. “This is our magic.”
“It’s like they missed each other or something,” she said as she watched the two cords shift and move, though never separating.
“It’s how I feel every time I see you. I just want to wrap you up tightly and never let you go.” Liam’s voice wasn’t playful in the least. He was dead serious.
“Stalker,” Gabby mumbled, unsure how to handle his open confessions like that. She wasn’t used to people saying nice things to her. Nothing more than a “good job” when she’d done well at the academy.
“Are you all right?”
Gabby’s eyes opened at the sound of his question. She was still sitting, straddled on his lap, his face only inches from hers. Her hands rested on his chest, and she could feel every shift in his muscles. He was warm and felt like home. Like she was where she was supposed to be. “I think so,” she answered.
He stared intently into her eyes, as if looking to see the truth in her words. After a moment, he nodded. “It won’t last.”
A huff of laughter whooshed out of her. “Thank you for the vote of confidence.”
He brushed a few strands of hair from her face. “I don’t mean it to be rude. I just mean, this is new. It’s going to be overwhelming at times. Especially since I know I’m going to drive you insane with never wanting to be away from you. You’ll probably try to hide from me again. I’m giving you permission to have the freak-out that is bound to come. I promise I won’t get mad and decide we’re through. Deal?”
Gabby knew she was looking at him like he’d lost his damn mind. “Give me permission?”
“After you have your freak-out and throw something at me or try to lock me out of your room, you’re going to worry that I’ll get tired of taking your abuse, which is just foreplay to me, by the way, and worry I’ll leave you. I’m giving you the heads-up that you don’t need to fear that. Ergo, permission to freak out with the security that I will love you through your tantrum.”
Gabby wasn’t sure if she should be offended that he was so certain that she was going to throw a tantrum, angry that he was implying she was like a child, or in awe that he knew she would need his reassurances when she did freak out. Jeez, relationships were hard. All the feels were going to make her head explode.
“I’m going to say okay because I don’t really know what the right answer is to that weird-ass declaration you just made,” she finally said.
Liam smiled, leaned forward, and pressed a kiss to her nose. He sighed. “As much as I would love to keep you exactly where you are, Professor Frost will have my ass if we aren’t in the corridor by her office on time for our next assignment.”
Gabby gingerly climbed off his lap and grabbed her phone from the bedside table. She swiped the screen and checked the time. It was five in the morning. She glanced out her window and saw the dawn was indeed rising, and the sky was turning a pale shade of light purple, blue, and pink as the sun began to come up. How much time had passed since she’d awoken with Liam in her bed? It felt like hours. Yet, it also felt as if it had only been minutes.
“I’ve got to get dressed,” she said, looking anywhere but at him. She heard the bed shift and then his hand was under her chin, lifting her face to his. He leaned down and rubbed his lips across her before giving her a firm kiss.
“I’ll be back in ten minutes. We’ll go down together,” he said.