down, will you? I can practically taste the anxiety in your scent. If Edwards returns with your father, then he returns, and if he doesn’t, he doesn’t. Stop fretting over it.”
He thought I was worried about Dad, which I was, but I was also anxious about the prospect of spending the entire night alone with him in this cave. “If I want to fret, I’ll fret,” I shot back. “Oh, and stop smelling me, you pervert.”
At this, Ethan showed a hint of fang. Feeling confident, I did something I never did and called on my magic, raising my hand and flicking a few sparks his way. They didn’t go far enough to hit him though. Ethan stared at them in wary fascination. I turned away because we were in danger of getting into an argument and I just wanted this night to go by as quickly as possible. Picking the flattest rock, I lowered myself and sat down.
“I’m sorry about Dru,” I said after a while, trying to lessen the tension between us. “I had no idea she’d just up and leave like that.”
“Why wouldn’t she?” Ethan asked. “She’d barely worked for me a year. That’s not long enough to build a proper sense of loyalty. Lucas stays because he has worked with me for decades.”
“I just thought vampires were mad into the whole “loyalty” thing. Staying true to the elders and all that jazz.”
Ethan tilted his head. “We aren’t all the same. We have different principles and ideas, the same as humans. Some of us are all about loyalty, yes, but some vampires only look out for themselves.”
“Well, I’m sorry for stereotyping.”
“Apology accepted.”
If only he’d accept my other apology, then maybe things wouldn’t be quite so tense between us.
Minutes ticked by. Unable to take the quiet any longer, I whispered, “Do you think Edwards will come back?”
Ethan’s gold eyes flicked to mine. “I’ve never been to another dimension; therefore, I have no way of knowing what kind of challenges he might face.”
Shivering against the cold, I pulled the collar of my coat up around my neck. Seeing this, Ethan left his spot by the cave wall and came to sit down beside me. Without warning, he scooped me up and placed me on his lap.
“What are you doing?” I asked, breathless.
“You’re cold. Let me warm you,” he answered simply.
His closeness was a comfort, and given we could be waiting here all night, I chose to accept it. He wrapped his arms around me and took my hands into his to warm them. We sat like that for a long time, and I couldn’t help snuggling into him. Eventually, he lay back, his arms still around me as he surrounded me with his warmth, and quite inexplicably, I fell asleep.
10.
“Wake up,” a voice whispered, but I ignored it. I didn’t want to wake. My dreams were far too pleasant. I dreamt I’d fallen asleep while Ethan held me in his arms, his scent and heat an intoxicating mix.
“Leave me alone,” I complained as I snuggled closer to the warmth.
A hand lightly jostled me, and I realised I wasn’t dreaming. I had fallen asleep while Ethan held me, his large body protecting me from the hardness of the cave floor. I sat up, shifting away from him, embarrassed by how easily I slept with him holding me. I rubbed at my eyes, finding my bearings as I peered around, and noted that Edwards still hadn’t returned.
“He’s not back yet,” I said, a brick sinking in my gut. It was morning, and light filtered into the cave. If Edwards still hadn’t returned, that meant something had gone wrong. Wait a second, it was morning! The sun was up, and Ethan was still out. Panic set in as I stared at him.
“You can’t be here. It’s daytime. You’ll … you’ll burn,” I said, getting more freaked out by the second. His hand came to rest on my shoulder, the touch reassuring.
“Relax. I’m not going to burst into flames. And I’m in shadow right now, so the light isn’t hitting me very strongly.”
“But won’t you get sick? Why didn’t you wake me sooner? We could’ve left, gotten you back to your place before the sun came up.”
A flicker of emotion entered his gaze before he looked away, his jaw working. “I fell asleep, too.”
Oh. We’d fallen asleep together? Why did the idea make my heart pound like crazy?
“And to answer your question, yes, I will get sick, but not too badly. I’ll just feel