She spent the night reading the
book, every spell, until she found the most important one, the one they needed. Flesh tingling with excitement, she couldn’t
wait to show Nick. There were so many things
she wanted to share with him. She was
beginning to piece the mystery together.
He still had no idea she was trying to solve the school’s murder
problem.
Nick was working
out in the meditation room, performing yoga moves by himself. Balanced on one foot, he stretched the other
leg behind him and his arms reached for an invisible prize. She hesitated, her mind going blank. She wished she’d memorized a speech before
looking for him.
She
took a step backwards.
Nick
asked, “Are you going to stand there all day or what?”
Gathering
her courage, she approached him with a confidence she didn’t feel. “I found a spell for releasing a wraith.”
“Seriously?” He dropped the yoga pose. “And what happens when you release the thing?”
“It
goes after its master.”
“The
wraith might kill them before we can stop it.”
She
shrugged, not caring if a murderer died in place of someone innocent. “You don’t trust me.”
“How
am I supposed to trust you when I keep finding you with Gavin?”
“I’m
not talking about Gavin. You don’t trust
me with your secrets, and you don’t trust me in battle. You just don’t trust me period, and we can’t
have a relationship without it.”
He
swallowed, and his gaze drifted from her face to the far off wall. “You’re right, but I don’t know what to do
about it.”
“I
do. Are you willing to give something a
try?”
“I
guess.”
Smiling,
she steepled her fingers and placed them beneath her chin as she
explained. “There’s an exercise I heard
about that we can do that might help us.
Closing your eyes when you’re with another person takes a certain amount
of trust, don’t you think? It’s not
going to magically change everything, but it’s a start. Are you willing to do it with me?”
In
answer, he closed his eyes.
She
took his hands and placed them on her ears as her eyes also drifted shut. “Here.”
“What
am I supposed to be doing?”
“Explore,
ask questions, get to know me.”
He chuckled low and sexy. “You have small, delicate ears,” he said, and
she heard the smile in his voice. “Why
aren’t they pierced?”
“My mom died when I was five, and my
single uncle raised me. I suppose I could
have gotten my ears pierced on my own.
Connor would have let me, but I was never a girlie-girl.”
He reached down, took her hands, and
lifted them to his face. He placed them
on his nose. Her fingers glided down both
sides, feeling a bump. “It’s been
broken. When? How?”
He told her the story, their eyes
still closed. It seemed easier to be
honest when not looking at each other.
Maybe he would even let something significant slip. “My brother... Alec, he broke my nose when I
was eight. We were both daredevils, and
he dared me to jump off the second floor balcony. It was winter and there was a mound of snow
below. He convinced me it would be fun.”
She lowered her hands and took a
guess. “Was there a rock or tree stump
or something beneath the snow?”
“No.
I landed okay and even remembered to bend my knees and roll when I hit
the ground. Alec was so excited he ran
over to congratulate me, tripped, and fell right on top of me. His elbow cracked me hard, broke my nose.”
This time she led his hands to small
dimpled scars on the small of her back.
“Since I was about nine, I’ve spent every summer in the castle with Van,
and during one of those visits I got carried away. I wanted him to show me how to use the cool
looking weapons on his den wall and—”
Nick interrupted. “Did you hurt yourself on the mace?”
It was a spike-covered metal ball on
a chain, and she’d taken it from the wall without permission. The thing was too heavy for her little
hands. “I think I managed to swing it
around once before it hit me in the back.”
“Ouch.”
“I screamed and cried, and Van was
there in seconds.” She remembered how
he’d scooped her up in his arms and held her on his lap while the tears streamed
down her face, a rare moment of safety in her dangerous life. “He didn’t know whether to scold me or
comfort me.”
“Touch the back of my neck,” Nick
said. “But keep your eyes closed.”
Bay-Lee used her hands to find her
way around him. Her palms slid up his
back to the nape of his neck. She
stroked the soft skin, searching for a scar and massaged the flesh slightly. It felt smooth and warm. “I don’t get it,” she finally said. “What am I looking for?”
“Nothing.” His voice came out raspy. “I just wanted to feel your hands there.”
“What about my lips? Do you want to feel them?” She placed short kisses where her fingers had
been moments before.
Nick turned and cupped her
face. Then his mouth was on hers. The kiss started out tender, soft, and
sweet. The tip of his tongue touched her
lips. It sent shockwaves through
her. Her lips parted and the kiss turned
passionate. Her arms went up around his
neck while his slid around her waist.
Not even a breath of air could squeeze between them.
A
sound of outrage split them apart. 
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