Page 43 of Unmarked Magic

When the taxi stopped, I stepped outside, holding the door open for her to follow. She did, thanking the driver with a grumble.

I made for the front door ahead of her, desperately trying to figure out why I’d done that. Opening it, I moved into the living room, flicking on a lamp.

“What’s wrong with you?” The venom in her tone made me pause. I turned to her, not ready for the sight before me.

She had ditched her coat, the black dress she wore on full display again. Gods, how it made her curves look too good. I hated how much I wanted to touch them, her. Every inch.

I discarded my jacket, laying it on the back of the couch, trying not to look at her. Because every time I did, I wanted her. And it was becoming harder with every passing day to keep my hands off her.

“Look at me when I’m fucking speaking!”

That got my attention. Red rarely swore.

I reluctantly turned to face her. “Sorry, I just…” My voice abandoned me, catching in my throat. I’d only wanted to save her from that creep. But in doing so, my pulse, my magic, my protectiveness of her had all skyrocketed into something I struggled to calm.

She closed the space between us, getting up in my face. “What is wrong with you? How can you treat someone like this?”

I needed the ground to bury me for a century.

“Red, calm down,” I started.

“Calm down!” Her palms hit my chest with force. “I’m not calming down. Not until I have answers. You owe me those, at the very least.” Every ounce of fall had dissolved from her eyes, leaving nothing but a blazing fury. “I’m not some fucking puppet to bend to your will.”

Oh, but you did bend to my will. And fuck if it wasn’t the single hottest thing I’d ever witnessed.

Anger raged inside me, knowing I could never entertain that thought again. Never get close enough to hurt her. “Fuck, Red, I don’t know what to say.” I forced back my anger. Because I was angry with myself, not with her.

“Why did you run?” she demanded. A rim of amber circled her darkened pupils, her magic lingering in the depths of her.

I’d not seen it before like that.

I blew out a wad of air, looking everywhere in the room in avoidance until I couldn’t fight the pull to her again. My mouth opened. Nothing came out. “I can’t tell you,” I said finally, treading carefully.

Red’s hands landed on her hips, eyes bolted to mine. “Why not?”

“I said I can’t tell you. You just have to trust that everything I’ve done, the way you found me the other night, the reason I can’t tell you the truth, it’s all for your own safety,” I offered.

“My safety?” She huffed out a breath. “I’m a big girl. I can handle myself.”

“Not this,” I countered.

Her eyes burned into mine. Fiery embers igniting. “Why did you leave me in the graveyard like that?”

I didn’t answer her. Because there was nothing I could say to explain why I’d left the way I did, and I hated I couldn’t tell her the truth.

Anger filtered through my muscles, making them pull tight. I hated lying to her. Hated how I’d left her in the cemetery. I was a fucking prick.

My voice came out as a reluctant rasp. “I can’t answer that.” And it was the gods’ honest truth.

“Do you want me?”

Her question threw me off guard. My throat tightened. My hands shook.

I lied. “No.” My gut wrenched as the words came out. Of course, I fucking wanted her. But that didn’t mean it could happen. Because my life didn’t issue happy endings and there were no get out of jail free cards. I’d always sworn I would never pass on the blood mage burden to another, and I sure as fuck would not fall in love to be sure of it.

She stared at me as if she could see right through me. Like she was standing at one end of a tunnel, me at the other. No way to turn, only her, straight ahead.

Surprisingly, there was no rejection, no pain in her features at my lie. Only a flare of desire, wrapped in fucking sass. Blackberries growing in the wild.