Page 175 of A Sanctuary from Shadow
Goodness, I’ve forgotten how to breathe.
“And those lips—” His gaze caressed my mouth. “They make me want to do wicked things toyou.”
Oh, please do them. All of them!
“If that’s how you really feel, then why—” I stopped, wary of his answer. And to bring it up.
Pete’s expression warmed. “Why did I try to stop you tonight?”
My throat tightened. “Yeah.”
His gaze shifted back to molasses. “Because I—” He cleared his throat, glanced down. “Because I find your soul even lovelier than your face.”
Be still my beating heart!
“And I think I’ve gotten to know you fairly well. You’re simply not the provocative type, and when you came upon me like that—Iknewsomething was wrong. That you’d feel violated if I—” He let the rest of that thought fade into the night.
“I—I thought it was because I—because I’d pressured you into something you never wanted to start.”
Pete’s mouth quirked at one corner. “That’s not how Incubus spells work, Shorty. They draw power from sexual energy.”
“I don’t know many things about this world, but Ihaveheard of Incubi before.”
“Yet, it’s apparent you haven’t heard that their spells only work oncompatiblepairs.”
Stars swirled in my heart. “Then the tension I’ve been feeling—”
Though he smirked, he did so kindly. “It’s been tight on my end, too”
So, what happened that night wasn’t my fault. Or notjustmy fault.
“Why would you think I’m disinterested in you then?” I asked. “If you know how Incubus spells work?”
He arched a brow. “Because you raced away like I meant to eat you for dessert.”
Ooh, that sounds fun!
“And infatuation doesn’t necessarily mean a person intends to act on their desires. Or even wants to, truthfully. And I thought—perhaps that was your plight.”
I shook my head, moving toward him. “No, I just thought that you didn’t wantme.”
Lust glazed Pete’s gaze. His voice deepened, asking, “How could any male not want you?”
My breath shuddered. I reached for him.
He stopped my hands, the light in his eyes dimming. “I do want you, Shorty, but I’m still what I am.”
I gulped.A harbinger. A human.
“And I’m still whatIam,” I murmured.A Danann. A would-be bride. And what he doesn’t know—a princess—a queen.
The urge to tell him the truth about myself was so potent, my lips parted around the words. But I stopped.Not right now.He’ll hate you like he hates Daddy.
“Whatever this is between us,” Pete said. “It won’t end happily.” His rueful smile broke my heart. And that regret I’d seen earlier—these hurdles had caused it all along. “So, can we come to an understanding, that we’ll do what’s wisest? For ourselves—and our plans? That we might flirt, and tease, and look—” The rake reappeared. “But we won’t cross that line into lovers.”
My heart outright rejected Pete’s proposal, but that didn’t make him wrong. In my head, I knew getting romantically involved with a harbinger was the stupidest thing I could do right then.Can you say bad boy complex, Amy?
Problem was—I always thought with my heart.
