“So tell me,” Aiden continued idly, drawing me back to the present—to him. “Where was that spot again? Was it here?” He trailed his fingers over my stomach.
“No.” My eyes closed as my heart jumped and tiny shivers skated through me.
“Here?” His fingers danced over my ribs.
Beyond words, I shook my head no.
“Now where was that spot?”
His agile fingers skipped over my stomach and along my side. I clamped my mouth shut, but my body shook as I tried to restrain my natural reaction.
“Aha! Is this it?” He increased the pressure slightly.
I squirmed, but he was relentless. He laughed when I jack knifed, and I would’ve tumbled to the floor if it weren’t for his quick movement. “Stop,” I gasped in between fits of giggles, “I can’t take it.”
“All right, maybe I should be nice.” Aiden pulled me back to his side and leaned over me. He plucked a strand of hair and twisted it around his two fingers. “Anyway, back to the question at hand. What place other than New Orleans?”
I ran my hand down his arm, loving the way his muscles seemed to clench under the skin I touched. “How about Nevada? There’re no Covenants nearby. The closest is the University.”
He leaned down, brushing his lips over my cheek. “Are you suggesting Las Vegas?”
I fixed an innocent look on my face. “Well, there’d be a lot of daimons, since you pures like to party there, but no real Hematoi establishments of any kind.”
“First New Orleans and now Las Vegas?” He brushed his lips back and forth as his fingers tipped my head back. “I’m starting to see a trend here.”
“I don’t know.” My breath caught as he pressed down. “Maybe you can’t handle Las Vegas.”
Aiden smirked. “I love a challenge.”
I giggled, but all humor fled the moment his lips touched mine again. I could go on just kissing him forever. They were gentle kisses at first, soft and questioning. My fingers sank through his hair, clenching him closer, and the kisses deepened. I shifted and wrapped my arms around him, wanting to be able to push the stop button on time. I could stay here forever, feeling his body molded to mine, melting together—I froze against him.
The feeling slithering down my spine was unmistakable. The three runes that had been dormant since Seth left now woke up with a vengeance, burning and tingling. The cord snapped alive, responding to its other half.
His lips moved down my neck, over my collarbone. “What is it?”
There was no stop button for time. Dammit. “Seth’s here, like he’s right outside.”
Aiden lifted his head. “Seriously?”
I nodded stiffly.
He swore under his breath and sprang to his feet. I started to get up, but he held out his hand. “Let me just check this out first, Alex.”
“Aiden—”
Swooping down, he clasped my shoulders and kissed me until I almost forgot about the way the cord was unraveling in the pit of my stomach. “Just let me check this out, okay?” he whispered.
I nodded and watched him prowl toward the door. With a quick reassuring smile, he left the room. It was probably a good thing that he was going out to greet Seth. I needed a few moments to collect myself after that last kiss.
Nervous energy rushed me and the cord thrummed happily. Agitated, I rose to my feet within a minute and crossed the room. Seth was near. I knew it deep in my bones. I stopped in front of the cracked door and held my breath.
They were in the hallway, alone. And of course they were arguing already. I rolled my eyes.
“You think I don’t know?” I heard Seth say in a smug, knowing way. “That I didn’t know this entire time I’ve been gone?”
“Know what?” Aiden sounded surprisingly calm.
Seth laughed softly. “She may be here with you, right now, but that’s just a moment in time in the big scheme of things. And all moments end, Aiden. Yours will, too.”
I wanted to throw open the door and tell Seth to shut up.
“Sounds like something on the back of a twisted Hallmark card,” replied Aiden. “But perhaps your time has already ended.”
There was a stretch of silence and I could picture the two of them. Aiden would be coolly looking down on Seth, who would be smiling arrogantly and secretly enjoying the whole confrontation. Sometimes I wanted to smack them both.
“It doesn’t really matter,” said Seth. “That’s what you don’t get. She can love you and it still doesn’t matter. We belong together. It’s fated. Have your moments, Aiden, because in the end, it really won’t mean a damn thing.”
That was it. I threw open the door and stormed out into the hallway. Neither of them even turned around, and I knew they heard me fly out of the room. Beyond them I could see the shadows of the Guards through the tiny square windows on each side of the door.
“You really think that?” Aiden cocked his head to the side. “If so, then you’re a damn fool.”
Seth smiled. “I’m not the fool here, pure-blood. She doesn’t belong to you.”
“She belongs to no one,” Aiden growled as his hands flexed by his hips, where his daggers normally hung.
“Debatable,” Seth said, so low I wasn’t even sure I’d heard him correctly.
I shoved between the two idiots before one of them did some damage. “You don’t own me, Seth.”
Seth finally looked at me, his eyes a cool amber. “We need to talk.”
That we did. I glanced at the furious pure-blood beside me. This wasn’t going to be pretty.
“In private,” Seth added.
“What can you possibly need to say that you can’t say in front of me?” Aiden asked.
“Aiden,” I groaned. “You promised, remember?” I didn’t need to say any more. Aiden knew. “I do need to talk to him.”
“Nothing will happen to her. Not when she’s with me.”
I spun around. “Just let me get my hoodie. Try not to kill each other.”
“No promises,” Seth smirked.
Grabbing my hoodie off the back of the couch, I quickly hauled it on and hoofed it back to the hallway. Gods knew a second of those two together was a second too long. I passed Aiden a meaningful look as I followed Seth to the front door. He looked severely unhappy, but nodded.
Brutal temperatures sucked away my breath as I stepped outside. I was unable to remember the last time it’d been this cold in North Carolina. Seth wore just a black thermal and cargos. Nothing else. I wondered If I got built-in weather padding once I Awakened.
The Guards immediately stepped aside, revealing the strong winter sun glaring off the still waters. At first I was surprised, but then I remembered whose Guards they were—Lucian’s.
Aiden moved uneasily. His hands opened and closed at his sides.
Seth feigned a look of sympathy. “Don’t look too happy about this, Aiden.”
I kicked Seth in the shin.
“Ouch,” he hissed, blasting me with a look. “Kicking is not nice.”
“Antagonizing people isn’t nice,” I shot back.
Aiden sighed. “You have twenty minutes. Then we’ll come looking for you.”
Backing down the steps, Seth bowed at Aiden and then pivoted around. Wind caught and tossed his hair around. Sometimes I forgot how… beautiful Seth was. He could give Apollo a run for his money. Both of them had this type of cold beauty that didn’t seem real, because it was flawless both far away and up close.
I fell into step beside him, shoving my hands into the center pocket of my hoodie. “I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”
Seth arched a golden eyebrow. “Really? I’m not surprised by that.”
My cheeks flushed. There was no way he could’ve known what had happened between Aiden and me. The bond didn’t work over that many miles. Taking a deep breath, I womaned up. “Seth, I have to—”
“I already know, Alex.”
“What?” I stopped, pushing my hair out of my face. “You know what?”
He faced me and leaned in, bringing his face mere inches from mine. The cord went crazy inside me, but it was manageable… as long as he didn’t touch me. Oh gods, this wasn’t going to be easy. “I know everything.”