“Afraid so, and the next day.”
“How will I survive?”
He touched her arm. “You will. You Callaways seem to be able to survive anything and come out better for it.”
She glanced at him. She’d meant it as a joke and he’d taken her seriously, and then complimented her family in the same breath. Gran would have worked out his secret over a few wines. It was a pity they had never met. Caspian was a boyfriend Gran would’ve approved of. Not that he was her boyfriend after one kiss.
These evenings were the closest she’d come to a date in a while and she was enjoying them. Which said more about her life than she liked.
They walked toward the front door in silence. The old house creaked and sighed around them. It had felt hollow after Gran’s death, but now it was starting to breathe again—much like her. Caspian was right. She would get on with living and be okay.
“Thank you.” She wanted to touch him again, to lean in and kiss him, but she held back.
“Just doing my job.” He looked at her with those eyes that saw everything, yet hid whatever he was thinking so well. She wished she could read him better.
“Yes. Um, okay. I’ll see you same time tomorrow?”
“That would be good.”
The front door was an arm’s reach away, yet neither of them moved. Her tongue darted over her lip, and his gaze lowered to her mouth. Her skin warmed as if she was burning from within. Then he brushed his lips over her cheek, his stubble grazing her skin. The scent of his skin and something else filled her lungs.
She turned her head, needing to taste his lips. His fingers brushed her neck, then threaded into her hair. Her eyes closed as she let herself sink into the kiss, her body easing closer to his, her hand sliding over his chest. She didn’t need to breathe. He took a step and she moved with him, her back hitting the wall as he deepened the kiss, his tongue dancing with hers. A moan lodged in her throat. She wanted more than a kiss. She trailed her fingers over his hip, then pulled him closer so she could feel him pressed hard against her.
He didn’t resist. He slowly moved his hips against hers and she wanted to start unbuttoning his shirt there in the hallway. She broke the kiss and took a shaky breath. His lips remained millimeters from hers. Again they were caught, unwilling to pull away and yet unable to go forward. She hadn’t planned for this. She wasn’t prepared—no matter what her body was screaming.
“It’s late.”
“I know.” He kissed her again, softly as though hinting at what could be.
“You shouldn’t be driving home this late.” Neither should she.
He drew back a fraction to look at her, and the heat in his gaze nearly burned away every rational thought. “What are you suggesting?”
What was she suggesting? That they use Callaway House the same way it had once been used? Why not? “Maybe you should think about staying here, so you aren’t driving tired.”
Yeah, not even she believed that.
He considered her for a moment and she resisted the urge to bite her lip and act like she was nervous, even though she was. It was too fast. She almost took back the offer, but then realized that just because he was sleeping here didn’t mean they had to sleep together. How else was he going to take the suggestion? This close he couldn’t exactly hide what his body was thinking.
Just when she thought it was going to be a no, he spoke. “That’s a generous offer.”
“Yes, well, there are plenty of bedrooms.” Shut up. She pressed her lips together and smiled.
Caspian nodded. She could almost hear the wheels of his mind spinning up possibilities, but his eyes were unreadable.
She started to backtrack, certain she’d blown it. But how many men would turn down an offer to stay and play at Callaway House? Once upon a time no one would’ve. Now? “If you’re not comfortable staying here, I totally under—”
He placed his lips against hers to silence her. She gasped and guessed that was a yes, he’d be staying the night. The kiss made her forget about all the reasons she shouldn’t and think about all the reasons she should.
As he drew in a breath she spoke. “So was that a good-bye or a yes?” She needed to know.
“Both, I think.” He pulled back a fraction. “If you’re sure, how about tomorrow night?”
She’d never been more sure in her life. “I’m sure.” She kissed him once more to be certain. Then smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“So am I,” he murmured near her ear before pulling away. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He opened the front door and the cool night air swept in between them. He glanced out at the night then back at her. The moonlight cutting across his face made him seem sharper and colder than he’d been a moment ago. Then it was gone as he walked down the stairs and away from Callaway House.
“Good night, Caspian,” she said even though she knew he couldn’t hear her. She wouldn’t be sleeping well tonight. Her dreams would be full of him and the kiss and what hadn’t been said, but what they both wanted. Her blood fizzed like champagne through her veins and then pooled in her belly. She closed the door and leaned against it for a moment.
She was acting like a lovesick sixteen-year-old. No. Not sixteen because she knew exactly what she wanted to do with Caspian. Her skin ached to be touched. There was a heat she hadn’t imagined as he whispered in her ear as if he knew exactly how she’d be spending her night because he’d be awake too. She hoped thoughts of her would keep him up all night. As she locked up the house and turned off all the lights, all she could think about was tomorrow evening and seeing Caspian again.
Felan lounged in his chamber. Bare feet, shirt undone. It had been a long day—even for him. Most of the lords and ladies at Court had avoided him as if they knew the anger that simmered, turning his blue blood red with fury. But he’d been calm. He’d danced and feasted as if nothing were amiss. He’d even managed not to question his mother the Queen over dinner, but then she’d been busy trying to goad his father.
“I have to return. Caspian is unprotected.” Dylis stretched and eased out of bed. She’d been waiting in his chamber as he’d ordered. Her hand feathered down his back. “You have to stop calling me back to Court if you want me to do my job.”
Felan caught her hand. “Do your job and I won’t have to call you back.”
Her smile froze in place. “What would you have me do? Kill Shea ap Greely?”
“We have to be smarter than that.” He released her hand, not sure how to deal with Shea just yet.
“This is more than I agreed to do.”
“You agreed to look after Caspian.”
“I agreed to ensure his safety in exchange for my lover’s freedom. How much longer, Felan?”
Felan stroked a tendril of her blond hair and coiled it around his finger. He drew her close enough to kiss her lips. “Do you still want Bramwel?”
“Yes. You are merely keeping me warm for him.”
Felan laughed. He liked her well enough, and she liked him. Dylis had been a secret set of eyes and ears for him ever since his mother had imprisoned Dylis’s lover Bramwel as a tree and left him in her private grove. He’d found it by accident some years ago and had been horrified that everyone there was alive, just frozen in place and hidden in plain sight. Now Bramwel had to spend his life waving his branches in the breeze and hoping someone would release him—before the power shift.
“Get me the Counter-Window and I shall free him straightaway.” He kissed her fuchsia lips for the last time. “If you fail…” He let the threat hang unsaid. There were too many lives at stake. Human and fairy.
“I won’t fail.” Her eyes glittered like palest sapphire and she drew away as brittle as any fairy. But with Dylis there were no fake formalities. They both knew where they stood in bed and out of it.