He pulled her into a warm embrace. “It’s not usually as terrifying as what you experienced. Though it is always traumatic. I only go on a vision quest when the human world becomes unbearable.”
She touched his cheek. “Does this happen often?”
“Not as often as it used to. Adianca taught me to block much of the intensity of other people’s emotions. She also taught me to control my own.”
“Sometimes it’s good to lose control, Joshua.” Her heart was racing.
“I lost control when you were dying. Now Will has to replace half the lights on his airfield.”
She rested her cheek against his throat, and his arms tightened around her.
“Perhaps a bit of control is not such a bad thing.”
His lips pressed against the top of her head. “Look.”
She turned her head toward the distant fire and saw the flames flickering higher. They could barely hear the chanting, low and steady as if it were the heartbeat of the desert.
They continued watching as the flames towered even higher and then subsided to a low flicker. The voices stopped as well.
“It’s over,” he said.
Tessa took a deep breath and looked up at the sharp planes of his face illuminated only by the moon and stars. Her body fit against his perfectly, curves and planes linked as if they were puzzle pieces.
Closing her eyes, she let his lips find hers, first sucking gently on the lower and then the upper until she opened her mouth and gave him full access. One of his hands curved into the small of her back and the other gripped the nape of her neck. He deepened the kiss on a moan that came from deep in her chest.
He broke the kiss, leaving them both gasping for breath and longing for more. “I don’t know how you can forgive me for letting him tear you apart. Do you think I can make up for my mistakes?”
“I never blamed you. The only person you need to find forgiveness from, Joshua, is yourself. Some people will say saving me in New Jersey was your first mistake. You could have walked away and gone back to your unblemished career.”
His gaze drifted off into the darkness. A coyote howled somewhere in the distance. “Best mistake I ever made.”
