He stroked the length of one wing. “I think you may have ruined me for wingless women.”
Their eyes locked and held, her cheeks turning a delicious shade of pink. She spun away to check the cookies, breaking the tension and snapping him out of the moment. This was a dangerous game they were playing.
“You were saying, about your family…?”
Liam shifted. He was getting painfully close to sharing more about himself than he should. Charlotte was not a potential girlfriend. She wasn’t even human. She was, for all intents and purposes, an alien, and their relationship would last only long enough for him to serve his purpose to her and return home. He was here to learn and nothing more.
“Charlotte, there’s something we should discuss. What happened this morning between us can never happen again.”
The smile faded from her face. “I’m sorry we were interrupted. I can have a talk with my maid—”
“No, that’s not it. There can’t be anything between us. This situation is temporary and… getting closer to each other, it can only complicate things.”
“But… what about what you just said…? I thought you liked the wings—”
“I do.” He raked his gaze down her body. “I like all of you, Princess, and if we’d met under different circumstances, I bet we’d have a go at trying our best to become sick of each other. After what I saw this morning, I wouldn’t let you out of bed for a week.”
“Then why?” Deep disappointment lined her mouth.
He shrugged. “It’s obvious. We’re from different worlds. This can’t last. And I realized just now, talking to you, that as powerful as you are, you’re also sweet and inexperienced. The last thing you need in your life is a man like me. I’d be using you. I can’t give you more than that, and it’s far less than you deserve.”
For a moment she seemed to consider that. “After this morning, I wonder if I might be using you.”
“If I believed for a moment that were the case, I’d have no problem being used.” He frowned. That asshole Cassius had treated her like she was disposable. Damn if he’d repeat that experience for her. She deserved so much better.
“Fine.” She straightened. “Then it won’t happen again.”
“Good.”
“Now. You were saying about your family… What made you miss your father’s funeral? It sounds like although you had your differences, your family still cares for you.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
She flinched. “Something else happened. Something beyond your disagreement about the business.”
He rolled his lips. “Yeah. I will say that part of me regrets it. A small part. I recognize that maybe I should have been there for my mother despite everything. But what’s done is done.”
“It doesn’t have to be.” She studied him.
“Yes it does. It’s safer. Bridging the distance between us would be a monumental undertaking at this point. Believe me when I say it would be easier on everyone if I avoid it.”
“Easier isn’t always better, Liam. Sometimes life is complicated and painful, but I’d rather have that than live a life where I felt nothing.” She looked down at her fingers. “A life without passion is just a pretty cage.”
He wasn’t sure now if she was still talking about his family or what happened between them. Not worth diving into. The best thing he could do right now was to set clear boundaries with her. He’d already shared too much, felt feelings he didn’t want to feel, and he’d barely known her a day.
She stepped closer to him, the heat from her body making his fingers twitch to touch her.
“Do you want to know what I think?” Her voice was low, seductive. “I think that you’ve let this gap between you and your family go on for so long and grow so wide that it’s not confronting them that you fear anymore but learning that the separation is too much to undo. You fear contempt. You’re afraid they just won’t care anymore. And part of you wants that, just like you want it with me. Instead of having an experience with me, one that will end, sure, but might be… memorable, you want the separation. You want to be numb. Because as much as you fear contempt, as much as you fear that there is nothing, you fear feeling something far more.”
Boom. The crushing weight of the truth made his chest ache. Was this part of her powers? Could she see into his soul? There was a part of him that understood his mother was as much a victim of his father as he was. And the longer they went without speaking, the more he wondered, somewhere in his subconscious, if she still cared, if she still thought of him as her son. Her request that he come to Christmas this year indicated that she did. He wasn’t sure why it mattered to him, only knew that it did. And Charlotte was right about his feelings about her as well. He didn’t want to play too close to this flame. It felt too good licking up his body.
“Feelings just complicate things.” He shook his head.
“Yeah, they do.” The heart-stopping smile she gave him almost distracted him from the smell wafting through the kitchen. Grateful for the distraction, he grabbed a towel and used it to pull the pan out, tossing it on top of the oven.
“I think they’re done,” he said. He wasn’t sure. The cookies were perfectly round, golden brown, and smooth as glass. He frowned. Those were like no chocolate chip cookies he’d ever seen in his life.
Her hand shot out and grabbed one, lifting it toward her mouth.
