That’s all I can manage.
The world is dimming. My limbs feel heavy, too heavy, and his touch is so calming. My head slips down his chest, but he catches me with his hand, adjusting me so I lay beside him on the bed. I try to keep my eyes open, watching him lean over me on his side.
“The rune’s altered,” he murmurs, fingers ghosting over the marking. “Your body’s adapting to the change, like last time. You’ll need to rest... I need to get the others—”
I press a finger to his lips. “No.” I shake my head, forcing my eyes open. “Tell them, if it helps you. But you stay. Don’t go. Just us.”
He looks torn, he looksscared. I wish I could tell him not to worry. That I feel it too. That something’s changing, but it’s not wrong. It’s right.
But I’m slipping, blinking in and out, catching snippets of his frantic gaze.
“Stay…” I murmur, finger falling from his lips. “I need you.”
Chapter 47: Jasmine
He feels like shadows and silk. A steady, cool quiet that slips beneath my skin and stills everything else. His chest’s beneath my palm, his hand’s resting on my hip, anchoring me to him.
But just beneath that calm, is a pulse of something taut. Something I want to ease.
I shift. “Good morn—”
Kane’s lips cut off my words with soft but needy kisses. And I melt into them.
My hands slide up his bare chest, one threading through his soft hair to pull him closer.
“Did you even sleep?” I ask against his mouth.
Rather than answer, he tries to kiss me again. So I pull back.
“A little,” he admits, before sweeping in again.
I laugh against his lips at his eagerness, his need. It all makes me a little giddy. “What were you doing instead?”
“Looking.” Another kiss. “Waiting.” And another. Small, delicate pecks that steal my breath.
Soft, gentle, andsodistracting that I almost miss something.
A prickling sensation of unease. Worry… fear.
I frown when he kisses me again. He must feel it, because he stills, his lips lingering before he inches back.
I brush my fingers along his cheek. “Why do you feel like that, Kane?”
His jaw tightens, eyes dropping. I feel his reluctance, but then his lips graze mine in soft, teasing skims, trying to pull me back under.
“No,” I scold, leaning away. “You can’t distract me.”
“Can’t I?” That tiny smile and gruff tone almost breaks my resolve. Almost.
But I hold firm, giving him my sternest look… which only seems to encourage him, eyes darkening. Until he sees that I mean it, and his smile fades.
“Your rune’s altered.”
I nod. “Yeah, I remember. But it’s happened before, and look—” I gesture down my body. “I’m fine.”
“I can feel your emotions,” he says quickly, quietly, eyes searching mine with clear worry.
When I smile, some of his tension melts away. “And that’s a bad thing?”
