“Yep. I was going to give Poppy’s shackles a shot, even though they were probably too big for the bobby pin to work, but she broke them with almost no problem.”
His hand froze on my head. “She broke shifter shackles?”
“Is that what they were?” I asked.
“Yes. They’re specifically designed to keep supernatural creatures, specifically shifters, subdued.”
“Well, she didn’t have any issues breaking one of the links and separating the shackles.”
Daniel scoffed beneath his breath. “I had no idea she was so strong. Her brother is the only other shifter I know who can break through the shackles. Maybe I need to update her position to that of administrator-slash-bodyguard.”
I laughed to myself. “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” I said. “Because she could probably hurt you.”
“Shifters aren’t as fast as vampires,” he replied absently, running his fingers through my hair once again.
“Maybe, but I’m pretty sure Poppy is a cat and every cat I’ve ever seen was sneaky as hell.”
“Why must you put these thoughts in my head when I’m finally calming?” he asked. He sounded exasperated.
“Because you shouldn’t take her for granted.”
His hand moved from my hair to my cheek and tilted my face up so that our eyes met.
“I never take anything for granted. Not anymore.”
Oh. My. God.
The way he was looking at me made my muscles melt. He stared at me as though he wanted to memorize my face. To remember this moment forever.
Then, I remembered why.
He was going to erase my memory of him as soon as Bernie returned and lifted the spell over me.
I couldn’t just lay there, my body draped over his, with that thought echoing in my mind.
“What is it?” he asked.
Fear clutched my belly. I couldn’t tell him the truth.
Could I?
The words hovered on the tip of my tongue and setting them loose was akin to standing at the edge of an abyss and staring down at the bottom. But the nature of an abyss was to remain bottomless.
“You can tell me anything,” he said, as though he could read my thoughts.
I took a deep breath and jumped.
“I don’t want to forget you,” I admitted, my gaze on his throat.
His fingers slipped beneath my chin, tilting my face up so that I had no choice but to look into his eyes.
“Why would you forget me?” he asked.
I frowned at him. “Because you’ll erase my memory when Bernie returns and lifts the spell.”
He tensed beneath me. Typically, I had no idea what this man was thinking, but, at this moment, I knew exactly how he felt.
Completely bewildered.
