Oh, I’m in trouble.
Somehow, I was turning into the girl that Esmer was always encouraging me to be. Apparently all I’d needed was some magic and a couple of near-death experiences.
Something rustled in the leaves above us. I started, ready to run again, but it was only a breeze snaking through the branches. Radven hadn’t even broken his stride, and I had to jog to catch up with him again.
Only when the pale gray light of dawn began to sift down through the branches did he finally pause. He led me into the shadows beneath a great tree that reminded me of one of the live oaks I’d seen when I visited Savannah as a teenager, only this one’s bark had a bluish tint to it.
I was grateful for the break. I leaned against the trunk of the tree, taking some of the weight off my tired feet.
“We’ll need to pick up speed from here,” he said.
I just about fell over. “Gofaster?”
“It’s riskier to move during daylight,” he said. “The zhespers’ vision is better.”
My resistance and exhaustion must have been plain on my face, because his expression softened somewhat in the pale light.
“It’s not far, butterfly,” he said, almost tenderly. “Less than an hour, if we move quickly.”
“Okay.” I let out a shaky, tired breath. “I can probably manage that.”
“Ring-Around-the-Hill is a lot bigger than Far Meadow,” he said. “It will be easy to lose ourselves there. It will buy us some time while we wait for Alastor and Oak.”
I felt a small pang when I thought of his brothers. “You still think they’re all right?”
“I trust them,” he said automatically. “And they haven’t broken my trust yet.” His eyes met mine, and even though he still wore those dark contacts, true intensity shone through. “If something happened to them, I would know it.”
”Is there some sort of magical bond between you?” I asked, intrigued.
He smiled that crooked smile. “Not the way you’re thinking. If you want to know more, you’re going to have to make me an offer, butterfly. What are you willing to give me for my secrets?”
I was tempted. And I could tell by his expression that heknewI was tempted. But I wasn’t ready to give up any more of myself yet.
“We should get going,” I said, using all my willpower to push myself away from the tree. “It’s not safe out here, remember? Besides, I could really use a nice, soft bed right about now.”
“I don’t doubt it, butterfly.”
It wasn’t until I noticed the devilish gleam in his eye that I realized what I’d accidentally insinuated.
“Not likethat,” I insisted, hobbling past him and continuing as quickly as I could in the direction we’d been heading. “Not everything is about sex, you know.”
“Really?” He matched my pace easily, falling in beside me. “I’m not sure I believe that.”
“I think that says more about you than me.”
“It’s more about people in general,” he countered. “We like to think we’re complicated creatures, but the truth is that all of us are only ever truly focused on one thing—survival. And sex is a larger part of that than many people want to admit. It’s the ultimate act of life—the only act that has the ability tocreatelife. That hunger for survival is why many people notice an increase in desire when they are constantly exposed to danger.”
He was hittingwaytoo close to home, but I didn’t want him to know that.
“That still doesn’t meaneverythingis about sex. Sometimes I just want a bed because I’m exhausted,” I said. “We’ve been hiking through the woods all night. I barely have the energy to hold myself upright, let alone…” I let that sentence die, but now that I was all flustered I couldn’t stop myself from babbling on. “And even if Iweren’texhausted, I’m not some sort of horndog. My entire existence doesn’t revolve around getting laid. If I’ve managed to make it this far in my life without having sex, then clearly I have other interests. And a good deal of self-control.”
“Would you need self-control if you weren’t perpetually fighting your own desire?” I could hear the smile in his voice, even though I refused to look at him.
My cheeks flamed. “That’snotmy point, and you know it. Stop twisting my words around.”
“I’m not twisting anything. I’m simply finding the truth you’ve buried underneath it all.”
“And what truth is that? That everything I say or do all comes back to me wanting to sleep with you?”
