But…it had to be. Because they weren’t what was important.
In a flash, the darkness was gone, replaced by Ember’s shop. The five men hung suspended in the air for a fraction of a moment before falling three feet to the floor, landing in a heap amidst the overturned racks and bumped-aside tables, causing merchandise to tumbleoff.
Once their disorientation broke, they scrambled to their feet.
“I’m getting the fuck out of here!” Red Hoodie cried.
“Yeah, fuck this shit,” the one wearing the vest said, nearly tripping over his own feet as he rushed to the door.
All five men bolted from the store without looking back.
As soon as they were out of sight, Nyte turned his head to look at Ember. She was trembling against him. Cupping her cheek, he gently guided her face up toward his. He felt her tears against his skin right before he saw them in her eyes.
Something coiled around his heart and constricted, freezing everything inside him. Somehow, he forced words out of his mouth. “They’re gone now. You’re safe, my dear little witch.”
Ember abruptly looked down, withdrew from him, and wiped at her eyes, careful of the makeup around them. “I know. I… Thank you. God, I probably look like a mess. I’m sorry. I can usually handle situations with guys like them, but there were too many of them and I…”
Her lower lip trembled as more tears filled her eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever been that scared before.”
He’d sensed that fear, had tasted it. It had been sour and had left him hollow. He disliked her fear as much as he disliked her sorrow and anguish. And it had come upon her during the day, while the sun was bright and high in the sky.
Again, he reached for her face, this time catching her chin to draw her attention back to him. “It’s all right. I wouldn’t have let them hurt you.”
Her eyes searched his. “But you won’t always be here to—” She gasped. “Nyte, you…you’re… Oh my God, Nyte, you’re human!”
He scoffed. “Of course I’m not human. I justappearhuman.”
With wide eyes, she pulled her face free, grasped his arms,and stepped back to look him over, shaking her head. Then her hands were moving over him. She smoothed her palms over his shoulders and down his chest and abdomen, which he liked immensely, before taking one of his hands in hers. She traced her finger along his to its tip.
“Your claws are gone.” She released his hand to wave above his head. “So are your horns.”
Then she moved around him. “Your tail too!”
Nyte couldn’t hold back a chuckle as he turned to face her. “None of it is gone. My form is simply…changed. I doubt the consequences of appearing before them in my true form would’ve been worth it. The last thing either of us wants is some would-be exorcist poking around your shop.”
“What did you do to them? Because it’s not like you’re scary looking in…this form, but they looked terrified while they were floating all over the place. If they were to call an exorcist, it would be for that.”
“I simply demonstrated what it would be like for them to fall through the endless void, detached from time and space, beset on all sides by nameless, faceless horrors.”
“Why didn’t I see any of it?”
He brushed a lingering teardrop from her cheek with his thumb. “Because I didn’t want you to.”
Ember smiled and pressed her cheek into his touch. “Thank you.”
Fuck.
That smile and the way she looked at him with those luminous blue eyes would be his undoing.
Withdrawing his hand, he gestured down at himself. “So, what do you think?”
He’d fashioned his clothing after the garments she’d held up against him the first time he’d come to thestore. It had seemed right in the moment, and that sense hadn’t changed now.
She ran her gaze over him. A spark of heat chased away any lingering fear in her eyes. “I knew you’d look good dressed like that. And you are insanely hot in those clothes, but…”
He quirked a brow. “But?”
Meeting his eyes, she stepped closer and brushed her fingers across his brow, coaxing it to relax. “I love your true form more. I miss seeing your otherworldly eyes, your starlit skin, and your adorable wagging tail.”
