“No.”The word scraped out of him.“And that’s the worst part.I know that door isn’t new to me.But every time I reach for the memory, something snaps back.Like my mind’s on a leash.”
“You said this has been going on since you left the casino and that life behind?”she asked.
He nodded, then added.“Since I stopped hiding.”He looked at her.“At first, I thought it was just my past catching up.”
“And the more you travel between realms ...”Her brow furrowed as she waited.
Rezer took a deep breath and then said, “The worse it gets.”
Her eyes softened.“And you keep coming here anyway.”
He didn’t drop her gaze as he practically growled.“Yes.”
“For what?”she asked.
As if she didn’t know.But, she wanted to play, he’d play.“For the tea,” he said instantly.
That brought a bark of laughter from Lisa, her eyes lighting up in a way that made Rezer’s cold insides warm.Sunshine, he thought to himself as he watched her.Once she’d composed herself, she lifted a brow at him, as if to say “call bullshit.”
“And the quiet,” he admitted.“When I’m here, the emptiness isn’t so loud.And the peace.”He knew there was longing in his voice.“Youbring me peace.”
She moved before either of them acknowledged the shift, scooting to the edge of her seat and leaning over until her arm could reach him.Her fingers settled over his where they rested on his knee.
Rezer went still.He should have pulled away.Instead, he turned his palm slowly, deliberately, letting their fingers lace.
“I’m glad you keep coming back,” she said.“I like your company.”She paused, and then continued.“I want your company.”Her honesty was startling, but not surprising.Lisa was all things good.It’s what no doubt drew her first mate to her in the first place.
Something in him cracked.“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he murmured.
Her jaw tightened.“I keep every promise I make.”
The air sizzled with electricity as his gaze dropped to her mouth.“Lisa,” he said softly.
She made a noise that was very close to a whimper and called to the male in him.The one who wanted to protect her from everything, provide for her, and be close to her.He set his mug down carefully, stood causing her hand to drop away.Took the two steps that put him right in front of her, then knelt down so he was eye level with her.
“This is a bad idea,” he said.
Lisa blushed.“Most of mine are.”
His fingers brushed her hair back, barely touching.“If I start this,” he warned, “I don’t know if I can pretend anymore.”
Her pulse thundered.“Pretend what?”
He cupped her jaw.“That I only come here for the tea.”Before he let her respond, before he allowed himself to change his mind, Rezer leaned in, and kissed her.
He didn’t rush her,and that was the thing that undid her.His mouth came down on hers—slow at first, testing, like he needed to be sure she was real.But he didn’t keep it slow for long.As if he realized she wasn’t pushing him away, Rezer pressed closer.The kiss deepened, control slipping just enough to let heat rush in.His hand slid from her jaw into her hair, fingers threading through it, tilting her head back as his mouth claimed hers with intent.
Lisa gasped into him, the sound swallowed as his tongue brushed hers, coaxing, then demanding.It wasn’t polite.It wasn’t careful.It was starved.
Her hands fisted in his shirt, dragging him closer, needing the solid press of his body to ground herself.He answered with a low, rough sound that vibrated straight through her, one arm sliding around her waist, pulling her flush against him.Oh.Yes.
The kiss turned heavier, devouring, and unrestrained.He kissed her like he’d imagined this too many times and finally lost the argument with himself.Like he wanted to feel her everywhere at once.
Heat pooled low in her belly, sharp and insistent.She arched into him without thinking, breath hitching as his grip tightened, possessive and sure.His magic stirred against her skin, dark, warm, restrained only by will.The world narrowed to sensation.
His mouth.His hands.The way her name almost slipped from his lips but never quite did.And then, something went wrong.
Lisa felt it before she understood it.A sudden cold threaded through the heat, subtle but unmistakable, like a shadow brushing the edge of a flame.Rezer stiffened against her, the kiss breaking with a sharp inhale.For half a second, she wasn’t in her apartment anymore.
