“Well, then, until later.” She turned to leave, just as he did, unintentionally bringing her body in contact with his. Her breasts against his chest, his hands on her upper arms to steady her.
“I, um…apologize.”
He stared down into her eyes, his silver ones darkening. “It is not necessary and I should have been more aware…”
His words trailed off as he glanced at her lips.
Was he finally going to kiss her?
Chapter 19
Temptation lay before him. Perfect coral lips that were meant to be tasted, savored and appreciated.
But not by him.
With willpower he had not known that he possessed, Cassian was able to step away so that Samantha could pass without the slight brush of his lips against hers.
Her brown eyes also softened with disappointment, which was both a blessing and a curse. At least she wanted him to kiss her so Cassian knew that he was not alone in his attraction, but it made being forced to ignore his own yearnings doubly difficult.
Cassian followed Samantha out of the Witches’ Garden and onto the terrace, waiting until she had entered the house, then turned and made his way to the Sacred Grove. He enjoyed the quietness that surrounded him, but it was also lonely.
Yes, the Dryads lived and hid among the trees, and there were other magical creatures, but there was little interaction because he was a man. He was allowed to continue to live here because of the past but he wondered if they wanted him gone.
Loneliness, heavier than he had ever experienced in his life, weighed down on his chest as he laid in bed and contemplated his future. One that would never include the woman he loved—Samantha. And it was her face that followed him into slumber and then into dreams that turned into nightmares of her having wandered away with nobody able to find her. He had panicked, called out, but everyone assumed that she was lost to them forever.
Cassian jerked awake, his heart pounding and his body drenched in sweat.
The dream was too real, but it was only a nightmare, likely brought on because his last thoughts before falling asleep had been that Samantha was lost to him.
Yes, that was the reason for the dream.
Thank goodness that he did not have magical gifts such as premonitions, or he would be truly panicked and on his way to the house to make certain Samantha was safe.
As it was, he could not get back to sleep, which shouldn’t be a surprise, so instead, he made his way down to the grotto beneath the ledge where he and Samantha had watched the dolphins, taking the stairs along the side of the sloped cliff then entered from the side.
At first, he announced himself since this was where the Nereids liked to sun themselves on boulders in their human form, and quite naked.
When there was no response, he peeked around the corner because it would not be the first time that the three had remained quiet only for Cassian to discover them, which caused him to quickly retreat, his face burning while they laughed.
When he was convinced that he would be alone, Cassian stripped out of his clothing and slipped into the water that had gathered in the basin from high tide. It was warmer here because when the boulders warmed from the sun, while protected from the wind, it heated the water. Not that it was hot by any means, but it was a perfect relaxing temperature even in the last days of December.
However, he still could not shake the nightmare and maybe it was telling him something—that his heart wanted Samantha in his life despite all else.
Which was all well and good if his heart had also delivered answers to his difficulties by way of a dream or nightmare.
Samantha woke just as disheartened as she had been when she drifted off.
Cassian had the perfect opportunity to kiss her.
He had even looked at her lips, his single focus for the longest time, and then he stepped back.
Why didn’t he want to kiss her?
Yes, he had acted strange yesterday, and she was certain he had tried to avoid her but maybe he hadn’t had the opportunity because there were always so many people around. Then, they had watched the sunrise in quiet solitude together and it had been perfect.
No, it would have been perfect had he kissed her.
What was wrong with her that nobody wanted to kiss her?
