“Jax?”
“Where are you?”
Bean stopped and threw his head back, blowing up a stream of fire that lit up the night like a beacon.
“Got it!” Jax called.
Odessa was pulling out her keys and walking quickly to the closest door when she heard a scrabbling sound on the other side of the stones. Jax’s head popped up over the wall, and a second later, he was landing on the ground with a heavy thud.
“Jax!” She dropped to her knees by his side. “Are you alright?”
He rolled over with a groan. “I hate climbing.”
“If you had waited thirty seconds, I could have opened the door.”
“It was too long to wait. I wanted to know you were safe.” He lifted his fingers to brush a strand of her hair back, then made a face at his hand.
She grabbed his wrist, angling it so that she could see what had caused him to frown. A deep gash ran down the middle of his palm, and the blood was already dripping down to his wrist. She shook her head.
“So you got yourself hurt instead?”
“I mean, that wasn’t actually part of the plan.”
Odessa ripped a strip of fabric from the bottom of her skirt and began wrapping it around his hand. It would have to be cleaned and examined later, but at least she could stop the bleeding.
Jax used his other arm to push himself up into a seated position. He cleared his throat. “The gravity of the situation compels me to tell you that I’ve fallen.”
She rolled her eyes at his joke as she fought a smile. She tied the fabric off. “I can see that.”
“For you.”
Odessa’s eyes flew to his face. He was watching her with a soft smile, wearing the same enamored expression she had seen after their dance beside the lake. She whispered, half-afraid that what she was hearing was a dream. “You mean that?”
“Told you,”Bean interrupted, reminding her that they were being chaperoned by a lizard the size of a horse.
“I do.” His eyes traced her face. “If we’re being honest, I think I started falling the night you pulled me out of the lake.”
“You were unconscious.”
“Which I’ve been told can be a leading cause of falling.”
She tried to shove him in the shoulder, but he surprised her by grabbing her hand and pulling her into him. He turned her around so that her back was against his chest, and he crossed his arms over her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. Odessa hesitated, then allowed herself to relax into his hold.
Bean huffed.“I’m going to turn around and think about strawberries.”
“Great plan,” Jax answered with a sigh, leaning his head against hers. “I approve.”
Odessa swallowed. “Does this mean you managed to avoid Boris at the party?”
He chuckled. “Oh, no. I made sure to say hello.”
“You did?” Her voice cracked on the last word.
“Mhmm,” he hummed. “You looked beautiful in that dress.”
Her heart dropped to her toes. “I did?”
“You should ask Katrin if you can borrow it.”
