“What will you do to them?”
“To the mazzikin?” I scoff. “Not a damn thing. We try not to talk about important stuff around them, but it’s kind of hard to be sure if they’re there or not.”
“They don’t like Sheena,” Alistair says.
I laugh. “They don’t like anyone who isn’t a demon. For the longest time, they were mad Dad and Joshua were equal leaders of the enclave. I overheard them plotting against the shifters all the time as a kid.”
Alistair takes a step toward me. “I don’t want to make things worse, butyou don’t seem mad about this.”
I erase the space between us. “Oh, I am, but if you’re willing to put your business at risk to make it right, then I’m willing to talk.” I trail off, unsure about where I’m going with this. “While those weirdos were searching for us in the woods, I started thinking.” I let my arms drop, annoyed that I can’t find the right words.
“I’ve never been hunted like that,” I admit. “I’ve had my share of problems, but none of them were because I was a demon. Sheena has, though. In fact, everyone on the Fringes has faced more bullshit than I have?—”
“I’m not sure that’s true?—”
“Hush.” I cover his mouth. “Let me get this out before I lose it again.”
He nods, and I sigh. “Anyway, while you were pulling me away from the edge of the cliff like a godsdamn wheelbarrow, I thought about what Sheena would say.”
I drop my hand from his mouth, and he raises one eyebrow. “What would she say?”
“She would tell me I’m being spoiled. Petty even. Sheena thinks life’s too short for most grudges. And she likes you.” I smirk. “Most of the time, at least, but back to the wheelbarrow epiphany. While I was choking on ice pellets and maintaining my nightmare like a fucking god, I realized something.”
Alistair sighs, and his fangs peek over his lower lip. “You didn’t eat any ice, Ciprian.”
“You interrupted me again.”
“I’m sorry. Please continue.”
“I realized that grudges are a privilege reserved for people who aren’t worried about sudden death.” His blue eyes lock on mine, and I clear my throat. “And that if you were desperate enough to reveal your source to me, then you really trust me. You trust that I won’t lash out and hurt the mazzikin or run screaming through the Fringes telling everyone how you broke your own rules.”
Alistair smiles. “Are you sure you don’t want to run screaming through the Fringes? It would be inconvenient for me, but poetic justice for you.”
“Poetry is overrated.” My eyes dip to his mouth. His lips are slightly chapped, and his black hair is hanging loose and wild around his neck. Alistair looks so vampiric right now, he could have been plucked straight from a human mythology textbook.
He says my name softly.
I gulp and swallow around the lump in my throat.
Ten minutes ago, this private conversation seemed like a good idea, but being the full focus of Alistair’s intensity is a lot to handle. He looks like he wants to swallow me whole, and with no more lies between us, there’s nothing holding us back anymore.
I fucking want him.
“You’re right,” he whispers. “I do trust you.”
I shudder. It’s incredible to hear him say it out loud.
The urge to deflect with a joke bubbles up. I swallow it and raise my chin instead. I don’t have to be anyone else right now. Alistair knows me. He knows the good, the bad, and the petty, and he’s still standing here. Staring at me as if he’s starving.
He clears his throat and says, “I’m going to kiss you?—”
I slam my lips into his, stealing the first taste formyself before he gets a chance. Electricity rocks me, and I feel the kiss from the tips of my ears to the bottom of my feet.
Alistair growls. Air whips against my ears, and my shoulders hit the curved wall. I barely notice. The kiss is rough and demanding. A claim. I fucking love it. My spine drags against the wall, and I wince. Then Ali’s hand is there, crushed between my body and the rock.
He yanks my sweatshirt over my head and throws it aside like he hates it. His red eyes rake over me. Hungry. Possessive. My skin pebbles as he nips at my collarbone and drags his hands down my chest.
“You’re infuriating,” he rasps. “Do you know that?”
