Was it wrong of her to want to kiss his tense mouth and feel it soften beneath hers as she knew it could?
A door magically opened, distracting her, then Nik set her down on an ocean-sized mattress with a massive, intricately carved headboard and twin wooden posts at either side guarding over her like sentries.
“Nice bed.” She smoothed her palms over the charcoal-gray covers.
“Dagan’s handiwork.” Nik disappeared into one of the two doors opposite the bed and reappeared a moment later with a glass of sludge.
Oh, man.
“Here.” He sat next to her and held out the vile potion. “It will eliminate the weakness. Your wound hasn’t healed yet. The Oracle said two to three days, but not if you miss taking the potion, Shadow.”
With no way to evade the gunk, she chugged the thing in one go and thumped the tumbler back into his hand. Her eyes watered, and she dashed a palm over her mouth.
Nik rose. “Now rest—”
“I didn’t exactly walk all the way from New York to Europe,” she grumbled, even though she did feel like crap. But his pale stare warned her he’d tie her down if she moved a limb.
Ugh. She pouted and flopped down on the mattress. The door shut with a soft click.
Shadow glowered at the ceiling, then she frowned. So much for her impression that something was wrong with him and that he needed her.
A faint scent of stormy nights and cedarmerged with leather seeped into her senses, and then she knew. This was his room, the utilitarian décor so him.
Dust motes coasted about in the waning daylight filtering through the three dome-shaped windows and underscoring the faded white walls. Too edgy to rest as commanded, Shadow slid off the bed and started to pace, ending near the corner, iron and stone fireplace with a stack of logs near it. She kneaded her temples.
Why had she felt as if Nik was in trouble?
He seemed like his usual dark, taciturn self, giving off thatcome at your own riskvibe.
With no answers, she pivoted and sidestepped a wooden chair with a black sweater tossed on it and continued her march, passing a scuffed chest near the window and a small shelf stacked with paperbacks. She halted her restless pace-a-thon.
What did he mean he was at his most dangerous right now?
Since only he could give her answers, she headed for the door.
* * *
Nik rested his fists on the granite sills of the living room window, staring outside at nothing.
How had she sensed his turmoil?
Hell, he shouldn’t be surprised when they seemed to connect on an intrinsic level. And she’dcome after him because she thought he was in trouble.
His chest constricted, and he rubbed the ache there. She worried about him. Yeah, the warriors cared, too, but this was different. This was…more.
Emotions flooded him as the pounding inside his skull continued. He wanted to go to her, promise her everything would be okay, promise her whatever the hell he could, just so he could keep her with him.
But reality hung over his head like a guillotine as the fading sun dipped behind the mountains and dusk crept over the lands, reminding him of what awaited. He had to leave before Shadow got caught in his malevolent curse, yet his feet felt weighed down by boulders. Exhaling roughly, he scrubbed his face and straightened.
The faint shift in the air had him pivoting. The lights came on, brightening the place. Lore sat on the top step of the split-level living room. Wings nowhere in sight, glow dialed down. Damn idiot couldn’t have done that in the first place instead of overwhelming Shadow with the angelic allure?
The irritant arched a brow. “You want to throw me out, but you can’t.” He rested a forearm on one raised knee, his amusement annoying as ever. “No one but me can keep the little human safe when you’re not here.”
No, Nik couldn’t deny the reality. In a matter of hours, he would be confined. Shadow would be alone in the monastery, with no way out, if, on the off chance, danger found them. He should have let Týr take her back, but the thought of her gone, and in another man’s arms—something inside him had snapped. And he’d acted like a man possessed.
Yeah, he was a selfish bastard, but he couldn’t let her go. It had been hard enough to leave her behind at the castle in the first place.
“Yeah, you made your point,” Nik muttered.
