“Yes, you can and will. In a dangerous situation, it’s the only escape you will have.”
At the reminder, she blew out a deep breath. “I would have been so much happier living my feeble human existence without knowledge of the supernatural or these powers.”
“You cannot hide from this, Nia.” His stern tone had her scrunching her nose. “You’re stronger than that.”
She would have reveled in his praise, but a deeper part of her sensed there was more. Why would Lore suddenly change from just watching out for her to making sure she was well-versed in combat and having her hone her growing abilities?
No, he wouldn’t say anything unless she chiseled it out of him. Oh, but she would find out.
Nia shut her eyes again, imagining the opposite bank, and willed herself there. A brisk whoosh of air drowned out thesounds of nature, and she stumbled as her foot touched the snowy ground on the opposite bank. Her eyes shot open.
“Whoa! I did it!” She fist-pumped the air.
“Good.” Lore appeared at her side in a scatter of silver. “Always visualize where you want to go as you summon the ability, so you’re there and not stuck in the middle of a rock.”
Jeez.She grimaced at the grisly image and started walking, sidestepping the huge boulders, probably chunks that had fallen off the mountain. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“If you feel uneasy about anything, tell me.”
Right. She carefully navigated the rubble and rocks poking out of the snow, the rushing water a soothing sound. “What if you’re not here? I mean, when you left, you said,I’ll be back shortly. Yourshortlywastwodays later.”
“I forget while time is irrelevant to us, it is not so for humans.”
“Yeah, we are finite,” she drawled, side-eyeing him and finding him frowning. “Have you spent any time among humans at all?”
“Not exactly.”
She groaned. “Expand,pleeeease. I beg of you.”
His lips twitched. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he deliberately gave his minimal responses to get a rise out of her.
“A female.” Before jealousy planted its seed, he said, “She’s mated to one of the Guardians.”
“Hey, you actually answered.”
The twitch became a smile. Her breath caught, and her feet forgot how to move.
He stopped, too, his gaze lowering to her mouth. “You have one of these…” He lightly brushed her chin. “A dent.”
Nia forgot what she wanted to ask him. The gentle caress of his warm fingertips against her skin sent a rush of heat throughher, pooling low. He’d never once touched her this intimately. Well, except for her wrist.
“Yeah, it’s called a dimple.” It came out in a croak. Desperate to regain her fast-fading equilibrium, she pivoted. “Oh,shiiiiit!” she squealed, skidding on the ice-covered bank, arms flailing. There was no way to save herself?—
A hand grasped her arm, stopping her from landing in the icy water or, worse, in an undignified heap at his feet.
Inhaling rapid breaths of air, Nia looked up, and her throat seized at his intense stare.
This was as far as things typically went with them. Him, just looking, while she lost a little more of her functioning gray cells.
“Thank you.”
“No…” His gaze drifted over her face again, lowered to her lips, and came back to her eyes. He settled her on a low boulder he’d cleared free of the snow. “Thank me the way you did the other day.”
Caught in a surreal haze, Nia gaped as Lore hunkered down near her. His black dress pants stretched over powerful thighs, and his muscled body blocked the cool sunlight.
“Wh-what?” she breathed, feeling as if there wasn’t enough air in the forest, as if the winds had swept in, stealing it all. She stared at him, dead sure this was all a dream and the intractable, know-it-all angel she knew would suddenly reappear, squashing the heated mirage to smithereens.
His head lowered to hers, his sunset red strands sliding forward, but those mesmerizing metallic green eyes held her spellbound. His warm lips brushed hers, and the little air trapped in her lungs escaped in a gasp.
