She leaned heavily against the wall, James covering her completely as they breathed together, slowly finding the earth once more.
And then they held each other, not needing to speak, until their skin was wrinkled and they could hardly see through the steam.
Letting themselves pretend, just for a short while, that they could stay in their beautiful, safe bubble forever.
ChapterTwenty
James pushedhimself up on one elbow, resting his head in his palm so he could look down at Riley as she slept. Her hair was spread over the pillow in a riot of auburn tangles, her face soft and peaceful. And he couldn’t bear to disturb her.
But the sun was up. London was awake. And Gordon was still out there.
He would give almost anything to ensure that Riley stayed safely in the Circle House. But if she knew they were leaving, she would want to go too. And there was no way he could walk out without telling her where he was going. Not again. Never again.
Distant voices echoed through the house, and he held in a groan. The world was already intruding whether he liked it or not.
He leaned down and kissed Riley gently on the forehead, trailing his lips down her cheek to murmur in her ear. Their Shadows had held each other for hours, and he could feel hers waking as she did. Her eyelids fluttered as she muttered something garbled and distinctly grumpy.
He let out a soft chuckle. She was not a morning person, but he loved her just as she was. “I’m sorry, baby, but we have to wake up.”
Her eyes opened, looking up at his as she blinked and yawned and then slowly seemed to come properly awake. “What time is it?”
“Nine-thirty.”
“Shit. Weren’t we supposed to be down there already?” She flung off the sheets and strode to her wardrobe to start pulling on a pair of dark jeans and a black T-shirt. “I’m sure I set an alarm for thirty minutes ago.”
He cleared his throat guiltily as he hauled on his own wrinkled jeans and ran a hand through his hair. “You did….”
“What happened to my alarm, James?” Riley demanded, hands on her hips.
“I thought you needed more sleep,” he replied honestly.
She opened her mouth to argue but he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his chest so he could bury his face in her neck. “And I just needed a few more minutes with you.”
The tension left her body with a sigh, and she nestled closer. She smelled so good. He closed his eyes and concentrated on inhaling her, absorbing her warmth. They stood like that for long moments, simply leaning into each other.
Someone knocked loudly on the door, and Kay’s voice called out, “Come on, you two, get down there,” before footsteps disappeared down the hall.
They quickly finished dressing—Kay wouldn’t hesitate to come in and start chivvying them along—and jogged down the stairs while Riley finished tying her braid.
Kay and Ethan were already sitting on the big gray sofas in the main reception room. The doors were open to let in the sound of water splashing over the steel trinity knot fountain visible in the center of the manicured lawn.
Whatever they’d been discussing looked serious. A wooden box covered in wards sat on a low table beside them, and they both wore grim expressions, equally stern and disconcertingly resolute. They gripped each other’s hand, and Kay was nestled against Ethan’s side as if she wanted to get as close to him as possible.
It felt like a million years since James sat with his friends, eating pizza and watching movies. A small part of him wondered if they ever would again. Everything would be different now. Hell, everything already was different.
He had to resist the urge to rub against the ache of loss in his chest. But then Riley slid her hand into his, and he could breathe again. He gave her a lopsided smile. They had each other. They had a family. They could build from there.
Just as soon as Gordon was gone.
Zach walked into the room, talking rapidly on his phone while Emma followed behind him, her face clouded. “Half the Order is trying to reach him,” she whispered. “It doesn’t stop.”
Zach ended the call and sank onto a nearby sofa. “The Custodians, the Circles, Dru-vid after Dru-vid…. Everybody wants to know where the Council is, but none of Gordon’s supporters are answering their phones.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s what we wanted, but I don’t have time to deal with the vacuum they left right now.”
James grunted. Typical. Gordon’s Councilors were the first to step up when status and riches were being handed out. Now they were cowering away somewhere like the arseholes they’d been all along.
“The Order will just have to wait,” James told Zach as he settled down beside Riley.
“Yeah,” Zach muttered, although he didn’t look much happier. “The problem is that there’s no precedent for this. The Council members have always chosen their replacements. And the only person with any validity left is David….” He left the rest of the sentence unsaid.
