could miss that.” She wasn’t sure why she shared that sentiment. It made her feel more vulnerable than she liked, especially after that surprising kiss earlier.
“Your beauty is enough to haunt a man , Tessa. To be honest, you scare me a little.”
Her eyes swiveled back to his face, and she wondered how she must look to him. Humans were just so much softer around the edges. Softer, in general. “That is natural, I guess. I’m the first of the Sidhe you’ve gotten to know. The draw I spoke of affects those around us, even if they’re Sidhe. Among Sidhe, we just grow accustomed to looking beyond the draw. Since you’re half-human, it is probably harder for you to look beyond. We should have asked Hazel that question, though I suspect it would be different for each of you.” Tessa had little inclination to invite another visit from Ian’s wife just yet. They’d probably have more questions by tomorrow, anyway.
Home was right around the corner, and Tessa wasn’t sure what to do when they reached it. Outside, she knew the bug – er, the pixie – was watching their every move, doing the Morrigan’s bidding. But inside her home, the pixie would not enter. Not ever.
So what to do when she had Nathan to herself?
T hey probably shouldn’t get involved. In her situation, it went beyond a conflict of interest. Abarta expected her to sell the half-humans out or he would ruin her family name, and her brother’s life.
But that kiss earlier intrigued her.
She hadn’t expected to feel anything at the half-human’s kiss, but he touched her with a possessiveness she’d never felt from a Sidhe male. He obviously didn’t know her reputation as cold and standoffish, or her stature among the Sidhe with her position as Curator of the Texts. But that meant she didn’t intimidate him, either. She wanted more of that touch, and what it awakened in her.
As she closed the door behind him, she could already feel the weight of his stare. She turned to find him closer than she’d thought; close enough she nearly stumbled into him, with uncharacteristic clumsiness. Another flare of vulnerability lit her insides. She said a little spell under her breath to be sure a blush didn’t betray the emotion to Nathan.
N ow that she felt like an idiot, he was making his intentions known. He moved even closer, until she was caged between his body and the wall. Her pulse surged, and she took an unsteady breath.
“The Sidhe aren’t shy about sex, are they?” Nathan asked, running one finger along her collarbone, a bare whisper of touch where her body craved an onslaught.
Tessa shivered, feeling shy. How long had it been since she felt shy ? “I would say we are more forthright than humans on the subject. More free with our affections. Why do you ask?” she stalled.
“I don’t wish to offend you, and I don’t know the customs among the Sidhe,” he returned. “How about I just kiss you, and we’ll see where we land?”
Her belly dropped frightfully. Why did his ardor scare her? She’d been with dozens of Sidhe men. Men of all manner of ability, physical and magical. Her lovers had numbered among the most sexual creatures in existence. Yet the half-human made her belly drop, making her feel like the innocent she hadn’t been in an age.
He followed through, capturing her lips with his mouth hungrily. The flame in her blood swept higher, taking her reservations with it. She answered his kiss with her own need, her arms tightening around his neck.
“How did you go through life thinking you were human?” she uttered when he broke the kiss and watched her hungrily. Tessa suspected the man was wearing too many clothes for the plans she found herself making. She let him go and waved a hand, and they were both nude.
Nathan looked down. “Okay, that really takes the romance out of this.”
“Oh, sorry…I thought–”
Then his eyes were on her body, his slow perusal of her form giving her the urge to cover herself. An urge