“I was waiting for the perfect moment.”
I didn’t think it could get more perfect than it was right now.
He tucked my hair behind my ear. “I need to know how far you want this to go.”
I glanced at the bottom of the stairs. “What about your parents?”
“They’ll be upstairs by now, Mom reading her novel and Dad catching up on the news.”
I brushed my lips against his. “Then don’t stop.”
He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me again, rolling us over so that he was on top, balancing the bulk of his weight on his elbows. His lips held the same urgency they had at the lighthouse as they traveled down my neck to my collarbone. I wrapped a leg around his, pulling him even closer. When his mouth crushed mine again, a moan rose from my chest.
Suddenly, we were the only beings in the universe.
Chapter 26
I woke the next morning with my back cuddled against Isaac’s chest and his arm draped over my waist. Slowly, I twisted until I was on my stomach and could see him. He looked so peaceful, hair tousled, breaths deep and steady, muscles totally at ease.
A smile graced my lips. We’d managed to break the code that had kept us from taking our relationship to the next level. To have Isaac’s powers flowing inside me, mingling with mine, had felt like pure ecstasy. Every touch of his lips and caress of his fingertips had sent elated tremors coursing through me.
I brushed his hair away from his eyes with my thumb and then traced his lips. His mouth opened, just enough to let his tongue skim my finger. The simple gesture awakened my senses and sent an excited shiver racing through me; it settled just below my belly. His deep brown gaze met mine.
“Morning,” I whispered, removing my finger from his lips and kissing him.
“Morning to you too.” He cupped my cheek in his hand. His powers trickled through me as they had the night before. “Is there something special you wanted to do this morning that you’re up at—” he reached behind him, groping on the bedside table until he found his cell phone and glanced at it “—six fifty-two?”
“I was worried that your mom or dad might come downstairs.” I nibbled on his bottom lip. “But I think I’m willing to risk it.”
He pulled me on top of him, kissing me tenderly. The thin T-shirt he’d lent me was the only thing between us. His hands traveled down my back and over my waist, stopping on my butt. Mine were tangled in his hair. His arms around me felt right. Being with him felt right. I wanted to spend the morning exploring his body.
“Isaac!” Mr. Addington’s voice rang down the stairs.
“Is the whole house up before the sun?” Isaac groaned as he grabbed a pair of sweats and a T-shirt off the floor and put them on. On his way up the stairs, he said to his dad, “Madison’s still asleep.”
That was all I heard of their conversation, but I took the hint not to let on that I was up too. Although, having the parent of my boyfriend interrupt our make-out session was enough to kill the mood for me.
I slid out of bed and into Isaac’s bathroom. By the time I had freshened up, he was back. He looked at me: fully dressed, hair brushed, and makeup on.
“No morning shower?” he asked, playfully.
“Not if there’s a chance your parents are going to call again.”
He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer. “There’s not. My aunt is having problems with her heat. Dad and Mom are going to see if there’s anything they can do to help. But I’ll take a rain check on the shower. How about breakfast?”
I kissed him. “Perfect.”
Isaac and I stood in his driveway with winter’s breeze ruffling our hair and our mouths hanging open. His Jeep was covered in a thick layer of ice.
“What the hell,” Isaac said.
“Humans always have such colorful ways of expressing themselves,” Reed said from behind us.
Isaac and I spun around. Reed stood near the garage. He hadn’t bothered with his glamour, and the fact that we could see him meant he wanted us to know he was there. Isaac raised his hand, sending a gust of hot air to circle his Jeep. The ice glistened and began to melt, but at the rate it was thawing, it would take several minutes before we could open a door.
The hunger I had quelled the night before came flooding back. I took a step away from the house, knowing the best way to fight the emptiness inside me was to keep my distance from Reed. Isaac gave me a sideways glance, and then spearmint and vanilla enveloped me, wrapping me in his powers and effectively blocking Reed’s magic.
Reed took a step forward, his hands relaxed at his side. He looked at Isaac and said, “I didn’t come to fight. I have a proposition for Madison.”
The breeze circled us and brought with it the sweet aroma of bacca wine.
I glared at Reed, knowing he’d created the wind to prove Isaac’s powers weren’t strong enough to negate the pull he had on me. “Bastard.”
Reed grinned.
“Enough games, Reed,” Isaac said. “Let’s hear it.”
“I never play games,” Reed replied. “If Madison accompanies me to the Winter Solstice Celebration, I will leave the people she loves alone. One day, then she can choose if she wishes to stay in Sanctus or return here.”
“You’ll promise never to harm my family and friends?” I asked, mildly intrigued that he’d agree to let me come home. But then again, his realm was one big drug to humans. It would mess with my mind like the breeze was doing now.
Reed inclined his head. “Not even Isaac, who has gotten on my last nerve.”
“It’s a trick,” Isaac said.
“I know.” I had only made the offer to test if it was a myth that humans couldn’t return from Sanctus. “Is there no spell to protect me while there?”
“I’ve read every book there is on Fae and Sanctus, Madison. That type of spell doesn’t exist.”
“
I felt myself become weightless. I knew Isaac planned to teleport me to the safety of his room, but before I disappeared, an ice prison surrounded me.
“Tsk, tsk,” Reed scolded, his finger waggling from side to side. “I will not have you excluding Madison from this discussion.”
“You just don’t want her having the ability to think straight.” With a flick of his wrist, Isaac held a bright orange orb of fire. His brow pulled low over his narrowed eyes. “Release her!”
“No.”
Isaac rocketed the flames at Reed, who vanished, then reappeared the moment the fireball had passed. Reed spat something in a language I couldn’t understand. Then in English he said, “Are you trying to burn your house down?”
“The only thing these flames will burn is Fae.” Isaac whipped another fireball at him.
“What, no eternal flames in your realm?” Reed taunted.
Isaac shrugged. “I’m not suicidal.”
“Some would say challenging a Winter Fae is suicide,” Reed said.
Isaac smirked. “What, didn’t tell anyone back home how I kicked your ass last time?”
“As I recall, you struggled to hold your own,” Reed retorted. He threw a black dagger.
