spilling over the white pillow. Just as he’d dreamed about all these years. He eased out of bed.
Stalking over to the balcony, he lifted the blue drapes with the back of one hand. He saw a hard pewter sky streaked with a rose-gold sun that was breaking the horizon. The street was deserted except for one elderly couple sitting across the street on their front stoop.
A family of his own. The dream shimmered within reach.
Hearing a rustling of sheets behind him, Shay turned.
“I feel so alive this morning. Free.” She gave a languid stretch, which did amazing things to her breasts. Shay steeled against the driving urge to tumble her backward and love her until he’d coaxed another sweet cry of pleasure from her mouth.
He turned back to the window as she climbed out of bed.
Wrapping her arms around his waist, she snuggled against him. He closed his eyes, desperately wanting to never let go of her but knowing he must.
Shay pulled away and picked up her jeans. “We need to move out, get on the road. Go shower. I’ll go downstairs and get us breakfast.”
No censure in those eggshell-blue eyes, only confusion.
He softened his tone. “I have to secure a vehicle before we get to Tegus, and it’ll take time.”
“Sam, we have time. The flight doesn’t leave until this afternoon. What’s going on?”
Uncomfortable with the scrutiny, he gestured to the bathroom. “I’ll shower after you.”
Best to keep her at arm’s length. But deep inside, he yearned for the connection shared last night, a bond he must shatter like a hammer before it was too late.
The red car looked held together with string and wire clothes hangers. Kelly rubbed a rust spot as Sam checked under the hood.
He’d paid an overjoyed villager cash for this clunker. It was hideous, with fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror. Sam told her they were headed back to the States, to a safe house where she’d go unnoticed.
Not that he noticed her now.
Kelly hit a tire with the toe of her sandal. “
No answer.
“Maybe I should throw some magick on it. There’s an ancient Arcane spell to go faster, but it’s for a donkey. The ‘move your ass’ spell.”
Still no answer from under the hood.
Finishing, he slammed the hood down and wiped his hands with a clean rag. “Engine’s in good shape. Let’s roll.”
Efficient as ever. Transportation secured? Check. Engine operational? Check. Hotel bill paid? Check.
Last night’s lover hustled out the door? Check.
The tender Sam who’d made love had vanished, leaving behind a stranger. He’d barely spoken at breakfast. Every bite of the delicious huevos with
Would the real Sam ever return, the chivalrous man who’d defend her to the death? The Mage who whispered passionate words and tenderly loved her as if she were his entire world?
On impulse, she caught his hand, feeling the rough calluses and tensile strength. Those hands had roved over her naked body, culling an exquisite pleasure.
Sam closed his fingers around her wrist and gently removed her hand. The physical act hurt worse than a verbal rejection. But she refused to ignore what happened between them. “Last night was pretty special. Like old times, and I’m not talking about the sex.”
Tension knotted his broad shoulders. “What do you mean?”
“I feel like I’ve found the real Sam, the one I lost, the man who set aside carousing for an honest, real relationship.”
“I don’t have time for relationships. I’m a SEAL, always gone on a mission.”
“Other SEALs have relationships.”
“Not me.”
Kelly’s heart dropped. “Talk to me, Sam.”
A questionable look, the guarded expression hiding his thoughts.
Taking a leap of faith, she plunged ahead. “I can’t tell what you’re thinking, how you feel. You’re a phantom, a ghost who isn’t really here with me. I want Sam back in my life, the solid flesh-and-blood man who kissed me last night as if he meant it.”
Sam tossed down the rag. “We can’t all have what we want, can we?”
“Don’t do this to me.” He wanted to fight, use anger as a defense. She refused to be baited.
Kelly drew in a calming breath and slowly released it. “It was fine at the cafe, when you were the big, bad navy SEAL protecting the poor, threatened Arcane. You know how to play that role. But the minute you opened up and shared yourself last night, you regretted it and shut down.”
Sam’s jaw turned rigid as stone. Honesty was needed, but it was so difficult to confess how she felt. Never had she felt more vulnerable.
“I know what it’s like to feel alone and grieving, surrounded by people oblivious to how badly you’re bleeding inside. So you hide behind your work. You can trust me. It’s okay to share your feelings. You’ve kept me safe and protected, and I’ll do the same.”
She touched his cheek, feeling the muscle twitch violently as if he were a machine gun ready to fire. “Please. I feel like we reconnected with each other. I don’t want to lose that.”
A glacial remoteness entered his eyes, as if all warmth and life inside him turned to ice.
“It was just sex, Kelly. A good fuck. We fucked each other and got what we wanted.”
The words stung. Crushed, she stared at him, her rising hopes shattered as if he’d shot a bullet into them.
She dared voice her worst fear. “You wouldn’t say that to an Elemental woman, even if it were true. Remember? Back at the mansion, before we became lovers? When they shared your bed, you walked them to their Porches and Jaguars the next morning, politely opened the door. And afterward, sent flowers and chocolates. The ones like me were snuck out of the house like a shameful secret.”
“I never treated you like that, Kelly.”
“But you are now.”
Sam’s jaw ground hard as he stared into the distance.
Silence confirmed it. So, that was it. Gods, it felt as if she’d extended her hand in trust and he’d sliced it off with his combat knife. It hurt badly, but more so, she hurt for him. The Sam she’d known was gone for good, replaced by this efficient, chilling...
Elemental.
Kelly removed the pendant and unfolded his palm, placing the silver triskele inside. “Here. You need this more than I do.”
He pushed it back. “You’re an Arcane and don’t have enough power to protect yourself. It’s to keep you safe.”
Too late, she thought dully. They were back to Arcane and Elemental, and she was just another score. “You have the bigger disadvantage. You’re dying inside, Sam. You just don’t realize it.”
Kelly turned for the village square.
“Where the hell are you going?” he demanded.
“I need to be alone. Besides, you should take another shower. Rinse off the Arcane stink left from last night.”
