What has gotten into you? I asked myself, a little shocked that I could be that turned on given the circumstances, but also half pleased. I’d waited a long time to have sex, and it had definitely been worth it. I was ready to try it again, but it might have to wait. Carter didn’t seem like he had sex on his mind. For once.
Maybe when we get home…
However, who knew what waited there? When we’d left, Nosizwe and Mrs. Costas had revealed they were in cahoots to gain control of the mythical Stones of Fire in an attempt to break their rival, Mr. Costas, Carter’s boss, once and for all. They’d been outside the Chesterfield Country Club. Detective Ewing had been there. What had happened to her? What happened to them? Had time stood still while we were gone, or did it move at the same rate? Did Mr. Costas know yet about his wife’s betrayal? What would he do when he found out?
I’d witnessed the terrible violence Sean Costas was capable of. I shuddered to think of the obvious love he had for his wife turning to fury when he discovered her duplicity. It wouldn’t be pretty. I didn’t have a whole lot of soft feelings for the woman, but even I disliked the notion of his wrath used against the delicate woman in the wheelchair.
In the end, there was simply no way of reckoning what kind of mess we’d be walking into when we got home, but we had to go. Carter had been apprehensive of this world when we arrived, but for all his reservations, this place—wherever it was—appeared strangely empty and devoid of threats. Of course, anything could still be out there, lurking, hidden, but nothing had remotely threatened us yet. Back home was a lot more dangerous, a lot more daunting in some ways, but we needed to leave. Our lives were there. My family was there, and I was going to have to face them with the news that I’d decided to stay married to Carter. My mom would likely be okay with it, as she’d seemed to see through his cynical exterior right away. My dad…not so much.
Carter must have caught my wince as we stepped back into the little house we’d borrowed. He placed the lamp on the table, its flame flickering and hopping, revealing my expression.
“You okay?” His tone was instantly serious as he leaned around me to shut the door.
“I’m fine. I guess I just realized I’m going to have to have tell my family, my dad, about this. About us.” I waved my hand to encompass the room.
Carter’s eyebrows rose. “You’re going to tell your dad we had sex? Please don’t do that.”
I couldn’t help it. A laugh burst out. “I think he’s going to figure it out when I tell him I’ve decided to stay married to you.”
“Yeah, but that’s different. Please don’t tell him upfront we’re sleeping together. No father wants to hear that.”
I rolled my eyes. “Men are so weird. Don’t worry, babe. I wasn’t about to go into any personal details with my father. I promise you I know better than that.”
“Thank goodness.”
“Why?” I couldn’t resist goading him a little. “Are you scared of him?”
“Much as I hate to admit it,” Carter said, rubbing his head, grimacing, “I’ve seen lots of shifters who could do some pretty creepy stuff, and none of them scare me the way your dad does. I’ll never forget telling him I was married to his daughter when I had no idea who he was.”
I laughed again. Despite the gravity of the situation, it felt good to find some humor.
“I think he hates you. And that’s not going to change for a while. Don’t worry, though. After a while he’ll forgive you and you’ll become his favorite son-in-law.”
“Favorite son-in-law? You’re his only daughter. Make that his only son-in-law.”
“Exactly. You two will have to learn to get along.”
Carter shook his head. “That’s comforting. At least I’ve got your mom on my side. Remind me to tell you about her looking me up in the hospital garden after we get home. You ready to try and get out of here?”
Somehow, I wasn’t surprised Mom had sought Carter out, trying to mend fences between he and I.
“Are you?”
The moment of humor had passed. The gravity of what we might actually be returning to struck.
“I don’t know.” In that instant, Carter looked more vulnerable than I’d ever seen him. It was easy to forget there was a real person with his own set of fears and anxieties beneath his tough exterior, but I was seeing it now. “I thought I could handle anything until you came along and messed everything up.”
“Hey!”
“Now look at me,” he continued smoothly, as if I hadn’t interrupted. “I’ve got a wife and I’ve got a magical sword from a cave that I’m supposed to do what with? Repair the breach? I’ve got to decide what to do about the mess back home. My core staff could have been compromised, could’ve been working for Ciara all along. It’s up to me to figure it all out. I’m in deep sh—”
He caught my frown.
“Crap. Deep crap.”
“Thank you.”
He sighed in annoyance, but a little smile broke free as he caught me around the hips and tugged me closer.
“If being married to you means I have to clean up my language, you better have some type of payoff in mind.”
“Payoff?” I wrinkled my nose. “What, exactly, do you have in mind?”
“Exactly?” He leaned down, nuzzling my ear, the side of my neck. “I can think of several things. You want to hear about them? In exact, explicit detail?”
“I’m afraid we don’t have time for that,” I said, trying to play it off as a joke, like my pulse wasn’t racing and my
