Her full lipsparted.
“Katarina…”There was so much he wanted to say, but he couldn’t. Maybe he couldevoke her memories with his actions instead. Hooking his fingerunder her chin, he inched closer. She didn’t resist. Her pupilsenlarged.
Magic swirledin the air, its scent sweeter than the bluebells.
Slowly,tentatively, he kissed her.
Cool lipsresponded to his. He remembered her kiss so well, the thrillingjolt she evoked every time.
His fire cravedher ice.
He slipped hisarm around her slim waist, brought her towards him. The centuriesebbed away as he deepened the kiss, her eager response making hisheart overflow with joy.
He’d spentthose centuries searching the globe for her, and somehow, Katarinahad managed to stumble into what was basically his back yard.
Maybe the Fateshad played a part in bringing them together. Was it possible thepassing of time had somehow weakened the sorceress’s curse?
ChapterSeven
Kat pulled awayfrom his kiss. Her pulse rate rocketed. She touched her lips withher fingertips, her hand trembling.
His touch… Thetaste of him, his scent, his hot lips … Oh dear God, hiskiss.
His incrediblekiss had left her a quivering wreck. No man had even come close todoing that to her. It was almost as if he had her under some kindof spell. Maybe he had.
There wasdefinitely magic in the air; its sugary scent made her lightheaded.Or maybe it was him and the way he was gazing at her.
Intense,desirous, and oh so dangerous.
A danger sheyearned to embrace, to succumb to the way her body was reacting tohis, but something still held her back.
Did she knowhim? Surely if his kiss evoked such a reaction, she would haveremembered it.
“Nicholas…I…”
He drew air inthrough his teeth and took a step back, disappointment clouding hishandsome features.
Had he notenjoyed their kiss? She certainly had; her damp panties provedit.
“My name is notNicholas.” He turned away, scrubbing at his neck.
“What is itthen?” I knew he didn’t look like a Nicholas.
“I can’t tellyou.”
She frowned.More secrets, and yet, instead of angering her, his lie intriguedher more. “Why would you lie about your name? Did I do somethingwrong?” Kat had no idea why she said that, but he gave her thedistinct impression she was missing something.
Nick faced heragain. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I did.”
“That kissdidn’t feel wrong to me.”
“Tell me, whatdid my kiss feel like to you?” She didn’t care for the noteof sarcasm in his tone. He was confrontational too as if he soughtto goad her into an argument.
Confused didn’tcome close. Her gut feeling was telling her she knew him, and whoknows, maybe she had known him intimately in the past. She had halfa mind to snap back some snarky, flippant reply, but whoever hewas, demon, Greek god, whatever, this gorgeous guy and theconnection she felt towards him was the closest she’d come to aclue about her identity.
She quelled herdesire to fight back. If she had any chance of finding out more,the last thing she needed to do was antagonise him further.Although why he seemed annoyed was beyond her.
His kiss waslike a piece of a jigsaw puzzle, a tiny part of a picture depictingsomething wonderful, yet terrifying too, but now she’d started thepuzzle, she had to know what the completed picture would be.
Quelling herfears, Kat met his gaze. “That kiss felt magical to me,” sheanswered truthfully.
He stared backin silence.
Birds chirpedin the branches above her head.
Slowly, theanger drained from his face and the corner of his mouth curvedupwards.
Her bellytingled. No dimple yet, but she could work on that. “I don’t knowabout you, but I could do with that drink about now.”
His half-smilewidened to a full-on grin. “Me too. You’re infuriating, you knowthat?”
The dimpleappeared, adding another piece to the jigsaw puzzle. “I could saythe same about you.”
As the last ofthe sunlight peeked through the leaves, Kat followed him throughthe woods and towards a picturesque cottage nestled between matureoak trees.
For somestrange reason, the sight of the thatched cottage produced a warm,fuzzy feeling in her belly. Odd. She didn’t even like old-fashionedcottages in the middle of nowhere. She preferred her modernapartment and living in the heart of town—well, it was Selene’sapartment, but she was happy there, wasn’t she?
Nick, orwhatever his name was, opened the door, flicked on a light andgestured her inside.
She hovered onthe doorstep.
“If you’vechanged your mind, I can walk you back to the pub… or I could calla taxi for you?”
“No, I haven’tchanged my mind. I’m getting a weird sense of déjà vu again. Idon’t know, call me crazy, but this place feels like…” Her wholebody trembled. Home. “It feels like I’ve been herebefore.”
Nick regardedher for several seconds. “If you’re crazy, then I am too. You saidyou wanted to know the truth, and what I’m about to do could ruineverything, but if I don’t take a chance, I’ll never know.” Histone was deadly serious, but the undercurrent of hope wasunmistakable. “Are you willing to take that chance with me?”
She had no ideawhat he was talking about, but she couldn’t ignore the mixture offear and anticipation fizzing inside her belly.
He held hishand out to her. “There’s something I want to show you.”
Without a word,she hung her handbag next to a few coats by the door and took hishand.
He led her intoa tiny lounge decorated with a squishy, well-worn sofa and darkwood furniture. A bookcase crammed to capacity adorned one wall,and an open fire nestled in a stone fireplace. A faint smoky aromafilled the air, its oaky scent strangely familiar too.
Nick stopped infront of a picture hanging on the wall.
Kat’s jawdropped.
Her own facestared back at her, as did Nick’s, but the picture was not one sheremembered posing for. It was faded and old, sepia-colored and,judging by her flapper dress and bobbed hairstyle, Kat guessed itwas taken around the 1920s.
“It’s notpossible…” And yet it could be. She knew she’d lived many pastlives, glimpsed no more than snippets in her patchy flashbacks, butshe’d never seen any actual evidence of them.
“It is.” Nicksqueezed her hand.
“We know eachother,” she stated, as though saying it out loud would do more toconvince her. It didn’t. Or maybe it did. “You’re like me.” Katswallowed. She could hardly believe her own words. She’d finallymet
