that scar, had kissed and caressed it and wondered where it came from.
“The sorceress who freed Striker from the hell dimension fell in love with him,” she said, “but he left her there, swapped her freedom for his. When she escaped, she came after him and Chalia. And since Striker was impervious to harm, she started bumping off his and Chalia’s friends. Including her brother.”
“Your father.”
“Yep.” She snorted. “Last time I ever try to save his life.”
Bael touched the scar. “It’s an odd shape.”
“I was a tiger at the time. And it was magic. I don’t really remember. How she did it, I mean. I died almost instantly. And I don’t remember that either, before you ask. Everyone always wants to know what it’s like to be dead.”
“I’m happy not finding out,” said Bael honestly, and she smiled again. It was good to see her smile. His hand was still on her stomach, still tracing the length of the scar. Her skin was hot, smooth where it wasn’t scarred, and he could feel the muscles move as she breathed.
Well, it was her fault he was still touching her. She’d been cuddling Var like a favorite pet, stroking his fur, fondling his ears. Bael didn’t feel everything his twin did, but he felt enough, and what she was doing was killing him.
He looked up and she was watching him. Her eyes flashed.
“How did you come back to life?” he asked, not moving his hand.
“Striker,” she said, her voice hoarse. “He-” She cleared her throat. “He undid her magic. She killed my dad and Chalia and a whole load of others, but she did it with magic, not with real weapons. He just…undid it.”
“And you woke up alive?”
She nodded. Bael’s hand flattened on her abdomen, feeling the heat and the strength of her body. Such a body, to have survived what it had. His fingers stroked around to the curve of her waist and Kett let out half a breath.
“Bael-”
“It’s your fault,” he said, gesturing to the black cat still on her lap. “You’ve sent Var almost into a trance.”
She looked down guiltily. “Uh-crap. I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize. He likes it. I like it.”
His eyes met hers, and there was heat in them. Bael hadn’t even realized how close he’d gotten to her, but all he needed to do was move an inch and his lips would be brushing hers.
His hand tightened on her waist and Kett’s palm rested on his shoulder. He thought she was going to try to push him away, but she didn’t seem to know what to do, holding him away from her at a tiny distance.
It was torture.
“Kett,” he whispered, almost a plea, and her lips touched his. Sitting beside her on the bed, in the near dark, he kissed her gently, sweetly, his hands careful on her bruised, fragile body. Var, purring madly, merged with Bael and he swore he felt himself purr. Kett was kissing him, and nothing could be wrong while she was kissing him.
But she pulled away, her face shuttered.
“We shouldn’t do this,” she said, and Bael’s heart plummeted. “Bael, look. You’re hurt, I’m hurt. Between us we have more stitches than one of Nuala’s party frocks. I don’t think I’m even capable of sex right now.”
He stroked her cheek, where a bruise was still fading. She wasn’t his mate, not anymore. She never had been.
He should tell her he’d slept with Marisa.
“It’s late,” Kett said, moving back. “I’m tired.”
He stood, nodding reluctantly, and let her move away. She tugged off her shirt, wincing when she moved her shoulder, but Bael knew better than to interfere. Naked, she crawled into bed and looked at him standing there.
“Well?” she said. “You staying?”
“I can sleep somewhere else,” he said despondently.
And was amazed when Kett, her gaze dropping, said, “No, you can stay here.”
He didn’t need to be asked twice. Kicking away his clothes, he slid in beside her and managed not to say a single word when she curled into his arms and fell asleep with her head on his chest.
And yet Kett still wanted him. She’d always known she was pretty screwed up, but this was just ridiculous.
How was it possible she still wanted to be here with him? That she was deriving so much comfort just from the proximity of his body? When her cheating ex had been revealed for the slimy bucket of maggots he really was, she hadn’t once wished for the comfort of his arms to make everything all right again.
She was half-asleep, or thought she was at any rate. When she opened her eyes to see white sand and a black sky, she realized she was dreaming.
Either that or she’d developed an interesting new talent for sleepwalking hundreds of miles.
A man stood by the shore of an inky sea, its waves breaking gently on his bare feet. He was naked, his skin kissed by moonlight. His black hair ruffled in the slight breeze. His back was sculpted muscle, but Kett saw a glimpse of an ugly wound there.
She stepped closer and the wound was gone.
Her body moved easily, not hindered by pain or injury.
“How’s the water?” she asked.
“Deep,” he replied.
Great, another cryptic dream. “Bael?”
He turned then and was suddenly right in front of her, arms around her, his skin cool but his body hard, strong.
“I missed you,” he breathed, and kissed her, another slow, melting kiss like he’d given her earlier in the evening. The sort of kiss that reminded her why she’d let him follow her across the Realms, why she’d put up with his bullshit about mates, why she’d felt so bad about tricking him. Why she’d reacted the way she had when he fell off the roof, unconscious and broken.
“It’s just sex,” she said, and he frowned.
“It’s never just sex,” he said. “Not with you and me.” His fingers curled in her hair. “It’s more than that. Don’t you feel it?”
The thing was, she did, and it terrified her. “I don’t need anything more,” she insisted. “I never did, and I still don’t. Just sex.”
That was a lie and she knew it, and she half expected him to fade away, slip under the waves or just shoot her in the head, but he stayed right where he was, holding her against him. And Kett hated herself for the admission, but she felt safe there.
“If sex is all you want, then that’s what we’ll do,” he said, and kissed her again, his hands roaming her back. Cupping her buttocks, he pulled her hips against his and she felt the strength of his erection, hot and hard against her stomach. His body was so strong, almost invincible. Kett had never wanted anyone to take care of her…
(Except sometimes, in the deepest, darkest hours of the night, when she was bone-tired, her body aching after her latest confrontation and her mind numb with loneliness.)
…but it felt nice to be held all the same.
She found herself lying on the soft sand-softer than sand had ever been in her own experience-her body cradling Bael’s as he kissed her, wave after wave of beautiful kisses. And while her body responded, felt every lick of his agile tongue, every sweep of his clever fingers, she seemed to be floating above the beach, watching him make love to her.
