Page 83 of Stubborn as a Shadow

I glanced down, suddenly unable to meet his gaze. “Does that mean…? Does it bother you?”

“No,” Nelson said. He brushed a kiss against my forehead. “I’m yours. Always.”

I swallowed hard and managed to look up at him again to gauge the veracity of his words. I wasn’t itching, so I didn’t think he was lying, but he’d told me he had been fighting his attraction to me since we met. And now we’d jumped right over attracted to being married supernatural style.

“You know I’m telling you the truth,” he said, as if guessing my thoughts. “I hadn’t realized it would happen like this, but as long as you don’t regret it, I don’t. I didn’t think the Eternal Magic would bind us together so quickly, but I’d suspected we might be mates. Even before I met you.”

“Because of the oracle you mentioned?”

He nodded. “That and I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

I leaned in to him, pressing against him. “I guess that explains why I’ve been so ready to jump your bones since I met you. I’ve never felt that way before. You were always meant to be my sidekick.”

Nelson chuckled. “How about we go with partners instead?”

I huffed in mock disappointment. “Fine… but only if we can go back to bed. My toes are getting cold.”

When Nelson swept me into his arms, I squawked in surprise. I sounded like a chicken instead of a stately unicorn. “What are you doing?”

“Can’t let your feet get any colder,” he said as he carried me to the bed.

“You know,” I said after we were wrapped in the blankets in front of the fire again, “that was my first time having sex. I’m not sure what’ll happen the second time, but I think we should find out.”

32

SCREWED AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY

NELSON

We spent the rest of the day exploring one another. We took a few breaks to heat up soup from our stash or break into the candy I’d gathered for Morgan, but now that I’d given myself permission to touch him, I couldn’t make myself stop.

It was decadent to spend the day like this, but we were safely tucked away in a cabin. None of our enemies knew where we were, and we were safer here than on the road. Besides, letting all the market attendees leave before we hit the road was the practical choice. The roads would have even fewer supes on them tomorrow, right? Right.

Any longer than that, though, and Gage would be coming for us. We’d worked together long enough we often anticipated how the other would react in certain situations. If Morgan and I didn’t leave before dawn tomorrow, the cavalry (aka my old team) would be sent out to rescue us. But Gage knew I would stay in a safe place until the risk was lower. We’d talked about it.

At some point after the sun had set, I got up and gathered our belongings. If we left by four in the morning, that’d give usplenty of time to get to Willow Lake well before lunch, even if we had to travel slowly over crappy roads.

I scrawled out a thank-you note to the cabin owners. Morgan read it and added his own, more effusive, addition to the bottom. Then we tucked it and a wad of bills into a cup on the counter. I knew I should go back and leave a bit more money at the other cabins we’d raided, but I didn’t want to leave Morgan. And he looked too damn enticing in front of the fire.

When we turned in for the night, it took me a long time to fall asleep because I wanted to taste him again and again. I wanted to feel his lips on mine. The weight of his body against me as he tried to wiggle closer, even though we were already as close as we could be.

I stared into the flickering shadows and wondered how on earth I’d ever come to deserve Morgan. Perhaps Gage would have some wisdom to share when I saw him tomorrow.

He might only have been mated for a few months, but he’d been walking this earth for centuries, and now that he’d bound himself to Willow Lake, he had a direct link to the Eternal Magic.

But even if I never discovered why the Eternal Magic chose me for someone as special as Morgan, I vowed I would give him everything I could. He would never know another moment of fear. I would make sure of that. It was my only goal now.

That feeling of purpose followed me into my sleep. I hoped it would chase me into my dreams too, because I wanted Morgan’s joy and happiness there too.

I woke with a start. I knew immediately I hadn’t slept long. So why was I awake?

Then came the crunch of tires on snow. During the day, I hadn’t noticed the traffic on the road too much, but in the dead of night… It was different.

Lights flickered across the room, as if from headlights as a vehicle turned into the entrance. We hadn’t seen anything likethat before, so it wasn’t from a car driving by. Thanks to the concrete barriers across the driveway, they couldn’t drive right up to the cabin, but that didn’t mean the newcomers weren’t a threat.

Still, it could just be someone pulling over in the entrance to use their cell phone or something innocent like that.

I listened in the darkness as I sent out a few shadows to curl through the night to assess the situation. Since I didn’t shift, my shadows were sightless, but I could feel the vibrations in the air shift as a car engine was killed. Then car doors opened and were shut.