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“What?”
“Please stop talking.” He lowered his lips, stopping just before he reached mine. “I can’t kiss you when you’re talking.”
The joy that rushed through my veins eclipsed the pain of almost losing him. I gave one second of thought to the Emerson outside on the grass, the one who was waking up to grief and loss.
Then I let it go, sinking into the kiss, into his body, now whole and perfect and right in front of me.
We knelt, the door cracked open enough for us to see everything taking place in the yard. The flames were almost out. Vehicles were backing up, making slick, muddy tire treads in the grass. The fire chief was directing the traffic jam. Soot and ash covered his face, and his breath crystallized in the night air as he huffed out orders.
“All we have to do is make it to Liam’s office,” I said. “Cat’s keeping the bridge open.”
“Let me go first.”
I raised one eyebrow.
“I know you can take care of yourself. And me.” He looked outside, leaning to the left and right, watching Landers through an inch of space. “This is a precaution. I know the house and the people who could be in it. You don’t.”
“Point taken.”
I stared at the curve of his lips, not thinking about the bridge or the things we’d have to deal with on the other side of it. Just Michael, how grateful I was that he was alive, how much I wanted to touch him. How much I wanted him to touch me.
He kept his eyes on the activity outside. “Emerson. You can’t look at me like that. Not right now.”
“How do you know how I’m looking at you?”
“I can feel it.” He smiled. I couldn’t see it, but I could hear it in his voice. He hooked one arm around my neck and gently pulled me to his side. “Hold it. You only told me one piece of bad news. What else is there, besides the fact that Jonathan Landers has been stalking you?”
“The ripples, they’re changing. We both saw the jazz trio at the opening of the Phone Company, but I’ve seen other things since. The worst happened here, right before I came to save you. This whole room transformed. I looked out the window and saw a scene from at least a hundred and fifty years ago.”
“What?” he breathed out.
“I can’t explain it. It was like I’d traveled back in time.”
“More like time traveled to you.” He paused, thinking. “Rips have been more detailed for me lately, but nothing that intricate. Did you tell Liam?”
I nodded. “He’s worried.”
“That’s saying something. Did he have any explanations?”
“No.”
He let go of me and pulled the door open another half inch. “Looks like all the key players are talking to the fire chief.”
“We can’t go yet,” I protested. The crowd might be thinning out, but the grounds still looked too full to navigate without being noticed.
“We can’t leave Cat holding the wormhole open for much longer. She’s on enemy territory if the people at the Hourglass are still loyal to Landers.”
“Just a few more minutes.”
“Just a few.” He rose and pulled me to my feet.
“Since we’re waiting …” I grabbed the collar of his jacket, stood on my tiptoes, and pressed my lips to his. His skin was cool at first, but heat flared the second we touched. It warmed me to the tips of my toes and fingers, and I’d have bet cold, hard cash my hair was standing on end, light shooting from each individual strand. I didn’t want to open my eyes to check.
He pulled me closer, trailing his mouth along the line of my jaw and down my neck. I held on to his jacket more tightly, pulling him even closer.
“I’m ready to get out of here,” he murmured in my ear. “Get you somewhere I can kiss you properly.”
“This isn’t properly?” I was shaking again. What was it about this boy that made me shake? “If not, can I handle properly?”
