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He pushes in and takes my lips beneath his again. “The same way I adore all of you, sorceress.”
I regard him for a long, careful moment. “But if it weirds you out, I can always—”
“No.” His gaze intensifies. “It’s not weird.” He curls a hand in, tenderly plucking stray leaves off my cheek. “Everything I am is yours, Kara Valari. All the yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows. In your hands, I know they’ll always be safe.”
Oh…this man.
I long to hum and sigh and roll over, and then invite him to get back on top of me. But we’ve been out here nearly an hour, and I can practically feel Hecate’s curiosity drifting along the stream.
“So, mister… I wish we could talk about extended mixes of other kinds, but something tells me we’ll be known as the Iremia flashers if we don’t button up here.”
He’s begun to brush my collarbone with his lips but stops the caresses for an enticingly agitated glance. “The Iremia flashers. That has a nice ring, don’t you think?”
I laugh. “Not nice enough.”
“We could get it printed on bowling shirts.”
“On what? No. I don’t bowl.”
“Have you everbeenbowling?”
“Once.” I scramble to my feet to retrieve his shirt, cast off in the nearby leaves. “For a charity thing that Kell and I did. Correction, that Kell roped me into with a promise of puppies to pet.”
“Filing that as a pro tip.” A chuckle replaces his frown. “So were there? Puppies?”
“It was an animal rescue promotion, so yes. Thank God, because gutter-balling on every other turn wasn’t fun.”
He sits up. “Well, that won’t do. Next time you go bowling, you’re learning from me.”
“Next time? What makes you think there’ll be one of those?”
I can practically see the gears churning in his mind while he hikes his jeans back up. But before he can crank up the charm for a comeback, a series of ethereal chimes drifts over the water.
“Saved by the sala bells. Sounds like we’re expected at lunch.”
“Agreed,” Maximus says with resignation. “Guess I’ll have to store my bowling date fantasies for another time.”
“Like for another century? And another girl?”
For a second, he looks irked. But even after I tug him in for another sweet kiss, the look persists. “No other girls,” he growls. “Not in this century or the next dozen.” This time he initiates the kiss. It’s longer and wetter. Exquisite and perfect. “None of them will be right. Not as right as you.”
I swoon inwardly, drinking in his energy again. It tumbles into my psyche with warmth, protection, and devotion. I feel like taking it all and forwarding it, spigot-like, into the stream. That way I could take a bath in it too.
I do my best to hold on to the fantasy as Maximus takes my hand for our walk back to Iremia’s center. In the sala, a feast is laid out to rival last night’s spread in the grove. The dishes range from a plate of old-fashioned fried chicken and a colorful fruit display to more exotic-looking salads—and of course, an array of desserts that looks like a high-end magazine spread.
“Ah! Here they are.” Hecate walks out to greet us on the veranda. “Have you been busy refreshing our girl for the afternoon illuminations, Maximus?”
The others smile knowingly, though my clothes are tidy and my hair is free of leaves. The man next to me has a replying smile, but it’s just his surface version. The expression he saves for people like flaky students, paparazzi, and my mother.
“Interesting. They’reilluminationsnow?” He drops his head and adds a remark for my ears only. “Still sounds a lot like tests and training.”
In the meantime, Hecate has lifted her head up and away. Weirdly, I almost expect her gauzy skirt, bright tank, and knitted headscarf to transform into a nun’s raiment and wimple. “And you, Professor, still sound rather untrusting of the process.”
I’m not surprised she heard him. But I’m also not sure Maximus was going for full secrecy.
“Oh, I’m all for processes,” he replies without a flinch. “Even this one. Ifit’s going to actually help Kara.”
And now I get my own turn with the spiked apprehension. I already don’t like it, but the knot in my gut won’t be ignored.
