“How did you—” I sighed in relief. Never mind. “Yes.”
His hands slowly lifted from my chest to brush the hair out of my face. I rolled onto my side so I wouldn’t get a crick in my neck, and now our faces were perfectly lined up.
“It’s just like before, where you built a wall to keep me out, only this time you need to put that wall around yourself and your emotions. Keep them contained to only you.”
To only me? But he was in here, too! Wait. I knew exactly where he was, what parts of me his soul liked to hang out in. So, technically, I should be able to put a wall in front of those places. It actually reminded me of what Eryn taught me about keeping the djinn out of my head; similar concepts at least. Ugh, this was starting to feel like more magick homework.
“Put up your wall and we can test it. I’ll knock before I speak. If you can’t hear me, then it worked. Okay?”
I nodded and tried to focus. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought, since I already had practice when our bond was more of a bridge, but it definitely required a little more finesse. Once the walls were between me and all the places I felt Ezra, I gave him a thumbs-up. Here went nothing.
Good morning…
Dammit. My wall crumbled in one section, right where he knocked. I hastily tried to refortify my defenses. Not that hearing Ezra greet me in that low, rumbling tone was something I wanted to get away from.
…my little sea slug.
Annnnnnnd I was done.
“Did you just call me a slug?”
There wasn’t even mischievous mirth coming from him. It wasn’t a joke. He was serious.
“Aseaslug,” he restated. “They’re majestic and brightly colored.”
I knew exactly what they were. Hello, marine biology major. But still.
“A damn slug, Ezra?” With a huff, I rolled out of his arms and off the bed, then walked… well, kind of limped… to the bathroom and shut the door.
“But… but… the prettiest one I’ve ever seen!” Ezra wailed from the other side.
Bonded or not, he had to work on his wooing compliments, because absolutely not. The sound of the rain shower covered his attempts to backtrack, and I patiently waited for steam to build behind the glass before stepping inside.
I focused on maintaining my freshly rebuilt walls; there was no need for Ezra to know I wasn’t really mad. Although, if my walls still sucked he already did. Scalding water fell over the knot on the top of my shoulder, and I groaned in bliss. I was so fucking sore, but in the most pleasant way.
Inside and out. Like I’d been well used. I smirked at that thought. We hadn’t held back last night, that was for sure. The sound of Ezra’s phone ringing and him answering told me he wasn’t going to follow me in here with more slug nonsense. Taking advantage of his distraction, I used the shower to its full potential.
When the water ran cool and the lingering soreness in my muscles demanded a soft bed, I toweled off and aimed for an afternoon spent snacking and napping. Excitement lingered just outside my mental walls, scratching like a wriggling puppy. Whatever happened on that phone call, Ezra was eager about it.
He waited for me, sitting on the side of the bed, as I came out of the bathroom with a damp towel around my hair. I felt him knock, and smiled when my wall didn’t crumble this time.It took focus to pull it back long enough to answer, but I was getting the hang of it.
Yes?
The gleam in his eye was from anticipation.
Kai and Eryn were successful.
My mouth dropped. That was fast. I was worried it would take them weeks to track down Frederick. We were mid-summer now, and I’d already resigned myself to having to miss the fall semester, but maybe there was hope that I didn’t have to delay returning to school.
Things are going to move fast,Ezra continued, pulling his shoes on.We need to figure out how we’re doing this before Soloman catches wind that his nephew is here.
I didn’t bother rushing to get dressed; that wasn’t an invitation. He was going to work, and I wasn’t anywhere near trained enough to join him. With the towel still wrapped around my body, I followed dutifully as Ezra headed to his truck. Before climbing in, he spun around and cupped my face, taking a moment to search my gaze.
If he thought I’d be upset about being left at home, he was wrong. I knew the difference between helping and hindering, and I had no misconceived notions about my abilities.
“Stay and rest,” he whispered, then left a sweet kiss on my lips. “Hopefully, this will be quick, and when I come back we can…play.”
My body knew exactly what he meant, and it shivered with impatience. Another quick kiss and a saucy wink, and Ezra was pulling down the dirt road and on his way to set me free. Passing time when you knew something big was going down was kind of a mind fuck.
