Last night I ran from him in the bar. Today, I used the sun rising at my back, hiding in its warmth and blazing fury as I studied the creature who followed me and invaded my space right back.
Of all the people who had sought me out over the years, very few found me for any pleasurable purpose. Usually, they wanted to cage or display my talents. Neither of those turned out so well for either of us. Claustrophobia was a weakness of mine. Laughable for a woman who chose to spend her days in a close space, but then, that was the operable word wasn’t it?Choice.Ichoseto be in the crypt, not locked away.
This close to my stone man, warmth reflected back at me, but it wasn’t from his own energy, rather that of the sunlight that I soaked up. He stood tall, a far more imposing figure in his loose pants that muscular thighs filed out and the casual shirt he’d worn last night. The rolled sleeves suited him, patterns that weren’t quite tattoos but looked instead of whorls carved into his very skin.
I grazed my hands over the space between us, not yet daring to touch him, working my way up to that breach in his privacy. He was asleep, after all, and that felt like some breach in trust between us. But the closer I leaned into him, rising on my toes as high as I could reach to breathe across his chest, straining to reach his face, I knew the temptation would be too great.
I am too starved for human connection. Contact.
I could keep lying to myself as much as I wanted but this strange stone man who stood nearly double my own size and height, seems both powerful and strong. Strong enough to manage my deadly touch, perhaps? Or would he wither and die and ash like the rest? Not that it would matter. I’d be gone before he woke.
But surely one small touch wouldn’t hurt.
Just one.
“Who do you choose to be?” I whispered, reaching up to trace my fingertips across the generous lips that seemed to soften beneath my fingertips. “What’s your name, stone man?”
Golden eyes flared to life as my stone man stared down at me. “I chose to live,” he murmured back.
Breath halted in my throat, the hitched inhale suppressing a scream I couldn’t have kept in if I tried and so I supposed I was grateful for the horrific choking sound I made in lieu of a high pitched wail in his face at close quarters.
But the hands that manacled my wrists, large enough to engulf my forearms, were warm, despite the unyielding stone surface that didn’t give against my flesh.
That I couldn't pull away from. Not that I didn't give it my best try.
“Let me go.” I twisted my hands in his grip, trying not to flail and panic, but not far off it, either.
My stone man watched my struggle politely. “No.”
I blinked, and stopped. “What do you mean,no?” I gave a half-hearted tug knowing he wouldn’t let me go anyway, and stopped.
Thunk. Thunk.
Thunk. Thunk.
I leaned a little closer, angling my head.
Thunk.
“My heart works just fine after a moment to let the blood flow again,” my stone-stalker said softly.
Not an ounce of aggression flowed from him, despite the fact he held me prisoner. But he didn’t move, and neither did I.
“It didn’t make that sound a moment ago,” I blurted, refocusing on his face, where his skin changed to a bronzedglow where the yellowish stone color dropped away. “Before, you were…”
“Dead?” The corners of his lips curved, though his mouth never lost its carved quality.
I realized how close we stood, but he held me firmly in place, and I couldn’t step back, even if I wanted to. And still I listened to that mesmerizing rhythm, as though every heartbeat was precious.
“Quiet.” I raised my gaze to meet his amber glow in challenge.
He nodded, returning my study. “You left me in the bar. Actually, you left a little…mess.”
I flushed the same color as the roots of my firebrick hair. “That’s kind of unavoidable. And rude to point out.” I flicked my fingertips at his chest. That little motion had about as much effect as flicking an iceberg.
Amusement flickered behind his eyes. “That you avoided the witch and my friend speaks of no little skill. They are determined.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Someone always wants something,” I muttered. “Like salespeople at the door.” Confusion crossed his face, and I hurried to correct my assumption of before.He knows less of this world than I do.“I just want to be left alone.”
