He blinked. Then burst out laughing, an actual, shoulders-shaking, honest laughter. It lit up his face in a way that warmed her from the inside out. “You’re basically asking if Aryon or Elara could beat up Emma.”
“That wasn’t exactly the phrasing,” she muttered.
“They are the strongest elves, and she’s the only vampire. Well, Rick too but he’s younger.”
“True. So, yes?”
Still grinning, Gael cupped her face gently in both hands, thumbs grazing her cheeks. “Elves aren’t predators. We protect and nurture nature because nature’s spirit and power live within ourselves.”
She gave him a flat look, then leaned forward and pressed a tiny kiss to his mouth. Being able to do that made her dizzy, so she focused on the topic at hand. “Which is your way of admitting that Emma could mop the floor with the High Lord or the High Lady.”
He arched one elegant brow. “You might want to ask Emma.”
“No way. You’re serious?”
He just tapped two fingers against her lips. “Ask her. It’s a much better story coming from the protagonist.”
She huffed but relented. Yes, she really wanted to hear that story. But more urgently, she wanted food. Her rumbling stomach was very clear about it. Elara carried lunch for all, and unfortunately, they were on the wrong side of the river.
Beth turned to the water, squinting at the shimmering surface. “Okay. But seriously... how did they get past?”
“In one leap, most likely,” Gael said.
Beth stared at the river again, then shot him a look. “It’s like... twenty feet.”
He nodded calmly. “A little over that, yes.”
She eyed the few jagged rocks poking out midstream, barely there, slick with rushing water. They practically screamedbruised tailbone and lost shoe. “Well, I guess this is where I wait. Without a bridge, there’s no way I’m making that.”
His eyebrows lifted, like she’d suggested waiting out a blizzard in a bikini. “I’ll carry you.”
He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. To him, maybe it was. To her? Not even close. “You want to carry me.”
“Of course.”
Beth glanced back at the river. Then at him. More specifically, at his body. Long lines and tight muscle, a dancer made of iron. Elven grace made him look ethereal, but underneath? He was power, iron, and sinew. How would it feel to be wrapped around him? To have that body pressed on her, skin to skin? Or to–
“I’d be concerned about your perusal,” he said, a lazy smile tugging at his lips, “if I couldn’t see your aura. Or read your emotions. Or smell your reaction to me. Which, I might add, I’m enjoying immensely.”
“There’s really no hiding anything from you, huh?”
“Not really. But why would you want to hide that you’re attracted to me?” His voice dipped, teasing. “Especially after I admitted you’ve been my obsession for a very long time. And just so we’re clear, my interest isn’t purely emotional.”
Which, in Gael-speak, translated roughly todon’t worry, I’m horny too. That plainspoken honesty, so much like her own, didn’t make her more turned on, but it made her feel like they were reading from the same script.
“In that case,” she said, voice low, “I guess I don’t really need to tell you I’d be glad to be carried.”
He stepped closer, that familiar quiet intensity wrapping around her. He didn’t loom, hesheltered. His hand lifted, fingers brushing her forehead like she was something rare. “Always tell me what’s on your mind, Beth,” he murmured. “The way you think, it’s liberating.”
This close, not touching him was impossible. Her hands slid to his sides, then up to his chest. Warmth radiated through the fabric, steady and solid. “You already know what I’m thinking.”
“I can read your emotions, not your mind.”
“Well then,” she said, mouth tilting, “I’d like very much to kiss you again before you go showing off and leaping rivers with me in your arms.”
“As the lady commands.”
The kiss wasn’t sweet this time. It stole breath and blurred boundaries. His mouth moved over hers like a claim, and she didn’t mind surrendering. Her fingers curled into the silky softness of his hair to defy physics and pull him even closer. His hands sank low on her waist, tugging her flush against him, like he wanted their bodies to fuse.
