As he reached her side, he tipped his head back and drank deeply.
Redas attention was caught far too thoroughly by the way his throat worked, her eyes locking on a rivulet that escaped and tracked down. She felt the tickle against her own flesh, and the sensation reached inside her to stroke the kernel of heat that was all that was left of the wolfsbenes power.
She quivered slightly as he lowered the waterskin and offered it to her. Its a mild stimulant. Itll clear the fog and keep you from going so deeply unconscious that you cant run if we need to.
As she took the potion, the quiver grew claws, dug in and spread through her bodya potent combination of fear and arousal that instead of freezing her in place made her want to move into him, curl against him. She didnt let her hand shake, but as she downed the mixture, which had a mellow citrus flavor but the aftertaste of too-strong black tea, she was entirely aware of Dayn staring at her, watching her as she had watched him.
She wondered whether he was feeling the afterburn, whether his skin felt singed as hers did, gone suddenly prickly and sensitive beneath her clothing.
Lowering the waterskin, she deliberately met his gaze. And was nearly scorched by it. His pupils were dilated, his body tense and somehow seeming larger than it had only moments before, as if he had puffed up with the same atavistic mating urge that suddenly surged within her.
Her face fired with an intense flush that quickly washed down her throat to heat the skin of her upper chest, then her breasts. Her nipples crinkled in an excitement that was echoed in her core, until her entire body thrummed with sensual awareness.
Its just the drug, that lame-ass, cautious part of her said, but only weakly because the reality was that it was Dayn. And she was so damn tired of being rational, practical or logical.
He wasnt the woodsman, wasnt the lover she had seen in her dreams. But that hadnt stopped her from wanting him from the first moment she had awakened and looked into his eyes. More, as they stood there on a hidden rock ledge, as safe as they could be under the circumstances, rebellion rose up within her. Greed. And, oddly, logic.
She might not be stuck in a dream, but this sure as hell wasnt her real life. And given that, as long as she guided her prince to the archway on time, what was the harm in taking what she wanted for the next forty-eight hours?
DAYN SAW THE CHANGE in her eyes, saw awareness followed by understanding, then determination, and knew she was going to be the smarter of the two of them, and back away. Which was probably a good thing, because now he was the one who found himself paralyzed, locked in place not by fear, but by desire. Perhaps there was some fear in there, too, brought by the knowledge that this wasnt just about the potions, at least not for him.
Yes, lust pounded through him, throbbing beneath his skin, hardening his flesh and making him want to close the distance between them and take her mouth, her body, her sex. But there was also the tenderness and respect that had come to life through the night as he watched her struggle to deal with the situation she had found herself in.
She thought herself a coward, but he saw a survivor who had been forced to rebuild her life too many times alone and had stopped believingin herself, in luck, in faith. And that part of her reached out to the same part of him and made him feel, for the moment at least, a little less alone.
She was his guide. But she was also a woman in her own rightand that woman drew him, compelled him, made him want. And that, combined with the potions, meant that she would have to be the one to walk away.
Instead, she took a step toward him.
The breath stilled in his lungs. Reda. That was all he could get out. Just her name.
Her lips curved; her eyes darkened to the gorgeous blue he had seen in his dreams. Dayn.
And she took another step. One more and she could be touching him.
Even his heartbeat seemed to hesitate, and in that moment, it was like he was back in Elden woods, lying in wait for a fierce and dangerous creature that at the same time was beautiful and oddly timid. There was that same hum of anticipation in his bloodstream, that same sense of dawning wonder and the inner whisper of, Yes, thats it. Another step or two, my beauty, and Ill have you.
The drug, he began, then fell silent when she took that last step, putting them face-to-face, not touching but close enough to touch. To kiss. To do more. Even through the heavy layers of his clothing and coat, he was aware of her body, her warmth.
She pressed a finger to his lips. Its not just the drug for me. And even if it is, I dont care. Her eyes flashed. Ive been stuck in a rut, not just because of what happened to Benz, but because I havent found what I wantin a man, a job or a life. It wasnt all bad, but I keep thinking it could be better. And now She broke off, pressing her lips together for a second before she said, What matters is that, right now, I feel alive.
Yes, he thought. Alive. That was the word for the awareness that raced through him, making everything seem fresh and bright as the sun crested the horizon and a single songbird trilled from the trees surrounding the cabin. Had he spent the past twenty years sleepwalking through life, only half living because he had been waiting for her?
He thought so. Now, though, he was awake. Gods and the Abyss, he was awake.
Then, suddenly, he could move again. He wanted to rush, to wrap her around him and plunge. Because of that, and because of the way he felt his temper slip and fray, he made himself go slowly.
Achingly, sweetly, slowly.
Framing her face in his hands, he leaned in and touched his lips to hers. He lingered there, drinking in the feel of her soft skin and the way it went from cool to warm against him, hearing the faint catch of her breath, tasting magic and smelling flowers and spice.
The rising heat washed through his body and soul, making the skin at his gums itch. No, he said to the magic, not now. Not with her. The thought brought a tug because he didnt know where he would be when he next fed, or even if he would get that chance. But he knew he wouldnt be with her, because when they reached Meriden Arch, they would go their separate ways.
Listen, he began, needing to say something but not entirely sure what. When we get to Meriden
I dont want to think about that now. She brushed her mouth across his and moved past him toward the cabin, then turned back and held out her hand. Id rather think about you.
Heat and need lashed through him as the sunlight brightened from dawn to day and he saw her in living color for the first time: her wild copper riot of hair catching the sunlight, her full lips soft from his own and a flush of desire on her skin.
More, her words moved through him, echoed inside him in a stark reminder that he had been many thingsa son, a prince, a sibling, a hunter, a guestbut rarely himself. There were other sons, other princes, other siblings, hunters and guests. But Reda was looking at him, reaching out to him, desiring him alone.
He reached out in return. Their fingers met. Curled. Clung.
And he followed her to the cabin, feeling as if his entire existence had just shifted on its axis.
CHAPTER EIGHT
AS REDA STEPPED INTO the cabin, her mind recorded the scene. The main room was maybe ten by fifteen, and had a soot-stained brick hearth at one end. A queen-size bed took up a raised platform nearby, with a big chest at the foot of the stripped mattress promising blankets against the cold. The remainder of the main space was open, save for a tall cupboard in the corner, where she guessed nonperishables were stored, maybe even an appliance or two.
All of that pretty much fit with her idea of a hunting cabin. The surprise, though, was the door on the wall opposite the fireplace, leading to what looked like a fully plumbed bathroom, including a large, multinozzle shower tiled in strange, smooth gray blocks. What the heck?
Kenar had it installed a few years ago, Dayn said from behind her. His idea of roughing it.
A pointed reminder that Im not in Kansas anymore. She hadnt seen a cistern, pump or solar panels, suggesting that this was another of those places where magic and science intersected.
Kansas?
She swallowed a laugh that threatened to turn hysterical. Never mind, she began as she turned toward him. I She trailed off at the sight of him standing backlit by a window, the yellow light of day throwing him into reddish shadows rather than the blue-white of the moon.
He had dumped his bag in the corner and shucked off his bomber and sweater, though the air inside the cabin wasnt much warmer than that outside. That left him in his shirtsleeves, standing near the doorway staring at her with eyes that seemed to see straight into her.
I what? he prompted, closing the distance between them, his eyes going very dark as he looked down at her.
I forget, she said huskily, while her inner self said, Im a sucker for the woodsman. And at the thought, new sparks raced through her, tightening her skin and making her elementally aware of the cabin around them, the bed behind them.
Shrugging her bow and rucksack strap off her shoulder, she let them fall to the floor, then brought her hands up to touch his waist, pressing her palms against the warm material of his shirt and feeling the hard strength of the man beneath.
He cupped her face in his palms in what she was coming to recognize as a habitual gesture for himor maybe just between the two of them. Then he leaned in and kissed first one of her cheeks and then the other, then the corners of each of her eyes, which fluttered shut. She brought her hands up to grip his wrists, cuffing him in place as his lips skimmed over her face, teasing her, drawing out the anticipation of a kiss. Her blood heated sweetly, carrying a dangerous something that went deeper than lust. But at the same time, the churning desires brought by the dreams, the danger, the potions and the man himself were all mixed together now, becoming a single mating urge, a raw longing that knotted her inner muscles and brought moisture to dampen her skin.