Maybe that’s why I don’t really feel like I belong.
She wasn’t sure how she was going to tell Magnus all this. He’d already acted weird when he saw how she looked. What would he think if he found out she was supposed to be Yrsa reborn?
I’m not though.
“Well?” Magnus asked. “Was it me? Am I causing all these problems?”
“No,” Mercedes said, shaking her head, which was the truth. “No, there’s no curse upon this land. Whatever you did, didn’t work.”
He was visibly relieved and scrubbed a hand over his face and down his beard. “I was worried…when that explosion happened and you were lying there…”
Her heart skipped a beat. “You were worried about me?”
His expression softened. “Of course I was.” Magnus reached out and took her hands in his, rubbing his thumbs across her dirty knuckles. “The explosion shocked me, and then I was so worried you’d die and that it was my fault.”
“No,” she said gently. “No. It’s not your fault. I’m okay.”
Their gazes locked and her pulse hummed. He moved to sit next to her, touching her face, tucking back a strand of her hair. “I’m glad.”
She closed her eyes, her stomach exploding with butterflies, which was generally better than the usual explosions that happened around her. His arm slid around her, pulling her close, and she rested her head on his shoulder. She felt safe in his arms, which was strange, because if you had asked her that a couple of weeks ago, there was no way she’d feel this close with him.
This is what she wanted before their disastrous date. This kind of intimacy. This is what she thought she was going to get after messaging him for so long on that MONZTR dating app.
She moved her hand to his chest and found it utterly still.
“I don’t have a heartbeat.” He chuckled quietly. “But I want you to know I like your touch just as much as if I had one.”
She laughed softly. “And I like you holding me.”
He touched her chin, tilting her head so she was looking at him. His red eyes had turned black. “I think I’d very much like to kiss you. The problem is, I don’t think I should.”
“I think…” She wanted to agree with him, only she couldn’t. “I think just this once, right here, it’ll be okay.”
And before he had a chance to argue, she pressed her lips against his, kissing him gently at first, her hand sneaking up into his long hair. His arms moved down her back, pulling her flush against him as their kiss deepened. His fangs grazed her lips, but she didn’t care.
This is what she wanted that night of their first date.
This was something she kept dreaming about.
Her body was thrumming with arousal.
There was a hiss of static.
“Magnus, it’s Finn. Are you okay? Over.”
Magnus growled and broke off the kiss, glaring at the radio from the boat that sat on the table.
“You better answer that,” she sighed with disappointment.
“I suppose. And it sounds like the storm has stopped. He’s probably wondering where his boat is.”
“Probably.” She tucked her legs up, hugging her knees, trying to quell the trembling in her body. She couldn’t let herself get carried away with her boss.
Why?
She ignored that thought, which she knew stemmed from the part of her brain that still wanted him. That had always wanted him.
“Magnus here. We’re fine. Heading back to Harmony Glen soon. Over.”