I pat his arm. “Not necessary. I’ve gotten enough time to recover that I can manage a quick boost myself.”
My joints still twinge and my scalp still prickles with the rustle of my hair in the cool breeze, but nothing outright aches anymore. It’s easier to recover from magical fatigue than from the type that’s weighing on my eyelids.
And I can’t let myself get in the habit of leaning on these men as if I can be a full mate to them in return.
I smother a yawn and smile up at Salvatore through a pang in my heart. It’s not his fault he isn’t the match I first sparked with in my own reality. He’s been a hell of a lot more devoted than that Salvatore ever was before our bond blazed into being.
Just recognizing that fact sends a jab of guilt through my gut. But this Salvatore deserves to know it matters to me, even if I can’t tell him how much.
Maybe that’ll calm his protective furor enough to stop him from doing anything rash in my supposed defense.
“Thank you,” I say. “For making sure I got home safe. And for jumping in when Kenneth attacked me. I don’t know if I’d have been able to stop him on my own.”
Salvatore’s grin twists into a grimace. “You had to be the one stopping him anyway. That stupid trick with the exploding pebbles?—”
I shake my head. “He was better equipped than anyone in his position should have been. You still gave me more of a chance to fight back.”
Salvatore doesn’t look completely convinced. His ego is probably still smarting that I had to save him in the end, as pleased as he is about other parts of that development.
“Are you feeling okay now?” I add, willing myself not to glance at the curve of his shoulder meeting his neck, where I know the nerves damaged from his parents’ regular “testing”act up the most. I’m notsupposedto know that here. “The river didn’t bash you around too much?”
Salvatore chuckles. “You should know I’m tougher than a bunch of water.”
My lips twitch with an unbidden smile. The mafia heir takes that as his cue to dip his face toward mine.
If I push him away too hard, he’ll start questioning why. Tamping down on a starker surge of guilt, I bob up on my toes to meet him.
It feels so right to kiss my match, like a flame kindling deep inside me and spreading a glowing warmth all the way to the tips of my fingers and toes. I can’t help tugging him a little closer.
An approving growl reverberates from Salvatore’s chest as he deepens the kiss, cupping my face with both of his huge hands. He traces his fingers along one shoulder and down my side to my waist before pulling back with a regretful expression.
“We’re going to have so much fun together, mia amata. Better than I ever teased before. But I don’t want you half asleep when we do.” He glances at the houses around us. “Also, I’m thinking this isn’t the best spot for it.”
A slightly hysterical giggle slips out of me. “Not unless we want the police called for indecent exposure. I guess I should get to bed. I mean, on my own. For now.”
I add the last bit in the hopes of sounding like a regular new match, not because I have any specific plans for later, but the flicker of heat that lights in Salvatore’s eyes sets off an answering pulse between my thighs.
He slides his hand around to the small of my back and dips his head close to mine. “I know I’m not the match you’d have expected. I’m betting your family isn’t going to be overjoyed when they find out. But we have lots of time to figure that out before we make the announcement, right?”
No, he’s not stupid at all.
I swallow hard. “We do. And it’s not like your families are going to be ecstatic about me.”
Salvatore shrugs my comment off. “I don’t give a fuck what they think. Anyway, what’s there to complain about? You’re one of the great Devines—definitely the greatest.”
He winks at me and steals another quick kiss before letting me go. “All right. I’ll wait out here until I’m sure you’re inside, and I’ll see you again in the morning.”
“You can’t stalk me to school,” I remind him. “I’ll be taking a car.”
“Then I’ll just stalk you as soon as you turn up.”
Shaking my head at him, I peel myself away. My heart pangs as I leave him behind.
Navigating this bond is going to be even harder than I imagined. What have I gotten myself into?
Well, I’ve gotten myself into not sending us both on a trip to the afterlife. I have to admit this is the better alternative.
I slink through the darkest patches of the yard until I’m below my bedroom window, which I removed the screen from to leave. All I need to do is make it back to that black rectangle and slip inside. The security system is keyed to the house’s inhabitants—my return shouldn’t set it off.