6

I staggered back into the rock shop a few minutes later, my thoughts whirling, adrenaline heightening my senses and sharpening my paranoia. A bird assaulted me? Really? Pinpricks burned on my breasts where the raven scratched me. Today sucked like a vacuum-powered toilet.

The raven had spoken to me. Actual words. I had no clue what they meant, but I was certain the bird uttered them. A few years ago, I'd watched a documentary about ravens that explained how they could mimic human speech. The attack bird must've been mimicking… someone. Maybe the sinister guy in the shop. He talked about a guardian and issued a similar warning I didn't understand.

The guardian wasn't mine. Okay, whatever.

I dragged my feet, heading back behind the counter. The soles of my tennies scraped across the concrete. In my absence, the store had emptied. The huge fans stood silent, their blades motionless. The air hung stagnant and humid around me, redolent with the odor of human bodies on a hot day. I pushed a lock of damp hair away from my eyes, lodging it behind my ear.

An odd sensation wisped through me. Fiery, but with a frosty undercurrent and a low-voltage bite. He's watching.

I gnawed the inside of my cheek as I scanned the shop. Nevan was not observing me. Oh hell, maybe he was. A being who vanished at will might also possess the ability to go invisible. Then again, my stalker might be my favorite customer — Mr. Tall, Blond, and Menacing. He had delivered a vague threat. I slipped a hand under my shirt to fondle the derringer's grip.

"Porter!" Stan shouted from his office doorway. "Time to close up. Get a move on."

His gaze flicked down to my shirt, and his brow scrunched the tiniest bit. I'd retrieved my emergency scarf from the car, strategically positioning it over the blood stains my raven pal caused. The bright floral print was a bit gaudy for my taste, but it distracted the eye from any stains peeking out from under the fabric.

Stan flapped a hand at the cash register. "Count 'er out."

Next time I changed careers, maybe I could choose a duty like Nevan's and kiss attractive men every day as my job. Switching from paralegal to rock peddler, via a string of temp jobs, wasn't a lateral career move. If I'd never moved to Texas, if I'd gone to grad school instead and stayed with my parents and brother then — No, I couldn't get lost in regrets and what-ifs.

By the time Stan and I finished closing the shop, and I settled into the driver's seat of my car, the odd sensation of being watched had dwindled. Sunset plunged the day into a deep twilight. I revved the engine, flooring the accelerator as I guided the car onto the highway. Two cars whizzed past in the other direction, but soon the night closed in around the car, severing me from the rest of humanity. I usually enjoyed the freedom of feeling like the last human on the planet. Tonight, the notion scraped my nerves.

The AC blasted crisp, dry air over me. The twilit sky descended into blackness sprinkled with stars. The headlights pierced the night to lay bare the road ahead as trees zipped past. The yellow line blurred.

Unseen currents of energy pulsated through the air, stirring the hairs on my arms. The scent of damp, virgin earth tantalized my senses. I clenched the steering wheel and fought against the excitement fluttering through me.

A shape materialized in the passenger seat.

I should've yelped or jumped, but I wasn't the least surprised. The disturbing realization prickled my nerves. I didn't bother looking at my newly arrived passenger. "I told you to stay away from me."

Nevan draped an arm across the back of my seat. I risked a quick sideways glance to spy his bronzed body a few feet away, then I nailed my gaze to the road. His fingertips trailed over the nape of my neck. My belly tightened, arcing delicious tension down between my legs. Get a grip. Though I tried to obey my own command, the itch deep under my skin begged to be scratched.

"You anticipated my arrival." He sounded far too certain of himself.

I considered lying, but it offered no advantage. "I felt something. Don't pretend to understand what."

"You felt me, naturally."

The words danced over my skin like fingertips. I cleared my throat. "What do you want?"

He leaned closer, his face inches from my cheek. "I want you, of course."

Numbness tingled over my scalp, down through my face, to paralyze my mouth. Oxygen, I needed oxygen. I swallowed. Bit my lip. My lungs refused to work, but I mentally yelled at the bastards until they drew in air spiced with his essence. When I'd regained mastery of my lips, I said, "Tell me why you're here. I told you to stay away."

In my peripheral vision, I couldn't help but notice his every move. His head slanted left and right, his gaze hot on my skin. A squadron of butterflies took flight in my stomach and fanned out into my chest.

"Have you eaten?" he asked. "You look a bit peaked."

I hadn't eaten since breakfast, but for darn sure I wouldn't tell him that. My stomach growled. Traitor. "I repeat, what do you want?"

"We need to talk, love."

"No." My hands tightened on the wheel. "We don't, love."

A twinge of guilt pinched me at the sarcasm dripping from my voice on the last word. But dammit, if he called me "love" or "darling" one more time, after what he did to Sandy…

His tongue flitted over his bottom lip.

I fidgeted in my seat, unable to get enough clearance from him. The far side of the moon wouldn't have been enough. I threw a sideways glance at him. "I saw what you did."

"I don't understand what you're implying."

"You know damn well what I'm implying." I blustered a breath out my nose. "Sandy. She could barely speak, she was so out of it. You claimed you enchanted her, whatever that means. For all I know, you drugged her."

He pulled away, withdrawing his arm. "I've no need of drugging anyone. I may have whatever woman I choose, whenever I choose."

I bristled. "Great. Go pester one of those hordes of women who throw themselves at your feet. I'm not one of them."

"No, you are not."

The silken tone of his words slid over me like velvet on bare skin. "I am positively not interested in cavorting with a woodland lothario. Poof out of here immediately."

"Poof?" He lifted one eyebrow.

"Yeah." I slowed the Malibu for a curve before speeding up on the straightaway. Silhouettes of trees whizzed past, the headlights flashing over them. "Poof. As in disappear."

"Ahhh, I see." He adjusted his position with a sideways rock of his hips. I successfully resisted the urge to glance at his crotch. Score one for me, ten thousand for him. He sighed. "I will gladly poof away once we discuss what you witnessed earlier."

"I keep asking and you keep deflecting."

His gaze settled on me with physical weight. Crazy, but true. The intensity of his stare aroused certain parts of me and chilled others. I longed to look at him, to drown in those alien eyes, but I feared what I might find there.

Instead, I concentrated on the highway and locked my hands around the steering wheel. The headlights glanced off a road sign up ahead. Black letters on the rounded, triangular sign declared this highway U.S. 41. The sign marked one mile from the rock shop. One mile closer to home. If a cheap little apartment with peeling wallpaper counted as home.

The Malibu raced toward the highway sign.

Nevan bolted upright. "Stop the car."

"Excuse me? Why on earth would I — "

"Stop the car!"

"I will not."

Nevan seized the steering wheel and yanked it to the right. The car fishtailed. It straightened out, veering straight toward the roadside ditch. I rammed my foot on the brake. The tires screamed, the car skidded and slammed to a stop. The force thrust me forward, my seatbelt tore into me, pain ricocheted through my shoulder and stomach. The car's bumper just missed the highway sign.

Nevan released the wheel. He grabbed my face in his hands, turning me toward him. My breaths huffed hard and fast, my mouth was agape. He ran one hand up my face to my forehead and back down again. "Are you hurt?"

"No." I shook free of his grasp. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I… " Unidentifiable emotions, dark and intense, flickered across his features. He bowed his head, exhaled a long breath, and lifted his face. The tension eased out of his shoulders. His features relaxed into the familiar expression of serene confidence. He eased his arm across my seat's back. I folded my hands on my lap and his big, warm palm enveloped them. "I don't wish to talk while you're driving."

"Gah!" I threw my head back, bumping the headrest. "Are you kidding me? You nearly got us both killed. Brilliant plan, Romeo."

Lines creased his forehead. "Romeo?"

"You know, like Romeo and Juliet. The play. Shakespeare wrote it."

"I understand the cultural reference. I have visited playhouses." A hint of annoyance colored his tone, but it dispersed into the ether as he threaded his fingers between mine. "I'm asking why you called me Romeo. It didn't strike me as complimentary."

"I meant to call you Casanova."

"Unflattering as well, I gather. As is the term lothario, yes?"

I wrestled my hands out of his. The cool air erased the heat of his touch. "Do you always lurk in the woods hunting for women to seduce?"

"No, I lurk in the shop." He flattened two fingers over my lips to silence my objection. "And I had no intention of seducing the girl."

I batted his fingers away. "Why were you enchanting her? Assuming I believe in any of this nonsense."

"You do." He captured a lock of my hair and twirled it around his forefinger. A shadow seemed to enshroud him, weighing down his shoulders. "My duty requires me to seek out mortal women who possess a touch of the Unseen realm. I sensed the energy within her. The next step is a test, to determine if she is the one I'm tasked to find."

"I don't get it."

He combed his fingers through through my hair over and over, clearly fascinated with the task. "One hundred years ago, a prophecy was issued. It told of a human female who would become the gatekeeper of the realms. This mortal is known as the Janusite."

"Janusite? Sounds like a disease."

His fingers skimmed up my neck and began to massage my nape. The headache stabbing pangs into my skull fled at his ministrations. It felt so good I almost moaned, but choked it back just in time. Score another one for me. What exactly are you competing for, huh?

I peeled my lids apart and shrugged his hands off. "Thank you, but I'm okay."

"You dislike accepting help of any kind, don't you?"

"None of your concern." I propped my elbow on the window frame and rested my head on my fist, my face aimed toward Nevan. "What is a Janusite?"

"The one I seek." His teasing smile elicited a tickle in my chest. "Janus was, in your world, the Greek god of doorways and transitions, beginnings and endings. Have you ever seen a Janus coin?"

"A picture of one, yes." I scratched behind my ear. I could at least get rid of this tickle, if not the strange one behind my ribs. "On the coins, Janus is shown with two faces looking in opposite directions. Sometimes, though, he was depicted with four faces, pointing to the four corners of the world — the cardinal directions. North, south, east, west. This represented his dominion over the whole world."

His hand on my nape went still. "Are you a scholar?"

"I'm a minimum-wage slave."

He looped a lock of my hair around his finger, lifted it to his face, and inhaled deeply. His eyelids drifted half shut.

I coughed — loudly.

His eyes sprang open and he released my hair. The lock unwound, falling to brush my neck. "Few mortals, aside from scholars, know so much about Janus."

"I like mythology." I yawned, shielding my open mouth with one hand. "You mentioned a test."

He spread his thumb and forefinger wide over his forehead. "Yes, the test. Once I detect a touch of the Unseen realm, I must determine if the energy I sense in the candidate is strong enough to warrant taking her to Skeiron."

"What is the Unseen realm?"

"The place I come from. A world of magic."

"The separate realm you mentioned earlier."

He nodded.

"And what does this test involve?" I worked my fingers under my shirt collar to pull it away from my skin. The air in the car seemed to have gotten warmer, though the AC still blasted away.

Nevan traced the glowing numbers on the dashboard clock with one finger. "The test is a kiss, which you already knew. Why does it bother you so?"

"Doesn't bother me. You can suck face with anyone you please." Heartburn simmered in my chest and I had the sudden urge to punch something. "When we first met, you claimed you sensed energy in me. But you didn't kiss me."

His head swiveled toward me. Those eyes flared hot. His lips curved into a slow smile. "Would ye like me to?"

"Would I like you to what?" I could be evasive too. So there.

Nevan edged closer. His hip brushed mine. He sneaked his arm over the back of my seat, the hollow of his shoulder too near my body. His voice smoldered like his eyes. "Would ye like me to kiss ye?"

"No." A part of me said yes, but I shut that slutty girl up quick.

"Don't be jealous, darlin'."

"I am not jealous." Was I? No, absolutely not.

His hand slid down the seat. His fingers lighted on my shoulder. "You are a feisty one. I can't for the life of me deduce why the sheriff called you an ice princess. Unless you're of royal blood and hail from a cold climate."

"I'm far from royal and I hail from nowhere."

Ice princess. Travis's words lashed my mind. I'd battled long and hard to earn that insult and my practiced restraint had rescued me more than once. Yet Nevan stripped it all away with two words — hello there. The ease with which he'd unraveled me made my stomach churn. Me off balance was exactly what he wanted. Therefore, I would not give it to him.

Not often, anyway.

I ratcheted my spine straight. "Why did you help me with Travis? The sheriff, I mean."

Nevan's smile crumbled. He gave a tiny shake of his head. "I don't know."

"What are you? I demand you explain yourself."

His face pinched. "Love to, but I can't."

"You already told me about the Janusite and your duty."

"That I did." He groaned, his gaze distant. "I oughtn't be here at all."

"Drop the cryptic bullshit." I nodded toward the highway sign. "Or I'm driving past that sign. You don't want me to do that, do you? It's why you freaked out when you saw it."

"Can't tell ye that either."

I shoved his arm off my seat. "I want answers. Pronto."

He stared at me for several seconds. His attention shivered powerful currents through me. Cool as fall air. Crisp as green grass. Strong as hurricane winds. I flattened my back against the door and hugged my shoulders.

His expression morphed into stone. "I must go."

"Wait. You have to tell me — "

I was speaking to empty air.

*****

I trudged into my apartment and slung my purse over a coat hook. The door clicked shut. The faint scent of burned toast wafted over me, a remnant of my scorched breakfast. The only thing I'd eaten today. Toast flambe, drowned in cinnamon and sugar.

The lights outside my door cast a wan glow through the windows. I flicked a switch on the wall to power on the floor lamp by the sofa. Its pinkish-white light soothed my nerves. I flopped onto the sofa, tossed my phone onto the table, and sank into its overstuffed cushions. A sigh whispered out of me as the padding cradled my throbbing head. I removed the holster and gun from inside my waistband, setting both on the table.

Finding, then losing, a dead body could really damage a girl's brain. Mine hurt like somebody stabbed a trio of red-hot pokers into the base of my skull. I shut my eyes and succumbed to the weariness. I should've dragged my butt into the bedroom before passing out, but my muscles vetoed that idea. I let my body go limp, my thoughts draining away into the oblivion of sleep.

The phone rang.

With a groan, I flailed a hand out to grab my cell phone from the table. My fingers knocked it off and the phone clattered to the floor. It rang again. Ugh. Without getting up, I bent over to fumble for the phone until my closed around it. Two more rings assaulted my tired ears before I lifted the phone and grumbled, "Hello."

"Lindsey, honey."

My mom's voice blared through the receiver, her cheer twanging every nerve in my head. I rubbed my eyes, yawning. "Hey, Mom."

"You sound tired. Have you eaten anything?"

Why did everyone keep asking me that? I must look, and sound, worse than I thought. The mere idea of hauling myself into the kitchen to reheat some leftovers made my limbs ache. "I'm okay. How are you guys?"

"We're fine. Your dad's meditating and Ash is reading his comics, but he wants to say hi. I need to talk to you first, though." Her voice got muffled as she, no doubt, held her hand over the phone while shooing my brother away. "Ash says he'll text you. Lindsey, I've got wonderful news."

"Mmm?" My eyelids drifted shut, beckoned by the allure of sleep, wonderful sleep.

"We're coming for a visit, sweetie. We'll be there Friday."

I bolted upright, punching my fingers into the cushion so deep my nails almost punctured the fabric. "The day after tomorrow? Oh, uh, it's not a good time for me."

"Why?" Mom's voice took on a suspicious, mother-knows-all tone. "Is something going on? You don't sound like yourself."

I found a dead body that poofed out of existence and met a Tarzan wannabe who poofed into my car and nearly crashed us both into a tree. Other than that, I'm peachy.

My mind flashed back to this morning, in the woods, when Nevan cornered me against a tree, his vortex eyes blazing. I envisioned his sculpted chest, his broad shoulders, the loincloth draped around his hips, and those luscious lips tantalizingly close to mine. Tarzan wannabe? No, not him. He was my UFO — an unidentified flirtatious object.

"Lindsey? Are you still there?"

Mom's voice shattered my fantasy. "Yeah, I'm here. I've got to work Friday, all day and way late into the evening. Maybe you guys could stop by another time."

"Your aura is practically screaming at me through the phone. Something is not right, honey. We're coming Friday and that's that."

"How does an aura scream?"

"Don't get smart with me."

I gave myself a mental slap and rubbed my temples again, but I couldn't ward off the headache drumming through my brain. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be testy. It's just that this week's really, really not a good time."

"Eat a good dinner, get plenty of rest, and we'll see you soon."

"But Mom — "

"Good night, Lindsey."

What was the use? Parents did what they wanted. "Good night, Mom. Say hi to Dad and Ash for me."

We hung up and I tossed the phone onto the table. It skidded, thunking into the lamp's base. I leaned my head back, closed my eyes, and sighed. Just what I needed, a visit from the gurus of all things metaphysical. I'd never told them the truth about Calder, too ashamed to broach the subject, which was the reason I'd kept them at a distance — literally — for three years.

Static electricity sizzled over my skin, from toes to scalp.

I jerked my head up, glancing left and right. Goose bumps flared up on my arms. The sensation skittered up my spine, chilly at first, then warming into a curtain that enveloped me like a large, muscular body. Oh hell no, it couldn't be. I did not sense —

An electrical charge jolted me. I recognized this feeling. Inexplicable, undeniable, and unique. I sat forward. "Nevan?"

Silence answered me. Maybe I was insane after all.

Three crisp knocks rattled the front door.

I sprang to my feet but stared at the door, my feet glued to the frayed carpeting. Seconds elapsed, with nothing but my heartbeat to break the quiet.

Three more knocks, quick and precise, resounded through the door.

I sucked on my upper lip, then freed it with a smacking sound. My intuition — a faculty I'd long ignored, and worse, scoffed at — told me the identity of the person on the other side of the door. But it couldn't be. I mean, he'd zipped off to who-knew-where to escape my questions.

Another surge of electricity zinged through me. Hell with it. I marched to the door and yanked it open.

Nevan smiled that sensual smile, the one my body lapped up like an alcoholic swigging booze. He wore nothing but the loincloth. The interplay of shadow and light accentuated every hard line of his body. My breaths grew shallower, the air thicker, and my breasts heaved up with each intake of air. He caught sight of them and wet his lips. I fought my every impulse, because I'd learned the hard way impulses led to bad, bad things. At last, I peeled my gaze away from his body.

That's when I noticed the wooden tray he balanced on one palm, waiter style. The tray held a plate and two small bowls, each shielded by a half-dome lid. He gestured at the tray. "May I come in? I've brought you sustenance."

He offered me food, but his tone promised so much more. My mouth watered. "Not hungry."

Somewhere between lashing out at him after witnessing his encounter with Sandy and experiencing the inexplicable rush of anticipating his arrival, my anger had reduced to a simmer. I kept flashing back to his shamed expression when he enchanted Sandy and his defeated tone when he explained his duty. Looking at him now, I couldn't stop the simmer from fading away. Maybe he was his king's pawn.

"You're pale." He brushed the backs of his fingers across my cheek. "You must eat. But if nothing else, please accept this food as recompense for my poor behavior in your car."

"Are you apologizing?"

His eyes burned into mine, suffusing me with a liquid heat. "In this world, I might express gratitude. But alas, I'm simply stating a fact. I frightened you and nearly caused you harm." He reached for my hand, but when his grazed mine, he pulled his hand away. "I've no wish to ever harm you."

A door slammed further down the concrete walkway. I leaned out the door to peer down the length of the second-floor walkway hemmed in by metal railing. A gray-haired woman toddled toward us, heading for the stairwell beside my apartment. Oh great. Mrs. Kantola, a busybody of the first order, was about to see me conversing with a half-naked man.

A flicker of movement made me glance at the parking lot below. I didn't see anything, though, and returned my attention to the problem at hand.

"Lindsey, dear, is that you?" My neighbor flapped a hand at me.

I waved back. "Have a good night, Mrs. Kantola."

Teeth gritted, I snagged Nevan's arm and towed him inside. The door clapped shut.

He raised one eyebrow. "Pleased to see me, are ye?"

"You can't walk around dressed like that." I pointed at the door. "If my neighbor had seen you, I'd be the subject of town gossip for days, maybe weeks."

"Why do you care what others think?"

"I don't." I ran a hand over my forehead, back and forth. "Maybe I do."

"Relax, love." He cupped my elbow and guided me to the sofa. "You're far too tense. Sit and eat. I created this meal just for you and I'm certain you'll feel much better once you've gotten some food into your belly." He patted my behind. "Sit."

I made a half-hearted attempt at a scowl, then gave in and collapsed onto the sofa. He set the tray on my lap. I pushed up out of my slouch, tipping forward to examine what he'd brought me.

Nevan plucked the lids off the plate and bowls. Steam curled up from the food, flooding my senses with heavenly aromas — spicy and sweet, with a hint of berries. My mouth watered again, for a very different reason this time. The plate seemed to hold a meat dish, though I didn't recognize it. One bowl contained leafy stuff reminiscent of spinach, though with an unusual golden tinge. In the second bowl, what resembled fruit overflowed from a flaky, pastry-like shell.

Head down, I peeked up at Nevan. "You cooked this?"

"I did."

"For me."

"Yes."

He lowered his body onto the sofa beside me, the cushion compressing under his weight. My cushion tilted slightly toward him. My cheek skirted his mouth. I bounced backward and the dishes slid across the tray.

He tapped my chin. "Eat, before your meal gets cold."

"You sound like my mother."

His finger glided up my jaw, his touch feather-light on my skin. His fingertip traced soft circles under my ear, teasing the lobe. Every inch of my flesh awakened to the sensations around me. The soft, but uneven, texture of the sofa cushions. The weight of the food tray. The heat of his skin.

Slanting toward me, he splayed his fingers over my cheek, the heel of his hand rough against the corner of my mouth.

I struggled to keep from turning my face into his palm. "What do you want from me?"

"From you? Nothing." The exhalations from his husky murmur stirred the gossamer hairs on my cheek. "With you… I'm uncertain."

"Why do you keep coming back? I said awful things and told you to stay away."

"I deserved your words."

"But why come back?"

"Can't explain it." He dragged his hand down my face. His fingers trailed over my skin, falling away one by one. "I sensed an energy in you, but it's nothing like the touch I seek out as part of my duty." He lingered close to me, a gap of inches between us. "That's why I neglected to kiss you. I've wanted to, believe me, but I can tell you aren't quite ready for me."

I stammered, but couldn't form coherent words. My breaths quickened. I moistened my lips, as if I might taste his withheld kiss.

His gaze roved over me. "There is an unusual power in you, buried deep. Have you not felt it?"

"All I feel is you." I slapped a hand over my mouth. My fingers muffled my voice. "Forget I said that."

His lips parted, then closed. He canted his head. "Do you mean you've sensed my approach, as you did in the car?"

My limbs refused to budge.

Nevan pried my fingers away from my mouth. "Lindsey — "

"Yes, okay, yes." I locked my hands over my midsection. "Happy now?"

His chuckle rippled through me with physical pleasure. He patted my knee. "Happier, yes. But I won't be fully satisfied until you eat."

"Only if you promise to explain a few things while I stuff my face."

He drew a cross over his heart with one finger. The lines bisected the scar. He raised his hand, palm out. "I swear it on my very existence."

A brilliant smile enlivened his features, lighting him up from the inside. A matching glow ignited inside me. In spite of myself, I relaxed into the sofa and dug into the meal he'd prepared specially for me. I discovered a fork and knife hidden under the plate's lip. The meat dish melted on my tongue, rife with exotic spices, and I moaned my appreciation.

Nevan tensed, his eyes narrowed on me.

"What?" I asked with food in my mouth. Good thing Mom wasn't here.

He swallowed visibly. "Your noises confound me."

"Mmm-mm means I like it." I forked a hunk of meat glistening with savory sauce.

"I see."

The faint growl in his voice made me glance up at him. A hint of white teeth gleamed behind his parted lips. I froze with the fork halfway to my mouth. "Stop looking at me that way."

"What way might that be?"

"Like you want to… uh… "

"Kiss you?" The pink tip of his tongue danced behind his teeth. "As I said, I won't do it until you're ready."

"I suppose you're going to decide when I'm ready."

His gaze tracked down to my throat and he pulled in a heavy breath. "Perhaps you are ready."

"There you go, making assumptions about me again."

"No assumptions." He nodded at my chest and his Adam's apple bobbed. "The way you're touching yourself speaks to the truth."

"Excuse me?" I glanced down — and froze. My right hand hovered over my breast, concealed by my blouse and scarf. My fingers feathered over my breast, stroking along the inner slope. The slight tickle of my own caress hadn't registered in my brain, overwhelmed by the tingles coursing up and down my body, triggered by Nevan's proximity. I jerked my hand, clamping it tight, but my wrist chafed my nipple.

"Take it easy, darlin'. I won't kiss ye." He bent closer still, his skin a hair's breadth from mine. "Not tonight."

My chest pumped out quick, shallow breaths and my body hummed with a need I refused to acknowledge. "Keep your lips away from mine, please."

"As you wish."

He ducked his head to mine, his lips a millimeter from my cheek, and blew a steamy current across my skin. He moved his mouth down my face, never making contact but eliciting hard shivers with every whisper of his breath across my flesh. A tiny noise burst out of me, a cross between a gasp and a moan, so soft I prayed he hadn't noticed. His muscles tightened, his shoulders bulged. As his lips approached the corner of my mouth, he exhaled a soft, erotic breath that unleashed a crushing need within me.

I tried to speak with authority, but it came out breathless. "What are you doing?"

"Keeping my lips away from yours." His breaths fanned across my cheek to my ear. I heard nothing except his exhalations and my own pulse throbbing in my ears. He brushed his mouth across my lobe. "Is this far enough?"

He nibbled my earlobe.

A memory blasted through my mind. Teeth biting down, tearing, nails scraping down my neck, fingers grasping my throat, a voice snarling in my ear. You're mine forever, even beyond death.

I slapped my palms on Nevan's chest and shoved him away. I shook my head with such violence my hair flapped around my face.

Eyes wide, face blanched, Nevan searched my gaze with his own. "What in the name of the stars is wrong?"

"I — " Words clogged my throat, trapped there. I squeezed my eyes shut to banish the memory to the recesses of my brain, where it belonged, before I looked at Nevan again.

He rubbed his hands on his thighs. His smile was bitter. "I pushed too far too soon. You may have noted my tendency toward taking liberties."

I was too shaken to appreciate his attempt at humor. Other men I'd known would've gotten angry if I physically ejected them from my personal space. Nevan seemed to understand.

Right. After knowing him for less than a day, he understood me. Juiced up by hormones, I willed my voice to stay calm. "It's not you. I have… bad memories."

He nodded slowly. "I'm beginning to appreciate that."

I cleared my throat. "You should go. I'm seriously damaged, which means you're wasting your moves on me."

"Nothing is wasted on you."

Slumping into the sofa, I closed my eyes. "You seem nice enough, in a strange way, but I met you this morning. I have no idea who or what you are."

"I'm Nevan." He tipped his chin up, pride evident in his voice. "And I'm a sylph."

I whipped my head sideways to stare at him. "A what?"

"Sylph. I believe your kind describes us as elemental spirits of the air."

I poked his chest. His firm flesh resisted the pressure of my finger. "You seem pretty solid to me, not at all airy."

"I am not made of air. I was forged from the earth and the air, but I'm as corporeal as you."

"Sure, that makes perfect sense."

His lips twisted in a half smile. "After everything you've seen today, how can you not believe in the Unseen realm? I am an elemental being from another world parallel to yours. A land of magic."

"Uh-huh." Maybe I just wasn't smart enough to get it. I felt dense as a steel brick right now.

"You've seen some of what I can do."

"Yeah." I closed my fist around the knot in my scarf. "You can change your appearance. How do I know this is the real you?"

"Because it is. You have to trust me, but I've come to realize you have trouble with such things. Since you first began working at the shop, I've seen you every day while I carry out my duties. I would never approach you in glamour. Never."

"You've been stalking me for three months?"

"No." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I saw you, in the course of my duties."

From what he'd said about his duty, and what I'd seen of it, I believed him. "Okay, you're not a stalker. But what's glamour?"

"An incantation to disguise my appearance." He touched a fingertip to my jaw. "I've never hidden myself from you."

"Yes you did. When I saw you with Sandy, you were an old man."

"Ah. That." He scratched his cheek. "Our encounter then was an accident. Besides, you recognized me. I would never intentionally deceive you."

I wanted to believe him. Though the reason why eluded me, the compulsion was strong.

His finger fell away from my face, his gaze diverted to the floor.

I took in the lines of his profile, then my attention drifted lower, sweeping down to the waist of his loincloth. I jerked my gaze up to his face. "Earlier today, a creepy guy turned up in the shop and he sort of threatened me. He had weird eyes a lot like yours. Do you know anything about him?"

Nevan snapped bolt upright. He grasped my shoulders. "This man, how did he threaten you?"

"Well, first he called me a tolerable specimen worth bedding once or twice." I wound the end of my scarf around my fingers. "Then he said the guardian is bound to him and I should remember that."

Nevan's fingers clamped harder around my arms. "What else?"

"I'm pretty sure he poofed away."

"He said nothing else?"

"Nope."

He let go and sagged against the sofa.

"You know this guy?" I asked.

"Skeiron."

A cold serpent wriggled down my spine. "Your king Skeiron?"

"Correct."

"I've never met him. He has no reason to bother me."

"Protecting the sanctity of the Unseen realm is reason enough for him."

I closed my eyes, my head drooping. Sylphs. Kings. Magic. My brain spun its wheels, unable to find traction in this new reality. I cracked my lids apart.

Nevan leaned forward, elbows on his thighs. "Interfering in the mortal world is forbidden. You are forbidden."

He infused the word forbidden with both bleakness and sensuality. I was forbidden. Until today, nobody ever cared enough to label me off limits. I rested my chin in my cupped hand, my fingers partly covering my mouth. "I don't understand any of this."

Nevan shoved a hand through his hair. "I cannot explain further, I'm sorry, wish I could. The risk is too grave now that Skeiron has discovered my interest in you."

I squinted at him and let my hands fall. "What do you mean the risk is too grave?"

"The danger to me, not you." He grazed a thumb across my lips. "Please forgive me. I should never have revealed myself, but when I saw you weeping over the death of a man you'd never known, I had to intervene." He rose to his feet with the fluid grace of water flowing over a boulder. "I must go."

"You haven't finished explaining."

He pecked a kiss on my forehead. "Sorry, love. I have duties to fulfill."

"More women to kiss, you mean." Why did I sound grumpy?

"Don't worry," Nevan said, eyes sparkling. "I'll be testing no more women."

"Won't you get in trouble for shirking your duty?"

"Perhaps." He nuzzled the top of my head. "But not immediately."

He stepped back and I sensed he was about to disappear. "Wait. I have more questions. What about the missing body — "

Nevan vanished.

I was left to cuddle up with my confusion.