Page 70 of Our Radiant Embers

I should leave.

But when I moved to put on my shoes, Adam sat up again. “You’re not staying?” He sounded disappointed, and Christ, he’d sleep on the floor tonight, confined to a power circle so he could erase another set of buildings tomorrow. It seemed so…lonely.

“I don’t have a toothbrush,” I said gently. “Or spare clothes.”

“Wear something of mine.” His gaze travelled down the length of my body and back up. “It won’t be an exact fit, but it’ll be close. And I’m sure there’s an unused toothbrush in the bathroom.”

I really should leave.

Instead, I returned my shoes back to the little rack under the stairs and dug out my phone. “All right, just letting my family know I’m not coming home. They’ll have questions.”

“Tell them we fucked like bunnies.” Adam’s voice was perfectly innocent, at odds with the impish glint in his eyes. For some reason, it made me chuckle even as my lungs felt a little tight.

“They’ll already assume that.”

“Excellent.” Then Adam shook his head, features softening. “But seriously, thanks for keeping me company. Think we can both use some rest tonight.”

“For sure.” I reminded myself to look away from him, but it seemed to get harder each time.

God, I was tired.

* * *

I woke up gasping.

“Liam.”

Dark curtains, the ceiling closing in, my heart in my throat.

“Liam.”

The mattress dipped. Gentle fingers brushed my jaw.

“Hey. Hey.”

I focused on Adam’s face, outlined by the faint trickle of morning light. It was quiet around us, the terrible rush of magic that crushed everything in its wake melting away. Fuck, I should be used to it by now. Yet I was still dizzy when I sat up, caught halfway between dream and reality. Adam’s touch was the brightest thing in my mind.

“Sorry.” I dragged in a rough breath. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—you need to get back into the circle.”

“It’s fine. I’m all charged up.” He withdrew his hand, and I wanted to tell him no, please, please keep touching me. I held my tongue.

“What time is it?”

“A little past six.” His voice was hushed like the morning light. My bones ached with how much I wanted him, all my defences down. I’d slept for more than seven hours, though. It was better than what I’d managed most nights lately.

“Did I wake you?”

“No.” A wry smile. “The air mattress decided to lose all its air halfway through the night, so I’ve been awake for a while.”

“Lie down with me.” I shouldn’t have said that. Normally, I wouldn’t have. “Sorry, never mind. That’s silly.”

His eyes went quiet, dusk caught in the hazel of his irises. The room had gone still around us. No one moves, no one gets hurt. “Budge over,” he said then.

It didn’t immediately make sense.

“Come on.” He tilted his head, both challenge and invitation. I couldn’t have said which made me want him more. So I shuffled to the right side of the bed, closer to the slope of the wall and away from the edge of the mezzanine. Watching him. Always watching him.

He stretched out next to me, on his side, facing me.

---