“Stop it, both of you. Caspian, we need to talk. Jacks, I’ll be fine.”
Jacks turned his back on me and walked away, upset. I could read the tension in his shoulders and hear him grumbling under his breath.
Caspian chuckled. “Nice bodyguard you got.”
“Don’t be an asshole. Jacks and his pack have helped me enormously. I wouldn’t be here without them.”
“I see. Does it mean that you want them to stick around?”
I took a step back as soon as Caspian tried to touch my upper arm.
“It’s fine,” he said.
“How did you know it won’t burn you?”
Caspian looked into my eyes. His were black pits of darkness, like mine. He smelled familiar, and it made me homesick.
“Honestly, I didn’t. I felt we were connected and I touched you without fear. You’re mine, and I’m yours. We’re soul mates, fated. The Fates told me that, and I feel the connection running between us.”
“Isn’t that a bit much for the first meeting?”
“We already fought side by side. I made my intention clear. The only thing missing is to tell you how beautiful you are.”
“Caspian, I’m not going back, at least not yet.”
“Why? Do you want to stay here? Do you want to get away from me and stay here with the mongrels?”
I was about to tell him I didn’t want him far away from me, that I wanted him very close, preferably all over me. Still, I couldn’t admit that.
“Again, don’t call them that. I don’t want to cancel the wedding. Maybe postpone it a bit. There’s something I have to find here, Caspian.”
“What’s holding you here, Silver? When you’re my wife, we can travel into any dimension you want. I’ll show you the universe.”
Caspian looked me straight in the eye. That treacherous thing inside me betrayed me again. I wanted to tell him, but reason won. I bit the inside of my cheek hard.
“Talk to me, Silver. I want to help. I’m not without means to help you.”
Caspian put his hands on my shoulders and pressed me against the fence. It was an old-style brick colonial fence covered in vines. Insects crawled over the plants. He moved his fingers on my jaw. It was nice, wonderful. Touch meant so much to me, and this skin-on-skin touch made me melt. Caspian leaned into me. His hip pushed against mine. Warmth flowed from him to me. It felt so good. His scent clouded my mind. Caspian pressed his lips on my jaw. I yearned and ached for him to claim my mouth.
“Caspian… I can’t.”
He broke the contact, leaving me breathless and gasping, like a stranded fish.
“Silver, I hate doing this. I know your father doesn’t know where you are, and he would be distraught if he finds out you’re not meditating at The Temple of The Fates. If you don’t care about yourself, what do you think The Prince of Darkness will do to them.” Caspian pointed toward Lilith’s house where the guys waited for me.
I could punch him. He made me so angry.
“Do you think this is the best way to start our romance by blackmailing me?”
Caspian shrugged, and I died to touch him, move my fingers over his firm chest and study the art that covered his skin.
“Blackmail is such an ugly word, Silver. I’d like to think you’re my fated mate, the one for me. I offered you my help and you refused it. You pushed me to desperate measures. I’ll stay with you and help you do whatever you feel the need to, but I need you to be honest to me. I consider my helping you the right call.”
“Ugh, I hate you.”
“Good. Anything is better than indifference. And hate is awesome as foreplay.”
I slapped him. It was awesome, exactly like in the old movies I loved. My skin touched his, and it was very, very satisfying.