Page 69 of Lost Girl

“But—”

Gripping her jaw with a quick hand, I force her eyes on me, boring into her with everything I have. “But nothing, little wolf. You’re. Justified. And I don’t want to hear another word about it. Got it?”

The seconds seem to tick by as she holds my gaze. I’m not quite sure if it’s the intensity of my stare or the bite in my tone that does it, but eventually she agrees with a tip of her head. “Continue.”

“A few years after losing the baby, she went on a mission to Tempeste.” Easing my grip, I trail my thumb along her cheek, mesmerized by the way it heats beneath my touch. “None of us knew the day she left was the last time we’d ever see her.”

“What happened?” She wraps her hand around my wrist.

“The ship she was on was intercepted by pirates.”

The faintest gasp meets my ears. “Like Hook?”

“Pretty much. It wasn’t him, though, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Those blues of her regard me with such emotion; her grip compresses all the more, too. “Wow, Tavi, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s life, right?” I hitch a shoulder. “We’re all born to die eventually.”

“I know, but it’s still sad.”

“Aaand just like that, this conversation is over,” I state simply.

“It doesn’t have to be. I like learning about you.”

“Same, but it got a little heavy too quickly. We’re supposed to be having fun.”

“I am having fun,” she insists, beaming a warm smile. “Dreading having to get on that stage, but other than that, I’m having a great time.”

Slipping free from her grip, I rise from my seat, holding my hand out for her. “Let’s get out of here then.”

As badly as I want to hear her play, it looks like we’re not getting the opportunity anyway.

Wendy eyes my offering and slides her palm against it, joining me on her feet. “And go where?”

Grinning, I tip my head for her to follow. “I promised you I’d take you to the beach, right?”

?Somebody’s Watching Me - Hidden Citizens?

Tavi was right, the beach off the Woodlands is more lush than the beach surrounding Hook’s castle, and now that I’ve seen it, it’s definitely my favorite part of this place. Don’t get me wrong, I love the vibrantly green foliage and the beautiful flowers growing throughout the island, but this beach is just perfectly scenic.

Beguiling.

"I have no words." Arms crossed around myself, I inhale the salty scent of the ocean as a breeze rolls in with the tide. “It’s stunning.”

"You are, yes." Tavi’s heated presence behind me is like a magnet, drawing me toward him in the most irrefutable fashion.

Then his reply registers and my stomach does its usual contortion act.

He thinks you’re stunning.

Peering over my shoulder, I catch him staring at me with that fiery gaze. "You need to stop looking at me like that," I warn, lips curling in a smirk.

A smirk that replicates on his lips, too. "And why is that?"

"Because you're making me think about things I have no business thinking."

Tavi’s expression darkens right before my very eyes. The pyre within those chocolatey depths blazes brighter with fascination.

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