Page 83 of Killing Time

Devynn, on the other hand, didn’t seem to harbor any doubts on that topic. “No, I’m pretty sure we set him straight. Besides, I gave him a little dose of reality just before we left, and I have a feeling he’s going to be chewing on that for a while.”

Yes, her parting shot about the way Jasper was going to die alone. Seth hadn’t missed the way the other man seemed to go utterly still as he heard the terrible truth about his fate, although he wasn’t sure whether it had sunk in all the way yet.

That comment made Ruby’s eyebrows lift a fraction of an inch, but since neither Devynn nor Seth appeared willing to elaborate, theprima-in-waiting seemed to realize it was better to let the matter go.

“All the same,” Devynn continued, “you should probably keep beefing up your wards for the time being.”

“And pray to Brigid every morning that I’ll find my consort soon,” Ruby said. “Once I’m married, I have to believe Jasper will give up much of this nonsense.”

Maybe so. Seth wanted to think that theprimuswould realize he didn’t dare sacrifice any of the women in the Wilcox clan without facing horrible repercussions, but considering the way the leaders of the family always managed to find women to do their bidding, he wasn’t so sure.

Then again, if Jasper had made a career of killing off Wilcox witches to break the curse, surely Devynn would have heard of such a thing, wouldn’t she?

Hard to say. It wouldn’t be the first time a horrible family secret had been swept under the rug…and he doubted it would be the last.

But yes, Ruby would be much less of a target once she was bonded to her consort. Devynn hadn’t seemed to know exactly when theprima-in-waiting met her future husband, but it obviously had happened at some point, considering she’d run the clan for decades after Abigail passed.

“I’ll send word to the elders and Abigail,” Ruby went on. “You two must be exhausted after everything you’ve been through, while I only had to sit here and wait.”

“That sort of thing can be tiring, too,” Devynn said with a smile, but Ruby only dismissed the comment with a wave of her hand.

“Maybe so. It’s still not the same thing.”

No, it wasn’t. And since Ruby was the clan’sprima-in-waiting, Seth thought it made some sense for her to be the one to let everyone else know the danger seemed to have passed.

“We’d appreciate it if you did that,” he said. “Because you’re right — it’s late, and I know we’re both tired. We can talk more about all of this in the morning.”

Ruby nodded, even as Seth got up from the couch and Devynn followed suit. “You drop by when you’re ready,” she said.

“We will,” Devynn promised.

With that matter settled, the two of them headed back up the street to his bungalow. Once they were inside, she paused to rub her arms for a second or two so she could warm them— the air was quite chilly, and they hadn’t paused to grab their coats — before she sent him a glance that could only be described as mischievous.

“So…how tiredareyou, exactly?”

At once, he went to her and pulled her into his arms. “Not too tired for this.”

Her mouth came up to meet his, and any lingering chill from their walk was gone as if it had never been. Blood seemed to fairly burn in his veins, and he held the kiss, letting her know how worried he had been for her…how much he needed to know he would never lose her again.

No words, only the agreement that they needed to go into the bedroom, where they hurriedly pulled at one another’s clothing so they could collapse on the bed skin to skin, with nothing to keep them from reigniting the spark that had always been there and always would be.

It was a fast and furious joining, no long session of teasing foreplay, no knowledge that they had hours to indulge themselves. Instead, she pulled him into her almost at once, as if she needed that deep contact to reassure her that they truly were together and nothing would ever separate them again. She was ready for him, and he was all too glad to lose himself in her, to know that this was right, that this was what he’d been waiting for all his life.

The climax hit them both nearly at the same time, and they clung to one another afterward, neither of them wanting to let go. Body pressed to body, they at last surrendered to sleep.

Waking up with Devynn next to him was a dream come true…or an acknowledgment of how close they’d come to living a nightmare. But she was safe now.

They were all safe.

Not much real food in the house, but there was coffee, and that seemed sufficient until they could decide whether to cobble something together or go in search of breakfast in town. While several of the restaurants had closed, he’d spied a small diner occupying the ground floor of the Flatiron building and thought they could probably eat there if they wanted something more than toast.

“This doesn’t quite feel real,” Devynn said as he sat down next to her on the couch, both of them cradling cups of coffee in their hands.

“Why not?” Seth asked. To him, this bright morning with the cool November sunlight slanting in the kitchen window seemed much more real than any of the nightmarish scenarios he’d lived through over the past couple of days.

She smiled and sipped some of her coffee. “I suppose it’s because we’re here together, and Ruby is safe, and Jasper is probably licking his wounds. It just seemed for a while there as if we wouldn’t be able to find our way to a happy ending.”

Well, Seth could see why she might have felt that way. Everything had gone wrong…until it had finally gone right.

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