Page 66 of The Warlock's Kiss

Merrick slipped his arms around her and held her close. “It’s well past your bedtime, young Daniel. I think it’s time we remedied that.”

“Oh, no way. I amnota little kid,” Danny replied. “I think I have the right to know what your intentions are. She’s mysister.”

“And you’re what, ten, eleven? Ask again in twenty years and we’ll decide if you’re mature enough to know.”

“Dude, I’m thirteen!AndI stabbed a werewolf tonight! I think I’m mature enough.”

“And Ikilledthree werewolves, dude. You have a way to go, I think.”

“That’s not the point. What are you planning on doing with my sister?”

Adalynn glanced up at Merrick, who shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“You do realize, Daniel, that it is incredibly rude and inappropriate to be asking those questions of a lady?” Merrick said. “Especiallyyour sister.”

“Nope. Don’t care,” Danny said. “And stop sounding soold.”

Adalynn stepped away from Merrick. She felt his hesitation, but he released her, his arms falling to his sides. She turned toward her brother. Danny wore a very unhappy frown on his face, his expression a blend of upset and frustration.

Her heart ached. She walked over to him and enfolded him in her arms. He hugged her back without delay.

“Danny, I’m old enough to make decisions for myself. You don’t need to worry about me.” She pulled her head back and met his gaze as she lowered her voice to a whisper, though she knew Merrick would likely hear her anyway. “You trust him, right?”

Danny glanced at Merrick over her shoulder. “Yeah.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about, because I trust him too.”

Danny shuffled his bare foot in the dirt, looking down for a moment. “Do you like him?”

“Of course I like him.”

“No, I mean, do youlikehim like him?”

Adalynn’s breath caught. It was strange that a phrase like that—one she probably hadn’t heard since she was about Danny’s age—could cut so directly to the core of what she felt. Just the thought of Merrick made her heart quicken and her body react, filling her with the need to be close to him, to feel him, to touch him and be touched by him in return. Hersoulcalled out to him.

But those weren’t things she could admit out loud—not to Danny, and most especially not to Merrick. Those feelings were hers to harbor. Because despite the intensity of those feelings…she hadn’t really come to understand them yet. She didn’t know how deep they ran, or what theyreallymeant.

And because she was dying. She didn’t want to encourage anything more than a physical relationship with Merrick, didn’t want him to get so involved that he’d be crushed when the inevitable came to pass. But she couldn’t stop what she already felt for him—and she would embrace it, cherish it, and cling to it for as long as she could.

She smiled softly. “Yeah, Ilikehim like him.”

“Okay, well…just don’t let me hear or see anything, okay?” His face screwed up in an exaggerated a look of disgust. “I’m not a fan of puking.”

Adalynn chuckled, pecked a kiss on his cheek, and released him before turning back to Merrick. There was a smirk on his lips, and though it was a tender expression, it could not conceal the mixture of relief and concern lingering in his still-glowing eyes.

“If you vomit on my floor, Daniel, you’ll be sleeping outside for the foreseeable future,” Merrick said.

“Can’t you just”— Danny waved his hand vaguely—“magicit away? And don’t you know it’srudeto eavesdrop?”

“It’s a bit difficult not to overhear when you’re standing five feet away, and it doesn’t matter whether I canmagic it away. I don’t want my floors soiled. They’ve been pristine for a century, and I don’t need a ten-year-old mucking them up.”

“Bet you don’t care if Addy does,” Danny muttered.

“I would rather she not,” Merrick replied, “but for entirely different reasons.” He gestured at the house. “Now let’s get inside before anything else slithers out of the night to say hello.”

Danny sighed and turned toward the manor. “Gotta admit, though…you were pretty cool, Merrick. You’re like a badass superhero.”

Merrick leaned down to pick up the shotgun. “I’m just going to assume all that was a compliment.” He led them back up the porch steps, opened the door to the kitchen, and stood aside, looking at Adalynn. “We can move into one of the guest bedrooms for the rest of the night. I will repair the master bedroom in the morning.”

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