Page 51 of Outside the Veil
“You see, my love?” Finn turned his head to give Diego a grin. “It ca—”
A ferocious gust smashed into him and slammed him into the far wall.
“Finn!”
The gale howled through the house, toppling chairs and knocking pictures from hooks. Diego crawled, low to the floor, every breath a ragged gasp against the force of the wind. By slow degrees, he gained the door, wedged himself between it and the wall, and pushed with everything he had. Feet braced against the wall, muscles burning from the effort, he gained an inch and then another. A splintering crash sounded at the back of the house—he hoped a vase and not a window. His back screamed in agony, but he forged on against the tempest. Another inch, and another. He felt the door hit the sill, the wind inside the house abruptly cut off. With a last, desperate effort, he heaved the door shut. A relieved sob escaped him to hear the latch click and he scrabbled up the door to flip the deadbolt shut as well.
He crawled to Finn, trying to ignore the hurricane fury of the wind outside. Frost rimmed his hands and he trembled with chill. Finn slumped against the wall, pale and still. Diego couldn’t trust himself to feel a pulse, his hands shook too much. He laid his head on Finn’s chest. The solid thud of a heartbeat let him release the breath he held.
Finn’s eyelids fluttered and soon those dark eyes found him.
“Damn it, Finn, what kind of a stupid, macho stunt was that?”
The pooka gave him a triumphant grin. “It can’t come in.”
Chapter thirteen
Afterglow
Spring nights had been pleasantly cool up to this point, but the thing outside plunged the house into deep winter. The wind had blown out the pilot light. The heater wouldn’t fire. Diego hurried upstairs to grab every blanket and down comforter from the bedrooms so he could wrap Finn up tight.It can’t come in, it can’t come in, he reminded himself over and over, each time the unnatural wind crashed against a nearby window.
Finn lay shivering on the sofa, nursing a cracked rib and an aching skull, while Diego struggled to light a fire.
“Please, please don’t do things like that.” Diego perched on the cushion next to him. “It could have killed you.”
Finn opened the blankets to invite him into the warmth. “Quite a bit more effort would be necessary to kill me. When one heals so quickly—”
“Yes, yes, I suppose you could have your head hanging half off and still survive. Don’t expect me to be happy about having towatch.” Diego relented and nestled close. “What if it had used a weapon instead of just wind? Can it handle iron?”
“I couldn’t say.” Finn looked away, brows drawn together.
“Right. We don’t know enough. And I think you would certainly die if you had an iron arrow through your heart. Tell me I’m wrong.”
“I… No, you are not.”
“Then don’t tempt fate. All right?”
Finn stared into the fire without answering. He stroked Diego’s back, his gaze far away. “There must be a way. There is always a way,” he whispered to the flames.
Diego let him think, grateful for the life in his arms. He felt so secure in Finn’s embrace, he dozed off. The soft touch of lips on his startled him awake. Finn’s leg lay over his, lean body pressed close enough that Diego could feel the insistent erection against his stomach.
“Maybe this isn’t the best time,” Diego murmured against insistent, gentle kisses. “You’re hurt. We’re both tired.”
“I’m much better already.” Finn’s voice vibrated against Diego’s throat as his lips brushed against the pulse point. “And I believe someone said now is all we have and we must take advantage of it.”
“Finn—” Diego broke off with a moan when Finn’s hand slid under his shirt, long fingers pinching his nipple. The front windows rattled and creaked from the assault again. “I don’t know if I can.”
“Your scent says otherwise,” Finn told him in a husky growl. He snuck his hand under Diego’s waistband to stroke along the top curve of his backside. “I will beg if you require it. Grovel on the floor if it would please you.”
“Um, no. Rather you didn’t.”
“Oh, good.” Finn sighed in exaggerated relief. “I didn’t relish the thought of leaving the blankets.”
Despite the fear, or perhaps because of it, Diego’s shaft stirred. He shivered as another howl ripped through the night and Finn pulled him closer.
“Damn the beast,” Finn muttered. He took Diego’s face between his hands and closed the distance between them for a ravenous kiss. “This is the sacred dance, my hero. Life. We turn our backs to death. He has no power here.”
Diego traced a finger over Finn’s smooth jaw. “‘If after every tempest come such calms, may the winds blow till they have waken’d death.’”
