Page 101 of Scrooged for the Holidays
He nods. “Yes. These.” The shadow around my ankle and the other one near my opposite foot pulse. “They’re part of my aura, a force of energy that all beings, even humans, have. Mine is stronger than most, and I have these.”
The tentacle-like shadows pulse again.
“They were reaching for you, like they are now, and I couldn’t contain them.”
“I didn’t see them then.” I think back to that moment. “But I did feel a pull—that’s why I was distracted and lost my balance.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m okay.” The shadow wrapped around my once-injured ankle caresses over me with added warmth like a kiss to make it better. I smile because of it, but it also makes me sad. I don’t remember the last time anyone has cared about me as much as these three Nephilim have.
“I’m glad,” Sam says.
We’ve drawn so close to each other that it’s hard to see his eyes. I want to lean in and kiss him, to end the tugging in my gut, to know what his lips feel like.
A nagging thought persists, telling me I need to be with him. He’s the only one who’s missing. It’s probably silly, but I think it, anyway. I’ve had both Remi and Kai, and now I need him.
But there’s still something he’s not saying. I can feel it in the tension between us and the pain that seems to radiate through his aura. “What are you not telling me?”
“If we—” Sam pauses, drawing in a breath. “If we cross a line together, Greer, I’m unsure of what will happen after.”
I dare to lift a hand. He watches it but doesn’t stop me as I place it on his chest. A zing of energy travels through the connection. It’s on the tip of my tongue to say something smartabout him already knowing the future—or whatever he does exactly—but I don’t want to talk anymore.
“Do we have to know?” I cock my head, slanting my mouth over his.
Sam’s gaze flicks down to my lips. “What if I do something—”
“You won’t,” I say.
He stares back into my eyes, searching for something. When he finds whatever it is he’s looking for—permission or honesty, I’m not sure—he speaks again. “You’ll tell me if I do?”
I brush my lips over his, the delicate softness of them surprising me. “Are you saying I need a safe word?”
“Yes.”
I sweep my lips back the other way. “Christmas.”
His eyes crinkle in the corners with his sly grin, but he doesn’t kiss me yet. I pull back so I can fully look at him, at his stunning sharp face and the flecks of gray in his hair along with the subtle hesitance in his eyes.
I cup the side of his head, feeling the mix of short and long hair under my touch. “I trust you, Samael.” I glance at the shadow-tentacles swirling at my feet before looking back into his eyes. “All of you.”
Those are the magic words, because Sam…unleashes.
Chapter thirty-one
Samael
Greer’slipsareassoft as I imagine heaven’s clouds to be, and her taste…cinnamon-spiced sugar cookies and the warmth of a loving home I’ve never had. I grip her waist and push her against the door, my aura dancing around us like tentacled waves, cocooning us in darkness.
I should be concerned that she can see my aura without me intending to show her, but right now, I’m happy she can. She sees all of me, the literal darkness, and she accepts it. Just like Remi and Kai have always accepted me.
We’ve been trying to tell you all along to give her a chance,Kai says.
“Shut up.”
Greer pulls back, lips swollen from our kiss and her hand still in my hair. “What?”
Busted.
