ed for the brass lever and yanked the door open. But he paused again. His gaze slid over her and something indefinable flickered in his amber eyes. His hand slipped into his pocket and he retrieved one more gift for her.
Handing over a box, he said, “This is a very precious family heirloom. I wouldn’t want to give it to anyone other than you. Now or ever.”
Her brows knitted together and she gnawed her lower lip as she debated removing the lid to see what was inside. Was there a point to accepting something that clearly meant so much to him?
Taking the decision out of her hands, he removed the lid himself. She gaped. The necklace lying in thick satin folds was, by far, the most stunning thing she’d ever laid eyes on, with the exception of Darien’s sculpted body. Involuntarily, her fingers gently grazed the raised, diamond-studded center of the star. The piece was delicate and mesmerizing.
“I realize you won’t be able to wear it in the village,” he said. “There would be questions as to where it came from. And I wouldn’t want it to be a homing beacon for rogue demons. They’d know it belongs to me.”
“Then why…?” Her gaze lifted. “Oh.” Realization quickly dawned, with the help of the territorial look in his eyes. “You didn’t give this to me when you first arrived because you’d planned to present the idea of me marrying Michael. Now that you’re convinced I have no intention of ever doing that… You want to stake your claim. Even if it’s just in theory.”
“Yes.” He didn’t apologize for the convoluted idea.
“You don’t have to give me jewelry to prove that point.”
“It’s symbolic. Like…a ring on your finger.”
Her heart sank. “One you can never place on me.”
“Right.”
But could she wear his necklace? She only needed to contemplate this for a brief a moment, understanding the gesture and its meaning. Yes, she could wear it. Even if it was only in the privacy of her own home.
Despite this, she said, “It’s a bit much, Darien. Too extravagant.”
“Jade, nowhere is it dictated you have to live without an extravagance from time to time. You make a wage at the tavern, but what do you spend it on, other than food and clothing?”
“I’m saving my money,” she said. “Maybe I’ll take a trip to California someday. See what all the fuss is about electricity.”
He fought a grin. “Take the necklace.” He lifted it from the satin and set the box on the small table next to the door. Placing it around her neck and securing it in the back, he said, “It looks just right on you.”
The star sat below the hollow of her throat. Her fingers grazed it again, then she stared up at Darien. “You’ll come for it when you find someone else, right?”
“There won’t be anyone else,” he said with conviction. “I’ll come for it when you pass.”
“Already thinking of that?”
He nodded, his eyes clouding once again. “Not in a morbid way, but it is a glaring reality.”
“Yes it is. And I’m glad you’ve accepted that fact.”
His jaw clenched. “I haven’t. Not fully.” He kissed her, then crossed the threshold.
“Darien,” she called out before he’d left her patio.
He glanced at her over one impossibly broad shoulder, his expression grim. Her heart plummeted further.
“It’s a certainty,” she told him. “Something you absolutely have to accept. Sooner rather than later.”
He said nothing, just continued on his way. He mounted his beautiful Arabian in a fluid movement. Then they galloped off, leaving her standing in the doorway, getting chilled to the bone.
She locked up and returned to the bedroom. The fires were still burning, so she remade her bed and settled between the sheets with her romance novel and her introduction to Mr. Darcy. A man who could, in no way, shape or form, compare to the one she’d fallen for.
* * * * *
Two weeks passed as October drifted into November. The snow continued to fall and the village remained blanketed by the pristine white Jade looked forward to every year. Though the temperatures were in the low forties and sometimes dipping into the thirties during the day and the cloud cover rarely dissipated, the crisp air felt invigorating.
She kept to Darien’s order, allowing one of the slayers to escort her to and from her cottage when she went into the village, despite there no longer being a threat against her. The evil she’d sensed with the fire wraith had vanished. No one tracked her and she felt a measure of safety with Tanner and Walker always nearby. Plus, she knew Morgan was out there somewhere, on the other side of the border.