“Plus five?”
“Her standards have never been, shall we say . . . high.” Rowan smiled. “When we were teens, we’d rate guys, with everyone starting out as a one and we added points. You know, body, smile, hair, personality . . . of course.” She raised an eyebrow. “We could always take away points, too.”
“So a plus five is in the middle?”
“You got it. Plus ten is the highest you can score.” She shrugged. “There weren’t a lot of plus tens in Salem, that’s for sure.” She paused and nodded toward the house. “Abigail is as crazy as Hannah.”
Great. As if one crazy witch wasn’t enough to deal with. “I hope she’s not packing a bagful of extraextra specials.”
Rowan laughed at that. “No. That’s not Abigail’s thing. She’s more of a healer. I think she would have just about died if she’d shot you the other day.”
Good to know. He decided he liked Abigail, sight unseen.
“And Kellen?” He asked the question that had been at the back of his mind all night and watched her closely.
Her expression changed—she glanced away, lips tightened. Gone was any lightness that had been there. His jaw clenched as he waited for her answer. The man meant a lot to her.
“I don’t want to talk about Kellen,” she said carefully.
Small puffs of mist shot from her nostrils, and as his eyes adjusted to the changing shadows her features sharpened. Their eyes met and held, and the silence became a heavy, living thing that wrapped them both in a cocoon of their own making. It was intimate. Secretive.
He was aware wh
en her breathing changed. When her pupils dilated and her heart rate sped up.
“Rowan—”
“Have you ever felt like doing something you know you shouldn’t?” A long wisp of hair blew across her face. His gaze lingered there as she tucked it behind her ear.
He knew where she was going. Hell he wanted to follow her, but it was a dangerous path—for both of them. Azaiel paused for a few seconds. Gathered his thoughts. “If you have to question whether something is right or wrong Rowan, always go with wrong.”
She licked her lips, slowly, with care, and still their eyes never left each other’s. “Why does wrong feel so . . . right sometimes?”
They were approaching a line that shouldn’t be crossed. He felt it. Rowan knew it, and she didn’t give a damn. It was in the way her body moved as she took the remaining steps that separated the two of them, a graceful, seductive glide over the cold, wet leaves at her feet. Her scent reached his nostrils, and his body tightened even more, the blood rushing through his veins like a drug from a needle.
“Wrong always feels right,” he answered woodenly. “It’s why hell is full of lost souls who weren’t strong enough.”
Her mouth opened slightly, in a provocative, feminine way that drew his attention like a heat-seeking missile about to launch. He caught sight of her even, white teeth and the small, delicate, moist tongue that teased him with a peek. Her mouth was meant for sliding, for licking, nibbling, and moaning sounds of pleasure into a lover’s ear.
Such need arose in Azaiel that the heat of it, the very rush of it through his body, was painful. He clenched his hands into fists as muscles tightened and strained even more. He grimaced—wanting her to leave—wanting her to slide against him and prolong the torture. It had been so long since he’d felt this kind of pain.
This kind of need.
He took a step back, suddenly thinking his chances were a hell of a lot better with the damn donkey. An arrogant ass he could handle, but Rowan? She was a different animal entirely, and this was a very, very bad idea. He’d hurt her. It’s the one thing he managed to do without fail. Hurt and disappoint.
“I won’t do this Rowan.”
She reached for him, and he watched the leaf she’d held dance in the air, twirling slowly as it fell to the ground between them.
“Don’t go,” she whispered. “Not yet.” Her hand was warm on his forearm, and a muscle worked its way along his jaw as he struggled to remain calm and in control.
“You don’t know what you ask.”
Her eyes changed. “I know exactly what I’m asking. I know exactly what I want.”
“I’m not a nice man, Rowan. In fact I’m the most flawed creature you’ll ever meet.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t scare easy.”