“And you’ve done well. You’ve prospered.” Ethan reached out and took her hand.
Her fingers tingled, just a tiny spark that she doubted he’d intentionally given her, but every spark was power lost. Didn’t he understand that was what they all feared—giving away their precious light because they couldn’t help themselves?
Bryn cleared her throat. “Thank your friends for keeping it in their pants.”
He pursed his mouth. Humor shone in his dark eyes. “I’ll do that.” He stroked his thumb slowly over her palm.
Another tingle worked its way up her arm. She narrowed her eyes. “You’re doing that on purpose, aren’t you?”
“Is it working?” he murmured.
Were her breasts tingling? Did she feel a tug in her groin? Oh, yeah. “It’s been only five hours since we last made love.”
He arched a brow. “You’ve never called it that before. As I recall, you call it fucking, as in ‘fuck me hard, troll’.”
Bryn’s jaw dropped. “Is that how I sound to you?”
“Did I complain?”
“No, but…it was hardly respectful.”
“Seeing as you were allowing me to fuck you, I didn’t mind one bit.”
Bryn lowered her head. “I guess I’m having a bit of trouble wrapping my mind around it all. You being a troll,” she whispered. “Me wanting you so much.”
He lifted her face with a finger and bent toward her. “You can call me what you like. So long as you continue to want me.”
But it wasn’t just attraction. Wasn’t merely the call of her witchy libido. She stared into his eyes and realized she’d felt drawn to him, pulled closer and closer by invisible bonds since the start. “I don’t want to think of you as being beneath me. Of me being superior or more important. You’ve proven you’re smart and capable and in control of your base instincts. While I’m…” She was the one who whirled out of control every time he touched her.
Ethan kissed her. Maybe just to shut her up, but she didn’t care. She bunched his shirt in her fists and pulled him closer. “I can’t get enough of this, of you,” she said, closing her eyes and rubbing her cheek against his.
He brought his arms around her and hugged her hard, rocking on his heels, soothing away her riotous thoughts. Standing in the circle of his arms, she felt somehow…complete.
Her heart slowed, her body relaxed. Sparks flew along her skin as he rubbed her back. She imagined herself spilling into him and released a bit of moonlight. Shared it with him. Happy to do it.
When she pulled away, she gave a laugh, feeling sheepish over her upwelling emotions. They barely knew each other, and here she was falling in love. But what did he feel?
Ethan kissed her forehead. “Better now?”
“I am.”
“You should stay inside.”
“I know.” She sighed again. “Why are you here? Is it your turn to circle the porch?”
“I felt you.”
She canted her head. “What do you mean?”
“You were agitated, and I felt it.”
Her eyes widened. “That’s unusual.”
“Not when you’re bonded, or so I understand.”
“I never felt that way with Merrick.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Should have been your first clue.”