resembling a rich sapphire. Unique, just as the rest of him was. Sculpted jaw and winged brows, raven-black hair, and a body built for a woman's pleasure. He was hard, chiseled, and dangerously gorgeous. And he was hers. She refused to lose him.
"I know." He passed the bottle to her, then reached for his own.
The powerful muscles in his arms flexed with the movement, inciting shivers of sensual awareness in her. They'd spent all day in bed, indulging in one another, yet she wanted him still. She would always hunger for him and the physical connection that made their love a tangible thing.
"Connor would only have come if it were a matter of life or death," he said, sounding weary. "Unlike me, he was happy in the Twilight. To him this plane is probably hell."
"Great," she muttered. "Sounds promising."
Aidan had refuted the ancient prophecy of his people that said she was the Key destined to destroy his world and the human world. He had left his home in the Twilight because of his love for her. No other Guardian would have such a potent impetus.
"Don't give up hope yet." He joined her against the headboard, stretching out his long legs bared by loose khaki shorts. Dusk was rapidly turning into night, but neither of them made any effort to turn on a lamp. The bathroom door was cracked and the light spilling from there was enough for both of them.
Tipping the bottle up, Aidan drank in large gulps and then settled back with the beer in his lap. "Maybe there is a way to track the Guardians through dreams now that they're here. Maybe he brought good news."
"I hate feeling so helpless." Lyssa's fingers picked restlessly at the bottle label, her eyes drifting to the sword and scabbard lying atop a nearby chair. "I can't read your language, so I can't help you with deciphering the journals you stole."
"Borrowed indefinitely," he corrected, laughing.
She snorted. "I have no combat skills, so I can't help you fight. I don't have centuries of memories like you do, so I can't help you find the artifacts."
He reached out and stilled her restless fingers with an icy, wet hand. "That doesn't mean you're not helping. Your 'very important job' is to keep me recharged. That's why I brought you along this time."
"I wanted to come. I hate it when you're gone for days or weeks at a time. I miss you too much."
Aidan looked her with a soft smile. "I need you with me. It's not merely a matter of convenience. Every time you take a breath, you give me reason to live. Every time you smile, you give me hope. Every time you touch me, you make my dreams come true. You keep me going, Hot Stuff."
"Aidan…" Her eyes stung. He could say the corniest shit, but it never sounded corny coming from him. He put one hundred percent of his effort into everything he did—even loving her.
"I was dying before I met you."
She knew he had been. Not physically, but emotionally. Weary of the stalemate in the war against the Nightmares and disheartened by his lack of connection to anyone, Aidan had been merely surviving. Not living. He'd shared with her how lonely he had been, but he didn't have to say it aloud. She had seen the emptiness in his eyes.
"I love you." She leaned over and pressed her lips to his.
Despite their differences—which were as vast as being from two separate species—they were very much alike. Tormented by lack of dreams, she'd been too exhausted for any kind of life beyond work. Aidan's love gave her optimism for the future.
"You damn well better," he teased, cupping the back of her head and keeping her close when she would have pulled back. He licked her lips and then nipped the lower one with his teeth. She moaned in invitation.
"I want to oblige you," he whispered, "but we're going to have to leave soon."
Lyssa nodded and caught her pendant in her fist. Odd how a stone made of Nightmare ash melted into a glass-like material from the decimated Guardian homeworld could change her life. But it radiated a unique energy—a
"I know." He passed the bottle to her, then reached for his own.
The powerful muscles in his arms flexed with the movement, inciting shivers of sensual awareness in her. They'd spent all day in bed, indulging in one another, yet she wanted him still. She would always hunger for him and the physical connection that made their love a tangible thing.
"Connor would only have come if it were a matter of life or death," he said, sounding weary. "Unlike me, he was happy in the Twilight. To him this plane is probably hell."
"Great," she muttered. "Sounds promising."
Aidan had refuted the ancient prophecy of his people that said she was the Key destined to destroy his world and the human world. He had left his home in the Twilight because of his love for her. No other Guardian would have such a potent impetus.
"Don't give up hope yet." He joined her against the headboard, stretching out his long legs bared by loose khaki shorts. Dusk was rapidly turning into night, but neither of them made any effort to turn on a lamp. The bathroom door was cracked and the light spilling from there was enough for both of them.
Tipping the bottle up, Aidan drank in large gulps and then settled back with the beer in his lap. "Maybe there is a way to track the Guardians through dreams now that they're here. Maybe he brought good news."
"I hate feeling so helpless." Lyssa's fingers picked restlessly at the bottle label, her eyes drifting to the sword and scabbard lying atop a nearby chair. "I can't read your language, so I can't help you with deciphering the journals you stole."
"Borrowed indefinitely," he corrected, laughing.
She snorted. "I have no combat skills, so I can't help you fight. I don't have centuries of memories like you do, so I can't help you find the artifacts."
He reached out and stilled her restless fingers with an icy, wet hand. "That doesn't mean you're not helping. Your 'very important job' is to keep me recharged. That's why I brought you along this time."
"I wanted to come. I hate it when you're gone for days or weeks at a time. I miss you too much."
Aidan looked her with a soft smile. "I need you with me. It's not merely a matter of convenience. Every time you take a breath, you give me reason to live. Every time you smile, you give me hope. Every time you touch me, you make my dreams come true. You keep me going, Hot Stuff."
"Aidan…" Her eyes stung. He could say the corniest shit, but it never sounded corny coming from him. He put one hundred percent of his effort into everything he did—even loving her.
"I was dying before I met you."
She knew he had been. Not physically, but emotionally. Weary of the stalemate in the war against the Nightmares and disheartened by his lack of connection to anyone, Aidan had been merely surviving. Not living. He'd shared with her how lonely he had been, but he didn't have to say it aloud. She had seen the emptiness in his eyes.
"I love you." She leaned over and pressed her lips to his.
Despite their differences—which were as vast as being from two separate species—they were very much alike. Tormented by lack of dreams, she'd been too exhausted for any kind of life beyond work. Aidan's love gave her optimism for the future.
"You damn well better," he teased, cupping the back of her head and keeping her close when she would have pulled back. He licked her lips and then nipped the lower one with his teeth. She moaned in invitation.
"I want to oblige you," he whispered, "but we're going to have to leave soon."
Lyssa nodded and caught her pendant in her fist. Odd how a stone made of Nightmare ash melted into a glass-like material from the decimated Guardian homeworld could change her life. But it radiated a unique energy—a
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