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head. “There has to be something, some other way.”
    “Carling said I should consult with the Oracle about it,” he said. “I don’t think a prophecy will be much use, but I’ll try anything. I plan on going to see her when we get back.”
    “Don’t write off what Grace might be able to do for you,” she said, still stroking his temple. “She’s done some strange and wonderful things.”
    The disappointments of the last several months had been so bitter and extreme that a resurgence of hope hurt. His chest felt full of ground glass. He couldn’t trust himself to say anything. Instead he gritted his teeth and merely nodded.
    When she sat back and let her hands fall to her lap, he missed her touch.
    Then he decided he wasn’t going to miss anything. Not a thing. He would grab at every last bit of life, experience everything, take everything he wanted. He knew it was a selfish decision, and he didn’t care.
    No regrets.
    He stood, pulled her upright with him and drew her into his arms. She came readily, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder. More shock shuddered through him at the rightness of it. They fit, hip to hip and shoulder to shoulder. She was more slender. He stood a little taller. Balance and counterbalance, like a lock and a key.
    He ran his fingers through her short, soft hair, and she rubbed her hands up and down his back. “I just don’t understand how somebody could do that,” she whispered. “How they could throw a curse at someone and know it will destroy their life.”
    He could do that, throw a curse and destroy someone else’s life. Or wield a weapon, or strike with his body. He could kill someone. He had, many times before.
    “I came to realize a long time ago that there are two kinds of people in the world. There are those who are wicked, and those who are not.” Julian. Phaedra. So many others he had met throughout his life. “And you are not one of them.”
    Sometimes it was a relief to close his damned eyes and exist in complete darkness. He did so and turned his face into her soft hair. She smelled unique.
    He had been an idiot earlier. Of course her scent, her body, was surprising and completely original.
    I’m going to take you, he thought. I’m going to take you even though it’s selfish, and I’m going blind, and even when I shouldn’t, because I want you too much not to.
    Because he was one of the wicked.

Chapter Six
    The protective bubble that Phaedra had drawn around Sebastian’s cabin popped, and a few moments later Bailey pounded twice on the door.
    “They’re finally gone,” Bailey called through the barrier. “The fucking fuckers.”
    Sebastian raised his voice, the deep timbre vibrating against Olivia’s cheek. “It’s about time. I’ll be right out.”
    Olivia wasn’t ready to let go of him. The hard length of his body against hers, the feel of his arms around her, all answered some kind of urgent question that she hadn’t even known she was asking. Reluctantly, she lifted her head from Sebastian’s shoulder, and they looked at each other.
    Then, moving with deliberation, he cupped the back of her neck, drew her forward and kissed her. When his firm, mobile lips met hers, she felt another much-needed answer. Her lips parted and he dove into her mouth deeply with his tongue, stunning her with the swiftness of his invasion.
    Her world whirled in a kaleidoscopic tilt. She hadn’t expected the kiss. She was still amazed that he had confided in her, and that they had embraced.
    She hadn’t expected this .
    His mouth was wet, hard and demanding. Still kissing her, he pushed her back and back, and she complied until she came in contact with the wall. His body covered hers. He took her wrists, pinned her arms over her head and shoved one muscled, jeans-clad leg between hers. His movements were so aggressive, so surprising, a shaken moan broke out of her. Dear God, he had an erection. The hard length of it pressed against