“Afraid?” Her voice was soft and girly, and she hated the way it sounded, the way she felt. After so long, she shouldn’t be this meek.

He nodded.

“Of what?”

“You. Me. All the things that aren’t making any sense . . .” His words weren’t much more than a whisper.

“I can’t explain all of that, but—”

“I still want to be here, to be with you.” His voice was so low that if he pulled away, she wasn’t sure she’d hear what he was saying. He didn’t let go of her; he stayed kissably close, waiting for her, giving her the choice to decide what happened next.

“I want you here too.” She flattened her palms against his chest. Under the skin, his heart was racing, beating as rapidly as hers was. In this, they were well matched—except her pulse raced with excitement and his with fear.

“You live in a cave, Rika.”

“I do.”

He hesitated even longer before speaking this time. Haltingly, he asked, “Is he . . . Sionnach, is he your . . . something?”

Rika hesitated, not knowing the answer as clearly as she did yesterday. All she could say of what she did know was: “Sometimes I think he’s my friend, but I’m not always sure.”

Jayce nodded.

“I don’t know if it’s the weirdness or you saving me or . . .” His words faded, and he took a shuddering breath. “I know I should step back and think because I’m pretty sure that getting tangled up with you is risky. You were in a fight tonight, and we ran faster than is possible, and . . . you live in a cave.”

“I know.”

“I want to know you.” He paused. “If I stay, will you answer any of my questions?”

She didn’t know what to say. She was bound by rules, and she couldn’t break them without either consequences or permission. Jayce was appealing enough to make her consider it, but she would prefer another solution—one that didn’t involve him knowing what she was. She wasn’t looking for forever. Forever wasn’t something she intended to ever seek again. What she wanted was something brief, intense, real for a while. She wanted to burn up under the wanting. If she were a modern girl, a mortal girl from his time, she’d lean up and kiss him, solve the dilemma.

After a moment, she whispered, “Just kiss me. It doesn’t have to lead to anything. Just a kiss.”

Jayce brushed his closed lips against hers. It wasn’t enough. After so long being alone, after watching him and loving him in the only way she knew how, she was finally in his arms and all she wanted was the kiss she’d dreamed of in secrecy. He wasn’t giving her that, so she broke the rules. She said, “I’m not human, but I used to be a very long time ago.”