And his mouth never left mine. I never stopped kissing him, not even when our bodies came together, not now when they rocked together, and when the coil unraveled, releasing a flood of rippling, intense pleasure, my cries fell on his lips as he shuddered all around me, in me.

It was only when the madness ebbed, long after the last of the tremors racking both of our bodies, that our lips finally parted. I didn’t speak. Neither did he, but he still held me to him, his arms crossed over my back, and I still clutched his shoulders. He shifted, dragging his forehead across mine before he dropped it to my shoulder. His lips brushed the skin there and there was a soft nip.

Pulse slowing, I opened my eyes. The first thing I noticed was his wing. It was so close to my face that I could see that each panel of feathers was actually several smaller ones. I could see the fine network of veins glowing with grace.

I lifted a hand. The tips of my fingers brushed the downy softness—

His head snapped up and his hand was even faster. He caught my wrist, pulling my fingers back. “Don’t,” he warned, his other arm tensing around me. “They’re...”

My heart was thumping again. “They’re what?”

His eyes searched mine, but he didn’t say anything for a long moment. He just held me there for what felt like a small eternity. “I know now,” he said. “Why I come to you. It’s this.”

There was a spark of hope, but then my eyes narrowed. “It is not what we just did.”

“It’s not?” His arm tightened again, pulling me firmly against him and eliciting a gasp from me. “It’s this.” A look of arrogance settled into his features, but quickly vanished as his forehead returned to mine. “It’s more.”

The hope didn’t just spark then. It roared like a bonfire. “It is more.”

“I know.” He let go of my hand and waist, clasping my hips. He lifted me away from him in a way that was surprisingly gentle, at least for this...version of Zayne. His hands remained there for a couple of moments and then slid away. He stepped back from me, the glow easing in his skin until it was faint. “That’s why you need to stay away from me, because I will hurt you. Even if I don’t want to or mean to, the thing that’s taking up a part of me will hurt you. Stay away from me.”

Then he was gone in a fine spray of water.

I sunk back against the wall of the pool as I stared at the spot Zayne had stood.

The thing that’s taking up a part of me will hurt you.