“More worried about the animal than yourself…” He seemed thoughtful all of a sudden. “Life does have more value here. Killing is so common where I come from. People war, and people die. That’s just the way of it.”

“It sounds…” Awful. “Harsh.”

“Maybe it’s because the Olympians abandoned this world. You seem to have done better without them.”

Sophie winced. “You wouldn’t think that if you watched the six o’clock news.”

He frowned. “The what?”

“I’ll explain later.” She squeezed his arm. They’d almost reached the most spectacular winter sight in the city. “Look.” She pointed as the massive ice-skating rink and huge Christmas tree came into view. Snow swirled in the air, bells jingled somewhere, and all the bright, colorful lights looked festive and wonderful.

Sophie sighed in happiness. Not everything was a mess. This was just as it should be.

“Good gods.” Piers stopped and stared. “That’s…impressive.”

“Right?” Excited, she tugged him closer. Rockefeller Center at Christmas took her breath away, and she’d seen it before, both in person and on television. “It’s not magic, like you have where you’re from, but I think it’s pretty magical.”

Nodding, Piers wrapped his arm around her shoulders while he took in the plaza. As one, they inched closer together, eliminating the gap between them. Sophie’s heart beat faster. Excitement thrummed inside her. She couldn’t imagine so easily touching anyone else, but she looped her arm around Piers’s waist and leaned her head against him. She loved how towering he was, how broad, and how freaking warm on a winter afternoon. He was the very definition of tall, dark, and handsome.

She relegated her worries about the shard and everything else to the back burner and just let herself enjoy the closeness, her body a riot of sensations she hadn’t felt in forever. And never this strongly. Sophie was starting to think she was going to try to have her wicked, wild way with Piers back at the hotel room, which would probably shock his old-fashionedness into the next world over.

And what would that be? Atlantis? She would’ve laughed at the thought if she hadn’t been so breathless.

It took a huge effort not to turn and jump on Piers, lips first. She’d never trusted someone so completely this quickly. Add to that trust a blood-sizzling attraction, and her girl parts hadn’t only woken up; they were clamoring for action.

“It’s beautiful. Stunning. Special.” Piers hugged her tighter, his jaw pressing against her forehead. Somehow, Sophie knew he meant her just as much as Rockefeller Center. Her heart clenched, and the idea of Piers being torn from her life just as quickly and surprisingly as he’d entered it suddenly made her want to hold on to him with all her strength and in any way possible.