“It’s going to take more than a three-foot fall to crack open my skull.”

“I don’t know,” he replied as a group of what sounded like teenagers crossed the street, heading away from us as they shouted at one another. “Stranger things have happened.”

“Not that strange.”

His head tilted. “When I was younger and just learning to fly, I misjudged a landing and fell. Broke my arm. It was only a couple of feet.”

It was rare for Wardens to suffer broken bones from something even a human would likely survive. “How old were you?”

“Six.”

I laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m not six. I’m fairly confident that I’m not going to break anything if I fall.”

“So, you’re positive, if I let go, you’re not going to come tumbling down?” he asked, and I became aware of his thumbs moving. They were slowly sliding up and down, just inside each hip bone, and I wasn’t even sure if he was aware of that.

But I was.

Totally engrossed, actually, and my pulse kicked up. A heady flush swept through me, and I did feel a little unsteady. It had nothing to do with my balance and everything to do with the way he was touching me.

“How about I make you a deal?”

“Depends on the deal.” I wasn’t aware of what I was doing until I did it. My hands landed on his. Not to pull them away, but to keep them there.

Zayne stepped in, as close as he could with me being on a wall. Our bodies weren’t touching, but the entire front of my body warmed as if we were. “If you can keep your feet on the ground—both feet,” he added, “I’ll stock the fridge with as much soda as you can drink.”

“Really?”

“Really,” he repeated, his voice deeper, thicker.

“Including Coke?”

“I’ll even throw in a couple of cases of root beer.”

“Mmm. Root beer. People who don’t like root beer are monsters. That’s a great deal.” I lowered my head, stopping a few inches from his. In the soft buttery glow of the lamp, I saw his eyes go half-mast, and the look he gave me, even if he was unaware of it, even if it meant nothing, melted me. “But I can do that all by myself and still keep both my feet off the ground and then some. I refuse your deal.”

Zayne chuckled. “Then I’m going to have to come up with a better deal.”

“Yeah, you are.”