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“I told you,” he says, his deep brogue heavier and his voice sounding gravelly. “I don’t lose control.” His lips skirt along my throat until he can kiss the sensitive spot beneath my ear. “But you make me fucking want to.”

“I don’t mind,” I assure him, curling my hands up under his shoulders to hold him closer. My lashes flutter open, finding his heavy-lidded gaze on me. My mouth parts in surprise. “Your eyes.”

They’re glowing faintly—the usual clear blue seeming to burn with some inner source of light. The colors dance and swirl in a way that feels like blue flames, and I can’t seem to look away, utterly hypnotized. I almost imagine a sharp prick against my throat, my scalp, but I’m too mesmerized by the way Lachlan bites his lip as he stares hungrily at my mouth.

I don’t feel fear, just that all-encompassingwantthat’s overriding my ability to think, and I lean in, ready to beg for more—for anything he’ll give me, really—and I’m opening my mouth to tell him that. To tell him he can do anything. That he canhaveanything. That he can—

Crack.

We both startle as another plank from the floor above crashes against the old bed, Lachlan tugging me closer to shield me with hisbody. I can feel how fast his chest rises and falls with each breath when he crushes my face there, and I can feel the rapid beating of his heart even through the layers of his sweater and the shirt beneath. It makes me smile softly against the warm fabric, knowing he’s just as affected as I am.

“Maybe this isn’t the right place to be doing this,” I say into his sweater.

I feel his chest move as he chuffs. “Perhaps not.”

I pull away as he looks down at me, and I notice that the glow from moments ago has left his eyes, leaving the usual light blue behind. Still beautiful, but definitely less arresting.

“I…”

His eyes search my face as if he’s trying to think of some way to explain what just happened, looking like he doesn’t quite understand himself. Not that I can blame him. Yesterday, I was pretty sure I wanted to trip him with a large branch. Today…Well.Right nowI’m just thinking about the way his mouth tastes.

“I know,” I say, saving him. “That was…something.”

“Mm.” He grins wickedly, leaning down to brush his lips against mine in a barely there kiss. “If I’d known this was the way to make you more agreeable, I might have done it sooner.”

I smack his chest, rolling my eyes. “Ass.”

“You didn’t think that would change because of a few kisses, did you?”

His voice is teasing, and it’s that fact alone that has me chuckling instead of kicking him in the shins. It’s an awkward affair as he starts to untangle himself from me, and I swear, part of me is incredibly disappointed with the sudden distance. Part of me wants to yank him back and demand he kiss me again like he just did.

But this really isn’t the right place for it.

Lachlan clears his throat, his fists clenching at his side as he pointedly looks away from me. “How do we get out of here? Should I give you a boost?”

“Yeah, you might have to,” I tell him, looking around.

I’m not thrilled at the idea; with my luck, the rest of the floor will give way as soon as I grip the edge of the hole to pull myself out, but I don’t see any other options, considering that this room seems to have no exit.

My brow furrows.

That doesn’t make sense…Does it?

I remember what I saw upstairs that led to me falling down here in the first place—a groove of sorts in the wall that, while inconspicuous, didn’t seem…quite right. With that in mind, I turn toward the wall behind us, running my hands over the stone in a wide arc.

“What are you doing?”

I shake my head. “I’m not sure. It just feels…off.”

“Off?”

“Yeah. I can’t explain it. It’s like…”

I frown, my hands stilling. Now that my heart rate has slowed and my mind isn’t one big chant ofLachlan Lachlan Lachlan—I can feel bits of the energy that had surrounded me while we assessed the carvings on the wall. The carvings left by mymagic ancestor, no less.

It’s like…a presence, almost. A heaviness in the air. A whisper of…somethingthat’s urging me to do…something.

Honestly, this magic business sort of sucks ass so far.