Page 50 of Crossed By the Stars

Both men got out of the car, leaving us in silence.

“Does your father know you’re here? With me? Putting your life at risk for a Mori?” I asked now that we were alone.

Dax tried to hide the wince that went through him at my question.

“He knows I’m with you.”

“You don’t need to stay. You’ve gotten me here. Now go back to France. Get as far away as you can.”

“No.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Armaud. There’s no reason to put yourself in danger,” I grunted.

He pushed a stray hair from my face. It was a mess after falling asleep with it wet the night before. I’d barely been able to reach up to brush it this morning, let alone put it up as I’d really wanted to do.

“I’ve left you twice before when every fiber of my being told me not to. I won’t make the same mistake again.”

The words made my heart bleed, wanting them to be true but knowing the cost of making them a reality would be too great.

I ignored his tenderness, glaring at him instead. “If you expect to be stuck to my hip like some long-lost conjoined twin, you can rid yourself of that notion right now.”

His eyes lowered, a small smile stealing over his lips. “Being attached to your hip doesn’t sound like a hardship.”

I clenched my fingers, wishing for my phone.

“Flirting with me isn’t going to happen either.”

“No,mon amour? We have to fill our days somehow,” he said, voice going down a notch as his finger grazed my cheek, running down to my lips where they lingered for a second.

My entire body heated, the sore muscles taking a back seat as endorphins flew through my veins at Dax’s deep voice talking sweet nothings. There’d been a time in my life when I would have given anything for that.

I pushed his hand away and turned to open the door. He put an arm on my elbow to stop me.

“Cillian asked us to wait here while they cleared the house.”

“I’m just getting some air.”

I slid out, my head spinning slightly as my feet hit the gravel drive. I was sure the light-headedness was from lack of food as much as my injuries. I hadn’t had much to eat in the last couple of days. I put my hands to my ears, pushing them shut and then letting them go. They ached from the slight elevation change of the road, and the ringing seemed to be back in full force. It was enough to drive me over the edge, straining my already brittle and tired nerves. Even after sleeping in the car, I was still exhausted.

The passenger door on the other side slammed shut, and Dax joined me. He leaned up against the vehicle and looked down into my face.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said quietly.

I wished with every fiber of my being that I could believe him.

Dax

JUST ONE KISS

“Send me to heaven, baby

With your lips, yeah.”

Performed by Imelda May and Noel Gallagher

Written by Rossi / May / Jolliffe-bran

Vanya’s cottage was more English manorhousethan any cottage I’d ever known. It had rooms for all eight of the security detail as well as a suite right out of some historical novel. The his-and-her bedrooms in the main suite were joined by a gigantic bathroom and a sitting room full of Victorian furniture, antique wallpaper, and soft reds and golds you might expect from an Austen novel come to life. Setting Jada and me up in the suite meant I could keep the door open between the two bedrooms and hear her if she called for help.