Page 19 of The Death Dealer (Sentinels of Magic Book 2)

Trevor played what the Aether had said over in his mind. Before Damian left, he’d repeated what Soleil said.

There was no curse.

Circumstances and poor decisions had led to the loss Trev associated with Simon and his family. If that were the case, why was the weight of the past so fucking heavy?

He went in search of Soleil and found her gazing out at the beach from the hallway window. As he approached, she turned.

“Spring is livid, and rightfully so!” Temper added a steely edge to her statement. “Years’ worth of work has been destroyed. Those plants were her babies.”

Trevor remained silent. Likely, Soleil would”ve felt the same had it been her workplace. Her devastation would be complete.

“You probably think we’re foolish to look at plants like?—”

He cupped her jaw and bent to meet her fiery gaze. “Let me stop you right there, Dalli. I don’t think either of you is foolish. Especially not over a loss of that magnitude. A lot of hard work and magical energy went into your projects. I’d be furious if it were me.”

Her shoulders sagged, and sadness tugged down the corners of her mouth. “I feel so bad for her.”

“Me, too.” Trev drew Soleil into his embrace, offering comfort. “We’ll find who’s responsible, and they’ll pay for their evilness. After, you and I can help her restore whatever we can.”

“You mean that, don’t you? You’ll help her?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you. You’re such a good person.”

He snorted. “Don’t get carried away, Dalli. I’m no saint.”

For a moment,she tightened her arms, and he could sense she wanted to argue the point, but she didn’t.“I keep coming back to the rainforest project, but I can’t connect the dots.”

“It boils down to greed and corruption. Whoever has the most to gain by stopping you.”

Her head shot up and nailed him in the chin. “Oof! Sorry.” Her first action was to rub his chin, though her head must’ve been sore from the blow. But such was Soleil. Trevor was learning that she always put others above herself.

“I’m fine, Dalli.” He brushed his nose against hers. “It takes more than a hard head to break my jaw.”

She grinned at his teasing, then sobered almost immediately. “You said it was whoever has the most to gain. We’ve been fighting big pharma forever. Those corporations will go out of business if individuals can extract what they need from nature.”

“I agree. Yet how didtheyfind you and Spring? Thorne Manor and the surrounding landare well hidden. It’s difficult to believe big pharma henchmen can find her place or get past the wards. Same for you.”

She nodded slowly. “Magical means were usedto find us.”

“Yes. We need to find the connection between the two.”

“We make a good team,” she saidwith a triumphant smile.

As desperately as he wanted to agree, he held back, afraid to give her encouragement until he’d exorcised his demons.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make it sound like anything but investigative teamwork.” She drew away, and Trevor missed the feel of her in his arms.

“I didn’t take it any other way, Dalli,” he assured her. “I’m trying not to be overly sensitive to your innocent remarks.”

“Good.” She ran her palm down the buttoned seam of his shirt as if attempting to smooth the already wrinkle-free material. “That’s good.”

Trevor caught her hand and pressed it to his heart. “I want to tell you about Deni.”

She tried to tug away, but he tightened his grip. “You don’t have to, Trevor. I understand you love her.”

“Loved. Past tense.Sheleft me, Dalli, and I had to come to terms with it long ago.”

“But if she hadn’t, you’d be married by now.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” He shrugged and tangled his fingers in her thick mass of hair. When she tipped her head back into his hands, he massaged her scalp and thought about the problems Deni and he had faced. Whatever came to mind, he allowed Soleil to see. “She didn’t love me enough to stay and resolve whatever was wrong in our relationship. What did that say about our long-term success?”

“I can’t speak for her, and I certainly don’t know you well enough to comment on your past relationships or how you areas a person. But from what I can tell, you’re determined and loyal. You deserve the same.”

“Maybe I let my insecurities show.” He met her desire-laden eyes and dropped his gaze to her parted lips. “Standing here with you, I’m not sorry she left.”

Trevor lowered his head, hesitating for a heartbeat for her to meet him halfway, andthen he claimed her mouth. His languid exploration wasn’t to fire passion, although he felt it—and hers. The kiss was more about his need to connect with her. To show her what he couldn’t put into words: how much he cared, how precious she’d become to him, and the budding hope he felt for what could be a beautiful future between them.

She fisted her hands in his hair and held on tight as if she feared he’d change his mind and leave herstranded,alone in the hallway.Backing her against the wall, he pressed thefulllength of his arousal into her.

“I want you, Dalli. That’s not in question,” he said between nibbles along her jaw. “You’ve bewitched me to the point I want to cast aside my fears and take a chance.” Capturing her earlobe with his teeth, he lightly bit down before straightening to look at her passion-flushed face. “After neutralizing the threat to you and Spring, we’ll revisit this. All right?”

She frowned. “This, sex? Or this, us?”

He grinned. “Both.”

“Oh.”

“You seem disappointed.”

“Only because I want the sex right now.”

He barked a laugh and pressed a quick, hard kiss to her mouth. “I love your honesty.”

“I don’t know how to be any other way,” she said in a vulnerable voice. “I know I’m not your normal type, Trevor. I get it. But I can’t stop what I feel for you. What’s growing. I mean, I will.I’ll learn to if it’s not what you want. I’ll prune that shit off at the base. But?—”

“I love the way you are, Dalli.” He stroked her petal-soft cheek. “Whatever type I had before is no longer what I desire to have in my life. AndI don’t want you toshut your feelings down. I want them to continue to grow until they consume us both. Like mine are.”

“Why the sudden about-face?”

He could read her distrust and readily acknowledged to himself it was warranted. “After speaking with you and Damian, I’ve concluded that life is full of risks. I don’t want to miss out because I fear losing you. If I do that, I’ve already lost.”

Her sunny smile warmed the cold places of his soul. “I love that you’re willing to try.”

“It’s scary as fuck,” he admitted.

“I know. For me, too.” As she traced his lips with her fingertips, her look became thoughtful. “If whoever is after me succeeds, it’s not because of your supposed curse, Trevor. It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with whatever I stumbled into. Please tell me you understand and won’t take it to heart.”

“They won’t succeed,” he promised grimly.

“But if they do, it’s not on you.”

“If they do, I’ll be inconsolable, Dalli.” He pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. “Thoroughly destroyed.”

“You haven’t known me long enough to feel that way.”

“And yet, I do. You’ve wormed your way into my heart.”

Trevor was sayingeverything Soleil wanted to hear, yet she didn’t trust what he felt was real.

“Is this a transference of your feelings for Deni?” she dared ask. He jerked back as if struck. The dismay on his face hurt her, but she had to point out the possibility. “You loved her, Trevor, and I look like her. You thought the sameexactthing yourself at lunch.”

“I’ll admit the delayed realization that you resembled each other was shocking,” he said with a nod. “But I can discern the differences between you.”

“Differences like what?”Goddess, shehated to pry, but her need to assure herself she wasn’t sloppy seconds was vital.

“You’re not,” he said darkly.

“Not—Oh!” For a second, she’d forgotten he could see her doubts. The mind-reading thing was problematic.

“And it won’t remain a problem because you’ll learn to cloak your thoughts.” Glancing down, he clasped her hand and brought it to his lips to kiss her knuckles. “The first major difference between you is your raw honesty, Dalli. I appreciate it more than you know.”

She nodded but remained silent, waiting for him to elaborate.

“The second is your sunny disposition. Hindsight has shown me how temperamental Deni was. She always expected others to elevate her moods.” He shrugged and looked out the window, not releasing her. “I never wanted to admit it, but living with her was hard sometimes. Never knowing what I’d get when I came home from a job.Initially, she was happy to see me, butin later months,she was often demanding, wanting to know where and who I’d been with.”

“She didn’t trust you?”

“I think that was a huge part, but I didn’t understand it. Never, in the seven months we were together, did I givehera reason to believe I was unfaithful or a liar.”

“No. If anything, you’re brutally honest,” Soleil agreed.

He shot her a sharp side glance, swiftly analyzing her response. Her openness spoke for itself.

“Thanks,” he replied with a wry smile. “Yes, you’re similar in looks, but you’re in no way like her. Other than your ability to bake a mean pie.”

She laughed. “You’re saying you only love me for my baked goods?”

“No. I’m saying I love you for your beautiful soul, Dalli.”

As the truth of his words washed over her, she sucked in a breath. “Trevor. You don’t know me. You can’t possibly love me.”

“I know you,” he said. “Your heart is full, yet you continually make room for more things and people. You care for everything and everyone around you at the expense of yourowncomfort.” He ticked off the facts using his fingers. “I know you’re obsessed with Kate Bateman’s steamy historical novels. You’d also rather be in a greenhouse, with your hands in soil, than anywhere else on earth.”

“Wrong.”

His brows snapped together. “What?”

“I love my greenhouse, without a doubt. But I wouldn’t rather be there. I’d rather be in your bed,”shesaid with a saucy grin and a poke ofhischest.

He matched her grin and raised her a wicked chuckle. “Fair. But to continue?—”

“You don’t need to. You’ve got the main points correct.”

Ignoring her, he drew her against him and said, “I know you have a pure soul but a bawdy laugh that turns a man’s head and makes him rock hard. Or maybe that’s just me.”

“It feels like you, for sure.” She delighted in his groan as she rubbed her hand up and down the length of him through his jeans.

“Don’t start what you can’t finish, Dalli,” he warned.

“Who said I can’t?”

“I have to be in the dining room in two minutes.”

“Can you get off in that amount of time?” she askedcuriouslyas she continued to stroke him.

“If you continue to do that, I can.” With a sigh, he eased her hand away. “But then I’d have no energy left to heal Lily.”

Soleil smiled as she tucked her arms behind her back. “Far be it for me to suck all your energy from you.”

“Jesus! Don’t say suck, or it’s never going down.”