\u201cComplicated seems like a good word for a lot of things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan shivered as Jacqueline\u2019s lips brushed his jaw.\u00a0 Complicated indeed.<\/i>\u00a0 Every time she was near, every time she kissed him good-night or good-morning, he had to remind himself that he didn\u2019t have to run this time, didn\u2019t have to push her away.\u00a0 She knew what he was and the way he was and didn\u2019t care\u2014or maybe she loved him in spite of it, or because of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should\u2019ve stayed in bed,\u201d she murmured.\u00a0 \u201cIf you don\u2019t stop pushing so hard, you\u2019ll just get caught in the same vicious cycle that Thom finally shook free of.\u201d<\/p>\n
He leaned against her for a moment, one arm snaking around her waist and drawing her tight against the side that was still tender, even weeks later.\u00a0 \u201cI had to trust Matt\u2019s instincts on this one.\u00a0 There was trouble brewing and the last thing any of us want or need is to see Thordin torn limb from limb.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacqueline peered up at him, brushing a few loose wisps of hair back from her face.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t actually<\/i> think that\u2019s what would have happened without your intervention, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I didn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled wryly and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cTensions were thick enough to smear on your toast by the time I got there.\u00a0 She still loves him, but she\u2019s angry enough right about now that she\u2019d kill him if he pushed her too far.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I hope he\u2019s not up by the fire right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou and me both.\u201d\u00a0 Phelan followed his lover\u2019s anxious gaze toward the fire, where Sif had seated herself with her back to them, facing the flames.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat made her so angry?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe died,\u201d Phelan said simply.\u00a0 Jacqueline shivered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not allowed to do that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
He grinned.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s what you guys keep telling me, anyway.\u201d\u00a0 The expression faded a moment later and he exhaled a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ll have to talk, though, before she leaves here.\u00a0 They\u2019ve got to.\u00a0 She has to tell him\u2014and he\u2019s got to tell her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell each other what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan leaned against her a little more heavily, weariness suddenly crashing over him like waves over breakers.\u00a0 \u201cEverything, Jac.\u00a0 They\u2019ve got to tell each other everything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cComplicated seems like a good word for a lot of things.\u201d Phelan shivered as Jacqueline\u2019s lips brushed his jaw.\u00a0 Complicated indeed.\u00a0 Every time she was near, every time she kissed him good-night or good-morning, he had to remind himself that … Continue reading