Daughter of Tide and Illusion

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Lyv wanted to be mad. Wanted to not be affected by the hurt and sadness in Jai's tone. Wanted to yell at Gideon for not being a little more forceful in saying she didn't want them there, not when she knew Jai was more than likely going to get hurt. Wanted to send them back to Ajolak as quickly as possible...

But one look at Jai after Lyv told him to wait...that hopeful expression in his gaze as she finally met his eyes...and she was pretty much a puddle right there in the sand.

He hadn't changed much in the eight months they'd been apart. She'd forgotten just how big he was, towering over her with her head just to his chest, his upper body broad and well-muscled and legs strong. She remembered what it was like to be held in his arms, especially when those memories caught her off-guard during the day and when she dreamed about them almost every night.

His throat bobbed when he swallowed as he looked down at her, the white scars from the minette spider venom barely showing under the collar of his leather jacket.

Though his dark hair was pulled back, it looked like he'd trimmed it by the few strands that escaped the leather tie holding it back. He'd definitely trimmed his beard, though. It wasn't as full as it had been the last time she'd seen him in Ayveri, but looked like it had grown over the past month they'd been traveling.

That only made her gaze go to his lips, remembering the taste and feel of him.

And then her eyes met his...and she was happily drowning.

"Hi," she whispered, still absentmindedly playing with the hem of her bloodied shirt. Gods, no wonder he had been so worried when he finally saw her. It was soaked.

A calming peace settled around him and began to envelope her in comfort, every emotion she'd felt from him swirling to a slow stop. And when the corner of his mouth pulled up...yes, she was a puddle once more. "Hello, princess."

Lyv's gaze dropped to his chest again. It didn't help that he'd taken a step closer.

"Really, though...there is a reason I didn't want you here," Lyv told him again. "Why couldn't you just listen to the warning I had Gideon give you?"

"You honestly think I care when it comes to you?"

"But I care, Jai. I can't...I won't..."

"Well, I can't and won't go. Not after what just happened. Not after what happened back in Dalcaine and Escarral. After everything we've gone through in these last few years."

Lyv shook her head as she looked back up at him, heaving out a sigh. "You really are a stubborn bastard, you know that?"

That slight upturn of his lips turned into a full-blown grin. "Oh, I know. It's one of my most charming qualities."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Definitely."

"Keep telling yourself that."

Jai's laugh made her stomach twist into a knot, but it trailed off as he looked down at her hands, still playing with her hem. It took her a moment to realize what he was looking at – the engagement ring he'd given her. Even the memory of his question and her answer had shifted Amory's face to Jai's...especially when he had been trying to tell her who he really was when he began to slowly remove his glamour. She'd worn it every day since she left Dalcaine on the ring finger of her left hand, which was not where she'd had it the last time they'd been together.