Free Spiritbound by Dani Kristoff Page B

offered friendship.
    He realised if he wanted more from her, he was going to have to demand it. She was too wounded to freely give to him. It wasn’t just the betrayal that day when they were kids. There had been years of suffering at the hands of others. It didn’t take him long to get the full story of how she’d been treated during his time away. The slights he’d witnessed recently were only mild in comparison to her school years. Her family had supported her, and that was all. Her family was her centre, and he understood that. But was it enough? Was it a full life?
    There was too much angst and stormy waters churning through broken bridges for her to be open with him. She’d said as much when he’d asked her to touch his mind like she had when she was a child. He could mind speak her, but he couldn’t reach out and touch like she had the power to do.
    He did not share with her his own family’s animosity towards the Denholm clan, and he couldn’t think of a way to shift it. Not right then. They didn’t know he was with Grace now, in this house. He made sure to keep the boundaries of his life tight, and as much as he loved his family, he wasn’t about to tell them every single thing that he did or reveal who he was intimate with. There was time enough to deal with that when he’d decided to settle down.
    He’d learned a lot about Grace; enough to know that she had an amazing courage that stood against what the members of the coven had thrown at her. She was a bit of a prodigy with her talent, able to touch people’s essences, their souls. That was why she’d been able to summon the spirit of her cat all those years ago. At that time, she hadn’t understood the boundaries between life and death. Now, she was so controlled she wasn’t using her talent at all. That was a damn shame. Yes, necromancy was strongly associated with dark magic, forbidden magic, but there had to be ways to use her ability for good.
    The subsequent tutoring from the elders had not only enhanced her skills, but taught her to navigate between life and death so that she couldn’t commit that awful sin of bringing back the dead again. Yet her talent gave her many advantages, such as being able to understand people, find hidden spells and dark motivations. He grinned, thinking of their match that afternoon. She was strong in mental agility too. She easily matched his own. She’d make a strong warrior if she chose. He considered her spirit, so light and airy after a lifetime of shame and ostracism. It had taken her a lot of inner strength to turn out as well she did, given the circumstances. He could only admire her.
    Holding her close tested his vow not to make love to her. He sensed that she was dreaming and he was sorely tempted to take a peek inside. He’d could only skim the surface, not touch her essence. He remembered when she had reached out to him, and in their innocence they had shared parts of themselves. Was that a fluke? Could they do such a thing again? It was so long ago.
    Grace changed positions but Declan wasn’t ready to turn away from her, so he manoeuvred her so that she lay along his body, her face on his shoulder, her arm across his middle. Her knee rested on his. He lay there with Grace in his arms, staring at the ceiling and trying not to think about his arousal.
    Grace’s consciousness rose up from her dream. She was in that in-between space where being not quite aware, she would answer questions if asked.
    ‘Grace?’
    ‘Mmm.’
    ‘You’re a virgin, aren’t you?’ he whispered in her ear. She mumbled something incomprehensible but he knew that was it. What else could she be? Unless she’d taken up with humans, she was bound to be untouched. There weren’t that many warlocks in the coven and she had been shunned. No one would date her for fear of her necromancy.
    The kisses they had shared that night were more than special, knowing that he was probably the only one. Yet it also worried him because