Free Intoxicating Magic by Deanna Chase Page B

stood.
    He jumped up, his fur matted flat against one side of his face.
    I laughed. Doggie bed head. “Let’s go out.”
    Talisen jumped up and shoved his feet in his boots. “Let me take him. It’s cold out. Not to mention, if Asher’s minions have found this place and have started watching it, I don’t want you to be spotted.”
    “But spotting you and Link is okay?” My tone was skeptical.
    “No. Not okay exactly, but I can talk my way out of that scenario. If you’re spotted, it’s over.”
    I nodded and watched as my two favorite men disappeared out the front door. A stinging chill whipped through the cabin, settling into my bones. It was early spring and normal for the temperature to drop several degrees at night. With no hope of lighting a fire, I rummaged around the cabin searching for blankets. In the one and only closet, I found an old quilt and a cotton thermal blanket. Neither were enough for one person. I closed my eyes and sighed. We were going to need body heat if either of us wanted to get any sleep.
    An odd mix of excitement and nervousness made my stomach do backflips. The thought of being wrapped in Tal’s arms all night made me ache for his embrace. But this wasn’t the way I wanted it to happen. Out of necessity. Not to mention, I hadn’t forgiven him for leaving me in the first place. Maybe it wouldn’t get that cold.
    Goddess, I hoped not.
    I pulled the Murphy bed down from the far wall and made it up with the pillows and blankets I’d found in the closet. Then I stood there staring at the bed, my heart fluttering out of control.
    The door banged open on a gust of wind. Link bounded in, shaking aggressively. White flakes of snow splattered around him.
    “Damn,” I muttered. Snow in the area was rare, but not unheard of.
    “It’s coming down pretty hard,” Talisen said, brushing the flakes off his head.
    I stood there, stupidly staring at his flushed face and the moisture clinging to his dark blond hair. He was so handsome, rugged with his stubble, and athletic. So alive. Nothing like the vampires I’d been hanging out with. David had a tan now, but he was too perfect. Too sculpted. Not… real. Talisen was a hot-blooded male from head to toe, and I wanted nothing more than to be wrapped in his embrace.
    When I didn’t speak, his eyes shifted to the Murphy bed. I watched him, fingering the hem of my sweater.
    He let out an audible breath as he blinked a few times. Then his face and body relaxed. He turned to me, transformed into the easygoing Talisen I’d known my entire life. “Right or left?”
    “Huh?” My throat was dry and the question came out as more of a croak.
    Talisen’s smile widened, and I swear I saw a sparkle of mischief in his emerald eyes. He jerked his head toward the bed. “Which side do you prefer?”
    The fact that he didn’t even know seemed so unreal to me. We’d been together for such a short time we hadn’t even learned the most basic things about each other. At least basic intimate things. Though he did know exactly how to touch me to make me shiver. A tingle ran up my spine at the thought.
    Stop that! The last thing I needed was unrealistic fantasies. Tonight definitely was the worst time to be picking at that thread. “The right,” I finally said when the silence became too deafening.
    He chuckled and moved to the left side, kicking his shoes off as he went. “Come on, Wil. Lighten up. It’s not like we’ve never shared a bed before.”
    I scoffed. Yeah, but the last time he’d held me all night, making me feel safe and loved, had been a few days before he’d left. I didn’t know if I could handle being so close to him with the mile-wide gulf still between us.
    His smile vanished. “Willow?”
    “Yeah?” I jerked my head up, startled out of my thoughts.
    Slowly he walked over to me, holding a hand out.
    I didn’t move to take it.
    “It’s okay. I promise. I’ll be a perfect gentleman. We both know that without a heat source we’re