His arms were around her and she felt his cheek resting on top of her head. She felt safe. Safe and something else. She felt cherished. The way his arms held her, the way every inch of him embraced her-she wanted to stay here. Savor it.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, her face still buried against him. "I shouldn't be sliming up your shirt."

"Is it over?" His words tickled the top of her head.

"Is what over? My crying?" She wasn't ready to give up the wall of muscle or having his arms around her. Nor was she ready to let him see her all red and splotchy.

"No. You and Derek." His tone deepened, and she sensed it was hard for him to even ask the question.

"Yeah." She nodded her head against him.

His arms tightened around her. She almost sighed because it felt so good.

"Then you're welcome to slime my shirt," he said, and the undercurrent of anger vanished. "I don't have a lot of rules, but that's one of them. Only uncommitted girls can slime my shirt."

She chuckled.

"Is that a smile I feel against my chest?" His words stirred her hair.

"A slimy one." She snaked her hand up between their bodies to clear her face before looking up.

"I'll bet it's still beautiful."

He inched back, and in the dark woodsy light, she felt his eyes on her.

"You might lose the bet." She wanted to cover her face but would feel silly doing it.

"You're right, I would have lost." He laughed. "You don't cry pretty."

She thumped his solid chest with her palm. He laughed again.

"Come on." He fitted his hand in hers and started walking again, deeper into the woods. With the night sounds around them, she tuned her ears and waited for it to go silent-for something bad to suddenly appear.

She gave his hand a slight pull. "Let's go back the other way."

He turned and studied her. "What are you afraid of?"

"If we walk out of the woods, I'll tell you." She tried to make light of the dread gnawing at her gut.

A frown pulled at his brows. "I wouldn't let anything hurt you."

"I know, but I'd feel better if we went that way." She nodded back to the clearing.

"Fine." He began walking in that direction. "But start talking. Why are you afraid? Is it still the elderly couple?"

"No." She wished she could see the clearing of the woods ahead, but the night seemed to close in on her.

Suddenly, something dark whooshed down from a tree. She lurched back and pulled him with her. Her heart shot up in her throat. She tightened her hand in his, and with everything she had, she started to run. He ran with her, two people moving in one solid, fluid motion, his palm clutched tightly in hers.

* * *

Once they reached the clearing, Kylie stopped, bent over, and hungrily sucked oxygen into her lungs.

Finally rising, she looked at him. Out from under the thicket of the trees, night hadn't completely fallen and she could make out his features.

He stood there, watching her. He didn't gasp for air or hold his stomach the way she did. Damn it! He didn't even look winded.

Curiosity filled his eyes. "It was just an eagle."

"It was?" She looked up at the sky, which was painted with only a few lingering colors of sunset, and prayed the bird hadn't followed. Thankfully, only the first few stars of the night twinkled back at her. No eagle. At least she didn't see it.

"Did it follow us?" she asked, remembering he could see better than she could.

"No." He studied her. "Something happened, didn't it."

"Yes. Maybe. Just weird stuff." She realized she still held his hand, and while it was balmy outside, his hand felt nice. It warmed her palm in a good way, like a cup of hot chocolate, a comforting feeling. While his touch didn't hold the magic of the fae to calm one's fear, it did calm her.

"Come on." He went back to running. Fast. Then faster.

Every time she'd push herself to meet his speed, he'd increase it. Then he'd glance at her as if to make sure she wasn't having to work too hard. She got the feeling he was testing her, wanting to see just how fast she could run.

"Where are we going?" she asked, barely able to speak.

"To the creek." His voice sounded even.

His pace kept getting faster. Wanting to impress him, forgetting all about the eagle, she pushed herself to keep going. Finally, he stopped. Not prepared for the halt, she continued forward. She felt the tug on her arm where she still held his hand, and then suddenly his arm swooped around her waist.

Out of energy and off balance, she fell into him and they both went down. Not hard, or at least not for her, because she landed on top of him.

"You okay?" Her heart still pumped, her chest moving up and down as she gasped for air. As her lungs expanded again, she became aware of the intimate way her body rested against his.

He laughed. "Me okay? You're the one who can't breathe." He wrapped his arms around her. His hands rested on the small of her back.

"I can ... breathe." She laughed. Warm contentment filled her, and she realized she liked being with him. Liked being this close. Maybe too much.

She could feel every inch of his body under hers, and it made her even more breathless. She rolled off of him. The earth and grass beneath her back felt cool, especially considering how warm he had been. The sounds of the night, crickets and a few birds, sang around them. She stared through a curtain of her hair at the midnight blue sky and focused on a star flickering its brightness down from the heavens.