“It’s Sunday night,” Nicole said, returning a copy of Jane Eyre to the shelf. She puffed a breath as the leather binding slid against the wood. “I was supposed to go over to Kevin’s tonight. Guess I need to call him now and let him know I won’t be coming.”

“Who’s Kevin?”

Nicole started a little at the sound of Shay’s voice. Sure, she knew he was there, but he hadn’t exactly been talkative. He’d been so quiet that Nicole felt like she’d been talking to herself all day. So much so, that somewhere along the way she’d lost track of what she’d said aloud and what she’d kept in her head.

She hoped it wasn’t anything too embarrassing. Not that there was anything all that embarrassing to say about Kevin.

“He’s a friend of mine,” she said, poking her head out the side of the aisle. Shay was still standing behind the counter, draped in shadows, looking all mysterious. The look fit him. “He’s part of my game league.”

Shay leaned forward, just enough for his face to come into the light. Little crinkles dug into the space between his eyes.

“What kind of games do you play with Kevin?”

There was something about his voice, a concerned note. No…that wasn’t quite right. It sounded closer to jealousy.

“Board games, mostly. Sometimes card games.” She laughed and shot him a questioning look as she moved closer. “Why? What kind did you imagine we were playing?”

“I didn’t know,” he said, his voice a little too even. “That’s why I asked.”

“Really?” she said, drawing out the word, imbuing it with as much skepticism as she could muster. “Because it sounded like you were worried I was spending my nights doing something far more exciting.”

“That isn’t it.” He crossed his arms. The pose made him look big, but also very defensive. “I don’t mind what you do in your own time.”

Nicole shot him a wicked smile. “Good. Then maybe I’ll invite Kevin over here and we can all play strip poker.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said, his voice suddenly stern.

“Whoa there, tiger.” She winked. “I’m just joking. I don’t play strip poker with Kevin. At least, not on Sunday.”

He didn’t laugh, but the scowl faded from his face. His eyes narrowed, and he gave her a long studying look.

“You’re teasing me,” he said.

“And you’re catching on.”

She had the distinct feeling no one had ever teased him before. She could understand why. The amount of power running through his veins was enough to scare off even the most resilient jokers.

“So, you don’t take off your clothes for this Kevin?”

Nicole stilled at the sincerity in his voice. The faint note of hopefulness…or maybe that was inside her. With every hour that passed she was having a harder time knowing where he ended and she began.

“No.” The smile crept back on her face. “Not with Kevin. Not with anybody right now.”

“Good.”

It was a simple statement, but Nicole didn’t want to think too hard about what Shay meant when he said it. So, she turned, went over to the front door, closed it up, and threw the lock.

She didn’t turn around, though. Not right away. Instead, she looked out at the long shadows slowly creeping down the street and the warm glow of the street light switching on.

“Well, we survived another business day,” she said. “The building is still standing, and there’s no sign of the fae.”

“Yet,” Shay’s voice carried across the empty store.

Nicole’s shoulders tightened. Yet. He was right. Marrow was out there somewhere.

But he wasn’t here now.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” she said.

“So, you plan to go on living your life as normal until Marrow reappears?”

She turned around and found Shay standing out in the open on the other side of the counter. It was almost as if he’d been waiting for the store to close to step back into the light.

“I wouldn’t exactly call this normal,” she said.

“No?” He didn’t sound convinced. “Are you’re still planning on opening the store everyday?”

Nicole shrugged. “It’s my responsibility”

Shay shook his head. He really wasn’t buying her arguments. “You keep smiling and laughing like nothing’s wrong.”

“Would things get better if I sulked or cried?”

“No.” He walked toward her, each step slow and deliberate. “But you haven’t even spoken to your parents about what’s happening here.”

“That’s because I don’t want them to come home early,” she explained. “They’re safer on vacation in Maui. Bringing my father home would only give Marrow two targets to go after instead of one.”

She didn’t bother keeping the annoyance out of her voice. She understood that he was concerned, but she didn’t like the inference that she wasn’t. This was her store, after all. This was her life. And she’d already proved that she was willing to risk a hell of a lot to protect it.

“Besides,” she went on, trying not to get flustered when he stopped right in front of her. “I’m not going on with my life as normal. Like I said, I’m canceling my plans.”

“Game night with Kevin is hardly a major sacrifice.”

A rush of hot blood flushed her cheeks. Was this the kind of crap he’d been thinking to himself while he stood in silence all day?

“You only say that because you don’t know what it means to have friends.”

The second the words were out Nicole’s mouth, she regretted them.

“I’m sorry.” She raised her hand and pressed in against his chest, right over his heart. “I don’t know why I said that. The stress is no excuse.”

Shay gazed down at her. His eyes were dark, but she could still make out the glow of embers burning just underneath. What she didn’t see was any sign of hurt or anger.

“Don’t apologize,” he said. “You’re right. Connection isn’t valued where I come from. Neither friendship nor love.”

Nicole’s hand still trembled against his body. Somehow that didn’t make her feel like any less of an ass.

So, what did jinn value? She didn’t have to guess. He’d already told her.

“You value respect,” she said.

He nodded.

“Well, you’ve got mine by the truckload.”

“Because I can protect what’s yours.” The even tone of his voice shot straight through her heart. He wasn’t asking a question. He was stating a cold, hard fact.

Now Nicole didn’t just feel like an ass. She knew she was one. A huge one.

Shay was right. She didn’t respect him. She respected his power. There was a difference. Just like there was a difference between lusting after his face and body, and liking the man inside.

Fortunately, these were the kind of problems she knew how to solve.

She pulled her hand away and started for the front counter. “Chinese or Thai?”

“Excuse me?”

“Which do you like better, Chinese food or Thai?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“How about Thai, then?” Nicole winked at him as she pulled the store’s phone from the charger. “You strike me as someone who appreciates the spicy stuff.”

His eyes narrowed. “What are you planning?”

“A way for us to get to know each other better,” she said. “To learn to respect each other. To become friends.”

He arched a brow. “How do you plan on that?”

“The best way I know how,” she said. “Board games and takeout.”

“No. You can’t kill an orc that way,” Nicole said with a deep sigh—one of dozens she’d made in the last hour.

“Of course I can.” Shay laughed. “I’ve done it countless times.”

“Not in this game you haven’t,” she said, lifting her head. She was belly down on his living room floor, her chest up on bent forearms, her feet cocked up in the air behind her.

It was a position Shay liked. The angle gave a tantalizing view down the deep V of her shirt. Unfortunately, it also made it harder to think about killing orcs.

“In this game you need an enchanted arrow.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Shay said. “Their hide is far too tough for an arrow tip, no matter how enchanted. It would be a waste of time to even try, especially when I could simply use my magic and make their blood boil, cooking them from the inside out.”

The corners of Nicole’s mouth turned down at his description. She let the noodles she held in her chopsticks drop back inside their container.

“First, ew,” she said. “Second, you’re not a jinni in the game.”

“I don’t see why not,” he said.

Another sigh. Another heated look in her eyes. She was right. He did like game night…just not for the reasons she imagined.

“Because there are no jinni characters in this game,” she said. “You can only play as an elf, a goblin, or a sorcerer.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“You already said that.” Nicole picked up a multi-sided die and tossed it onto the board. “But moving on. Since you insist on trying to cast a spell while playing as a non-magical being—”

“I refuse to lower myself to the level of a sorcerer,” he said. “Not even for a game.”

“—you, of course, fail in your attack, and the orc hits back taking away fifteen of your health points.”

“Fifteen?” he said. “Is that a lot?”

“Well, it’s not nothing.” She took another bite from the white container in front of her, licking the stray drops of sauce from her full lips after she’d sucked the noodles into her mouth. “If I were you I’d use your next move to rest up at the local tavern.”

“A tavern.” A smile spread across his face as he reached for his beer and took a drink. “Now there’s someplace I wouldn’t mind going.”

“Really. You don’t strike me as a big drinker.” Her gaze pointedly slid over to his bottle of beer, the one he hadn’t taken more than three sips from in the last half hour.

Shay shook his head. “Taverns offer a lot more than drink.”

“Do they?” Nicole perked up. She pulled her legs underneath her and sat up. “Tell me more.”

Her sudden interest was adorable.

Adorable? When had ever thought to describe someone that way? Still, the description fit. Her eyes sparkled with interest. An expectant smile pulled at her lips. Her cheeks lifted up, full and round.

“I thought you knew everything about the Realm.” He cocked a brow, attempting to tease her.

He must have succeeded, because her smile grew as she raised her chin in mock indignation.

“Well, yeah,” she said. “But all my stories came secondhand. They were all passed down through several generations. I’ve never talked to someone who’s actually been there.”

“You’ve been talking to me all day.”

She reached across the board and playfully slapped his arm. Her hand trailed down his upper arm and came to rest on the curve of his inner elbow. He didn’t call attention to her touch. He didn’t want her to pull away.

“Come on,” she begged. “Tell me what it’s like there.”

“There?” he asked. “The Realm is a big place. Not quite as large as your world, but just as diverse. No two places are exactly alike.”

“Well, then,” she said, inching herself even closer. There was nothing calculated in her movement. She just wanted to be closer to him. No other motivations buzzed inside her soul. “Tell me about this tavern that had you smiling.”

“I was thinking of one just outside of the western woods that I used to frequent,” he said. “It was small, and secluded. Far from any fae city.”

Her eyes sparkled with interest. “But you didn’t go for the beer.”

“No, I went for the people,” he said. “Taverns are mess of creatures coming and going, traveling, searching.”

“Searching…for you?” Her brow quirked up inquisitively.

Once again…adorable.

“Occasionally,” he admitted.

“So, people come looking for you to work some mojo,” she said. “And the tavern was kind of like your office.”

“In a way.” He didn’t want to admit to her that most times he thought of them more as hunting grounds. “It didn’t matter where I roamed. Those who felt truly desperate always found their way to me.”

“Felt?” She narrowed her eyes. “I take it you didn't believe their situations were serious.”

The smile slid from Shay’s lips as he stared into Nicole’s deep brown eyes.

“I never once met a creature who didn’t regret the price they paid for wishing I would solve their problems.”

Nicole met his gaze without flinching. Not even a glimmer of shame sparkled in her eyes. “And you think I’m going to regret it too?”

“I know you will,” he said.

She gave her head a defiant shake. “The difference is I have a plan.”

“That’s what they all said.”

Her gaze faltered for a moment, her eyelids dipping down. When she raised them back up again, some of the resolve had slipped from her eyes.

“And what happens to a soul when it becomes completely yours?”

Shay picked up his bottle and took a drink. “You don’t want to know.”

“Yeah.” Her voice was strong. So was her grip as she squeezed his arm. “I do.”

He grit his teeth. He’d known this getting to know you better thing was a mistake.

“Why?” he said, sounding far more bitter than he intended. “You have your plan, remember?”

She moved her hand down the rest of his arm until her hand cupped his. Her touch was soft…warm…tender. It reminded him just how vulnerable she really was.

“Please,” she said. “Just tell me.”

Shay rolled his shoulders back. There was no point lying to her.

“Your soul leaves you and becomes a source of ethereal power for me draw on.”

“So…lunch? My soul becomes your lunch.”

It wasn’t a perfect description of what would happen to her soul, but it wasn’t wrong. “More or less.”

“And what happens to the rest of me?” she asked. “Do I die?”

“Not exactly,” he said. “Your body continues on, but it’s an empty vessel. You cannot feel or make decisions. You exist, but you don’t live.”

A strained silence fell between them. For a full minute, she didn’t do anything but press her lips together and let her gaze skim over the floor in front of her. He could feel an icy tingle of despair rushing through her, but she was managing to keep herself together. She couldn’t keep her fingers from trembling against his, though.

She looked up at him with sad eyes. “And, there’s no way to send the plate back to the kitchen, so to speak?”

Shay shook his head. “Once the contract is made, the binding is instantaneous,” he said. “Even now there is a trace of you inside me, powering everything I do.”

“Wait.” Her eyes widened. “You’re saying I’m inside you.”

“A small piece, yes.”

“Whoa,” she said, her mouth turning into a perfect circle. “I don’t feel any different.”

“Like I said, it’s very small.”

“But you feel it?” Strangely, the fear inside her dissipated. Wonder took its place. “You feel me?”

“I do.”

She perked up again and grasped his hand tight.

“That’s crazy,” she said. “You have to tell me. What do I feel like?”

Shay narrowed his eyes. This wasn’t the reaction he’d been expecting. Not at all. No creature had ever reacted like this to the realization that he had access to their innermost core.

How many times did he need proof that Nicole wasn’t like everyone else?

“Alive,” he told her.

“Well, yeah.” She waved her hand, dismissing his answer. “But besides that.”

“No, I mean you feel more alive than any other soul I’ve felt,” he said. “You hum and pulse with life. You push away the traces of all that have come before you. Even this sliver of your mortal soul burns brighter than the final receipt of beings with unparalleled power.”

Nicole looked up at him with an unblinking stare. “Wow.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” He cupped his other hand around her knee.

“You didn’t,” she said. “I just wasn’t expecting…that. I thought maybe I tingled or something.”

Shay found the corners of his lips curling up again. What was it about this woman that made him do that so often?

“There’s a little tingle.”

“Do you think it’s just because I’m mortal?” she asked. “Maybe we just start out stronger.”

“Maybe,” he conceded. “But I don’t think so. I think it’s you, Nicole. You’re a bonfire in a world of candles. I could felt the pull of your soul the first moment I walked into your family’s shop. It was so strong that I was afraid that if I let myself get too close, I might never be able to pull myself away.”

A soft breath left Nicole’s open mouth. A world of expectation lit up her eyes as she gazed into his.

“So…you were attracted to me?” she asked, leaning in closer.

“You could say that.” It would be one hell of an understatement, but it was still true.

“To me?” she asked. “Or to the power of my soul?”

Shay opened his mouth to answer, but the moment he did a loud crack sounded from outside. The spell between them broke instantly as a swirling wind started to crash against the windows.

Both he and Nicole bolted up from the floor in the same moment, and they rushed to the window seat.

All thoughts of souls and attraction disappeared the moment they laid eyes on Marrow and his band of soldiers lining the street below.

“Shay Madrid,” the fae’s voice rose up from the street. “I’ve come to make a deal.”