I skidded to a stop. He ran up behind me, halting a few feet away.
"Sorry," he said. "Just don't . . . Don't go in there, okay?"
I was about to tease that he was stacking the deck, keeping me from open ground, but genuine worry shone from his eyes.
I glanced into the clearing.
"Unfair advantage," he said. "You're faster than I am on open ground."
Though he said it with a smile, there was a tightness in his voice. When I stepped toward the glade, he tensed, staying where he was but rocking on the balls of his feet, as if he wanted to grab me back. I peered in to see a circle of white mushrooms, glowing in the moonlight.
"That's a fairy ring," I said.
When I looked over at him, he flushed. "Um, yeah . . . Can we just . . . ? There's something over here I wanted to show you." He pointed in the other direction. When I looked back at the circle, he sighed. "Yeah, I'm superstitious. It's my grandmother's fault, and I know it's stupid, but something gets in your head like that--"
"And it's hard to shake, even if you know better."
"Yep." He walked over to me, his hands snaking around my waist. "She used to tell me stories about people getting trapped in fairy circles."
"They walk into a party that never ends, and they can't escape."
"You know your folklore."
"I do."
His lips brushed mine. "So here's the part where you get to mock me for being superstitious."
I put my arms around him. "Never."
"Just tease me about it, then."
I kissed him. "Never."
He returned the kiss, tentative at first, as if still worried he'd embarrassed himself, but when I didn't pull back, that heat from earlier licked, reigniting. I could smell the faint smoke and fire and feel the damp darkness like fog, creeping up, cool and brisk, as the heat of his body blazed through me.
I pulled back and looked up at him, his eyes glittering again with those golden sparks, his blond hair falling forward, brushing my face, his breath smelling faintly of . . . forest. I know it was a trick of perception, but that's what I smelled, all the rich scents of the forest, bathing my face in warm breath as he leaned in to kiss me again and--
I slid out of his grip and danced backward.
"You're not going to get far now," he warned.
"No?"
He stepped toward me. "No."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
I dodged. He grabbed my arm, but I wrenched away. When I started to run, he caught me, his hand on my elbow, fingers wrapping around my arm. He yanked me to him in a rough kiss, pulling me against him so tight I had no chance of slipping away.
"Give up?" he said, breaking the kiss.
"Mmm . . ." I gave a tentative wiggle.
A sexy, low chuckle. "Not a chance."
I laced my hands behind his head, pulling him down in a kiss so hard and deep he gasped, relaxing against me, all his energy going into that kiss as his grip relaxed, too. I propelled myself backward, trying to break free. His arms only tightened.