CHAPTER12
Cate bracedher hands on the countertop and took a deep breath. The chilled feel of the stone felt quite noticeable against her warm palms. Every part of her body felt flush, warm—and she could not deny the wet warmth between her legs, either.
It was just a kiss, for Heaven’s sake.
Even as she chastised herself, she could still feel where Gunner had touched her on her skin, where his fingers brushed her nipples.
You’re just starved for contact, that’s all.
It has nothing to do with him…
She could feel Belle stalking between her feet with admonishment, as if she could read Cate’s thoughts.
“Now is not the time, Belladonna.” She sighed as Belle meowed at her in judgment.
It had been too long since she’d done a ritual such as this, and the realization struck her that perhaps she was...rusty. Perhaps, she’d jumped in to solve Gunner’s shifting problem too quickly.
It wasn’t like her to not think through things.
After all, a goddess with much more resolve, much more control, would not spread her legs at the first man that walked through her door after a long dry spell—a century, to be exact.
But there was something about Gunner she could not quite put her finger on, something more than physical.
Something that felt...different.
Yes, he aggravated her, pushed all the buttons that would easily rile her, but yet when hekissed her…
There was no rage, no war to win. No stance to be made.
There was only the feeling of absolutebliss, of belonging.
Darcy is right. I need to get out more.
Cate returned to her cabinets, grabbing herbs, plants, and tiny rock chips. Her hands shook with tremors and she nearly dropped the vial she needed to fill. She glanced at the grandfather clock in the living room. Three o'clock in the morning. They had but merely three hours until dawn, to pull this off.
Now is not the time to get cold feet, Cate.
With her arms full of supplies, she exited to the backyard once more. Gunner stood in the light of the moon, illuminated like some divine being by its precious light, his dark locks almost silver amongst its glow, the shadows rippling against his defined back muscles. It was then she noticed he had lost his shirt completely. She swallowed as she approached him with more confidence than she felt at the moment.
“I’m going to be honest with you, this may or may not work. It is, quite frankly, not something I’ve done in over a century, but…”
She stood as tall as she could as she looked up at him.
“Given my power, and your…” She reached her fingers into his hand, feeling the warmth of the moonstone against her own palm. Gunner’s fingers held onto hers tightly, and he lightly stroked the inside of her palm with his thumb, an action that elicited tiny shivers down her spine. “Diviner…”
“You don’t think it’s going to work,” he said plainly.
Cate saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes, despite his words. She did not break his gaze.
Suddenly, she felt more than nervous, because she knew what the ritual asked. It was easy to pretend it would be nothing, when she was in the confines of her cabin, but as she looked into Gunner’s eyes… it was as if he could see into her very soul, in a way no one was ever truly able to do. Even in all her years of existence, she’d never felt so bare, so exposed to anyone. For the ritual to work, they’d need to connect on both the physical and the spiritual levels, and if his kiss was any indication of how things would go…
She feared she was walking a line she would be far too tempted to cross. A line that would bring her nothing but sorrow, nothing but pain.
For once she served her purpose… once they consummated the ritual, once Cate channeled the manifestation from their sexual bond—
He would not need her.
He would leave, just as all the others had.