Aodhan breathed out. “Cathy.”
“I mean, I’m not asking to change anything,” she rushed on, before he could say anything else. “We always knew this was temporary. I’ll go back to my world, and your life will carry on as before. But… I will always remember you. And be grateful to have known you, if just for a little while.”
“I, too,” Aodhan said, very softly. “I am glad that we met. Even given the circumstances.”
They just sat there, gazing into each other’s eyes, all the things they couldn’t say hanging in the air between them. Aodhan broke away first, dropping his gaze. He cleared his throat, looking down at their joined hands.
“I have been wondering something,” he said. “If I recall correctly, Maeve said that she would return you and your son to your own world. Did she put any time limits on that bargain?”
Cathy blinked, thrown by the question. She had to cast her mind back to remember Maeve’s precise words. “I don’t think so. She said she’d let us go back whenever we wanted.”
“Then…” Aodhan cleared his throat again, sounding uncharacteristically hesitant. “It occurs to me that we have barely scratched the surface of the potential for combining magecraft and sorcery. We could make great academic advances together. And then there is Kevin. I could teach him more about magic, and show him how to access his innate abilities. With a solid grounding in theory, he’d be able to develop his talent on his own later, even back in your world, if he wishes. It would take some time to teach him enough of the underlying principles, though.”
It took Cathy a moment to sift the golden grains of meaning from the flood of verbiage. When she did, her heart gave an odd little skip. “Aodhan, are you asking me to stay? With you, at your library?”
“Not forever, of course.” His throat worked. “Just… for as long as you like.”
It couldn’t be forever. She knew that, as much as Aodhan. No matter how much Kevin enjoyed magic, eventually he’d need more. His home, his possessions, his friends—even school. Sooner or later, her son would want to go back to the real world, and with Maeve controlling the only known portal, that was a one-way journey. Her time with Aodhan would still come to an end.
But maybe… maybe it didn’t have to end for a while yet.
“It would be good for Kevin to learn about his gifts,” she said, and felt Aodhan’s fingers tighten around hers. “And I certainly wouldn’t want to deprive you of the chance to explore a new field of magic. I know how much you love research.”
“Indeed,” he breathed. He leaned in, his other hand curving around the back of her neck. “I have a great many questions that demand lengthy, in-depth study. Particularly regarding roses.”
She closed her eyes, opening to his mouth. The kiss started gentle, but didn’t stay that way for long. Aodhan made a low, hungry sound, pushing her down to the floor. Sweet heat flooded through Cathy, along with sudden, clenching need.
She wanted nothing more than to keep going, but she forced herself to pull away, breaking the kiss. “Ferghal.”
Aodhan let out a heartfelt groan. He rolled off her, flopping over onto his back. “A more effective prophylactic than a bucket of ice water. Damn the man.”
Since arriving at the estate, she and Aodhan hadn’t dared to sleep together even in the literal sense. Ferghal already found it borderline scandalous that she kept a shapeshifted alicorn as a strange kind of pet. She couldn’t risk doing anything to provoke further suspicion—and inexplicably filling his house with roses was the sort of thing that might lead to awkward questions.
With a sigh, Cathy got up, trying to ignore her own frustrated desire. “I’ll leave you to your research. Your other research, that is. I’m going to go check on the osses.”
From the look Aodhan gave her, he knew full well that this was just a pretext. “Ferghal won’t hurt him, Cathy. Not even by accident.”
“I’m more worried about Kevin stabbing him.”
Aodhan’s mouth hooked up. “A valid concern. Did you want me to come with you?”
“Better not.” She wrinkled her nose at him. “You know who else will be there.”