26. Felix

26

FELIX

B y the time we return to our apartment, it's well after midnight.

"You know those green bottles you're always going on about?" I say to Cat.

She makes a noise of acknowledgment, yawning behind her hand.

"You need to take one."

"I'm not going to waste a healing concoction on this." She brushes her hand over her throat and winces. "Do you have any idea how expensive they are?"

"Do you have any idea how much I don't care?" I step up to her, scowling at the bruises already forming on her neck. The werewolf left several long, shallow scratches that make me want to hunt the monster down tonight. "I'm sorry I didn't protect you."

She shakes her head, stepping into me and wrapping her arms around my waist. "We just need to get better at working together, that's all."

"I was afraid I was going to miss and shoot you." I close my eyes, holding her tightly. "I hesitated."

"So did I." She looks up, smiling. "But neither of us is dead, so…that's good."

I laugh a little. "That is good."

"Let's go to bed," she says warmly, staring up at me with a soft expression that makes my chest tight.

"Take the concoction first," I coax.

She looks like she's going to argue, but then she relents. "All right. But only if you take one, too."

Ten minutes and two empty green bottles later, we crawl into the bed. I lie on my back, extending my arm. Cat from two days ago would have ignored me and stayed on her side. But tonight, she snuggles in close, making my world complete.

With her soft breath on my neck, I extinguish the lamp.

"It's not Hubert or Cyril or Johann," she says in the dark. "Who could it be?"

"I don't know. I think it could still be Johann," I say petulantly.

She snorts, her hand finding my chest. "You're more handsome than he is."

"I'm aware."

She laughs quietly. "I just thought you'd like to know."

"Now you're just patronizing me," I laugh, going still when she brushes a kiss against my neck.

"Thank you for not dying," she whispers. As soon as she utters the words, she shudders against me. Trying to hide it, she clears her throat.

Concerned, I say, "Cat?"

"I'm fine," she insists, but there are tears in her voice. "I'm just so glad you're all right."

"Bluebird…"

"You mean so much to me," she says forcefully, like admitting it takes a great deal of bravery. "I've tried not to give into these feelings I have for you—I swear I have. At first, I thought it was just attraction—a schoolgirl infatuation. But then you came home from Galbreah, and I got to know you, and I liked you even more." She brings her hand to her eyes, wiping away tears. "And I keep thinking, what if tonight had gone differently, and I never got the chance to tell you that what I feel is so much more than mild attraction? So I'm telling you now. Felix, I like you. I like you so much."

I've gone still, her confession washing over me.

She pushes herself up. "I'm sorry—I'm a rambling mess. You're tired and sore, and I?—"

I hold her firmly, refusing to let her leave. "Don't go."

"I've made you uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable? No. What you have done is make me question whether I died tonight and didn't realize it."

"What?" She laughs a little as she relaxes beside me once more.

I turn my head, brushing a kiss over her temple. "Even heaven couldn't be as sweet as that confession."

She exhales slowly, her relief tangible.

"Tell me you love me again," I say.

Cat laughs, shaking her head. "I didn't say I love you."

"I love you."

She goes still like she didn't know, like my words have surprised her.

"Why would I stay with GHOST or agree to become your apprentice?" I ask her gently. "Why else would I convince you to marry me? Surely you know. I don't think I've been subtle about it."

I roll over, resting my weight on my good arm and gazing at her in the dark.

"Your shoulder," she protests.

"It's fine."

Cat's soft, small hands flutter over my bare arms, her touch infinitely gentle even as her breath becomes shallow. I lean down, kissing her warm mouth. "I love you, Catriona Cunningham."

Her hands move to my back, traveling down to my waist and then splaying over my skin.

I'm on fire, wanting her, wanting this marriage—but not tonight, not when we're both bruised and battered, when each gentle touch borders on painful.

Slowly, I pull back, brushing my lips over her forehead. "Thank you for showing me your heart. Your affection is a gift I will never take for granted."

I lie next to her once more, smiling when she moves in close, her body tucked into mine, her leg thrown over my leg.

"Felix?" she says softly when I'm half-asleep and my thoughts are warm and distant.

"Hmm?"

"I think I love you, too."

I squeeze her closer and smile as I continue to drift.

We sleep in late, but this time, we wake to a sparrow chirping outside the window and not Arnold banging on the door.

Cat stirs next to me, groaning a soft, content noise that makes me smile.

The concoction did its job, and the scratches on her neck are gone. Her skin is a light, creamy beige, with no sign of bruising.

My shoulder doesn't hurt. In fact, all of yesterday's aches are gone. No wonder the concoction costs so much. It's snake oil that actually works.

Cat opens her eyes, smiling sleepily when our gazes meet.

"It's a crime to look so stunning in the morning," I tell her.

"Honestly." Grinning, she rolls her face into her pillow and then looks back.

"What?" I say. "I was talking about me."

Laughing, she shoves my shoulder, and then her eyes widen. "I'm sorry. Did that hurt?"

"Not at all."

She brings her hand to her throat, exhaling with a satisfied smile. "Did it bruise?"

"It doesn't look like it." I roll toward her. "But maybe I should take a closer look?"

Cat goes still when I press my hand to her side and lean over her, tilting her chin up.

Her chest rises and falls more quickly as I drop my lips just under her jaw. She trembles, her hand flitting to my waist.

"Does that hurt?" I ask against her skin.

"No," she breathes.

I trail my lips down her throat. "And that?"

"No."

Smiling, I tilt my head back. "I think you're healed."

Her eyes slide over my face, her cheeks flushed. She looks radiant in the sunlight. Even the mark the redcap left on her cheek is gone.

"We have a werewolf to track," she says.

"It's always work with you hunters, isn't it?" I tease a kiss over her lips.

She sighs, letting her eyes flutter shut. "I have a personal vendetta against it now. It tried to kill you."

"And you—which is why I want to keep you in this bed for the rest of the day."

Cat wraps her hand around the back of my neck, twisting her fingers into the short hair. "Is that the only reason you want to stay here? Because you want to keep me safe?"

Her tone is warm, bordering on seductive. I know what she's offering. I almost groan, feeling I can't accept it, no matter how much I want to.

"Unfortunately, yes," I answer reluctantly, dragging the words from my chest.

Her hand goes still, no longer sweeping over my skin. She opens her eyes, startled. "It is?"