No pressure.

I wrapped my arm in his and snuggled up against him. Storm clouds were rolling in and the wind was picking up. Cameron ran up to him, nudged him with his foot.

“I’m taking a break,” he said, looking up with a challenging sparkle in his eyes.

“Breaks are for wusses,” Cameron said.

“I hope Tabitha’s okay,” Brooke said out of the blue, and we all gaped at her. “You know, after that kiss, the girl might think you two are an item.” She grinned at Jared.

“Kiss?” Ashlee asked, suddenly very interested.

Jared ducked his head in embarrassment. “I still think you guys are lying about that part.”

We laughed, but with everything that had happened, that kiss still stung me. I was pathetic.

“Speaking of kisses,” he said, turning his beautiful gaze on me, “I seem to remember a promise about kissing me somewhere other than my cheek.”

“What?” I asked, a microsecond before his meaning dawned. A heat spread up my neck and over my jaw. “I have no idea what you’re talking about and you were unconscious. How could you possibly know that?”

“It’s all coming back to me in pieces. And I distinctly remember a promise you made. But if you’re the kind of girl who doesn’t keep her promises…”

He let his meaning hang in the air, studied me with his incredible eyes. I lifted his hand, turned it over, and kissed the inside of his palm.

“There,” I said, wrapping my hand in his. “I’ve kept my promise.”

But all the humor had fled from his face. He looked down at my lips, and I could feel the heat of his gaze. Everywhere it touched, it left a trail of warmth. His tongue slid out to wet his own lips; then one corner slid up and he asked, “Are you getting anything?”

I gasped. “How do you know every single time?” I asked, appalled.

I dropped his hand in disgust at having been caught trying to get a vision off him again, but he continued to gaze at me, his expression serious. “You can ask me anything, Lorelei. I’ll answer truthfully. You know that, right?”

“Of course.” But just to test out that theory, I asked, “So, is your blood really like heroin?”

He pressed his lips together and sighed. “Yes.”

“Can I try some?” Brooke asked.

Cameron pulled her to her feet, took aim across the lot with the football, and told her to go long.

“What the heck does that even mean?” she asked. “And these boots have heels. I’m not going anywhere, especially long.”

He scooped her off her feet and spun her as she squealed.

“Can I try it?” I asked Jared.

He placed an appreciative look on me. “No.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “You said I could ask you anything.”

“And I answered truthfully.”

“So, what? Would I get addicted?” I asked, kidding around.

“Yes.”

“Oh.” That put an abrupt end to that. “Okay, then how did you beat me to the canyon floor?”

He grinned. “I stopped time, how else? But one of them knocked me senseless for a moment, and time restarted. I was worried I’d be late.”

“That would have ended badly,” I said.

“Yes, it would have.” He wound his fingers into mine and placed them against his heart. “I wouldn’t have let that happen.”

The conversation he’d had with my grandparents seemed to be forgotten. He was back to his old, charming self, and I wondered what that meant.

“Your grandparents were right, Lorelei,” he said, holding my hand steadfast when I tried to pull away. He always seemed to know exactly where my thoughts were. “I’m not worthy of you,” he continued. “I never will be. But I am in love with you, and if wanting you makes me selfish, then so be it.”

His words caused a hopeful warmth to rush through me. It mingled with the heat radiating off him, soaked into my skin, and in turn caused a heat of a different nature. A spark flared to life inside me and spread from my abdomen to the tips of my toes.

Jared’s face went blank. Then he leaned back and gazed at me wide eyed, as though I’d surprised him somehow. “That— That was amazing.”

I blinked to attention and looked around, completely confused. “What?”

“You. Your aura.” He leaned close again, still holding my hand. “It’s like the smoldering embers of a fire. But just now, it flared to life, its flames roiling softly over your skin, bathing you in a soft, glowing light. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”

His description stole my breath. His eyes, sparkling with something more than just mere interest, made my heart shudder to life, like it had been lying dormant before, waiting.

“Your Grace!” Grandma cried from the back door.

Her summons startled me out of my stupor, mostly because she sounded alarmed. When we turned around, I realized she wasn’t looking at Jared, but was looking inside the house, her back to us.

Jared was beside her in a flash. Cameron was next; he had farther to run. And the rest of us followed eons later, even though we were hurrying. Jared pushed past her and into the house. We shuffled inside and gathered around one end of the breakfast bar. There was a kid on the other side, wearing an army jacket three sizes too big.

“Noah,” I said, starting forward, but Jared stopped me. “Noah, it’s okay. You can put down the knife.”