Sentinel: A Light Mage Wars Novella (The Light Mage Wars) (11 page)

He
'd started this thing between them over a story, but she'd become more than that. How much more?

Maybe too much.

I miss him every day
, she'd said. The anguish under her words had torn at his soul. A man would have to be colder than he was not to see how that sucked for her.

But that didn
't mean he should let sympathy stop him from pursuing the truth. Her repeated refusal to talk about Griffin definitely implied she was hiding something.

The deputy reeve
's clandestine tip about Dare's ill-fated last raid jumped into his head. That anonymous deputy believed in Dare. And Jim Todd had dropped his story for some reason. Rick had arranged a meeting with Jim for tomorrow morning. Maybe that would shed some light.

He
shifted uneasily in the seat. Even if that woman was right, even if Caro didn't know anything–hell, even if Dare had been right about Althor, the guy had handled things badly.

"
I don't like arguing with you," Caro said quietly, "but you don't understand what these three years have been like. I handle the situation in the only way that works for me."

"
I have no right to argue with that," he admitted. "But I care about you. I want to understand you. To help you if I can, and this situation obviously affects you."

All that was true, even though it had nothing to do with his quest to clear his dad and everything to do with Caroline herself.

Shit
.
He was in far deeper than he'd realized.

"
It is what it is." She sounded tired.

She was probably sick of always being on guard.
His heart ached for her dilemma. He covered her hand with his, and his pulse skipped when she locked their fingers together. He hadn't been this confused in a long time.

After he
'd cleaned the cane for her, she'd restored its normal joints. It was only a cane again. But for a few minutes, she'd looked like she belonged on a field of Amazons.

If she truly wanted to protect h
er brother, didn't she realize what he'd taught her would be a massive point in his favor, PR-wise?

Unless maybe her brother was guilty
as hell. And maybe she knew it.

Rick groaned inwardly and clenched his
free hand on the steering wheel. He could make himself crazy wondering what she knew and how she felt about it.

Maybe it was time to put a stop to the wavering and just ask
. Except she'd shut him down fast. Maybe walk. He wasn't ready for that to happen. He still had a week to file his story.

In the glow of the
dash, she looked tired. Faint, almost buried hints of longing and grief tinted his sense of the magic around her.

He
had no way to ease her worries, and his desire to do so signaled dangerous loss of objectivity.

These last few day
s, he'd come to see that even someone whose life looked pretty cushy could be put in a hard spot by someone else's choices. More and more, his gut said Caroline was too decent to shield a bastard, and her silence was obviously meant to shield her brother.

Or maybe just her
parents' privacy.

Either way, if he let this go, his story was lost,
and with it, his chance to clear his father's name.

Carefully, he said,
"I don't mean to push here, Sunshine, but does it occur to you that your family might be able to help your brother if you showed the rest of our world how you see him?"

"
It occurred," she said wearily. "But you know we'd have no control over any story that appeared. The slant would be out of our hands. We could end up doing more harm than good."

I could write it
hovered on his lips, but he swallowed the words. He couldn't promise her a particular angle, either. And she didn't respond well to pushes.

Tomorrow would be soon enough to
raise the subject. If she let him see her again. At this point, that was definitely in question. If he had one more day with her, he could plan his approach overnight, work out the wording.

After all, Griffin was
under a death sentence. He'd evaded the reeves longer than anyone thought possible, but no one's luck lasted forever. When his ran out, his life would hang on the number of mageborn who still had open minds about him.

And when the hell had Rick started to care about that?

#

Caro bit her lip.
The air in the car felt heavy with regret. With things unsaid. So what if she wanted to confide in Rick? She'd known him less than a week, and for all she knew, her longing to open up to him was more post-fight letdown. Just like the current of desire that still hummed through her despite the tension between them.

"
We're here, but I don't see a space in front," Rick said. "There's one a little way down."

"
I could just get out." Having him walk her to the door would only prolong the indecision and the temptation he presented.

"
I'm walking you up," he informed her. "I need to see you go into your place so I know you're safe."

Around a silly rush of pleasure, Caro said,
"Ghouls don't strike in cities."

"
Usually. But there's always a first time, and the image of you facing off against that ghoul while I tried to reach you is still haunting me. Besides, there are other predators than ghouls in any city. I'm walking you up."

"
Okay. Thanks." She might as well enjoy these last few minutes. By tomorrow, he might decide he was done with her. Not that she could blame him. If he was interested in her, as he implied, he would naturally want her to trust him.

But it was too soon for that
.

Caro frowned.
Too soon
? As in, there would be more time to decide? When had she started thinking of this thing between her and Rick as something that might last?

Rick
pulled into a spot, and she waited for him to open her door. As usual, he offered her his right hand, then waited for her to grasp his elbow and deploy her cane.

He was a nice guy.
Considerate, even when he and she had static between them. Kind enough to coax her into learning to dance, to laugh with her, to help her prove her art was hers alone.

She didn
't want to lose him.

They walked into her building and took the stairs up.
At her door, she turned to him. "Thank you, Rick. I enjoyed the roadhouse a lot."

"
So did I." He cupped her cheek with his warm, callused palm.

Her
throat tightened with longing as he continued, "I'm sorry about what came after."

Gripping his hand, Caro turned her face into it.
Would this be the last time they touched each other? He had his walls up. She couldn't read him.

"
Not your fault," she reminded him. "Will Davis told my dad there was an uptick in ghoul activity near Macon. It could've happened to anyone. Better us than Mundanes."

"
There is that." His voice grave, he added, "But I didn't mean only the ghouls."

The ache in her chest eased
. "That wasn't all your fault, either. I know I'm not the easiest person–"

"
Sshhh." Rick kissed her, the merest brush of his mouth over hers, and it washed warmth and desire through her.

"
I've lived through a family scandal," he said. "I realize you have to cope as you think best. But give me leeway to make suggestions once in a while."

"
Okay." She could do that. He was a smart man. He might have good ideas, but he had to learn when to back off. There were lines no outsider could cross.

He
's only an outsider if you won't let him in.

The thought stopped her cold.
Before she could consider it, he wrapped his arms around her and said, "We could have something good, Sunshine. I don't want to blow it before we see just how good."

"
Neither do I."

"
Great." He brushed his knuckles over her cheek. "You should be proud of the way you kicked ass. I think your teacher would be."

"
He would." Caro could grant Rick that much. But she didn't want to think about Griff or how much she missed him. Not now.

She
raised her free hand to Rick's nape, sliding her fingers into his thick, soft hair, and tugged.

Rick groaned.
His mouth caught hers, stealing her breath. When she opened for him, his tongue merely brushed hers, flirting, tantalizing. Hot and bothered and restless, she needed more. She flicked her tongue into his mouth.

He
stroked it with his, and need speared through her.

With a moan,
Caro encircled his waist, the cane in her hand suddenly feeling like a barrier. She dropped it, hardly noticing that it clattered to the floor. She stroked Rick's back, then let her hands roam the hard muscles of his ass. The man was seriously built, and she was dying to touch him.

H
e growled as his mouth left hers. He trailed hot, tongue-flicking kisses across her jaw, then down her neck, into the vee of her blouse. When he licked the top of her breast, her knees went weak.

Trembling, Caro kissed his ear, then
nibbled her way down his neck.

Too fast
, the voice of sanity said in the depths of her brain.

Not fast enough
, the voice of craving insisted. But it was wrong. This was too fast. Too far.

Hating to stop, Caro managed,
"Rick."

"
Hmmm?" he breathed into her ear, then gently nipped it.

A shiver of pure pleasure blanked her brain.
Struggling to surface, breathless, she pushed out, "Wait."

His body tensed.
Breathing hard, he dropped his head to her shoulder. Shared frustration rippled between them.

"
I'm sorry," she said. "I know I started it."

"
Don't apologize." He raised his head. Framing her face in his hands, he said, "I like having you touch me. If you're not ready for more, you're not. It's that simple."

She missed the feel of h
is hands on her body. His mouth. Oh, God, she was in trouble.

"
You sure you're okay?" he asked, rubbing his chin against her hair. "I could sleep on your couch."

Caro managed a shaky laugh.
"You're too tall. Besides, you might start out on the couch, but you wouldn't be there long."

His half-groan, half-chuckle
eased her nerves. "That wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it?" he asked lightly.

"
Not in the moment, but after...It's too fast for me, Rick. I'm sor–"

He kissed her quickly.
"Don't apologize. If we can't be honest with each other, we don't have much."

He tensed suddenly, as though his words had surprised him.

"Something wrong?" Caro asked. She'd touched his face enough to find his temple easily now, so she finger-combed his hair off his brow.

"
No, it's good." But the undercurrent of doubt coming from him persisted. He planted a quick kiss on her forehead. "I have a meeting in the morning, but let me take you to lunch."

That brief touch
of his mouth stirred the hot yearning again. "How's eleven thirty?"

"
I'll see you then." He kissed her again, then stepped back. She sensed him bending, and then he pressed her cane into her hand. "Don't forget this. Now let me see you go inside. I'll stay until I hear the bolt click."

"
Thanks." There was that enticing concern again. Caro smiled. "Good night, Dudley."

"
Sleep well, Sunshine."

Yeah.
That was so not happening. Between frustrated desire and residual adrenaline, she had some unwinding to do before she could rest.

Caro opened her door, walked inside, then locked herself in.
"Good night," she said through the door.

"
See you tomorrow."

The fading of his energy signaled his departure.
Caro slumped against the door and sighed.

If only she had someone to talk to
about the fight. Mom and Dad wouldn't understand this mix of feelings. Nor would they focus on it. They'd be too struck by after-the-fact fear because she'd fought ghouls. They never had. Neither had Mindy. Or Will. He might have a couple of black belts, but he was a loremaster. A researcher.

Sparring on the mats wouldn
't generate the same scary rush as doing it for real.

Caro sighed again.
She would have to tell Mom and Dad, partly to reassure them that she could handle herself if she had to, but morning would be soon enough. Meanwhile, she might as well make some tea, maybe pop in an audiobook. Anything to stop thinking about how long it was from now until lunchtime.