"You should be. I think you took ten years off my life," she said, stowing her laptop in its case and sliding it underneath her chaise lounge.
"Ha, you should try having your life flash before your eyes as you swan-dive toward a slab of concrete."
"You put the 'extreme' in extreme sports," Mark teased, holding his fist out as Krista switched off the lights in the living room. >"Yeah, well, The Light doesn't show mercy on his three 'deal-breaker' sins. The Seer has the power to see through the other seven, but murdering, stealing, and worshiping other gods are a one-way ticket to hell unless you choose this existence. Most Traders are like me. Some were nothing but petty thieves while others, like me, stole on a grander scale," he confessed, sinking down on the sand next to me.
"Yeah, but, you didn't hurt anyone?" I asked, still in shock.
"Don't kid yourself, love. I hurt plenty of people along the way. I took advantage of weaker humans by tricking them out of prized possessions. I guess you could say I was a swindler. I could talk you out of the shirt off your back without you even realizing I had done so until I walked away wearing it," he said, leaning back in the sand, bracing himself with his elbows. "That's why they picked me to be a Trader. My charismatic personality and gifts with persuasion as a human is everything they look for in a Trader," he said, sounding sad for the first time.
"I'm sorry," I said. I was at loss for more words. Yes, I believed in right and wrong, but I also believed in second chances. It seemed so very unfair that Emrys would pay the price for his sins until the end of time.
"Hey, it's not your fault. I made my bed, now I have to lay in it," he said, smiling. It didn't escape my notice that the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
I didn't know what I could say to possibly make him feel better. The silence between us stretched on, but strangely it never became uncomfortable as we watched the night time waves rolling in. Somewhere in the silence our hands sought the comfort of the other. With our fingers linked, we sat there quietly until it was time for me to go home.
"So, about that double date?" Emrys asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Yeah?" I asked, unsure of where we stood after everything we'd just shared.
"Does tomorrow night work for you?" he asked as his familiar cocky grin returned.
"I'll have to check my calendar. I might have plans," I teased, sliding my hands up around his neck.
"You do that, and then have your people call my people," he smiled, leaning in so he could kiss my cheek. "By the way, I'm ninety-nine percent sure your uncle is lurking right beyond those doors," he said, nodding toward the French doors of our house.
"I wouldn't expect anything less," I said, effortlessly pulling him closer. Being freakishly strong definitely had its perks. "Well, we might as well give him something to stress over," I said, crushing my lips to his.
Emrys was still chuckling when I slipped inside the house a few minutes later. Lost in thoughts of our kiss, I didn't notice Krista until she spoke.
"Did you have fun?" she asked, looking bemused by the dippy look I was sure was plastered across my face.
"Yeah, I did," I said, sinking down on the foot of her chaise lounge. "Even with my stalker lurking around," I added.
"Haniel?" she asked knowingly.
"Yeah, but seriously, he needs to take a chill pill. You guys all got a chance to interrogate him tonight," I said, sighing loudly so she wouldn't miss my indignity.
"Just give him time. He'll come around," she said, patting my leg before returning to her laptop.
"So you say," I said rising. "How's the book going?"
"Not too bad. Blaine LeBaron was being a complete pain in the ass, but I think I have him whipped into shape," she said, mentioning one of the main characters from her series.
"Don't be too hard on him. You know he's my book boyfriend," I reminded her, dropping a kiss on the top of her head before heading off to my room.
"You might have to fight off Shana from the A Book Vacation blog on that one," she joked, mentioning one of her favorite book bloggers.
"Shana can have Rob. Blaine is mine."
"Vanessa may have issues with that too," she said, bringing up the main love interest in the story.
"Vanessa just has issues," I replied, walking away.
"Night," she called after me.
"Night. Don't let Blaine and Vanessa keep you up too late," I called back.
"Mmmhmm," was her only answer as she immersed herself back into her writing.