When she’d walked away from him the day before, Marcus had been irritated, but that was foolish. Since then he’d taken the time to dive more deeply into her memories and now understood the restrictions her life had woven around her. It was not surprising she’d fled from him the day before. If he’d considered not returning today, it was only because the little mortal had, perhaps, slightly, hurt his feelings. It was rare to find a human who was aware of him as an entity separate from her own desires and compulsions. An upbringing based on praying for hours of every day had no doubt given her the capacity for speaking to unusual creatures such as him. He sat in the seat next to Oliver and watched with deepening pleasure as Ashley overcame her fears. He licked his lips as she pulled apart her sweater. Such panic was beating in her heart, yet she pushed it aside to satisfy her desire, her ache, her curiosity. His father would be interested in meeting a mortal like her— Marcus wouldn’t allow that to happen, of course.
