Stone Cold Lover by Christine Warren

possessive every time she drew near.
    He had not thought himself capable of such emotion. Guardians had been created as warriors with a single purpose. Not only did their commitment to battling the Darkness supersede all other concerns, but their very natures as fighters, hardened and vicious, made them disinclined to softer emotions. They needed devotion to their cause, loyalty to their brethren, and an intense hatred of evil in order to do their jobs, but nothing said they had to be able to care, especially not for one individual human.
    It was the survival of the human species that mattered in the balance between Light and Dark, not each separate entity. Losses were inevitable, as any soldier knew, so to become attached to a human was to court pain.
    After all, what good would it do to care for a human female? Even if the Guardians prevailed, the Order was cut down, and the Seven remained forever imprisoned, the absence of the threat would mean Spar and his brothers would return to their slumber. He and his heart would be turned to stone until the next threat from the Darkness, and a human like Felicity would live and age and die, lost to him forever.
    Logic dictated a Guardian must not feel. It was the only way to ensure he performed his duty as the Light intended.
    Knowing that did not make Felicity any easier to resist, especially not now, when he knew the flavor of her. He had relived their kiss a thousand times in the hours since. The gesture had been an impulse, a small revenge on the woman who had frightened him so deeply when she collapsed at his feet. He had wanted to rattle her, perhaps cause her embarrassment at being pawed by a man in public, in full view of any strangers passing by the busy hospital. The moment he touched her, however, his intentions dissolved, melted away by the deep, rich taste of Felicity.
    Sweet like honey and spiced like thick, mulled wine, she had destroyed his senses with a single touch, and he knew himself for the architect of his own downfall. He had tasted her shock and then the heat of her surrender as he feasted on her tender mouth. Her body had fit against his like a fantasy, and her response had sent fire coursing through his veins. Before she had pulled away, he had been poised to ignore their audience and dive even deeper into her warmth.
    Her withdrawal had likely saved them a great deal of trouble, including a likely arrest for indecent behavior in a public place. Spar had lost his mind, too far gone to care, willing to take to the skies with her if it would have meant continuing their embrace. It had enthralled him that completely.
    So why had it not done the same for her?
    Spar scowled and shifted on his perch in the corner of the storefront. The object of his musings moved around the space as if he weren’t even there, appearing oblivious to his presence, and he could admit to himself that her attitude irked him. He understood that her vision had disturbed her, shaking her out of the determination he suspected she had made to push him through her door and out of her life. He knew she tolerated his continued presence because she felt the threat of the nocturnis keenly. After witnessing it firsthand, how could she not? She did not, however, pretend to be happy about it.
    For the first hour following their return from the hospital, Felicity had been absorbed with relating her vision, answering Spar’s questions, and discussing the need to share the information with Ella and Kees. Having seen the Hierophant, Felicity was in a unique position of having insight to offer into the highest ranks of the Order, no matter how little what she’d seen could actually tell them. They had agreed calling the other Guardian and his Warden had been necessary, but had been forced to leave a message when neither answered the phone.
    Spar had seen her unease in the way she stiffened on the edge of her chair, even before she had risen to pace the floor of her apartment. Discovering the